QUIET/LOUD – (2 CD Compilation by Boxmedia)
WOBBLY – RADIO (3 CD-R set by Ovenguard Music)
KITCHEN SINK – LIVE (CD by SPLIT)
STEVIE WISHART & JIM DENLEY – TIBOOBURRA (CD by SPLIT)
THOMAS BRINKMANN – ROSA (CD by Ernst)
PIMMON – ASSEMBLER (CD by Fällt)
NICK BOUGAS PRESENTS – CELEBRITIES AT THEIR WORST (Dbl Cd By Mad Deadly)
HIM – OUR POINT OF DEPARTURE (CD by Perishable)
S.E.T.I. – POD (CD by Ash International)
PROGRAMME – MA CERVEAU DANS MA BOUCHE (CD by Lithium)
KAFFE MATTHEWS/HAYLEY NEWMAN – POINTY STUNT (CD by Audioview)
STEPHAN MATHIEU – WURMLOCH VARIATIONS (CD by Ritornell)
ACHIM WOLLSCHEID – SHIFTS (CD by Ritornell)
UUSITALO – VAPAA MUURARI (CD by Force Inc.)
QUIET/LOUD – (2 CD Compilation by Boxmedia)
In what is certainly a very very nice cover comes this double album from
Boxmedia, based on a very simple principle: invite different artists to
make two pieces, one quiet and one loud. So the title is self-explanatory.
It would go too far to list all the 15 participants and review all 30
tracks, so I’ll give you an overview instead. I played the QUIET CD first
and indeed it’s quiet, not only in volume, but also in the approach of the
pieces. Drony stuff, slow movements and almost static compositions are
presented. A lingering, dreamy atmosphere prevails on this disc. Yet all
the tracks have their own distinct character and are put in such an order,
that it is a pleasure to listen to them. A very nice disc indeed. So of
course, next up is the LOUD one, and not surprisingly, it is a lot louder
(and noisier) than the QUIET disc. Yet it is not so much the volume or the
material used that makes them louder, but more the way they are compsosed:
rawer, with more cuts and sudden changes. On this disc tracks tend to be
more alike than on the first one, although with careful listening one can
tell all the participants apart again. This is defenitely one of the better
compilations around, especially because it shows two sides of the same
artists. (MR)
Adress: www.boxmedia.com
WOBBLY – RADIO (3 CD-R set by Ovenguard Music)
Wobbly have earned my sympathy with a former release, so I was curious to
hear this one. Again all the pieces were improvised and broadcasted live
(the title is therefore very apt). All music was generated between 1992 and
1995, so it obviously took them a while to get everything right and
released. The first part of the first CD features a lot of piano with tape
effects and other sound material added and sounds pretty psychedelic,
almost symphonic. To put it bluntly: this is really over the top. And yet,
as with their former release, somehow i like it. I have no idea why, but I
do. The second part of the CD is more loop based and sometimes a little
noisier. But the atmosphere is still psychedelic enough. The third part is
mostly based on the piano again. The second CD is less symphonic and more
playful. Several instruments are used and layered with effects and tapes to
create a sometimes funny, sometimes dreamy atmosphere. This one is more
quiet than the first, but doesn’t seem to catch my attention as well. I
guess some of the tracks are too long (I prefer the shorter ones). So disc
three starts with a half hour piece of course. But this one is again pretty
good, with low volume and sneaky sounds that create a rather thrilling
atmosphere. Slowly moving, this track takes you in (or not at all,
probably). So far my favourite. The other tracks are more or less in the
same vein, but change into more rythmic pieces. More symphonics as well.
And noise. In all this is a varied CD set, that probably appeals to some
people and not to other. I’m one of those of the first category. (MR)
Adress: www.ovenguard.com
KITCHEN SINK – LIVE (CD by SPLIT)
STEVIE WISHART & JIM DENLEY – TIBOOBURRA (CD by SPLIT)
Two new releases from the small australian Split label. This label is an
outlet of Jim Denley (1957), who is one of Australia’s foremost improvisers
of new music. Denley studied flute at the conservatory, played in
restaurants, travelled Europe and back in Australia he began to develop
long-lasting collaborations with Peter Ready, Jon Rose and many others.
Something a breakthrough come along with the ‘Relative Band’ project. It
had no fixed lineup but usually included Rose and Denley. The emphasis was
on improvisation. Many international players joined this project for some
period of time (Roger Turner, David Moss, Luc Houtkamp, Henry Kaiser, etc).
