BURNING FOREST (self-released CDR)
COMPILATION – LITTLE BRUTAL RAVE BASTARDS VOL.2 (LP by Dhyana Records)
TROIMOUCHA CROUPISULDOS – ROADIES (7″ by Dhyana Records)
ALVA NOTO / SIGNAL / BYETONE / KOMET – MORT AUX VACHES (2CD by Staalplaat)
JAN VAN DEN DOBBELSTEEN – THE MEMORY OF A CITY (LP by Cosmic Volume)
REV.99 – EVERYTHING CHANGED AFTER 7-11 (CD by Pax Recordings)
WRIKKEN – ACHSTE MIXER (7″ by Mixer)
RECHENZENTRUM – NEGENDE MIXER – SCHULTERBLATT (7″ by Mixer)
BOCA RATON – TIENDE MIXER – BRATRA (7″ by Mixer)
MUSLIMGAUZE – VEILED SISTERS REMIX (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
AF URSIN – MURIELLE (LP by La Scie Doree)
ICH GLAUBE ICH HOERE GENESUNGSWERK (CD compilation by Genesungswerk)
MULTIPLEX – IROQUOIS (CDR by Piehead Records)
MOTION – DUST (CD by 12K)
PHILIP JECK – STOKE (CD by Touch)
ROEL MEELKOP – (TO BE ANNOUNCED) (CD by Line)
AELTERS – VOLU BEIT (3″ CD by Tigerbeat6)
WANG INC. – RISOTTO IN 4/4 (CD by Bip Hop)
JOHN WIESE & LASSE MARHAUG – SHINING TO SEA SEA (one sided 7″ by Helicopter)
WIESE & KOH – SUPERSOUND (7″ by Rhystop)
IAN HELLIWELL – TRANSITIONS 4 (7″ by Avanto)
ORFN – PARSEC FOR YOUR THOUGHTS (CDR by Future Records)
KRISTEN_ – DIE DRACHEN UNSERES LEBENS SIND NUR PRINZESSINNEN, DIE
DARAUF WARTEN UNS SCHON UND MUTIG ZU SEHEN (3″ CDR)
FULL SWING – EDITS (CD by Orthlorng Musork)
AFFLUX – AIZIER ST.MARTIN-SUR-MER DIEPPE (CD by Edition…)
FRANS DE WAARD – KLANKSCHAP # 3 (Mini-CD-R by Aesova)
DONKEY – BIG SUR (CD by Accretions)
M. BEHRENS – SELECTED MINIMALIST CONCERNS (CDR by Absurd)
MASSIMO – MORT AUX VACHES (CD by Staalplaat)
BURNING FOREST (self-released CDR)
Theo Calis may be a name that is not so well-known, at least to
people outside the Netherlands, but in the early 80s he was involved
with a Dutch group called Dier and the label they ran STUM. Since
some time he runs his own studio , where he trains people to use live
and studio sound. Creating music is something he also still does, and
Burning Forest is his latest CDR only. He sort of moved away from the
rock sound and uses a great amount of synthesizers in his music.
Certainly the first part of the release has esoteric, almost new agey
music. But then, half way through the music changes and there are
pieces with rhythms and which are more interesting to hear. Despite
his use of electronics, loops and sound effects, he manages to create
a more rock feel in the pieces. It seems to me that Theo Calis didn’t
make up his mind yet what he really wants with his music. But if I
were to say, I would go for the second half of his release and
develop that. (FdW)
Address: <klankvaa@xs4all.nl>
COMPILATION – LITTLE BRUTAL RAVE BASTARDS VOL.2 (LP by Dhyana Records)
TROIMOUCHA CROUPISULDOS – ROADIES (7″ by Dhyana Records)
Here is the second volume of ultra aggressive, obnoxious techno
music. The opening pieces by Bidol Cath remind me of very old Unit
Moebius music, which still sounds great in these days. The other
pieces, by such artists as Rgyeue DF, Rembert, Giattitouch, Anti-Zen,
Rapid Death Amersfoort and Leprozid Pfarrhaus (hey what’s in so many
names?) are all very uptempo (didn’t count the BPM’s), but are also
stricenly single formed. Not bad at a underground techno party
(beneath a railway station, in concrete walled space preferably), but
for home stereos maybe to monolithic.
Absolutely no idea who is Troimoucha Croupisuldos, but his 7″ is
kinda lofi electronic popsong on the a-side with a far away voice
mumbling (singing I mean) some texts. Not the best sort of
production, but I guess that’s the charm of productions like this.
