FRANK ROTHKAMM – MYSTERY OF THE LEAPING FISH (CD BY Flux)
HEAL – EXTENSION (CD-R by Sound On Probation)
IAN BODDY & CHRIS CARTER – CAGED (CD by DiN)
HAZARD – WOOD c/w FIELD/BRIDGE (CD & LP on ASH [R.I.P.])
DUBRAVKO DETONI AND ACEZANTEZ (CD by Paradigm)
REV. DWIGHT FRIZZELL – NATURAL SELECTION (CD by Paradigm)
TOJETAKECOTAKETO! (CD-R by Mik Musik!)
MOLR DRAMMAZ – NEUTROP (7″ by Obuh Records)
MOLR DRAMMAZ – TEHHA TEHHA ERT 2.0 (Cassette by Mik Musik!)
MARTIN – SKINLESS (CD-R single)
MARTIN – EARTHBOUD (CD-R single)
MIMETIC MUTE – POSITIVE (CD by Moloko+)
MIMETIC MUTE – NEGATIVE (CD by Moloko+)
FENNESZ/ZEITBLOM/RANTASA – MUSIC FOR AN ISOLATION TANK (CD by Rhiz)
POSTSCRIPT (CD by Angelika Koehlermann)
FRANK ROTHKAMM – MYSTERY OF THE LEAPING FISH (CD BY Flux)
“It is a historical fact that in 1967 Australian Prime Minister
dived into the ocean off a beach near Melbourne and vanished without a
trace. It has been speculated that he did not drown but was initiated
into the Grand Lodge of the Deep while under water. It is said that
this legendary Lodge still presides in a underwater geodesic dome,
occasionally mistaken for Atlantis. Although not much is known about
the Lodge’s rites, communication took place the enabled me to receive
the recordings found on this disc.”
A certain amount of speaking through water happens on this
recording. The sounds gesticulate from afar, trying to make themselves
be heard clearly. It is as if the ambient murk obscures the mouth so
that not even the lips are heard. And there is a flow to it all – past
this eel of sound and that fish of tune. There goes a stingray, chased
by a manta ray. Oo wah oo wah. The singing of the monkfish pervades.
A bell and the chittering of water. Where did our esteemed Prime
Minister go? What bends in the road did the journey take? There is the
distinct falling feeling in the sounds. And, of course, there are
whales. Killer. A warble of sound gazes up to the destroyed world as
it descends, past the pieces of chorale, ripples bottoming up and
fading… (DC)
Address: <FrankRothkamm@Email.com>
HEAL – EXTENSION (CD-R by Sound On Probation)
After folding his small Odd Size label and shop, Laurent Perrier is more
active in producing himself. In his Odd Size areas he played as Eleve
Model, aswell as being a being member of Nox. Only a few weekly’s ago, I
reviewed his Zon’k project and now he presents himself as Heal and produced
10 tracks. It’s a logical extension of the trip hop battle style of the
Zon’k CD, but upon playing this CD, you see why he choose a new monikker.
Although his music stays in similar areas, there are some differences.
Tracks are shorter (to arrive at the length of a long popsong) and the
voice plays an important role. Music is slow dub headz with deeeeep basses
‘man, very relaxed, laid back stuff. Maybe I like this even more then the
Zon’k, for it’s pop character. There might be even a hit in this lot. I
wonder why this is a CDR and not a properly released, commercially marked
CD. This is a strange world. (FdW)
Address: <sound-on-probation@wanadoo.fr>
IAN BODDY & CHRIS CARTER – CAGED (CD by DiN)
A buried thud and muffled melody curve out from this unexpected
source of sounds. Collaborations are infinitely fascinating – well,
they can be – and yet relatively few happen. Are we really so victim to
the village mentality as all that? The headlights of the automobiles
along the highways are conjured – passing sounds garbled and warbled as
they drive, drive, drive…and how difficult is it to accept sound at
face value? Must the theatrical imperative be imposed over all the
tones in this world and the next? Oh, bother. This is rainy night
driving music – and the rattle in the car is not always mechanical, it
can be something the baby left.
As the sounds dig themselves from the depths, their lustre begins
to shine and rhythm sparkles – has the car been traded in for a newer
model? Occasionally, an echo from the past winnows its way into the
triptych. Drops of sound flow down the windscreen, restructured in
analogue. There is a great feeling of watching, and of anticipation, in
these sounds – as though they had been buried for such a long time.
Distant signals from another place – eminently patient, listenable and
methodical… (DC)
Address: <http://www.DiN.org.uk>
HAZARD – WOOD c/w FIELD/BRIDGE (CD & LP on ASH [R.I.P.])
