RENE LUSSIER & MARTIN TETREAULT – Qu’ou-s-je? (CD by AMBIANCES
MAGNETIQUES)
RENE LUSSIER – Solos de guitare ,lectrique – (CD by AMBIANCES MAGNETIQUES)
KEITH ROWE – HARSH (CD by Grob)
THE WAY OUT SOUND: BACKCATALOG OF SINGLES (CD by NWA)
GENERAL MAGIC – RECHENKONIG (CD by Mego)
REPTILICA – NURSE (CD by Lens Records)
FREEBASS (CDR by GD Stereo)
SIREN CIRCUS – SOLID POEMS ON A GHOST OF A SUBJECT (Carbon 7 C7-044, CD 57:56)
Hardscore Surf, Wind, & Desire (Carbon 7 C7-045, CD 65:54)
SLANG – LOS LCOS (Carbon 7 C7-046, CD 46:31)
RENE LUSSIER & MARTIN TETREAULT – Qu’ou-s-je? (CD by AMBIANCES
MAGNETIQUES)
RENE LUSSIER – Solos de guitare ,lectrique – (CD by AMBIANCES MAGNETIQUES)
Both gentlemen need no further introduction here. Many cd’s with one or the other contributing to it have been reviewed for this magazine. Also their first cooperation, the cd ‘Dur noyau dur’ released some two years ago has been reviewed for Vital. On ‘Dur noyau dur’ Lussier played acoustic and electric guitars. Now he plays the daxophone, an instrument developed by the German guitar-improvisor Hans Reichel. T,treault changed his pick ups for a synthesizer for this new effort. This makes ‘Qu’ou-s-je?’ different in sound. Continuity is observed when we give a look at the titles. Both cd’s contain a collection of about 20 intense pieces. All titles are words ending on ‘-ure’: blessure, luxure, gravure, culture, etc. A concept? It is difficult to give a good characterisation of their music.They
“found their inspiration, freely and na-ely, from the old school of musique concrete. And then through an electro-neonaturalist related aestethic.” Very radical sound manipulations. Hope that will do for you.
A few months ago it was guitarist Andre Duchesne, a mate of Lussier from the early years, who released his first solo cd, now it is the turn for Lussier to come up with a new solo-cd. It is not a collection of solo pieces recorded over several years that were not fitting for other releases. No, all pieces were recorded within two days in may 1998, without any sort of montage or overdubbing. They were recorded simultaneously by 8 different microphones in different locations. Although there is no editing, overdubbing or equalisation, there is radical mixing of the different sound sources (like filming one event from 8 positions: so that the point of view -of audition – is always changing. Extended techniques also employed by Lussier in his playing within an aesthetic that is very much his own. (DM)
Address: www.actuellecd.com
KEITH ROWE – HARSH (CD by Grob)
Nearly a decade after his previous solo recording, another one by Keith Rowe, who is most of all known as the guitarist of AMM, laying the six strings flat on its back, and attaching all sorts of objects to it. His prepared table-top guitar is the popular version of Cage’s prepared piano. The three recordings on this disc were recorded last year in a cold garage in Cologne by Marcus Schmickler and the title is programmatic here. It goes from ‘quite, to ‘very’ and ends with ‘extremely’ – three sides of what could be called harsh.’Quite’ is open with lots of small sounds, small drones and small life of it’s own. ‘Very’ places objects, like spoons and forks, between the strings and is a somewhat more aggressive piece. ‘Extremely’ is the shortest, but it doesn’t life up to it’s name – actually the whole CD sounded to me on one level. No problem of course with this, but the titles suggest something different. I suspect that Rowe is more about the idea, the concept of what ‘harsh’ music can be, rather then an intentional work to explain it. And there is exactely were his power is: explaining harshness in a gentle way. Like a gentelman. (FdW)
Address: www.churchofgrob.com
THE WAY OUT SOUND: BACKCATALOG OF SINGLES (CD by NWA)
The Way Sound was a small label that released a bunch of 7″s in great silkscreened covers. Musically the bands were quite remote from eachother, but that was no problem. Here they are collected and it turned out to be a strange compilation: the rhythms of Muslimgauze next to the noise of Merzbow or the heavy guitar stuff by Skullflower. Or the short improvs by Trumans Water or the (too) lenghty improv by Pure sitting next to a driving minimalist guitar vs rhythmmachine of Holland Skin Tunnel. Collectors of several of these (Muslimgauze, Merzbow, Trumans Water) are of course only half happy: they get the music, but not the exquisite original packaging that came with it. Having a broad taste in music, I liked this. A feast of recognition, of stuff that I haven’t heard in a while, or that made me play that underrated CD of Holland Skin Tunnel again. I’m just a poor retro guy… (FdW)
