LOS DANSING QUEENC – DRALT (CD by Drekords)
TOSHIMARU NAKMURA/SACHIKO M – DO (CD by Erstwhile)
DURRANT/LEHN/MALFATTI – DACH (CD by Erstwhile)
PABLO RECHE – CONSTELACION (CDR by Eco Media)
JONAS LINDGREN – BUGLING (CDR by Eco Media)
RE: MARTIN ARNOLD ‘ALONE, LIFE WASTES ANDY HARDY’ (Compilation CD by
Apestaartje)
GROENLAND ORCHESTER -NUROBIC (CD by Staubgold)
S/S – MAGICK FOR ABUSED SPEAKERS (CDR by Hazard Records)
VOTE ROBOT – IN MEORM NA (LP by Kraak)
RAZOUL UZLU – THE LOST AND FOUND ADVENTURES (LP by Monolisa)
LOS DANSING QUEENC – DRALT (CD by Drekords)
Some people are so marginally criminal that locking them up is a waste of
space. Instead they are kept off the streets of unsuspecting towns through
special projects. They may for instance be allowed to pitch camp at a
recording studio and twiddle with knobs, bang on cans, molest all
instruments in sight – attempt to express the void within onto the
emptiness outside. Dralt does not amount to criminal, but it does strive
for the status of waste. It does so with a vengeance. This (apparently
Southern) Dutch band has fallen victim to violent and incontrollable
eruptions of fun. Their counsellor must have concluded that the only remedy
was to let it out. The discharge was collected, processed through any and
all equipment within reach, and subsequently spread to edify the masses –
with the support of provincial authorities. The collection comprises 33
discrete samples with an average length of eighty seconds, and is topped
with a nine minute video clip, which contains footage of stupidity in front
of children. These transgender royals have managed to make themselves a
criminal record. They didn’t have a choice – the law must have refused to
do it for them. (RvP)
Address: http://www.cuci.nl/~god
TOSHIMARU NAKMURA/SACHIKO M – DO (CD by Erstwhile)
DURRANT/LEHN/MALFATTI – DACH (CD by Erstwhile)
Normally Sachiko M plays ’empty sampler’, but combined with the no-input
mixing board of Nakamura, it may lead to too much zen nothingness. So
Sachiko M sampled sine waves. If you have no input to your mixing board,
you can still produce a hell of a sound, by feeding back output to input
(some rave about this like it’s the invention of the century, but I believe
it’s an extension of Arcane Device Feedback Music, which was generated more
or less the same). Anyway feedback + sine waves = earpiercing noise stuff,
even when it’s played by two Japanese musicians (or should that be ‘even so
of course’?). The first piece open with some over 20 minutes of those high
pitched sounds before lulling into something else, something more darker.
Stuff like this is very hard music, and it’s not just the loudness or the
irritating character of some of the sounds inhabited. It’s brought to us
with great care, placing the sounds carefully, and has nothing to do with
playing the effect – like ‘see how loud we get’. Not easy to access but
with an intense beauty to be discovered.
Of an entire different nature is the trio work by Durrant (violin), Lehn
(analogue synthesizer) and Malfatti (trombone). Indexed with four tracks,
‘Dach’ (German for roof) is still one work, divided in four for convience.
It’s a very quiet work, for which you have to crank up the violin. It goes
by in one flow, with a pluck here, a blow and a tweek there. It stays
rather on one level with regards to dynamics, but I don’t think that’s a
problem. It has the same sort of intensity as the CD by Sachiko M and
Nakamura, but at the same time it’s of a different nature. The Japanese
operate in a very closed field, the trio is very open, with gaps in sound,
sudden small outbursts in which they all go together (although they remain
on the same level). Again highly concentrated playing in which the tension
can almost be touched. I found playing it easy with too much concentration.
It floats by easily while doing something else, like reading. Nevertheless
I should try it with headphones and not do anything else, to see if that
would chance my mind. For now, I’m happy with how it is. (FdW)
Address: www.erstwhilerecords.com
PABLO RECHE – CONSTELACION (CDR by Eco Media)
JONAS LINDGREN – BUGLING (CDR by Eco Media)
The second release by Pablo Reche. Reche is a composer from Argentina,
whose interest in mainly in music with a droning aswell as a strong/loud
character. It’s kinda hard to hear what he uses equipment wise, but I am
imagine a rather lo-fi set of synths and shortwave radio. His seven lenghty
pieces are excursions to bleak, abonned industrial sites, where the wind
blows along empty halls and a far way cry of heydey when there was work.
Not entirely the kind of music I’d expect from Southern America, but I am
sure they have factories there too. Even when performed nicely, no longer
my cup of tea, as it arrives a bit late for my taste.
I heard great stories about Jonas Lindgren, who has been promoting his
music through MP3 services. My first acquitence is of course through a CDR.
The first few tracks sees Lindgren operating in a microwave/glitch area.
