SUSUMU YOKOTA – Image 1983-1998 (CD by Skintone Records via Leaf)
EARDRUM – Last Light (CD by Leaf Records)
ROEL MEELKOP/TOY BIZARRE – FOUR PIECES (CD by Kaon)
MASSIMO – WORKS FOR FALS.CH (MP3 by Fals.ch)
ROTHKO – STORM CYCLE (10″ by Kraak)
CHICAGO ELECTRONIC COMPILATION – (CD-R by Boxmedia)
M’LUMBO vs KOBALT 6 – Spinning Tourists in a City of Ghosts (CD by Unit
Circle Rekkids)
JAZZKAMMER – TIMEX (CD by Rune Grammofon)
SUSUMU YOKOTA – Image 1983-1998 (CD by Skintone Records via Leaf)
This is a strange one. The first five tracks were recorded in 1983, the
remainder in 1998 and as you’d expect there’s a bit of a difference between
the two eras. The first batch are naive to say the least. Each is about
two minutes long and sound as if recorded direct to cassette, which is
probably just what happened. It begins with a home organ type recital,
laden with heavy tape flutter. Next up is home made Vini Reilly guitar
effort, bum notes and all, exactly like the stuff I did in about…1983.
Then its back to the organ, then back to the guitar – you get the picture.
The tracks from this period are simple, cheesy, naive, but not unpleasant.
The second batch reveal a whole load more prowess, both artistic and
technical. Strange sequences, beatless but rhythmic, well balanced and
paced. Simple guitar phrases are sampled and looped, then adorned with
fluttery vocal samples, wobbly space organs, strange harmonium, all sorts
of good shit. This description doesn’t do it justice – it’s quirky, cute,
melodic, human-scale music that’s surprisingly listenable. Susumu Yokota
must be pretty laid back – 34.31 minutes music in 15 years doesn’t show an
exactly slavish commitment to the work ethic. RTH
EARDRUM – Last Light (CD by Leaf Records)
All the usual dense, slurred multitracked drums, ethnic percussion, squeely
sax and freaky farting noises we might expect from ex-Laika personnel.
Something not dissimilar to this used to be called Industrial Funk (yuk!)
and came out of Sheffield circa 1985 (I’m thinking of Hula or Chakk). OK,
this has a higher ethnic percussion component, and much higher production
values, but there’s still more than a casual tip o’ the cap to early 23
Skidoo in there. So why is it all so shite? Because it is, oh yes. It just
doesn’t engage. There is nothing happening. All the tracks are basically
the same, and nothing happens in any of them. It’s clever,
multidimensional, perspective distorted stuff, but when you’ve heard one
track you’ve heard ’em all. A big disappointment from a band whose earlier
singles were something special. Nice sleeve though. RTH
ROEL MEELKOP/TOY BIZARRE – FOUR PIECES (CD by Kaon)
Roel Meelkop is your ‘no-bullshit’ type of person. Always open for new
work, new challenges, no big stories. Recentely he completed with his pal
Peter Duimelinks and Ralf Wehowsky a three way collaboration, and now he
presents another one of those ‘I mail you, You mail me’ works. This time
with Toy Bizarre, who have not yet thrown off their ‘group’ identity,
behind which there is one person. The CD has, oh wonder, four pieces. One
solo by Roel, one collaboration between Roel and Toy Bizarre and two solo
by Toy Bizarre. Roel’s solo piece is of the usual high Meelkopian standard.
It dwells for a great part on (partly processed) environment recordings.
Slowly the whole piece is torn apart and small sounds remain. Then samples
take over. The collaborative track is cleverly placed after this one:
familiar sounds from the first piece return. If I understood correctly this
is a linear track: each artist got equal parts and on harddisc it’s put
together. Small bit of Meelkop, small bit of Toy Bizarre, small of Meelkop,
etc. It turns out to be a somewhat more electronic piece with various
interceptions. From the two Toy Bizarre pieces Id like the first best: high
cracks and clicks, with sinewave sounds. In the second piece there are
these ‘thumbling sampled sounds’ which sound like the ‘old’ academic stuff
with today’s means. The second part of the track makes it up I think. But
fine CD, well carried out. (FdW)
Address: <kaon@worldnet.fr>
MASSIMO – WORKS FOR FALS.CH (MP3 by Fals.ch)
Of course you know Falsch – the MP3 only label run by the guys from Farmers
Manual. I am still not entirely convinced that the future of music
distribution lies in downloading MP3’s of the net, but as long as the
artists send me a CDR to review, I don’t mind. Massimo will have six pieces
(according to the cover, seven according to my CD player) downloadable
soon, and if you’ve read last week’s Vital, you know were to place Massimo.
Right down there amongst the microwavers – which some call glitchmusic or
click n cuts. You don’t have to call it microwave, if the term is not
appropiate for you.
It starts out as a highly rhythmical affair. The first track pump like
adrenalin. In the third track the rhythm is turned off half way through and
replaced by a field buzzing insects hoovered away slowly. These abrupt
changes are Massimo’s signature more or less, as it happens in more pieces
(for instace in ‘Fal.se’). But he proves to be more all round: the
‘falszy.wy’ piece is almost melancholical and ambient. Massimo has the
rhtyhm of Ikeda, but adds bits of more noisy, more industrial and more
ambient of himself. He has the potential of getting an important name, so
check out this while it’s still for free at:
www.fals.ch
ROTHKO – STORM CYCLE (10″ by Kraak)
Rothko are hopefully named after Mark Rothko, the painter of sparseness. If
that is, then the name is aptly chosen. The trio, with two bassplayers play
four beautiful tracks of sparse guitar music. It’s walking a thin line
between pure drones and simple, yet effective melodies. Drone rock, space
rock, out rock, post rock… whatever. It sort of similar to that other
favourite of mine, Stars Of The Lid, even when the guitars here do sound
like a guitar. In darkness it matches the work of Troum (who are not big on
the post-rock scene, and I can’t understand why!). It has the same sort of
melody lines as a Tortoise, but misses it’s complexity, which is refreshing
also.