Address: www.thewayoutsound.com
GENERAL MAGIC – RECHENKONIG (CD by Mego)
It’s been a long long time since their previous CD – so much time that I can’t remember what it sounded like. Also, I must admit, I am never too sure what General Magic is about, or who they are. Maybe I am an old retard? I can’t say I am very impressed by this new work. The 26 tracks are short, some even only like sketch, but these skecthes didn’t leave me a big impression. There are hints of musical pieces, but also just scratches, hiss or ticks. Maybe this works fine in a DJ set of microglitch, but by itself, it didn’t do much. (FdW)
Address: www.mego.at
REPTILICA – NURSE (CD by Lens Records)
Their second CD sees them once more exploring the boundaries of home recorded rock music with nicely, almost real avant-garde ideas and a brewery of vocal with rock music. Some of the latter didn’t get me going (but that’s partly due to me stubbornness about this kind of singing) and sounded fairly dated mid 80s. The instrumentals were nice and showed an interest in multi-tracking guitars, drums and other weirdness. Unfortunally these tracks were in minority. I hope to see another Reptilica CD which fully explores their adventurous side. (FdW)
Address: www.lensrecords.com
FREEBASS (CDR by GD Stereo)
Freebass is, here on this release, Tony Gordon. He plays sometimes with Ellen McGrail and both are also a member of Charlie Parker, an improv band who had a LP on Old Gold. The bandname is programmatic: solo bass playing, no overdubs, no effects. Well, in many ways, you could have fooled me. I expected a kind of ambient bass plucking a la Crib, but in the seven pieces offered here you get a kind of nerving, unsettled rambling. Sounds that come off fully distorted (amazing! without effects?), frentic played, scratching and scrubbing the surface of the strings. Very unsubtle music, but with great power. Noise with a heart. Free music that really is made to measure. Not a single note, sound too much. Great stuff. (FdW)
Address: <gdstereo@rcn.com>
SIREN CIRCUS – SOLID POEMS ON A GHOST OF A SUBJECT (Carbon 7 C7-044, CD 57:56)
Somewhere between Nina Hagen, Laurie Anderson, and Philip Glass lies the musical territory of Siren Circus. Gothic images of twisted and sick relationships abound in this collection of 15 quirky songs by Anglo-Canadian sisters Cathryn and Lucie Robson. Cathryn and Lucie compose, sing, and play most of the instruments on these songs ranging in styles from intricate compositions to minimalistic ballads, from humorous tales to melancholic stories in a mixture of cabaret and pop music. Solid Poems is a unique listening experience and an enticing choice for the adventurous listener.
[Carbon 7 Records, 23, AV, General Eisenhower, B-1030 Brussels, Belgium; <http://www.netbeat.com/carbon7>www.netbeat.com/carbon7]
Hardscore Surf, Wind, & Desire (Carbon 7 C7-045, CD 65:54)
Not at all what you would expect for surf music, this is a far cry from Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys. The title is in fact an allusion to the band Earth, Wind, and Fire. What Hardscore accomplishes on this CD is immersing the listener in an aquatic world of crabs, sharks, cod, ships, and people through a hybrid of classical and rock instrumentations, firmly in the realm of Frank Zappa. There is a lot of surreal humor here. How else could you treat subjects like interactions between crabs, codfish, sharks, etc.? Hardscore is an amazing band that deserves your attention.
[Carbon 7 Records, 23, AV, General Eisenhower, B-1030 Brussels, Belgium; <http://www.netbeat.com/carbon7>www.netbeat.com/carbon7]
SLANG – LOS LCOS (Carbon 7 C7-046, CD 46:31)
Slang is a trio of Francois Garny (bass), Manuel Hermia (woodwinds), and Michel Seba (percussion) from Belgium. Francois bass playing is extraordinary and is well complimented by Manuels sax and flute and Michels drumming. Garny brings the lowly bass to the musical forefront as a solo instrument. The resulting music is an amalgam of sophisticated jazz and ethnic themes. Not for the casual listener, Slangs music demands your attention and is well worth your time and effort.
[Carbon 7 Records, 23, AV, General Eisenhower, B-1030 Brussels, Belgium; <http://www.netbeat.com/carbon7>www.netbeat.com/carbon7]
The contact address for the “Chinese Whispers” compilation has
changed to
info@sprawl.org.uk