CREMASTER – FLYSCH (CD by G3G Records)
STAPLETAPE – SOFT LANDING (CDR by Grain Of Sound)
OK.SUITCASE – CUSTOMS (CDR by Grain Of Sound)
FORMATT – EDITO (CDR by Grain Of Sound)
BRUIRE – CHANTS REPESTRES (CD on Ambiances MagnÈtiques)
JEAN DEROME – CANOT-CAMPING (CD on Ambiances MagnÈtiques)
JOANNE HETU & JEAN DEROIME – LA VIE, C’EST SIMPLE (CD on Ambiances MagnÈtiques)
DIANE LABROSSE & MARTIN TETREAULT – PARASITES (CD on Ambiances MagnÈtiques)
REINHOLD FRIEDL & ELLIOTT SHARP – ANOSTALGIA (CD by Grob)
DIE ENTTAUSCHUNG – DIE ENTTAUSCHUNG (CD by Grob)
DAVID KRISTIAN – MY THREE SUNS (CDR by Piehead Records)
I8U – GRASSHOPPER MORPHINE (CDR by Piehead Records)
JOHN WIESE – SISSISSPSSKSSISSORS (CD by Helicopter)
LUV ROKAMBO – MAZE (CDR by Public Eyeshore)
MERZBOW – A TASTE OF… (CD by Mego)
DOC WOR MIRRAN – THE SOUNDTRACK OF DEATH (CD by Moloko+)
AKI ONDA – PRECIOUS MOMENTS (CD by Softl Music)
KENNETH ATCHLEY – FOUNTAINS (CD by Auscultare/Ground Fault)
PURE – HOME IS WHERE MY HARDDISK IS VOL. 1 (CD by dOc)
ILLIOS – B.A (3″ by Antifrost)
AS11 – NEW CD OUT NOW (3″ by Antifrost)
XV PAROWEK – PERIODICAL EMBARRASSMENT (CDR by Public Eyeshore)
VARIOUS – INTERSECT 4 (CD-R by Pale Disc)
CREMASTER – FLYSCH (CD by G3G Records)
>From the hardcore world of improvisation. Ferran Fages plays
‘feedback, mixing board’ and Alfredo Costa Monteiro plays ‘objects on
electric guitar’. Lenghty improvisations here with an overall noisy
character. They scrape their way in a rather rude manner through the
materials at hand. Yet there is hardly any sign of sound effects at
work as much of the sounds seem to present themselves the way they
were generated. The guitar as such is hardly to be recognized here.
Feedback is kept to a minimum really. Altogether it’s not music that
is ‘easy’ or ‘funny’, or even ‘accessible’. It’s all just too crude
and maybe therefore only for the diehard amongst the improv lovers.
If anything on Grob is up your alley, then this might be worth
checking out. (FdW)
Address: <gat@eresmas.net
STAPLETAPE – SOFT LANDING (CDR by Grain Of Sound)
OK.SUITCASE – CUSTOMS (CDR by Grain Of Sound)
FORMATT – EDITO (CDR by Grain Of Sound)
Grain Of Sound is a small Portugese CDR label, who just released
three CDRs of various rather unknown producers of digitalia and
glitchtronica. Stapletape is mostly Nuno Moita (on laptop) and Joao
Vicente (photography and video) – this release also contains a
quicktime movie. Nuno offers eight tracks of looped sounds from the
usual smallest particles, cracks, humms and hiss. Clearly drawing
inspiration from the entire Mille Plateaux/Ritornell backcatalogue,
but is an unmistakenly more ambient vein. Things move slowly per
track, small events occur and move along. Without being a clearly
defined entity itself, it’s a very nice release.