But also many players from Australia (Rik Rue, Simone de Haan, etc) joined
in. The inspiration of Jon Rose and of working with great improvisers from
around the world enabled Denley to finally realise an individual musical
language and style.
The cooperation with the Sydney-based composer Rik Rue resulted in the
group Mind/Body/Split. With this group Denly moved away from strictly
improvised settings. In 1984-1987 Denley toured a lot in Europe and met his
wife, the Oxford-based musician Stevie Wishart (violin, hurdy gurdy,
medieval fiddles.). Wishart is leading ensemble called Sinfonye, performing
medieval music. Enough history. Now to the present. ‘Kitchen Sink’ is a
compilation of live recordings of several australian groups and artists
operating somewhere between improvisation and new music. Most recordings
were made in Sydney. It is a good introduction to what is happening there,
because most musicians are not very known outside of Australia I guess,
except Rik Rue, Tony Buck (Peril, The Necks) and of course Jon Rose.
Although many musicians play in different groups, in different
combinations, there is enough diversity on this cd: jazz in a more
traditional vein by the edouard Bronson Quartet; hardcorejazz by the Greg
Kingston Big Band; pieces for samplers by Louis Burdett and Roger Dean, and
many more.
Veteran Jon Rose is present with a very fresh sounding solo piece for
violin and interactive bow that proves again that he is a real maestro. Rik
Rue performs a piece for digital and analogue tape manipulations. The
international touch is delivered by the vocals of Shelly Hirsch (US) and
the keyboards of Roger Dean (UK). The cd also documents some of the more
recent projects Denley is involved in: Machine for Making Sense and The
Random Module Twins with an interesting piece with a dominant role for
voices and flutes. Both groups have also cds available on Split.
‘Tibooburra’ is the title of the (first?) release that documents the
collaboration of Stevie Wishart (violin) and Jim Denley (all wind
instruments). Not much information on this one. Tibooburra seems to be the
name of a tiny place in the desert country which formed the setting for
this recording. This may indicate that (auditive qualities of) the
environment are important. This is case as this desert country is alive
with sounds, natural and man-made. The radio reception is an amazing
natural phenomena. With no close cities and vast areas of flat land, waves
of stations from all over the world compete for the same frequency and
create a natural mix of world cultures. Recordings, digital manipulations
and instrument interventions from the west desert regions of New South
Wales make up this one. An interesting exploration of the world of sound
(DM).
Address: www.nmn.org.au/machine
THOMAS BRINKMANN – ROSA (CD by Ernst)
Yet more incredible Brinkmannship from this (undisputed?) master of
turntable understatement. From Anna to Zora, Rosa is the missing link in a
chain of twelve separate 12″ releases over the last couple of years on
Brinkmann’s own Ernst label. Each was (psychotically) packaged in a bright
orange sleeve without any artist, track or label information apart from
ascending alphabeticised female names to mark one release as distinct from
the next. Put simply, this man is a genius and the Rosa compilation
(containing your all time favourites from the series…) is a must-buy for
completists and the uninitiated alike. Brinkmann’s talent lies in
deliberate, wilful omission; each one of these pieces is an unnervingly
empty ‘techno’ landscape, devoid of certain essential elements and sounding
so much colder and effective in the digital domain in comparison to the
relative warmth of the vinyl. It’s astonishing just how easily Brinkmann’s
electronic cavalcade rides the entire spectrum of abstraction but remains
always indescribably f/UN/ky. A compilation, perhaps, but also much, much
more and a fitting epitaph to the series. Buy. (BL)
Address: http://www.max-ernst.de
PIMMON – ASSEMBLER (CD by Fällt)
Paul Gough, the man behind Pimmon, is now garnering the attention his music
so rightly deserves. Assembler is a beautifully packaged and complemented
(of which, more below) release on the astonishing Fällt label from Ireland.
Its language is that of macroscopic, bio-organic circuitry, infused with an
intelligence from beyond. Pimmon’s carefully crafted and intricate
electronics are unlike anything you will have heard before, replete with
jagged harmonics and orchestras of looping hard-drive failures in dialogue
with tiny, insect-like machines on a miniaturised and mirrored landscape.