Using skipping CD’s against a backdrop of drones, he creates his own lo-fi
micro music, but without getting it into any sort of formalized rhythms or
beats. The second half of his release contains longer tracks which are just
drony. He treats outdoor recordings and adds his own flavor (should that be
plug ins?) into disturbing, unsettling environments. I can’t be as
enthusiast as some of the people on the various internet groups, but
Lindgrens work has potentional. It’s should be a bit shorter and a bit more
dynamic. (FdW)
Address:
RE: MARTIN ARNOLD ‘ALONE, LIFE WASTES ANDY HARDY’ (Compilation CD by
Apestaartje)
Being an anti-movie man, I of course have no clue who filmmaker Martin
Arnold is, and after checking his website, I still have not much idea what
it is about. The Chicago label Apestaartje however does know, and so do
these seven remixers. They all use sounds from a Arnold film that is called
‘alone, life wastes andy hardy’. As far as I understand it has to do with
repetition, decay and glitch. The remixers are, partly, known by name.
Fennesz for instance opens with a microscopic breakdown of sounds. Akira
Rabelais operates on an almost silent level. Anderegg, n/a, A Silent
Partner and Pimmon use drones, loops etc to create a more sonic tapestry of
sound. Steve Roden closes with a collage of various samples and is simple
yet effective. Do these musics tell us anything about the film? Not really.
In itself, the music is very enjoyable and serves a good 48 minutes of
listening pleasure. Which, in case the celluloid is missing, is a good
thing. (FdW)
Address: www.staartje.com
GROENLAND ORCHESTER -NUROBIC (CD by Staubgold)
Groenland Orchester is the working relationship of two busy German guys:
Gunter Reznicek, who also works under his own name and as Nova Huta, and
Jyrgen Hall (aka Gunter Adler). Some of these works under their other alter
ego’s are experimental, but with Groenland Orchester the two have found a
way to play with popmusic. More precize electronic popmusic, even when
Reznicek plays electric guitar and Hall bass. This is a highly speed up
sounds of tinkling keyboards, marimba’s from patches and a general happy
feel to all tracks. In a way you can compare it with the others in the
field of electronic popmusic, but there are differences. For instance with
Dat Politics. Groenland Orchester are much sweeter, less distorted. For
instance with a lot of the music that comes from the house of Morr Music.
Groenland Orchester appear to have a much fuller sound, like the have even
more layers for DSP available, more Ram and giga’s on their computer. Very
German, because very funny (that sounds like a contradiction, but for the
majority of their underground electronic music it’s true). Great stuff,
again. (FdW)
Address: www.staubgold.com
S/S – MAGICK FOR ABUSED SPEAKERS (CDR by Hazard Records)
Behind S/S we find Anton Ignorant (not the brother of Steve Ignorant from
Crass, I guess), one of those long standing Spanish experimental musicians,
like Victor Nubla, Francisco Lopez and all that. I am a bit clueless what
Ignorant has been up to since he moved away from the active 80s cassette
scene, but today he comes up with this. No further information was enclosed
but maybe the title is self-explanatory, err… the part about the abused
speakers that is. 74 minutes of a looped feedback drone that indeed sounds
like the sort of feedback that comes from abused speakers. If you play
loud, which is not recommended, then you may hear some other sounds, but
that might not be Ignorant’s intention. The whole work seems recorded in
one go. If it involves ‘magick’ (I thought there was a universal law
against a spelling like this), I don’t know. It’s a bit too unsettling to
be a room full of ambience, but at a very low volume it works alright. So,
it’s alright, but doesn’t get the full cheers. (FdW)
Address: <ignorantz@email.com>
VOTE ROBOT – IN MEORM NA (LP by Kraak)
Vote Robot are a Canadian duo, recentely on tour in Europe, who now have
their first vinyl out on the beloved Kraak label (CD version is by Scratch
Records). Vote Robot are, of course one would say, an electronic group.
Their music holds between traditional electronica and microwave stuff, but
rhythms are hardly present here. What comes up as a rhythm is like an
arpeggio synth here and there (hey I’d love to tell where, but this is one
of those no titles things), alongside with the occassional skippin’ CD and
laptop plug in. Fairly decent stuff, but not too suprising or freshingely
new stuff.
Address: www.kraak.net
RAZOUL UZLU – THE LOST AND FOUND ADVENTURES (LP by Monolisa)
Now who the hell is Razoul Uzlu? He is that very same Raymond Dijkstra
whose CDR we reviewed only a while back, and who was one of the Indra
Karmuka and solo as Ky Sync Pulse. This LP pre-dates everything you heard
from this guy. These recordings were made when he was living in some rural
part of The Netherlands. Again, just like the recentely released CDR, we
have a break of what is known from him. The multi-track recorder proofs to
be his main machine, were Razoul can toy around with instruments and found
sounds. Synths, guitars, cheap organs and objects: everything is recorded
in a wild collage style of not too dissimilar to Biota or Mnenomist. No
sound is scared, speed is changed throughout the pieces but it’s never a
mess. At times psychedelic, at others organic (such as in ‘Inner Scapes’)
but indeed bewildering stuff. I wonder what he has more shelved (and if he
is willing to release any of it). Thumbs up also for the beautiful sleeve
in an early 80s United Diaries style by Meeuw (the most prolific designer
in The Netherlands for this kind of music). (FdW)
Address: Monolisa – Voortstraat 111 – 3550 Heusden-Zolder – Belgium