CHANGES – Legends (cd by Taproot Productions)
MATI:K – Mati:K (cd by Sub Rosa)
H.A.L.O. – VESSEL (CD by Audio Electric)
VARIOUS ARTISTS – AN EAR FOR A LEG (2CD Compilation by Heartpunch Music)
ZIRCON & THE BURNING BRAINS – CORTEX! (CD by Ultima Thule)
DE FABRIEK/C. REIDER/IMPLICIT ORDER -TRIPLE OCCUPANCY (CDR by Wholeness
Recordings)
THERMAL & SEOFON – A MONUMENT OF CHANCE (CD by Boxman)
ATOI – Y2KAOS (2CD by ATOI:MS)
MIRROR – RINGSTONES (LP by Some Fine Legacy)
TARKATAK – VYKORT (LP by Dhyana)
STROM (7″ by Dhyana)
INOX KAPELL – GLEICHGESICHTASCHOCK (7″ by Dhyana)
ERIK M – FRAME (3″ CD by Metamkine)
INCAPACITANTS/K2 – WE ARE ALL STUPID (CDR by Absurd)
CHANGES – Legends (cd by Taproot Productions)
The acoustic guitar streams forth stories of those olden days. Is the
heritage of centuries ago transmitted through certain lineages? Can memory
be perfectly preserved from generation to generation? Are folk memories a
trait that contributes to the survival of the fittest? “Calling forth for
us to go…” The end of the recording makes the cd player emit and sad and
hollow sound…finis. (DC)
Address: <wulfing1@aol.com>
MATI:K – Mati:K (cd by Sub Rosa)
Piano strains wring out the hectic trout-flipping of the modern beat – the
rapidly-beating wings of the insect are brought into vision, along with the
automatic chkchkchk of a sprinkler system. Not that these are perjoratives
– no, these are hints! And wherefore art thou, Human Beat Box? Actually,
I had heard he had died. What would he think of these newfound
outcroppings of style? Tiny melodies are repeated constantly, beats are
thrown and caressed…
Gunshots and bells, watery shells…and what a daunting task it must be, to
put these sounds together. One must have an extraordinarily clear vision
of what is desired – because with these sounds there are SO MANY choices
when it comes to creating them. And, of course, another question rears up
– how much is ENOUGH? What part does “necessity” play in the making of
electronic music?
Of course, this recording makes for quite agreeable fuck music – and here
again a question, and that of levels? How loud the sound during coital
affirmation? Nodding of head and flashing back to 1990 is had…but it
suddenly dealesces into a light snowfall of clicks and pops, then jazz
interludes of bass and drum, flashing back to an earlier time… (DC)
H.A.L.O. – VESSEL (CD by Audio Electric)
First I have to let you know that I’m not really sure whether the title of
this disc is actually ‘Vessel’ or that the name of the project is ‘H.A.L.O.
Vessel’ and the disc has a drawing as a title. Sorry for mistakes here. The
CD is packed in a box like the famous 20 to 2000 series, with artwork like
much other microwave releases. But then something goes wrong: this is old
school electro with a gothic twist and nothing else. Lots of rhythm box,
synths and FX and some distortion. So let’s face it: some things are a
matter of taste and i have never really liked electro (not even Bambaata),
so it’s not my call to tell you that this is what you want. I can tell you
that the melodic lines are weak, the rhythms not very original and the
production not very dynamic. And I’ll leave it at that. (MR)
Adress: www.audioelectric.net
VARIOUS ARTISTS – AN EAR FOR A LEG (2CD Compilation by Heartpunch Music)
This double CD contains music for contemporary dance by Jim Coleman, Doug
Henderson, David Linton, Zeena Parkins, Leslie Ross, Lauren Wenger and Guy
Yarden. First of all it must be said that dance music is composed for a
specific need (live dance performances) and could therefore be regarded as
some kind of soundtrack. Yet, on this CD set, the editors and composers
have succeeded very well in compiling music that can stand on its own very
well. The choice of tracks and their order makes for excellent listening,
especially regarding all the music involved. This ranges from electro
acoustic soundscapes to improv to techno and beyond. A wide range of styles
and techniques is covered and that is exactly what makes this CD worth
listening to. It would go to far to describe all 32 tracks, so I’ll leave
you with the general impression: very very good. (MR)
Adress (for info): yrg@pipeline.com
ZIRCON & THE BURNING BRAINS – CORTEX! (CD by Ultima Thule)
After feeding this CD into my player I got tangled up in a timewarp and
felt myself being dragged back countless years ago to the mid eighties. And
no wonder, because this release is somewhat of a historical document of
ZBB, who made all these recordings in that period. Funny thing is: it’s a
lot of fun, because several of their influences are pretty evident, to say
the least: Nurse With Wound, Throbbing Gristle and so on. Simple means were
used to create the music: some synths, tape(loop)s, records and a Sinclair
Spectrum. The music is drenched in FX, but leaves enough space for other
sounds. A pretty weird release, not unlike soundtracks from sixties sci-fi
movies of inferior quality. Which is great of course. Actually the first
track is the shortest (just over 5 minutes) and, imo the least interesting
one. The other three tracks (all more or less 20 minutes) are a lot
stronger and are constructed with care and a lot of time. Old, but good!