New music from Sweden’s Benny Nilson, which follows his earlier,
considerably more icy ‘North’ (1999) on the same label. Less cold, these
sonic explorations cover 3 sides, two on vinyl and one on CD, both
pristinely packaged by Jon Wozencroft (only for the first 1000 copies, mind
you!). Immediate parallels between these ‘scapes and the work by Andrew
Chalk and some of Hildegard Westerkamp’s output (‘Cricket Voice’ and
‘Beneath the Forest Floor’, both on her CD ‘Transformation’ released by
empreintes digitalis, Canada).
Two longish tracks on the vinyl (one of them ends infinite), and 6 on the
CD – all of them evocative of desolation, like an old abandoned house deep
in the woods, forgotten by all but time, which relentlessly softens it with
crawling moss and alien fungi. Textures merge and create mute hybrids,
bound by nature itself to keep her alchemy a secret. A place where even
birds hold their breath and listen to the course of new rot and the march
of self-replicating, old growth. In the wood, branches snap and lunge from
trees but never land, being caught on their descent by webs of tangled
growth, fringed and hazy with spiders’ nets and their knotted tassels of
dangling, hollow exoskeletons of foolish wanderers.
The insects oscillate, find their rhythm and settle down to hum. Condensed
water drips rhythmically and undisturbed. Thunder yawns and spout forth,
but in vain – all rain is vapour here. A rusty hinge skirls like a sedate
banshee. Then suddenly all sound stops. A moment has definitely passed and
silence reigns briefly – frozen sound, almost a crystal, like those times
when the King of the World utters a prophecy from his underground lair.
Never too long, these combinations of mysterious field recordings made in
the enigmatically- named Kungs Norrby forest in Sweden, and alone tones
created at the
Re-Enter Salvation Studio, stay somewhat furtive and close to the ground.
Soundtracks for spaces where, for a while, humans have not trod.
Address: <touch@touch.demon.co.uk>
DUBRAVKO DETONI AND ACEZANTEZ (CD by Paradigm)
REV. DWIGHT FRIZZELL – NATURAL SELECTION (CD by Paradigm)
Serious art here. The collection of five pieces on the CD by Dubravko
Detoni come from three LP’s released in the seventies, when Detoni was
called a Yugoslave and not a Croation. The Acezantez is an ensemble he
worked with. This ensemble uses piano, clarinets, saxophone, celesta, so
the main part of this CD is acoustic music, in a sort of serial classical
way. A bang here, a plink there. I am not known as a lover per se of this
stuff, but I think it’s quite alright for what it is.
The Rev. Dwight Frizzell is a second release of mid-seventies stuff.
Somehow I missed out the first – well, or maybe it didn’t stick in my mind.
Upon playing this CD, I think I should try out that one too, since this is
an interesting collection of multi-channel electronic pieces, mostly
created as soundtracks for films, and, I hasten to admit, some true misses.
‘Scrat’ is a piece that deals with electronica, radio frequencies,
animal/insect sounds and is a very nice aural landscape. ‘Body Of The Film’
is carried by a bassoon and undecipherable voice phenomena. A short but
effective piece. Then there is a true miss piece: some conceptual piece
about numbers and a phone. Even at his five minutes a true bore. Other
interesting piece include ‘Nocturnal’ and ‘Building The Earth’ – both are
lenghty excursions in environmental sounds (water, wind, rain and birds).
It’s not outstanding innovative stuff – perhaps for it’s time – but it’s an
overall a good CD with interesting experiments. (FdW)
Address: <paradigm@stalk.net>
TOJETAKECOTAKETO! (CD-R by Mik Musik!)
MOLR DRAMMAZ – NEUTROP (7″ by Obuh Records)
MOLR DRAMMAZ – TEHHA TEHHA ERT 2.0 (Cassette by Mik Musik!)
Curiousty from Poland here. I adore children, their laughter and joy make
me happy. But to fill a whole CD with music by children is a bit beyond me.
The compositions are from children in the age range of 2,5 to 16 years. Of
course I have problems understanding the words, but the naievity of the
recordings and compositions is nice. But it could have been a Ducth group,
or African. It’s more curious then something to hear over and over again.
The 7″ is by a Polish trio, Molr Drammaz, play rhythmic music, in more or
less a rock context. With drums, percussion and bass they lay a foundation
and voices whisper the lyrics, which I couldn’t understand. Quite nicely
played (dare I say, better then I would have hoped for?) with a dominating
rhythmbox and radiowaves on the b-side. Also naive music, but for a totally
different reason. It reminded me of the old French band DDAA. If a 7″ is
too short for you, you can also pick up the cassette, which is, as far as I
can judge a little bit more raw and less produced, but that is with this
kind of music part of iit’s charm. (FdW)
Address: <wojt3k@artcom.pl>
MARTIN – SKINLESS (CD-R single)
MARTIN – EARTHBOUD (CD-R single)
Some people never disappear, they just hide away. The name Martin may not
have that same ‘ah erlebnis’ for you as it had for me, but in the mid-80’s
he played in an alternative Dutch rockgroup Dier and released cassettes on
his Stichting Update Materials label by Dier and other, more electronic
music. I assumed he disappeared from the scene, probably being a dishwasser
or internet bigshot. Instead he started painting in the 90s and in 1996 he
developed an electronic system, the Beagle Sonic System, in which there is
no hierarchy and more or less self generating. A continous affair. Skinless
is the first off-shoot that is released. It combines electronic, almost
ambient like washes with more dark drones and it uses samples from
Roosenveld (sic), Schwitters, Cage and Pulp Fiction. For one reason or the
other I have the impression that these samples (all spoken word I think)
are there to cheer the piece up, as there isn’t a story it follows. That is
a pity. The music is in itself strong enough to keep ones attention, but it
looses part of it’s tension.