The b-side is more a furious noise thing, with mucho layered
psychedelic guitars. Nice one. (FdW)
Address: www.dhyanarecords.com
ALVA NOTO / SIGNAL / BYETONE / KOMET – MORT AUX VACHES (2CD by Staalplaat)
The three fathers of German label Raster Noton are represented on
this double disc edition in the Mort Aux Vaches-series: Frank
Bretschneider and Olaf Bender, who originally established the
Rastermusic label, and founder of the Noton.archiv f¸r ton und
nichtton label, Carsten Nicolai. All three composers being
outstanding profiles on the Clicks & cuts-scene, make the album a
pleasant exploration into the world of glitch. Carsten Nicolai opens
the show with the 38 minutes long work “Prototypes”. A very intense
subdued piece of work that thanks to the use of clicks, bleeps, deep
rumbling sub-drones and high-pitched rhythms floats somewhere in
between strange melody and very complex ambient experimentation.
After Alva Noto come three tracks by Signal, which is the
collaboration project between the three contributing artists. The
compositional structure of Signal is based on very simple and clear
sine waveforms and noise modulations, developed into a nice
repetitive flow putting an end to the first disc. Olaf Bender opens
second disc with five tracks under his solo project, Byetone.
Rumbling and hissing drones create an atmosphere underneath a sound
picture where swooping tones, glitches and discreet techno rhythms
dominate. Last on stage is Frank Bretschneider aka Komet who uses his
very own improvisational approach to the sound of Techno. Clicks, and
static sounds bounce along with abstract rhythm textures until the
great final appears with the applause of a live audience. Yet another
excellent Mort Aux Vaches-experience! (NMP)
Address: www.staalplaat.com
JAN VAN DEN DOBBELSTEEN – THE MEMORY OF A CITY (LP by Cosmic Volume)
And Jan van den Dobbelsteen continues releasing his weird records on
the masses. This latest is a picture disc, which is playable at any
speed (but so are all pieces on vinyl?), and presumably from some
installation. The hows and whys of this installation aren’t very
clear, so we are left to hear the music. What sounds like a bubbling
synthesizer that is left in a repetition mode, but to which slowly
and carefully a bunch of effects are added. On the second side,
halfway through, they get out of control, but only for a few short
moments. According to Jan these are highly sensitive microphones
picking up the growth of tullips… The music is highly minimal, with
so few changes, but it’s the kind of minimalism that doesn’t act
merely as a background music, but on the contrary, is very present in
the space. Like so many of the things that Jan van den Dobbelsteen
does, this is a release that asks more then it answers. True art
indeed. (FdW)
Address: www.iae.nl/users/jada
REV.99 – EVERYTHING CHANGED AFTER 7-11 (CD by Pax Recordings)
Media jamming, junk culture, information overload, free improv done
with a precise and steady hand(s) and a sense of humor. What makes
this cd stand apart from other outings of a similar nature by the Pax
collective and other groups is the restraint employed here in
constructing the tracks. There are even lyrical moments contained
therein, mixed in with the
noise and sonic by-products of American culture. The instrumentation
runs from sax, keyboards, guitars, G3, drums, tapes, ranting vocals,
etc and the methods of creating the tracks are just as numerous, with
some parts phoned into the mix. The results are little
collages of conflicting objects, but they manage to gel together and
stay with you even when the CD is over. The title is apt and amusing,
and yet a fitting play on the now cliched phrase referring to the
events of 9-11-01 and an over driven consumer society. One of my
favorite Pax releases to date. (JS)
Address: http://www.paxrecordings.com
WRIKKEN – ACHSTE MIXER (7″ by Mixer)
RECHENZENTRUM – NEGENDE MIXER – SCHULTERBLATT (7″ by Mixer)
BOCA RATON – TIENDE MIXER – BRATRA (7″ by Mixer)
The problem with releasing three 7″s at once is that you get these
reviews were all three are presented, but maybe in Mixer’s case
that’s a good thing. The very presence of Rechenzentrum will probably
generate interest in the others too.
The first 7″ is by Wrikken, a Dutch duo, from Amsterdam, and this is
their debut release. Wrikken uses sampling and electronics to a wide
extent, we are told, but I guess that’s for 95% of the music in Vital
Weekly. The a-side is a great techno like piece, which somehow
reminded me of Psychic Warriors Of Gaia. The b-side is more an
ambient like piece. Nice altogether, but also one that goes by
without too much noting.
