AUBE/SMALL CRUEL PARTY -ACROSS THE WATER (Split LP by Ant-Zen)
This is just one of the many releases by Ant-Zen, a small yet
fast expanding label from Germany. All of their releases are
limited, with excellent printed covers and most of them are on
vinyl. Their musical territory can be called ‘industrial’ (but
in a wide sense of the word). Small Cruel Party presents one
long piece that starts out with what sounds like two stones
being scraped, then long droning sounds are added, with a slight
feedback like sound (probably caused by an open microphone
recording the stones?). The feedback gets stronger and then the
piece is ended by taking away these elements again, until a sort
of water sounds remains. A particular strong piece. Aube uses
only water sounds (just like many of his old tape releases),
which obviously don’t sound like water at all. Aube has short
samples of noise which are gradually more and more distorted by
electronic effects until is a vast amount of feedback noise.
Quite o.k., but not as outstanding as the Small Cruel Party
side. (FdW)
Address: S. Alt – Lessingstr. 7A – 93049 Regensburg – Germany
SMELL & QUIM/ONOMATOPOEIA -FANNY BATTER (CD by Cheeses
International)
This is some kind of collaboration between two well-known UK
noise groups on the theme of ‘Fanny Batter’. I don’t now who she
is, but maybe it has something to do with the three s/m pictures
on the cover. According to the cover we should be expecting 2
tracks, but on the disc there are 4. Smell & Quirn open with a
20 some minute piece, in which several noise elements, such as
feedback and metal percussion, are mixed along side each other.
In a way it reminded me of older Merzbow recordings, in his more
improvisation days (citca Ecobondage’ or ‘Storage’ ). I guess
the other three pieces are by Onomatopeoeia. Here sounds are
more processed and recycled into a more organic structure. As
for listening I liked this more then the S&Q piece. In all,
quite an interesting and entertaining CD. (FdW)
Address: Cheeses International 783a Christchurch Road –
Bournemouth Dorset – England, BH7 6AW
MANDIBLE CHATTER -GRACE (CD by Manifold)
pn the small but excellent label Manifold label we find Mandible
Chatter’s third CD. The two previous CD’s were outstanding works
in the field of ‘ambient-industrial’ or ‘post-isolationist’
vein, so I couldn’t wait to play this new one. The CD opens with
some drone, but it faded over into a guitar and cello duet! The
next track is more ambient drone stuff, but then track 3 ~s
percussive, a bit like O Yuki Conjugate doing ‘Peyote’ .The next
track is more industrial and noisy. The whole CD in fact skips
between these kind of extremes: from noisy parts to ambient
drones, musique concrete parts as well as neo-classical
composition. This is no doubt their best CD yet, and in this
kind of field one of the best I ever heard. (FdW)
Address: Manifold -P.O.Box 12266 – Memphis, TN 38182 -USA
ZABRISKIE POINT
I received a bunch of releases from this fine US label, so I
review the lot here, even though not all of them are necessarily
new. Blowhole already had several releases on Zabriskie Point,
and here are two new LP’s, ‘Guerilla Jazz’ and ‘Free Metal’ .The
first one is mainly Jeph Jerman (Blowhole’s frontman, also known
from the tape project Hands To) solo, from what I can tell
mainly guitar/bass pluckings and metal/percussion scrapings with
feedback that comes in every now and then. Definitely free
improv stuff which should attract you or not. For a great part I
like the kind of aggressive tone this material has, but it is
quite a sit to listen to all at once. In a live context this
stuff will be thrilling however. The other LP is more in rock
style, or should I say ‘heavy metal’ style? Main instruments are
drums and guitar, with bass on one track. The drums make this
record into a much more rock-oriented thing, but obviously with
Blowhole, the word ‘free’ in form stays very clear. For sheer
listening fun, I prefer this over ‘Guerilla Jazz’ .It’s pity
that a band as Blowhole, who clearly operate in various free
forms of music, gets so little attention in Europe. They deserve
it!
