HUGH LE CAINE – COMPOSITIONS DEMONSTRATIONS 1946 – 1974 (CD by JWD)
MASCHINENSCHLOSSER – ORANGE NOISE (CD by Dbelltime)
THREE THE HARD WAY – (Compilation CD by Cross Fade Enter Tainment)
MUSIC FROM MILLS 2001: OASIS (CD compilation by Mills College)
KOZO INADA – C[]
TMRX – DIFFICULTE DE COMPRENDRE DANS LA BRUIT
RALF WEHOWSKY & KEVIN DRUMM – CASES
BHOB RAINEY & GREG KELLEY – NMPERIGN
BRANDON LABELLE – SHADOW OF A SHADOW
(all CDs by Selektion)
STEVEN LANCE LEDBETTER – ORGAN FANS (PART 1, PART 2) (7″ by editon …)
SYKES – I WITNESS (CD by Iris Light Music)
LASSE MARHAUG/BRUTUM FULMEN – TENDER WRECKAGE (LP by Gameboy)
HUBBUB – “UB/ABU” (CD by For4ears Records)
AETER (CDR, self titled)
EKKEHARD EHLERS – PLAYS ALBERT AYLER (12″ by Staubgold)
EKKEHARD EHLERS – PLAYS JOHN CASSAVETES (12″ by Staubgold)
EKKEHARD EHLERS – PLAYS ROBERT JOHNSON (7″ by Bottrop-Boy)
HUGH LE CAINE – COMPOSITIONS DEMONSTRATIONS 1946 – 1974 (CD by JWD)
As the title suggests this a historical document, containing many
tracks by one of the pioneers of electronic music development. Hugh
Le Caine was actually the first one to build a voltage controlled
synthesizer, the Sackbut. In the period 1954 – 1974 he was given a
studio by the National Research Council of Canada (he was also a
renowned scientist) to develop more of these electronic musical
instruments. And so he did, with a keen interest in the ‘playability’
of the instruments: he was the first one to develop touch sensitivity
by a variety of means. The CD is divided in three parts: first are
the COMPOSITIONS, starting with his famous tape piece ‘Dripsody’, a
complex work of tape manipulations of the recording of one falling
drop of water. Others include many of the instruments he developed
himself, some of them with uncanny familiar sounds (if one listens to
contemporary techno). Experiments with rhythm (machines) are present
as well. It’s difficult to give an opinion about Le Caine’s
compositional skills, because the pieces are pretty varied, but they
are certainly interesting to listen to, partly because of their age,
of course. Part two is HUMOROUS SKETCHES, a collection of pieces of
tape manipulations of existing music and synthesizers. This is funny,
but that’s basically all it is. Part three is DEMONSTRATIONS. In this
section, existing compositions are played by different people on
different instruments, built by Le Caine. This part is aloso pretty
funny and actually becomes interesting when Le Caine starts
explaining the functions of the instruments and the way he made the
several pieces. But, most of all, this disc is like book on history:
a lot of interesting facts, but too many to digest at once. (MR)
Address: ridge@vaxxine.com
More info about Hugh Le Caine: www.hughlecaine.com
MASCHINENSCHLOSSER – ORANGE NOISE (CD by Dbelltime)
Austrian Christian Stefaner already began his sound explorations back
in 1992 under the name Neat. “Orange Noise” out on Dbelltime happens
to be Stefaner’s first album as Maschinenschlosser and the first
after his finishing of the studies on “Electronic musical instrument
technology”. The title “Orange Noise” is an indication to the fact
that there is wide spectre of sounds to be explored between black and
white or brown and pink. Characteristic to “Orange noise” is the
extreme variations in the sound volume spanning from inaudible to
abrasive low frequent bass-noises. Starting out with silent
ambient-scapes based on organ-sounds and gently clicking beats, the
album shortly after gives way for some harsher expressions without
really getting ear-aching though. As the album develops beats begins
to fill more in the space and on a track like “Funky shark”, the
expression moves away from the clicks’n’cuts-style and turns more
up-beat with almost danceable compositions. “Orange Noise” is a very
good album, giving an interesting view into the adventurous world of
Maschinenschlosser. (NMP)
Address: www.dbelltime.at
THREE THE HARD WAY – (Compilation CD by Cross Fade Enter Tainment)
On “Three the hard way” Berlin-based record label Cross Fade Enter
Tainment presents what they call the ultimate breakcore-soundclash.