Then Rechenzentrum. Of course famous for their Kitty Yo! productions
and concerts throughout the world. The long a-side has a pulsating
track, which unfortunally has too much use of reverb, but it’s
essentially a nice piece. A short track of metal ends side A, no idea
really why it’s there. A vaguely field recording opens side B, again
clueless why these two short tracks are there. The long piece is
almost like a trip hop piece, complete with reversed vocals et al.
Nice threatening film noir atmosphere.
Also a debut release is the one by Boca Raton. He’s a microsound
glitch artist, if one hears this work. But everything moves around in
many layers, with lots of events (either sounds from the environment,
sampling – but everything of course heavily processed, so that none
of the sources are recognized) happening, and a glitchy rhythm
holding things together. What is also very important here, is the
nice overall structure in the music. Things fall into their place and
Boca Raton shows that he’s able of composing and playing nice music.
He has more music to come, so watch this name. (FdW)
Address: <info@stichtingmixer.nl>
MUSLIMGAUZE – VEILED SISTERS REMIX (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
It might be more then confusing I guess for people to pick up on this
new Muslimgauze. The cover has strong similarities to the previous
one on Soleilmoon ‘Hummus’. A white digipack with yellow letters.
These two packages are by far the ugliest Muslimgauze covers I ever
saw. Music wise Muslimgauze is in a known territory. Blending sound
pieces from his Veiled Sister release from 1993, but presented in a
remix format. Fourty minutes of music, presented as one long piece
mark his working method. Fast put together arabic rhythms, rough song
structures, but, as with most Muslimgauze CDs, the occassional great
track. One that goes down very well, I guess, for the bigger amount
of Muslimgauze fans. (FdW)
Address: www.soleilmoon.com
AF URSIN – MURIELLE (LP by La Scie Doree)
Af Ursin is Noise Maker’s Fifes related business. It’s the solo
project of Timo van Luyk, who has played with Noise Maker’s Fifes and
also with Negative Entropy. His own releases are few in number, this
might be his second or third release and is presented on his own
label. Mixed by Christoph Heeman, the recordings are multi-track
pieces of sounds and instruments. Af Ursin stresses to not have used
electronics or sampling. Playing all sort of instruments in all sorts
of strange ways, Af Ursin’s music can be placed along the lines of
people like Nurse With Wound, HNAS or Christoph Heemann. Lot of
drumming and strumming going on, mostly densely layered and performed
with precise timing. This LP comes in a nice rough board cover and
you can be sure if they are sold out, the collectors market will have
another classic added to the world of overpriced vinyl. Nice work
here. (FdW)
Address: <tico111@pi.be>
ICH GLAUBE ICH HOERE GENESUNGSWERK (CD compilation by Genesungswerk)
One of the more difficult things to review is a compilation CD,
certainly when they are as divers as this one. The title stands for
‘I think I hear Genesungswerk’ and that’s a more then apptly choosen
title. I didn’t hear all of these bands before this release, so maybe
some of them will be released by Genesungswerk in the future. Most of
these bands use rhythmmachines, but very few arrive at techno or
anything based thereon. [Multer]’s piece (they are the people behind
the label) have one such a track: uptempo, with a sampled
melancholical guitar. It’s a track that sets an example for most of
the other pieces. Sometimes they arrive at a more ambient sound like
Pal Asle Perre, Krill, N[3], Resonator, or a more technoish sound
like Synolier, Basalt or even a mild version of noise (P. Miles
Bryaon). The most famous name, I guess, on this compilation is
Kallabris, who have a nice piece based on guitar loops. As you can
see it’s not a compilation that brings together well-known names, but
rather introduces many new ones. And with the overall high quality of
what is offered, this is a very nice compilation, which put this nice
label on the map. (FdW)
Address: www.genesungswerk.de
MULTIPLEX – IROQUOIS (CDR by Piehead Records)
On the 6th volume of the Piehead collection, we are introduced to
Multiplex. Two brothers of English birth, of which one now lives in
Canada. They have releases on labels such as Toytronic, Senton and
Lom, but I haven’t heard any of these. On this CD they present ten
tracks of their own work, and five remixes by others (such as ISDS,
Spark, Ob, Guy James and The Blameshifter). Multiplex are a pretty
straight forward techno outing, as far as I’m concerned. Even despite
their sometimes strange use of other sounds. Slightly more
atmospheric then straight dancefloor related, Multiplex have an
entertaining release. Nothing really earth shattering new or wildly
exploring a new terrain, but more pleasent listening music which
happens to have just a lot of beats. (FdW)
Address: www.pieheadrecords.com