In a totally different area is G Park. For his second CD
‘Geopod’ he treats again the sounds he recorded during his
various journeys. Mark Zierer, aka G Park, records ‘a swallow,
the signing chimey, a strange shaped bone, the tunnel voices
etc. ‘ and manages to use them (sample?) them into create soft,
vulnerable textured atmospheres. With his sound processing he is
obviously in the same field as many of his colleagues, working
in musique concrete areas, but unlike many, G Park is not set to
shock you, but rather to give a much more friendly composition,
dare I say it, this is more ambient/environmental then others
that are sold in the same field.
The word ambient does certainly not pop up if one is listening
to the new Incapacitants CD ‘As Loud As Possible’. The first
track has a deep base like machine sound, with additional
feedback. The machine sounds bursts out all the time, it is like
thunder storm with tons of echo. The other two tracks (of which
one is a live recording) are in similar territory, yet less bass
sounds, and more feedback. From all the Incapacitants stuff I
heard so far, I enjoyed this most, as there is happening more
then on the others (at least to my humble opinion). If you take
the title too literally, then I suggest you have a spare set of
speakers at hand already…
Remains to say that all Zabriskie Point covers are austere in
information and design, but that it certainly gives a genuine
strong label artwork. Zabriskie is not afraid to explore many
experimental fields and they should keep up the good work. (FdW)
Address: Zabriskie Point – P.O. Box 3006 – Colorado Springs, CO
80934-3006 USA
DAVID SHEA -THE TOWER OF MIRRORS (CD by Sub Rosa)
The Tower of Mirrors is a sonic tour de force based on a Chinese
novel written in 1652 concerning the hallucinatory dream
reveries of a monkey who, while in this state, enters a green
tower, full of mirrors and when he looks into a mirror he enters
the world therein. In the end, it appears that the monkey,
trapped by a demon fish, had been exploring the multiple facets
of his own jeweled mind. Sort of like Steppenwolf, or what?
Technically the CD consists of 24 tracks centred around the
sampler ( love it !). Shea considers his sampling as tributes (
I wonder how this would stand up in a court of misdirected law
?), and there are multiple examples -in particular from the
period between 1955 66 when the discovery of stereo and schmaltz
were being thoroughly investigated by the likes of Les Baxter,
Martin Denny, Juan Esquivel, Andre Popp and others. There are
quotes from film composers (Mancini, Morricone) and some
contemporary classical heavyweights (Ligeti, Feldman). Shea
weaves these ingredients together in a seductive and cunning
narrative. Moods range from the ridiculous ( in the best
possible way ) to the introspectively sublime. Zeena Parkins,
the harpie, plays the piano. Clear, shining, synthetic analog
gracefulness is tendered by David Morley and Simeon Cain
speckled exotic percussion throughout. It is these and other
contributions which help to distract from the technological
foray it could have become.
A highly original and absorbing work full of mystery, magic and
an uncertain familiarity created by the clever jumpcutting
between quoted samples and moods. I much prefer this as being (
partly) an end result of appropriation compared to, say, the
mathematical, scientific and sometimes sensationalist excursions
of Johnny Oswald. Another glossy feather in the Sub Rosa cap.
Very, very brilliant. (MP)
Address: Sub Rosa -P.O. box 808. cm1000 Brussels -Belgium
DOMINIQUE PETITGAND -11 PETITES COMPOSITIONS FAMILIALES (miniCD
by Staalplaat)
Petitgrand has been busy recording domestic conversations for
years (any relation to David wills ?) and it is from a selection
of these, augmented with atmospheric instrumental backing, that
this mCD is comprised. Unfortunately my knowledge of les
Francais does not extend far enough to reveal the content of
these conversations, but I had no difficulty allowing myself to
be cocooned in the warmth, intimacy and gentle sounds that have
been mixed together here. It is a beautiful thing, almost like
being at home -I felt like I was undergoing some kind of
Synathaethetic experience -I thought I could detect the Sunday
smells of a large family house when (lucky) kitchens around the
world ooze with culinary wisdom and the security offered by hot
steaming ovens. This CD is, of course, a memory in itself (as
are all fixed creative expressions, I suppose), but somehow more
than that too. The gentle and enhancing music that accompanies
the speaking voices is simple but effective. I sense an
overwhelming love here -as I did with a similarly sized
Metamkine release by Christine Groult titled’L’Heure S’Incline’.
It is a love for the subject and the medium. Very sweet. (MP)
Address:<staal@euronet.nl>