Three producers of drum’n’noise, each present a cut-up-based mix, one
being more “over the top” than the others. Owner of the London-based
record label “Ambush”, mixing under the name DJ Scud, opens the show
with a set of dance hall reggae put into aggressive streams of broken
beats and masses of voice samples. Though technically well done, the
combination of cut-up beats, noise and heavy dub-bass is a little too
much freaked out to my personal taste. As Bombardier penetrates the
stage the soundclash re-starts from scratch with a mix slowly
building from mid-tempo distorted beats in the first few minutes into
atmospheric ambient-noise that opens into a punk-inspired sort of
breakbeat-style. Overall the mix works pretty well using elements of
industrial and gabber-techno with an overall electro-punk attitude
close to the Digital Hardcore Recordings-style. From the more easily
accessible mix of Bombardier, the expression goes back into run
amok-mode as N1tro opens his set. Similar to DJ Scud it is pretty
aggressive stuff, yet N1tro is more headed towards hip hop,
scratching still with a massive use of vocal-samples. Overall a nice
breakbeat-compilation recommendable to people searching for unusual
noise experiences. (NMP)
Address: www.cfet.com
MUSIC FROM MILLS 2001: OASIS (CD compilation by Mills College)
The Mills College Music Department and Center For Contemporary Music
is a well-known for the lovers of contemporary and electronic music.
Sometimes they release works on vinyl or CD, as a showcase of things
happening there. This is so to say the fourth edition which deals
with electro-acoustic music by six composers who work there.
The CD opens with Chris Brown with his ‘Knottyspine’ piece for two
different computer programms, playing loops of varying lengths. The
resulting chaos is not so much of my liking. It doesn’t seem to go
anywhere nor does it seem to touch me very much
Pauline Oliveros offers a live piece of accordion playing and the
live addition of sound effects, but they are kept to a strict
minimum. It’s a beautiful piece of improvised drones. Maggi Payne
uses unwanted sounds from her work restoring recordings from the
1920s to the 1960s. In breaks between movements she finds the sounds
to use for equalization hum and hiss and she uses those in looped
form here. In addition she uses the sounds of a tiny stepper motor.
The resulting piece of motor sounds and looped breaks and hiss is a
darker affair, a kinda like ambient version of Mego. John Bischoff’s
piece uses a short recording of a whispered text, with is processed
in real time. The time strecthed sounds which move slowly give the
idea of falling downwards and then slowly upwards again. Alvin Curran
closes the CD with a collage of sounds from his entire life as a
composer, through ways of sampling. Traditional sounds (a guitar
motive), a tinkling bell and occassional interruptions of other
sounds, make up a harmonic piece.
In between these pieces Fred Frith has three works which are all
connected in some way. Guitar, percussion, violin and samples
(recorded in the streets of Marseille) make up the most convential
music on this CD, which is quite nice to have a counterpoint like
this. (FdW)
Address: http://www.mills.edu
KOZO INADA – C[]
TMRX – DIFFICULTE DE COMPRENDRE DANS LA BRUIT
RALF WEHOWSKY & KEVIN DRUMM – CASES
BHOB RAINEY & GREG KELLEY – NMPERIGN
BRANDON LABELLE – SHADOW OF A SHADOW
(all CDs by Selektion)
After a longer period of silenceness, Selektion returns with no less
then 5 new releases. Selektion has been running as a label for almost
twenty years, primarily to release work by P16.D4 and SBOTHI, later
also RLW (Ralf Wehowsky) and Achim Wollscheid. Later on they added
works by others, in a series of guest releases. Four out of the five
new ones comes from this series. Although it may not entirely justify
each individual release, I review them at once.