MOTION – DUST (CD by 12K)
Motion may not be a very well known name, even despite his
self-released which was reviewed in Vital Weekly 269 and an
unreviewed split 12″ with Matmos for Fat Cat, but luckily it caught
the attention of Taylor Deupree, head honcho of 12K, who invited him
for a next CD for his label. Now it’s released, and it’s a true
beauty again. Eleven pieces in about 40 minutes means that Motion is
a man of small wonders. His pieces consist usually of a few sounds,
one or two movements and that’s it. You can hear the many different
influences he soaked in: Oval of course, but also ambient music of
the last thirty years and minimalism of the last fourty. He plays
with his small pieces around, seemingely with great ease. Overall
Motion is very quiet, almost in a Lopezian way, but using altogether
a entirely different soundinput. Small sounds, great music. (FdW)
Address: www.12k.com
PHILIP JECK – STOKE (CD by Touch)
To be very, very honest: turntable players are usually not my cup of
tea – and I don’t know why. Maybe it has to do with the superstart
status some DJs have acquired over the years, so that they are the
rockstars of the millenium (as far as we know it). And why? Because
they play a few pieces of vinyl and get the crowd cheering? But there
is also a group of people using turntables like rock artists who use
a guitar: as an instrument. Here too I sometimes have problems,
certainly when the played records are easy to be recognized. No such
thing however in the work of Philip Jeck. Stoke, his third full
length for Touch, was recorded at various concerts and uses besides
various record players, also a simple casio keyboard and a CD player.
With these relative simple means, Jeck sculpts his music. Building it
layer by layer, adding slowly more pieces. Of course there is a
rhythmical aspect to this dark music, but hey we’re talking extensive
use of vinyl here. As said none of his sources can be recognized, but
I guess they are pretty much old 78 RPM’s. Highly minimal music, that
is also highly fascinating. The repetitiveness of the music lulls you
into a hypnotic state, but one that is different from the minimal
techno boys. Fascinating music. (FdW)
Address: www.touch.demon.co.uk
ROEL MEELKOP – (TO BE ANNOUNCED) (CD by Line)
Roel Meelkop is not a man of many words, let alone big words. His new
CD has not a real title, no information and just a thank you to
Cedric Peyronnet (aka Toy Bizarre, with whom Roel Meelkop made a CD
before). Meelkop wants you to listen to his music, rather then doing
anything else, like reading liner notes telling you how the CD was
made, with which sounds etc. (To Be Announced) is one long piece, a
new feature in his work. Up until now his CD’s had various shorter
pieces, but here it’s a 40 some minute piece that opens up in a soft
Lopezian mood. But once sounds get audible, it stays audible for the
pretty much the rest of the CD. With works like this, it’s always
hard to tell what the sound input is, ie the origin of the sound
sources. It can be anything from Mr. Meelkop going on his bike to
work, or factory noises or broken bits and pieces. As far as I know
Meelkop selects these sounds from his vast library of sounds to use,
but without going for a conceptual route. It’s not limited to one
category. If the composition requires a new sound that has nothing to
do with the other sounds, it will be added. Unlike say Lopez, Meelkop
presents his work in a collage form. Placing elements carefully next
to eachother, juxtaposing them or simply transforming them, he builts
a piece that requires listening, and nothing else. The music of Roel
Meelkop is highly unusefull to do your vacuum cleaning, or even
reading. Full concentration is required. But rewarded too! (FdW)
Address: www.12k.com
AELTERS – VOLU BEIT (3″ CD by Tigerbeat6)
If my life were a videogame, I would commission aelters to compose
the accompanying music. One of several in a series of Tigerbeat6 3″
cds, aeltersí ‘volu beit’ takes over where his previous release, ‘El
Frustrator’ on Ski-pp left off. Aelters takes what he brought in his
collaboration with the other members of Dat Politics to his solo
project. Volu beit is loaded with dsp trickery, as well as some
lo-fi heroics. Each track could be the theme song to a different
level of some cut and paste videogame. Constants in aeltersí tracks
are animal noises, human noises, blips, burps, lo-fi horns, which
sound like they are taken from cheesy analog synths, uptempo rhythms
and digital chaos, of course. These songs are playful, sweet and
childlike, not in complexity, but in sentiment. ‘Pinkeymplex O’ is
reminiscent of Ovalís more melodic tracks, where there is a constant
shifting of tones. ‘Astericken’ starts off with what sounds like an
assembly of chickens and sheep playing together on a farm, which then
breaks out into a bugle hornish type medley. ‘pOney tuna’ is the
standout track here, which begins with the screeching sound of a car,
then progressing into an upbeat, happy-go-lucky aerobics workout.