(MR)
Adress: Ultima Thule, 1 Conduit Street, Leicester, LE2 OJN, England
DE FABRIEK/C. REIDER/IMPLICIT ORDER -TRIPLE OCCUPANCY (CDR by Wholeness
Recordings)
An interesting triptich of two US musicians (C. Reider and Implicit Order)
and one Dutch, the legendary De Fabriek (who were active when many of us
were crawling around in diapers). The tracks are not put together by band,
but by atmosphere of each track. There are a downright moody pieces, with
those dark touches on synths and guitars that whale around in echo, and
more ‘uptempo’ (as in: with rhythm, not as in ‘let’s party’). De Fabriek,
who have been in every corner of music except death reggae and hardcore
country, throw in a blend of shortwave third world sound. Some tracks are
rather filmic, such as ‘red stream’ by The Implicit Order. A very nice
compilation. (FdW)
Address: P.O.Box 155 – Smilax, KY 41764-0155 – USA
THERMAL & SEOFON – A MONUMENT OF CHANCE (CD by Boxman)
ATOI – Y2KAOS (2CD by ATOI:MS)
This is one of the more puzzling releases. Who did what, when and where? I
think there are two artists involved, Seofon and Thermal. Both are member
of A Toi Mystery School (ATOI) who also delivered a new CD. Imbedded in the
Los Angeles scene of ambient music (and in this case, to add to the
confusing, ambient with techno beats).
The Seofon & Thermal release has four lenghty tracks held together by an
army of synth drones and enrolling rhythm patterns. At times they arrive at
a tribal sound (think Rapoon or Muslimgauze), which could induce trance
states – or not (a dope-free head might not help). Among these four there
is no particular standout, it’s all quite alright.
ATOI also delivered a new product, and go wild with a two CD set. A good
140 minutes of spacey sounds, well crafted rhythms and mucho sampled voices
and appregiated rhythms. The tempo is quite high and the density of the
atmosphere is filled. This doesn’t make it very ‘ambient’, but more ‘techno
for weirdos’ (or ‘by weirdos’ – who knows). Nice by a bit tiring to listen
to the entire 145 minutes in one run… (FdW)
Address: http://wiremailorder.com/thousand
Address: http://www.a-toi.com
MIRROR – RINGSTONES (LP by Some Fine Legacy)
TARKATAK – VYKORT (LP by Dhyana)
Two sides of the same coin. Both Mirror and Tarkatak have a long history,
but recentely surfaced. Behind Mirror we find Christoph Heemann, who
produced three solo CD’s in 10 years or so, but who is more then others, a
key figure in exprimental music (through is Dom label, his Streamline
label, his work with HNAS, Current 93 and Mimir). Mirror is a new Heemann
project, this time with Andrew Chalk. Other then this LP we may get soon
another LP (limited to 100 copies on Heemann’s Streamline label) and a 2LP
for Die Stadt. Two side long pieces of something that vaguely reminded me
of Chalk’s work with Jonathan Coleclough ‘Sumac’: blowing a pipe (or maybe
a Didgeridoo) over a set of drones induced by strumming strings, but which
gradually change over of church organs. Changes are so slow that there are
barely noticeable. Very nice stuff, but with a high esoteric level.