Can’t you just hear it? Whilst this may be ‘computer’ music, comparisons
to Pita, Fennesz et al, although complimentary, might not be entirely
accurate. The music refuses to partake of the improvised aggression and
rough edges of some of that breed and Assembler would seem completely out
of place on Mego were it to have found a home there. To appreciate the
release in full, however, you also have to visit the label’s website where
you are encouraged to view scores and artwork in .pdf format, as well as to
download additional musical ‘components’ without all of which the release
is not complete. Ironically, the fact that these elements are absent from
the disc itself might seem disappointing; but the fact that they exist
elsewhere, outside the boundaries of the CD, make Assembler much more than
the run-of-the-mill ‘album’. This release, and the label’s philosophy in
general, calls for a redefinition of how our music is presented to us and
how these boundaries can be extended so much further than they have been
already. Above all, Assembler calls for some additional EFFORT on the part
of you the listener (or you the viewer, or you the interpreter, or
whatever…). For that alone, it should command your utmost respect yet it
offers so much beyond. A triumph for both artist and label. (BL)
Address: http://www.fallt.com
NICK BOUGAS PRESENTS – CELEBRITIES AT THEIR WORST (Dbl Cd By Mad Deadly)
Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God (nee Transparency)
“2 1/2 hours of flubbed lines, cussing and out-take hilarity.”
And so it goes. John Wayne (sounding impossibly earnest in a drunken
state), Jack Palace (typically intense), Zsa Zsa Gabor, Colonel Harland
Sanders, Orson Welles, Mickey Rooney, William Shatner (prima, secondary and
tertiary donna), Louis Nye, Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Elizabeth Taylor,
Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis, Peter Sellers (with Spike Milligan, deconstructing
in excelsis), Jonathan Winters, Richard Pryor, Marlon Brando, Elvis
Presley, Lionel Barrymore, Don Messick and June
Foray (showing that ultimately the greatest vocalists are impressionists),
Tom Brokaw, Mike Tyson, and so on, and so on. That’s disc one. There’s
another one.
Second disc features the control of Bing Crosby, the dissolution of Billie
Holiday, the blowtorch passion of Buddy Rich, undercurrents of race
relations with Sammy Davis Jr. and Freddie Hubbard, and the imperial
majestic fear that was the Beach Boys rehearsals.
Various references have shown up subsequently in the second “Austin Powers”
film, “Mystery Men,” “Late Night With David Letterman,” and in something by
Killdozer. Will sales sufficiently fuel more Throbbing Gristle cds? How
much more mileage will the Howard Stern show get from these pearlescent
pieces of plastic? One never knows…yet, this dbl cd set is nearly
single-handedly propelling LAFMS and Aleister Crowley reissues, jazz from
the former Soviet bloc, volumes of Smegma material, the history of German
Shepherds – and, of course, the aprocryphal
more… (DC)
Address: <http://www.transparencymedia.net/>
HIM – OUR POINT OF DEPARTURE (CD by Perishable)
The rhythms ride down on congealing delays and reverberation as the spirit
of the samba is spoken to, conjured up and otherwise fiddled with. Point
of departure, yes – it’s easy to get a sense of the voyage, the movement
and the sincerity – but, what about the point of arrival? Him album
subsequent and perhaps entirely backwards-masked?
Folding out the cd itself (in gesture to gatefolding and unfolding), the
solar ripples extend unto the spaces between – the neverending conversation
of the cocktail party? The uncertainty of the end of the recording?
Circles can be seen in more ways than 360. And the recordings revolve like
fucking – manic in hebephrenic panic and then resting, rising and then
receding, pursuing its own tail like the puppy or the dyslexic. The final
track lends itself to the prophesied backward-masking and driving through
the dystopia in search of another car… (DC)
Address: <http://www.perishablerecords.com>
S.E.T.I. – POD (CD by Ash International)
The sounds come from various sources in the universe.
“Source” versus “pod.”
The avowed purpose is to “leave ourselves behind and become new beings”.
Will another recording create the necessary atmosphere for this? Yes and
no. Lagowski’s vow not to execute live actions in England may have
something to do with this view. But define “new”? It could be said that
every new draught of information caught by the mind – is a change, another
step towards the “new”. Your reading this re view is, as the notes say, “a
metaphor for escape.” These sounds create this re view – pod after pod –
and the disc is still silver, circular and completely evidential.