So far Kozo Inada released two CD’s on Staalplaat, of which the first
one sounded like Ryoji Ikeda and the second more like an excursion in
the potential of hiss, and a collaborative CD with Philip Samartzis,
which delt with environmental recordings. I also saw Inada play a few
concerts this year, and these blew me away. Using a linear built up
from sheer silence to extreme noise, with nice cuts that suck all
sound away and leaves small particles that slowly start building
again. This new CD is his first full length CD, clocking at 47
minutes, with four lengthy pieces. I think that here too Inada uses
environmental sounds, most likely the water sounds of the sea, the
shores or heavily floating rivers. The four pieces built up from dark
(the first one) to high pitched (the fourth). Inada’s music sucks you
really into it when played loud, it hardly leaves you anything other
to do. It’s sound that really locks you in. Great stuff.
TMRX is still a largely ignored name, despite his excellent CD on
Staalplaat, years and years ago, and a handful of concerts in which
the computer plays an important role (no laptop when I saw it. His CD
has zero track (which can be reached by hitting the rewind putton),
so you can set the volume for the entire CD; maybe an idea for
others, Francisco Lopez for instance? TMRX, the work of Belgiums
Arnaud Jacobs, deals here with environmental sounds. Sounds you hear
everyday, recorded with windows open. So in ‘Hoover’ you hear the
sound of a vacuum cleaner and a car passing. Gradually the hoover
sounds are being transformed, and added are other external sound
sources and sound effects. So, occassionally you recognize people
talking, cars passing or a construction site, which all move in and
out, and electronics do the rest. This work will appeal to the fans
of MNortham, Roel Meelkop or Toy Bizarre (and of course it appeals to
me as a strong work)
Ralf Wehowsky is a core member of Selektion, being a founding member
of both P16.D4 and the Selektion label. Since some years things have
become more quiet around his person for reasons I don’t know. That he
works together here with Kevin Drumm is hardly a surprise. They both
share interest in improvising, musique concrete and computers. Their
work was recorded in 1999/2000 and is described on the cover as
musique concrete. In two pieces (total length 33 minutes) they toy
around with acoustic sounds (picked up through contact microphones),
guitar and standing waves of high pitched sounds. I was reminded of
Jim O’Rourke’s old work (like ‘Disengage’ or ‘Scend’), which blended
things like this together perfectely. But Drumm & Wehowsky succeed
also with a crystal clear sound in two fine compositions.
Bhop Rainey plays soprano saxophone and Greg Kelley plays trumpet.
Ok, I could have told they used wind instruments, but I somehow
though there would be more then this here. But maybe I am just
pre-occupied with a wish to hear electronics. From all five new
Selektion releases, this is the one that holds improvisation. Just
like the Axel Dorner CD (reviewed in Vital Weekly 287), it’s hard to
believe it’s just those two instruments, as they both know to fiddle
around with them, beyond recognition. Having said that, and seeing
the possible beauty aswell as the possible experiment in there, I
found this the least interesting CD here. Other then Dorner, they
play shorter pieces, showcasing what they can do, but fail to built
strong pieces with them.