Earthbound is like Skinless a short CD, but it’s a recycling of the work of
Dier. They sounded like No New York, Pere Ubu and had Dutch lyrics (if I
remember this correctely – I mean the references). Martin takes the rock
band recordings apart and orchestrates four new pieces by means of
sampling. He doesn’t arrive at say the sound of Tortoise, but at a more
stretched out, more, again this word, orchestral sound. Maybe my thinking
is drawn in this area because it’s ment to be a tribute to Anton Webern,
John Cage, Ligeti, Satie, Schwitters and Eno. The first piece is
hauntingely beautiful, very silent (he could have also called it a tribute
to Feldmann), whereas the second is more percussive and the voice samples
seem to be playing a good supporting role. Martin comes up here with a new
angle to the RLW, Meelkop and Lopez type of sound by using a different
input and a somewhat similar, yet at the same time a different output. Very
well done releases, packed in full color sleeves showing Martin’s
paintings. (FdW)
Address: <m.hoogeboom@wxs.nl>
MIMETIC MUTE – POSITIVE (CD by Moloko+)
MIMETIC MUTE – NEGATIVE (CD by Moloko+)
Two more solo CD’s from Mimetic, the project of Jerome Soudan, the drummer
of Von Magnet and Colum One. I have been puzzling with both CD’s but the
concept of the two CD’s is not very clear, as for me both CD’s contain
similar music: heavy doom laden rhythms, crazy samples and cut up noises
from telephone conversations. The whole thing is a bit too dark for me,
even when it well put together. It’s more coherent then the other Mimetic
Mute CD that I reviewed a while ago, which was a wild pastische of 20 years
of dance music. The tracks here, on both CD’s, are more in one direction
which makes this a much more thorough listen. The biggest surprise is a
silent piece of 4:33 minutes and is indeed by John Cage – now and that’s
somethng I wouldn’t expect here. (FdW)
Address: <ralf_friel@ferrosteel.com>
FENNESZ/ZEITBLOM/RANTASA – MUSIC FOR AN ISOLATION TANK (CD by Rhiz)
To describe what the isolation tank is all about, is to re-write the entire
booklet, and that is not the task of a review. However, it’s about bodily
sounds recorded and played back upon him who delivered the sounds in a sort
of tank were the listener can meditate. Hello new age, I’d say. “A lying
position, the dimming of lights and the use of earplgs are recommended, or
even better underwater speakers are suggested for listening”. HELLO NEW
AGE! So were do these musicians fit in then? Known for their experiments in
laptops and pop techniques, these musicians fallen for the big price of new
age? Nothing of this. In two long tracks this trio experiments with their
usual collection of sounds, beeps & bleeps. But in a very very subdued way:
moments of silence pass, a click here and a pop there, passages with loops
running and the hard to avoid water sounds. Of course I didn’t lie down and
the lights were off (hey dude it’s day time!), so I can’t relate to changes
in my body, but I did notice that this wasn’t particulary easy listening
(maybe it is if you assume any of the above positions), but a very well put
together piece of electronic music. One with a structure that is not easy
to follow, so you need to put all your attention to it. Very nice CD that
can eaily rank with the best Fennesz as yet (for me the one on Touch) (FdW)
Address: <rhiz@rhiz.org>
POSTSCRIPT (CD by Angelika Koehlermann)
The whole concept of the label curiously named Angelika Koehlermann is a
beyond me. Their releases breath humor, insanity, electronica, lounge and
weirdness, mainly wanting to release music from the far east. This CD by
Postscript is no different. Their website links to the Koehlermann site and
that loops back to the Postscript site. Not very helpful. Running five
tracks, just under 28 minutes, of guitarish music, the well-known ‘come
out’ sample by Steve Reich, eur vocals of some kind and cracked techno
rhythms. Not much time seemed to be spend on recording this collection.
This is one of those where I scratch my beard and think: yeah right, so it
has it’s nice moments, but it’s stil not my cup of tea. (FdW)
Address: http://www.mdos.at