Also from Lisbon is Andre Goncalves, a sound, graphic and web
designer who works under the name of Ok.suitcase. His release
‘conceptualizes arquitechtural platform landscapes, reflects major
and minor aspects of man-made vs open-air integration/desintegration
elements, points a direction from inside to outside throught several
dynamic midi chain sequenced loops forming an eliptical, moving
forward, path’ according to the press release. Even when he operates
also in the realms of ambientesque sounds, it’s ^Calso a bit more
industrial (but less the real noise of course), with vaguely
processed machine hums and cracks. In it’s output, it’s less
convincing then the aforementioned Stapletape release.
The last one is by Belgium Formatt, of whom this is the debut CDR
(his later ‘Fragments’ was reviewed in Vital Weekly 319). Like
Stapletape Peter Smeekens, aka Formatt, composes from smaller then
small sounds and presents them in a looped form. However, he’s is
less on an ambient tour then Stapletape (let alone the industrialized
work of Ok.Suitcase) and the rhythmic structure of his work is the
main power. Like his ‘Fragments’ release, not every track is great,
but both this work and the ‘Edito’ release show a great potential for
the future. Tossing out the weaker brothers of both would maybe
create a more then nice release. (FdW)
Address: www.grainofsound.com
BRUIRE – CHANTS REPESTRES (CD on Ambiances MagnÈtiques)
In the summer of 2001 on holiday in France, on one of our trips, we
came across a big lonely menhir in the fields. We were impressed by
the simple beauty of this object, standing there in a cornfield. It
fascinated us and we spend some time there. What was it exactly that
impressed us? There were no clues that explained the meaning of this
object. Only the christian cross on the top of it and put there many
centuries later was a symbol that we could recognize.
CÙtÈ has also an interest in the stone age as he deals with it on his
new cd. He often surprises with very unusual and beautiful music.
With ‘Chants rupestres’ we have a kind of concept-album in our hands.
The intention of this project is the evocate the stone age. Music
that sounded in the cavern 10.000s of years ago. Not in the sense of
an historical and hypothetical reconstruction of course. That would
be impossible. It is more fair to say that testimonies of the stone
age inspired CÙtÈ for composing some new music. It is performed by a
quartet named Bruire: Jean Derome (baritone sax, voice), Normand
Guilbeault (bass), Martin TÈtrÈault (pick-ups) and Michel F.CÙtÈ
(drums, voice).
The music is slow and robust. And when they sing and yell you can
picture and imagine the Flintstone family doing their thing (DM).
Address: http://www.actuellecd.com
JEAN DEROME – CANOT-CAMPING (CD on Ambiances MagnÈtiques)
JOANNE HETU & JEAN DEROIME – LA VIE, C’EST SIMPLE (CD on Ambiances MagnÈtiques)
DIANE LABROSSE & MARTIN TETREAULT – PARASITES (CD on Ambiances MagnÈtiques)
“How do you 11 people improvise without having chaos result?”, askes
Derome himself here. He took the experience of canoe camping as a
metaphor and poetic springboard for an creative meeting between 11
improvisors. What he likes about canoe camping is the uncertainty of
the surroundings. Will nature tame us, or do we tame nature?
In 21 pieces the musicians took their inspiration by different
aspects of canoe camping.
Derome derived some 60 gestures from the canoe experience that
functioned as signs in the musical process. This results in pieces
that are very different in nature. Together they make up an
interesting expedition into the field of improvised and composed new
music. Interesting and of high musical quality as always, some pieces
sound very abstract (improvised?), others are some nice little tunes
(composed?).
The liner notes end up in the following question: “do we tame noise,
or does noise tame us?”
During 2001 HÈtu and Derome recorded another duo-album. The cd
consists of songs, some were written by HÈtu others by Derome. Both
sing and play sax on this one. Derome also used a selection of his
huge collection of a little wind instruments. Most pieces have Derome
and HÈtu singing (texts written by themselves). The music is very
expressive, down to earth and simple and underline the message of
this cd: La vie, c’est simple.
The cooperation between Martin TÈtreault and Diane Labrosse is no way
comparable. The music here is very abstract. In a way this is even
the case for the instruments they use. TÈtreault plays pick-ups
without records, using only the intrinsic sound possibilities.