Brandon Labelle closes the new release schedule with a fine disc of
found sound treatments, which when reproduced are on the real thing
anymore, not even the reproduction of the real thing but a shadow of
the reproduction. Hence the title. The titles somehow reflect the
sources used by Labelle. The beautiful track four (‘Buildings are
bodies resonating with the conflictual flow of various elements”) is
an ambient piece with a repeating throb on what could be a bass
guitar and the occassional bang on a drain pipe. But all done with
great care for the smaller details. I think most of these tracks have
been treated electronically, but on the other hand I wouldn’t be too
surprised when not. Each of the eight tracks is minimal in approach
with not too many events happening, which adds to the austere
character of the music. Bodies and voices seem to be the main sound
ingredient here, attached with contactmicrophones, buzzing
connections, cracking hairs and thus building great pieces of sound.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.selektion.com
STEVEN LANCE LEDBETTER – ORGAN FANS (PART 1, PART 2) (7″ by editon …)
The title and sleeve of this disc are very informative: the two sides
are filled with one track each, both of a drony nature and yes, they
are organ fans. Recorded and mixed into a dense layer one side one
and a more esotheric layer on side two. The composition is subtle and
changes are slow (at least on 33 rpm) and it seems to me that there
are no FX added or other manipulations done. But something is missing
here. I think it’s probably the duration; it should have been longer
to achieve full satisfaction. Actually this means that the sound is
good, the composition is there, but that there is simply too little
of it. So for a next release, Ledbetter should get some more time I
think. (MR)
Adress: fenton@stonehenge.ohr.gatech.edu
SYKES – I WITNESS (CD by Iris Light Music)
It seems Vital is not the first mag to review this CD. From the press
release I understand that at least four have done so already and very
enthusiastically at that! Upon spinning this disc I was somewhat
surprised to find it among the promo’s, because at first this
wouldn’t seem to be your regular Vital stuff: Easy and groovy beats,
laid back, with influences ranging from trip-hop to drum ‘n bass and
more inbetween are covered in eleven tracks. Most of the pieces are
pretty symphonic, with string samples or synths, piano’s and other
digital instruments. The beats are obviously programmed and never get
to dancefloor volume or speed. So basically, this is one of those
albums to put on when you’re having visitors around for dinner and a
drink, not too loud, but certainly audible. Maybe this is actually
what lounges should be looking for: music with a beat, but not too
energetic, with melodies, but not too poppy, and so on. Satie would
have been jalous. (MR)
Adress: www.irislight.co.uk / www.sykes-music.co.uk
LASSE MARHAUG/BRUTUM FULMEN – TENDER WRECKAGE (LP by Gameboy)
First about the cover: a great full colour pastiche of an old 50s
sleeve, with small pictures of other LP’s, supposedely by Lasse
Marhaug and Brutum Fulmen, but who are clearly Elvis Presley, or
Exotica. Done with great care this cover. For me Lasse and Brutum
Fulmen (who are mainly Jeff Wrench and sometimes Ken Pfeifer) are the
more interesting noise makers I know, simply because they go for
anything loud, but they also (seem to) put more though in it then
most other noisicians.
Lasse Marhaug’s side has four pieces of which three deal with sounds
by Brutum Fulmen, such as their entire catalogue in ‘Nine Thousand
Things’, in which the sped up sounds of reel to reel tapes form the
main ingredient. ‘Unmanned European Probe’ is even a softer song,
with the shrieks of violin (or feedback). The closing piece ‘Music
Has No Place In History’ is a short droning affair.
On the other sde we find Brutum Fulmen whose ‘The Lament Of The
Termite Queen’ is a beautiful excursion feedback, metal shelving on
metal cabient, sticks and large wooden power cable spool on pavement.
If you read it like this, it ‘s sounds more heavy then what it is, an
Arcane Device like feedback with concrete sounds. The next track is a
likewise held back piece using a violin recording by Marhaug and is a
remix of ‘Five Minute Walk by Marhaug (which is on the other side).