Yet another series of deeper sounds from which ideas flow, about
which impressions are made and through which panties are lost. (DC)
Address: <ashrip@touch.demon.co.uk>
PROGRAMME – MA CERVEAU DANS MA BOUCHE (CD by Lithium)
It has been said that a certain amount of repetition helps concentration
and focus. But, what happens when unfamiliar elements are inserted here
and there amongst the rhythm? Spoken words are drpped amongst the familiar
elements – drum, bass, and some unknown electronics. It’s all in French
and by default makes wonderful fuck music. Which is to say that it is fuck
music with a certain amount of wonder involved – whether it will curtail
rhythms because it contains unfamiliarity depends on how silver-tongued one
becomes. At one point it seems as if the words are called in, over the
telephone. There is a certain distance created by the intertwining of the
sounds with the language – both hinge on various levels of understanding to
bridge that gap. Or just what is it? Do the unfamiliarities in sound
compel closer listening – closing the gap in themselves? A vibrating of
strings and then the clarity of the bell. And is the real dictation lain in
the making of the volume knob raise or lower? The words repeat from atop
the atmosphere, meld with other unknown spirits, and vanish into, out from,
and back through. (DC)
Address: <http://www.lithiumrecords.com>
KAFFE MATTHEWS/HAYLEY NEWMAN – POINTY STUNT (CD by Audioview)
Bizarre physical performances turns into disturbing electronic soundscapes
on first shoot-off from female collaborators Kaffe Matthews and Hayley
Newman. Hayley Newman, known for her body related sound experiments, seems
to have found common ground with Kaffe Matthews, specialised in live
electro-acoustic improvising. The album reveals a very interesting joint
venture between the two sound-avantgardists. Divided into three musical
pieces the sonic output varies concurrently with Hayley Newman changing her
physical activity. As Hayley Newman performs, Kaffe Matthews controls the
audio machinery by converting, processing and sampling the noises resulted
by the movements. Mostly being based on electro-acoustic technics, the
sound-picture ranges from scratching and scraping movements to more static
fizzling. With its human related noise-bursts, “The pointy stunt” reminds a
little of Daniel Menche. Less extreme though, but very intense listening!
(NMP)
Address: <info@lowlands.be>
STEPHAN MATHIEU – WURMLOCH VARIATIONS (CD by Ritornell)
ACHIM WOLLSCHEID – SHIFTS (CD by Ritornell)
Stephan Mathieu was once the drummer of Stol, an improvising duo on guitar
and drums. Their improvising was not a goal in itself, but the results were
used to create more music, mainly by editing it on a harddisc. Their output
was sadly limited to one great 12″, which has more to do with the sound
world of Bernard Gunther, then with free improvising music. After the split
of Stol, Stephan is persueing a solo career as Full Swing Data, which is in
similar vein as Stol, and surprinsingely under his own name. This CD has
five pieces out of 26 different pieces, which were all based on a piano
recording. That source recording is enclosed here as the final track. which
is a very open piece of occasional hammering on the piano and lots of free
space. This recording is sampled and pieces of the processings are used to
create new pieces. The overall sound might be classified as ‘ambient’, as
in: soft music, but made with clicks, hiss and drony, deep end sound. It’s
a well-crafted work, very minimal, with great emphasis on, there we go
again, microscopic details.
Achim Wollscheid’s second release for Ritornell sees him again in the radio
studio of Radio X in Frankfurt and it has nothing to do with a dutch guy
that plays the guitar under the name of Shifts. There Achim found a couple
of CD players for DJ’s, which have the possibility to scan the CD’s, and to
get a tiny repeated fragment. It’s almost a return to his work with
pre-recorded magnetic tapes in his days as SBOTHI, other then this is a
live broadcast. I can imagine that the continous ticking of the soundsis
nerve wrecking to some people, but I think it’s a fascinating approach to
minimal music, using a minimun of means. For the next hour sounds shift in
and out, back and forth and new elements come in. A continous affair on a
consitent yet limited set of sounds. It’s like an Oval interpretation of
Steve Reich’s drumming. (FdW)
Address: www.mille-plateaux.com
UUSITALO – VAPAA MUURARI (CD by Force Inc.)
Vladislav Delay is the main man in minimal techno, glitch, microwave and
house. Barely we rest after his very fine redefinition of house music, we
get a new monniker, Uusitalo and the debut is a live CD. It combines two
basic elements of the work as Vladislav Delay and his work as Luomo. The
ambient dub like elements of his own fame, and the rhythm patterns as
Luomo, but more in hooked groove. The entire 71 minutes, divided in 14
fragments, is a continous flow. As expected the beat is the backbone, but
Delay uses elements of dub music, synth sounds from his ancient computer to
create his own world. Delay has no doubt his own style, recognizable out of
many. Great stuff. (FdW)
Address: www.force-inc.com