Labrosse plays ‘Èchantillonneur’ as you know what I mean? A
‘Èchantillonneur’ (= monsternemer) ) is someone who takes examples or
specimen of something. Sorry, but I cannot be more clear about this.
She works with abstract elements. This one is for the hardcore lovers
of concrete noise (DM).
Address: http://www.actuellecd.com
REINHOLD FRIEDL & ELLIOTT SHARP – ANOSTALGIA (CD by Grob)
Elliott Sharp entered my musical world with ‘Happy Chappie Polka’
from the ‘Nots’ album many many years ago. I guess it was on the
first releases of Sharp on a european label (Glass Records). At that
time he also runned his own Zoar label that was an outlet for several
downtown groups/musicians. Maybe you remember the ‘State of the
Union’-compilation. Over the years he worked together with many many
musicians. His collaborations, contributions are numerous. In the
last few years he seems to have picked up his old roots in the blues.
I didn’t hear any of his music in the last few years. So I was very
curious to hear this one. Well, no polkas or blues here. Instead
abstract sound- and noisescapes recorded in 1999 at the
Elektroakustisches Studio der Akademie der K¸nste Berlin.
Reinhold Friedl is a pianist, composer and impressario. Also musical
director of the Zeitkrtzer Ensemble. This ensemble plays music of
non-recognized or canonized composers of ‘New music’. They also
played work of Sharp. Friedl and Sharp deciced to continue their
collaboration and ‘aNostalgia’ is the result of it. Sharp plays
guitar, saxophone, electronics. Friedl plays with inside of the piano
and preparations (like Erwin Stache). The music could be
characterised as a new version of that typical dark, dramatic and
teutonic music as we know it to come from Germany (DM).
Address: http://www.churchofgrob.com
DIE ENTTAUSCHUNG – DIE ENTTAUSCHUNG (CD by Grob)
What in the world makes a group to call themself ‘Die Enttuschung’
(The Disappointment)? What sense of humor or irony is at work here?
Nomen est omen for those of you who absolutely dislike jazz. Because
this one is a jazz cd. It’s the first (and last?) jazz cd on Grob. It
is not clear to me what made Grob decide to release this one. It was
recorded in 1997
Die Enttuschung is a quartet of Rudi Mahall (bassclarinet), Axel
Drner (trumpet), Jan Roder (Bass) and Uli Jennessen (drums). All
musicians are big stars from the Berlin jazzscene.
I can’t tell you if they still operate under this name. They debuted
6 years ago with a release of solely Thelonious Monk compositions.
Also this ‘new’ one has many (7) Monk compositions.
The recording is a little dry and flat and this keeps the music at a
distance. I wish that was not the case. It does not sparkle. Or is
this what they mean by ‘cool’ jazz. Rudi Mahall attracts most of my
attention in his solos on bassclarinet. He is a more convincing
soloplayer then Axel Drner. All in all the playing is of a very
disciplined intensity, cool if you want (DM).
Address: http://www.churchofgrob.com
DAVID KRISTIAN – MY THREE SUNS (CDR by Piehead Records)
I8U – GRASSHOPPER MORPHINE (CDR by Piehead Records)
Two new releases on the limited CDR Piehead Records label and twice
by Canadian artists. David Kristian might be known for his previous
recordings on such fine labels as Alien8, Leaf, Drop Beat, Lo, Ninja
Tune and many more. He has been producing music since 1983, resulting
in thousands of compositions. His main thing is the use of analog
gear, but since some time he has been using software synthesizers and
grooveboxes. With this relative simple set up he produced these
thirteen tracks, which are all best described as straight forward
techno pieces using a harsher metallic sound. Robot music as Suction
Records would say. Two pieces include voice material and are the more
experimental side of Kristian. Great, simple music. A true ear
pleasure.