Tarkatak is Lutz Pruditsch, also known as Der Pilz and one half of
Raumerkundigung. He operates in likewise moody areas, but arrives a totally
different result. With more recognizable means (mainly guitars and effect
processors) he produces thick drone music that easily match the best work
of Maeror Tri or Tesendalo. Music like this works best if there is a long
curve, such as in the 24 minute piece ‘Erinra’ with it’s tinkling
xyolophone, wavering trumpet sounds (which is no doubt a guitar) and warm
drones. There lies the main difference between Mirror and Tarkatak: the
latter is much more ‘industrial ambient’ and much less esoteric. But both
are very different but both are very nice. (FdW)
Address: <marc.milohnic@rol3.com>
Address: Dhyana – Carl Schurzstr. 29a – 86156 Augsburg – Germany
STROM (7″ by Dhyana)
INOX KAPELL – GLEICHGESICHTASCHOCK (7″ by Dhyana)
Behind Strom are one Ralf Jaeger and Frank Schultge. The latter we know
from his previous 7″ for the same label, but with Sack Ziegler. The a-side
is a very melancholical track with the guitar being strum to evoke lots of
sadness. The other side has drums, bass and guitar, and attempts at a kind
of Tortoise or Trans Am, but stays on the more simple side of things. But
even when it doesn’t have the genius of their US counterparts, it’s still a
nice record.
There exists of picture of me at a concert in Germany and I look very drunk
– maybe I was. The picture was taken during a concert of Inox Kapell, of
which, for obvious reasons, I can’t remember very much. They were popmusic
to me. Since then I cultivated my love-hate relationship with popmusic and
try to bore a company with trivia on Boney M and the like.
The a-side of the Inox Kapell 7″ is a strong electro song sung in German,
although I have failed to understand the lyrics, which sound like sung by
an english trying German. A nice song, but a little bit too weird to be a
chart runner…
The b-side open with a track by a band named “Das Rhythmusboxen Des
Ambientinox”, a side band for Inox Kapell. It’s a rather 80s instrumental
song built around a rhythm machine and soundeffects. According to the
linernotes there is also a CD of this which made me a kinda curious. The
usual lo-fi electronic popmusic of Inox Kapell have also a track on this
side. Not unfamiliar to their The Hague couterparts who came to electro
from their techno doodlings.
Address: Dhyana – Carl Schurzstr. 29a – 86156 Augsburg – Germany
ERIK M – FRAME (3″ CD by Metamkine)
Erik M is a young french composer whose dealings are with recorded media,
especially CD’s. The new start of the cinema for the ears series (who was
on hold for more than a year) is a retrospective look: Erik M uses all
previously released 3″ CD’s to compose ‘Frame’, a work in four parts. To be
honest, I only found about that it was a recycling after I played it a
couple of times (reading covers is not something I do very often, but it
helps…). Of course I didn’t recognize any of the previous releases, so
whatever sound treatment (skipping cd’s being sampled?) Erik M uses, he
used it well. His four pieces are clearly structured and move along nice.
Of course it collage stuff, but only to place extra attention to the longer
parts of sounds that he creates. An enjoyable re-start of what was already
a great series. (FdW)
Address: <metamkine@compuserve.com>
INCAPACITANTS/K2 – WE ARE ALL STUPID (CDR by Absurd)
No sense in denying – we are all stupid. Three lenghty tracks of noise
noise noise and oh yes there is also noise. One by Incapacitants and one by
K2 and one in which they play together. Feedback noise, banging on metal
junk, electronics, wrongly connected circuits are their main ingredients.
Of course they are Japanese, so it’s allowed to produce noise noise noise.
In it’s kind not bad, but not brilliant either. It’ll go down well, I
suppose. (FdW)
Address: <absurd@otenet.gr>