This is the second 10″ in a series by Kraak. The first one was by Pan
American – and that’s the second time I utterly like Pan American and the
second time I don’t do a review. What’s wrong with me? (FdW)
Address: <kraak@skynet.be>
CHICAGO ELECTRONIC COMPILATION – (CD-R by Boxmedia)
As an introduction into the electronic music scene of Chicago this is a
CD-R well worth taking notice of. Twelve bands/composers each present one
track on this almost entirely filled disc. Black Dot Corporation are first
with a subtle track consisting of high clicks ‘n pops. It gradually builds
up tension and then fades away. Well done. Koura are next, with a piece
concisting of electro drones and pulses. Later on other sounds are added.
Some noisier parts follow, but all strucutured very well within the whole
track. Wheaton Research seem to get their sound sources from outside the
computer (although that is almost impossible to tell nowadays…). A dark
fluttering sound is the basis for their track, on top of which pulses and
other sounds are added. In the end they take over, and a good end is made
to the piece. Petra Klusmeyer does stuff with skipping CD’s, but in such a
subtle and elegant way, that this is not a problem at all (reminded me of
Nachtplank actually, but even more subdued). A very fine piece. Ernst Long
uses diffent sampled sounds and generous amounts of silence for his track.
A quiet and concentrated piece ending with a ‘blast’ of noise. Coeurl is up
next with a more or less collage like piece, followed by drony sounds. A
little noisy, but not too much. A very atmospheric piece. Nautical Almanac
are working their way through a stack of records and cut everything up
pretty heavily every now and then. Very good sounds in an uncompromising
mix. Anti-dynamical Relay start their track with distorted pulses, then add
other distorted stuff. Drum machines and FX? Prerecorded sounds edited
live? All of this? I wouldn’t know, but it’s got tension. Seafoam use only
one sinewave, which is interrupted at irregular intervals and are panned in
such a way that space becomes an altogether different experience. Flexible
Products seem to be the odd one out on this compilation, with a track using
a drum machine and some tones (!) to create a poppy track, which has been
mixed in a very very wacky way. Very funny piece. Gunshop present a subdued
track of noise and pulses, occasionally bursting out into the open, and
later going to the max. Good tension. Last one is Aerospace Soundwise with
a pretty quiet track with different sound sources combined very well.
Another good one. All in all this is a very good production (just one minor
note: the tracks are edited almost directly together, which makes
listening harder than necessary). If you’re considering looking into
theelectronic scene in Chicago, this a good way to start your homework. (MR)
Adress: www.boxmedia.com
M’LUMBO vs KOBALT 6 – Spinning Tourists in a City of Ghosts (CD by Unit
Circle Rekkids)
Combining jazz, easy listening, afro, dance and collage seems unlikely,
maybe even impossible. But let me tell you it’s not. M’lumbo do it without
so much as a frown. Instruments are played with obvious ease, snippets of
film sounds have been cut appropriately, samples taken with care, and all
this mixed with pleasure into an orgy of postmodern delight (although they
seem to lose track every now and then). This is weird stuff for weird
people (no drugs needed!). Have fun with your guests! (MR)
Adress: www.unitcircle.com
JAZZKAMMER – TIMEX (CD by Rune Grammofon)
Combining efforts with John Hegre, busy boy Lasse Marhaug has yet started
another project to spread his work around. In a nicely designed digipack we
find a CD with a duration of almost 44 minutes that starts with a pretty
mean first track, as far as sounds are concerned: pops and white noise with
a hollow windy sound underneath stretch out and are completed with other
unidentifyable squeaking things. Creapy, but very nice indeed. The second
track features more of the same, but by far not as creepy. More subdued and
open, it drifts along and could almost be considered an ambient piece.
Track three uses loops and noisy cut ups, all in the high frequencies
range. Later on some low pulses are added. Except for the low volume, this
is a noise piece, lacking a certain tension that was there in the first two
pieces. Next one starts with squeaking acoustic sounds (a train?) and other
noises added slowly in the course of the piece. All sounds are kept very
close together, causing a slow change in the sound, untill there is a
sudden break with a stupid piano piece and other sounds.And then it ends.
Good stuff!. Track four consists of interrupted acoustic sounds and is very
short, but nice. Five greets us with a blast of noise, followed by all
kinds of other weird sounds. This one has that peculiar tension again: a
little haunting, but with a firm grip. There are some good cuts in there as
well. Track seven is one of those very high frequency ear killers, kind of
noisy microwave stuff. After a minute or two a wonderful drone fades in and
out. Some pops, and we’re left with the high ones, slowly getting crazy.
The last track sounds almost old- fashioned: reversed music, someone
hitting metal, and drones. But the sound is good and the tension as well.
The track changes halfway through, when most sounds are faded out and
leaves us with a recording of fireworks, which at first seemed to be
something entirely different. This is a CD with a very good mix of noise,
electronics and electracoustics. (MR)
Adress: www.runegrammofon.com