The other one is by I8U, who has a real CD on Multimedia Pandora and
a CDR on Bake Records previously (plus maybe others I don’t know) and
who plays with Martin Tetreault, David Kristian and Guylaine Bedard
(a photographer). It was David Kristian who changed her way of
thinking about music. Turning back to simple ideas and flows, she has
eight new pieces which are best described as utter minimalism.
Sometimes, as in ‘Numb Summer’ they take the form of one flowing
chord, with added high pitched sounds, but mostly they take the form
of a repetitive sound patterns. Not really to be described as
rhythmic or techno inspired, but rather more dry clicks being
repeated over and over. There is also a nice piss take at Nurse With
Wound’s Fashioned To A Device under the name of ‘Sun Dogs Rising’,
with the same intense feedback like drones. Very well balanced
between rhythms and drones. (FdW)
Address: www.pieheadrecords.com
JOHN WIESE – SISSISSPSSKSSISSORS (CD by Helicopter)
John Wiese is one of the more interesting noise makers I know.^C
Despite the harshness of his sound, he usually brings up a few nice
ideas. This mini CD (18 minutes) is a likewise blow out in terms of
noise. Cutting up at great speed sounds, including even some drum &
bass like sounds, amongst a great wall of noise and even some
occassional silence interwoven. I can imagine the weak of heart may
have a problem with such an onslaught, but if you like Merzbow’s Scum
2LP or Mixed Band Philantropist then this might be it’s digital
counterpart you always have been looking for. Probably the title read
as Sissy Spacek Scissors – analogy of the old tape-slice methods.
(FdW)
Address: http://home.earthlink.net/~johnwiese
LUV ROKAMBO – MAZE (CDR by Public Eyeshore)
Luv Rokambo are Toru Yoneyama and Osam Kato. The firstb is credited
with “Tokai-Talbo, Toys, Junk Microphone, Vo’ and the latter with
‘Jazzmaster, Rapman, Per, Vo’ – now that’s what I call a bunch of
weird instruments. It sounds like a guitar to me, with some
occassional sticks being rubbed, a voice mumbling (likewise
occassionally), which all come to you in a very lo-fi setting. Added
with a small dash of reverb and delay, the two improvise in a very
restricted manner, doing some random and occassional sounds. Quite
sparse so to say. It certainly has it’s charm, although they seem to
be not really focussed all the time. There is however a strange
atmosphere hoovering this release. At times I was reminded of some
Keij Haino stuff, but it bears a definete stamp of their own.
Japanese music remains a true mystery. (FdW)
Address: www.sinkhole.net/pehome
MERZBOW – A TASTE OF… (CD by Mego)
Merzbow is one of those names you’ll hardly find in Vital Weekly. The
reason is not his slow production (delivering, like a good ol prog
rock band, 40 minutes in 3 years), but the fact that his recent
labels don’t send in a promo. Which is, not just from a journalists
perspective, a damm shame: now I have to run out and buy them. I know
it sounds like a contradiction, but Merzbow is still high on my small
list of personal favourites and certainly very high on the list of
noise makers. This new one is not his first Mego release (as if they
would jump the Merzwaggon!), but it’s definetely his first full
length for them. It’s a hommage to the Japanese cuisine, which, I
must say is one of the more refined cuisines I know (love to go back
any time, just to eat and drink really). I’m not sure if Merzbow took
sounds from the kitchen or the cooking process to create the four
tracks on this CD. It would have been so nice to know really. The
four lengthy pieces are Merzbow’s more rhythmic approach, with short,
repeated loops of sound, being filtered throughout. It might be known
that Merzbow has turned to working with computer (laptop), but here
he returns to his previous, analog phase – at least soundwise. If
this was done digital he has mastered his old technique again (after
some lesser laptop albums), which is great news for fans like me.