The last piece is somewhat more noisy using hum, surface noise and
feedback, but it’s not anywhere near over the top. This is the best
Brutum Fulmen I heard so far. They are also responsible for the
cover, so a great product altogether. (FdW)
Address: <mshiflet@hotmail.com>
HUBBUB – “UB/ABU” (CD by For4ears Records)
This is the first release from HUBBUB, a french group who formed in
1999 by several long time improvisors. (The drummer, Edward Perraud,
played in Shub Niggurath!) This music moves. free music, as in AMM
rather than SME, whereas the group plays as a group to form a solid
mass of sound, as opposed to a collection of individual voices moving
in time. Not static. The music flows, builds and ebs. pitches.
drones. swatches of sound. etheral and resonant. not a single
uncessary note is played. A quintet using saxes, piano, amplified
guitar, jaleika, percussion. Mostly the instruments remain
recognizable, but work together to create the feel of one giant
instrument. Timbres and attacks change across all of the instruments
simitaneously, as a giant canvas reveals itself before your ears. A
great recording. (JS)
Address: www.for4ears.com
AETER (CDR, self titled)
Aeter is a Danish trio that produces electronic music with vocals.
Gry Bagoien’s voice ranges from sounding carefree/wispy to
passionate/dark. The vocals add a much needed human prescence lacking
in most present day electronic music. Never once does Aeter suffer
from sounding dry or sterile, even when the vocals are not present.
The mood is cold and nocturnal yet you can feel the warmth of the
blood that pulses forth from the sounds. The fragmented songs form
themselves over time-bits of rhythm and melody are introduced until
they are tied together towards the end of each piece. This gives a
visual/narrative tonality to the music.
The fragmentation creates enough space in this music that it invites
you to crawl in between the sounds. Or else it will crawl into your
head. Soft music that you can play loud. Essential.
Address: http://www.aeter.mobilixnet.dk/
EKKEHARD EHLERS – PLAYS ALBERT AYLER (12″ by Staubgold)
EKKEHARD EHLERS – PLAYS JOHN CASSAVETES (12″ by Staubgold)
EKKEHARD EHLERS – PLAYS ROBERT JOHNSON (7″ by Bottrop-Boy)
It’s never too late to correct a mistake or an oversight. With the
release of this 12″, Ekkehard Ehlers releases his third part in his
‘Plays’ series, so it’s about time we had a look at the previous two
(released earlier this year). In this series (of 3 12″s and 2 7″s),
Ehlers brings tribute to a person he admires very much, dealing with
various aspects of that person and it’s not a plain sampling (which
in the case of Cassavetes or the forthcoming Hubert Fichte is not
possible) anyway. Unfortunally Ehlers deals with persons that aren’t
very known to me.
Albert Ayler is one of those people whose name I know, but I don’t
think I ever heard his music. My mistake probably… I do know that
what Ehlers does here has very little to do with Aylers music.
Somebody plays cello and Ehlers treats those sounds on his laptop.
The potential of a single sound source treated is of course vast.
Sometimes the cello can be recognized, but at others not. It’s a very
intense piece (lasting two sides), with small changes and surprising
moves. This is a great record!
‘Plays John Cassavetes’, is about the actor and filmmaker, of which I
don’t know anything. I have a blank mind when it comes to film. One
side is filled with organ like drones which are recorded to the edge
of distortion, but it stays on the safe side. Ehlers doesn’t leap
into monotony here, but cleverly waves together a strong pattern. The
other side is more like his ‘Betrieb’ CD, in which strings (which
sound like they have been lifted from a romantic feature) are looped,
but before one thinks that there is hardly any change, a stretched
out drone appears on the scene. Still, I think this is the lesser of
the two sides, because of it’s simplicity.
And all I know about Robert Johnson is that he was an old blues
guitarist. On one side of the 7″ Ehlers brings guitar like sounds to
a click & cut context, complete with a 4/4 beat, breaks and
handclaps. The other side is a multi-layered affair of freely played
guitar, solo this time, and is more like a tribute I guess (and for
me the nicer side of the two).
All records are packed in covers displaying Nasa photo’s of the areas
connected to the people, which is also nice. Next up are Hubert
Fichte (German writer) and Cornelius Cardew (UK composer)
Address: www.staubgold.com
Address: www.bottrop-boy.com