(FdW)
Address: www.mego.at
DOC WOR MIRRAN – THE SOUNDTRACK OF DEATH (CD by Moloko+)
Always having a fondness for Doc Wor Mirran, but not always wanting
to own every recording they do. That’s my relation with this German
band around Joseph B. Raimond. Sometimes they play punk, sometimes
rock, sometimes ambient and sometimes noise. Their latest is what
they consider a film soundtrack, so it comes packed in a small film
can. It’s not for me to judge about the cinematographic qualities of
this music – a picture will be drawn for every listener individually
I think. Hence it’s difficult to say if this music to die along to. I
hope I didn’t while playing this… (nor do I wish to encounter that
excitement when hearing this!). Musicwise Doc Wor Mirran goes into
the realms of industrial music and noise again. In five long pieces,
drones play an important role. They are spiced with looped rhythms
that display a true love for machines. Intense music for sure, but
not really the sound of dying. With much interpretation it could have
been could ‘agony of life in the big city’ or ‘no longer cruelty to
animals’ – or that sort of thing. However what it is you’re gonna use
this for: it’s nicely executed by an ever surprising band. (FdW)
Address: <ralf_friel@dsd-steel.com>
AKI ONDA – PRECIOUS MOMENTS (CD by Softl Music)
This release has been out for a while, but is too nice to ignore.
Just the previous release on Softl Music it comes in a folded paper
sleeve (kinda similar to Staalplaat’s Brombron series), but also
musicwise there are some similarities. I am not familiar with other
work by Aki Onda (if there is any at all?). His instruments are
cassette recorder, sampler and programming and gets help from people
who play electronics, clarinet, slide whistle, acoustic guitar,
kalimba and synthesizers. In these eleven compositions, Aki Onda
displays a love for naive melodies, kinda like Flim (see Vital Weekly
324), but is more electronic. The occassional outdoor recording of
birds, the melancholic sound of the clarinet, the directness of the
kalimba versus the sampled sounds (sources unknown, I hasten to add),
makes this into a pretty varied release. If stuff usually on Tomlab
is your thing, then this might be too. (FdW)
Address: www.softlmusic.com
KENNETH ATCHLEY – FOUNTAINS (CD by Auscultare/Ground Fault)
Kenneth Atchley “presents electronic, harmonically rich fountains in
concert-installation settings… are composed from acoustic spaces
between compressed crystals and metal, diaphragms and water, vessels
and pumps, airless circuits and field recordings: trash cans, metal
tubs, tap water, pvc tubing, over sealant and maths, beneath black
polythylene and waterproof tape”. For the next hour water will guide
you while listening. You hear water in all sorts of ways, dripping,
fast running, from either very natural or heavily processed passing
by. The hardcore of the 20 minute track ‘Fountain_1998.3’, the water
sounds like static hiss and is a bit too industrial sounding for my
part. The other two pieces (with equal length) are more in a collage
form, but seem to be unfocussed for me, but at least something
interesting is happening there as opposed to ‘Fountain_1998.3’. I am
not overtly enthusiastic about this release, but it has it’s moments.
(FdW)
Address: www.groundfault.net
PURE – HOME IS WHERE MY HARDDISK IS VOL. 1 (CD by dOc)
Although some people think the music by Pure is part of the clicks
and cuts movement (mainly due to their record on Mego), I think it
would more fair to file them under ambient industrial. Listening to
these two live recordings (one from the Horbar in Hamburg and one
from Aniki Bobo in Porto) we are confronted with densely layered
pieces of ambient sounds. Probably this comes from a laptop, rather
then a stack of analogue synths, but the dark, brooding atmosphere
with it’s sounds slowly popping in and out of the mix, getting more
and more processing. Gradually Pure moves over to different sounds,
more digital low end beeps, but it’s held together by a lot of sound
effects (reverb, echo etc). The loop towards the end of the Horbar
concert reminded me of a Joy Division ‘Decades’ intro. The Portugese
piece is more open ended and more rhythmical, but loaded with all the
sound effects is still far away from the usual click and cut scene.
Altogether a nice release with a distinct voice of his own. (FdW)
Address: www.pure.test.at
ILLIOS – B.A (3″ by Antifrost)
AS11 – NEW CD OUT NOW (3″ by Antifrost)
>From the department of concepts, two more ‘extreme sound souvenirs
series’ from the Greek Antifrost label. The sixth release by Ilios
are two pieces of cracking sound. Minimal, slowly moving sound. Maybe
the cracks of a radio? Long wave humm? Hard to tell. B.A may stand
for Before After, or Brasil Argentina or Bananas Avocado says the
press release, but that doesn’t help either. The first track is long
and the second quite short, maybe even just a sped up version of the
first. Maybe just a bit of concept?
With AS11 things get more difficult really. Eleven tracks, of which
the first is a computer voice text, which I fail to understand, then
some minimalist guitar piece and then an advert like voice thanking
us for buying the CD. The rest of the CD, except the last piece
(which is entirely silent), is filled with a long noise piece. Kind
alike Merzbow really, but of a lesser sort. The whole concept is
beyond me really. I prefer the Ilios one over As11.
Address: www.antifrost.gr
XV PAROWEK – PERIODICAL EMBARRASSMENT (CDR by Public Eyeshore)
XV Parowek hails from Poland and has a rather short release here,
five tracks in 27 minutes. There are no instruments listed here, but
I assume he (she? who knows?) is a main with a pair of siccors.
Cutting up (or maybe not literally, but means of computer editing)
sounds, placing them in a blocks (albeit not rhythmically as in
repeating loops), more like pause-button editing (if that technique
means anything these days). Although XV Parowek masters this
technique well, I don’t think the sounds he is working a very
inspiring or that the results are in way interesting to hear. Maybe
the title is the programm of his music? (FdW)
Address: www.sinkhole.net/pehome
VARIOUS – INTERSECT 4 (CD-R by Pale Disc)
Another epsiode of the annual Austin experimental music festival has
been captured on CD-R. Four long tracks by four different individuals
or projects. First up is Ctrl Alt Dlt, or Kurt Korthals, an
electronic musician actively involved in the Austin music scene. His
track is a long and densely layered piece, using different sound
sources that are sometimes processed electronically. One can hear
acoustic sounds coming to the front, emerging from fluttering
electronics, or just the other way around. There is a ambient touch
to the track, because of the tempo with which it develops, but it is
certainly more than your average soundscaping. There is too much
happening in too subtle a way. The PA of the festival was a four
channel affair, which cannot be conveyed to this recording of course,
and that seems to be quite a shame, because this track has a strong
immersive quality, that must have worked very well in the live
situation. Well, at least it obvious from the recording that this
must have been the case. A very goo piece indeed. The second track is
by Charalambides, a duo consisting of Tom and Christina Carter. They
use guitar, organ and voice for their recent work. And they do so in
a very subdued way: with sparse string sounds, soft voice parts and
lots of time they create a song that reminds me a lot of the work of
Morton Feldman. A very gentle and warm piece of high quality. The
next track is by Philip Gayle, who plays a multitude of string
instruments, percussion and anything else that produces acoustic
sounds. His track is also completely acoustic, starting with strings
being plucked, while the tones are being changed. He goes on to
attack the whole instrument (a banjo, maybe?) and takes ample time
for it. For my taste, this track is a little too one-dimensional,
although I can imagine that it may be a lot better to watch live. The
last track is by Frequency Curtain, consisting of John Grzinich, Rick
Reed and Josh Ronsen. In this collaborative project, they use only
sine waves from analogue and digital sources, some radio and
processing. The result is a very densely layered piece, slowly
evolving and totally immersing the listener. Not exactly drone music,
not exactly noise, not exactly cold sine stuff, but something of an
independent quality, and a high one at that. Again a very good track.
(MR)
Address: www.lethe-voice.com/kk/