Aelters uses heavy panning as well, which makes this a great album
for the headphones and the kids. It’s also worth mentioning that the
titles of his tracks aptly fit the songs they represent, due to their
word play and cut and paste appearance. Each time I listen to this
disc I picture my friends and I at the age of 12 playing Super Mario
Brothers, but if ‘volu beit’ were the accompanying music, Mario would
be jumping over turtles and flying through the clouds in the nude.
For fans of Blectum from Blechdom, Dat Politics and Felix Kubin, or
for those curious to hear a man and his machines having a grand time
together. (GK)
Address: www.tigerbeat6.com
WANG INC. – RISOTTO IN 4/4 (CD by Bip Hop)
Wang Inc., known from their release for Sonig some time ago, have a
new release, this time on Bip Hop. Wang Inc. is about rhythm. Techno
rhythms to be precise. I played this CD a couple of times, but I
found it hard to discover a single, original idea or a tune that
sounded fascinating. Cold, up tempo music that probably works for
most part best on the dance floor, but at home left a chilly,
uninterested feel. Next one, please. (FdW)
Address: www.bip-hop.com
JOHN WIESE & LASSE MARHAUG – SHINING TO SEA SEA (one sided 7″ by Helicopter)
WIESE & KOH – SUPERSOUND (7″ by Rhystop)
A collaboration between Lasse Marhaug, the unsung hero of Norwegian
Noise and John Wiese, occassional Bastard Noise collaborator. Their
super limited one sided 7″ (114 copies) is about micronoise, small
amplified electronics, scratches and peeps. I expected a full noise
blast, so it was a big surprise to see them in this collage mood.
Nice work indeed.
More collaborative work comes from John Wiese with Koh (I guess not
to be confused with Coh). They too operate in a collage mood, but,
just guessing here, operate from their work on the laptop. Loops,
samples, extra sounds swirling in and out (like a record that spins
too fast, or cassette being quickly played). Also a nice work, even
when this hoovers more in the world of improvisation.
Address: http://home.earthlink.net/johnwiese
Address: www.rhystop.com
IAN HELLIWELL – TRANSITIONS 4 (7″ by Avanto)
A film-maker, composer and collector from Brighton, this Ian
Helliwell, who presented his films at the Avanto festival in 2000
and 2001. On this 7″, a true classic one with 2 tracks per side, he
plays music that is either used for audio-visual installations or his
abstract films. Strangely repeating bleeps of an ancient analogue
synthesizer with likewise analogue abstract sounds to it. Repeating
blocks of sound that is kinda like Pan Sonic less the rhythm. “Power
Of The Atom” is ‘music inspired by atomic science footage’ and sounds
like a UFO is about to land in your backyard. Helliwell’s music is
more ancient 80s cassette days, then year zero digitalia, but
certainly it held well. It makes me curious to see his films. (FdW)
Address: www.avantofestival.com
ORFN – PARSEC FOR YOUR THOUGHTS (CDR by Future Records)
Orfn hails from ‘a distant corner of the electronic music universe’,
from Detroit. This is my first encounter with his music. Eight
tracks, relatively short in length, using samples of trumpets,
balloons or koto set against electronics. Overall nice short pieces,
but not so convincing as a whole. The compositions are too single
minded to capture your attention. More work on them, and a more high
end production would be most welcome. Now this makes warm nor cold.
(FdW)
Address: <future@popmail.com>
KRISTEN_ – DIE DRACHEN UNSERES LEBENS SIND NUR PRINZESSINNEN, DIE
DARAUF WARTEN UNS SCHON UND MUTIG ZU SEHEN (3″ CDR)
This should be Kristen’s second, self-released CDR release. The cover
tells us that these four pieces were ‘processed, recorded and edited’
in may/june 2002. It’s kinda hard to tell, as always, what his sound
input is, but my best guess it’s all computer generated sounds.
Small, microscopic sounds, small rhythms and small changes. Not much
new under the sun, but for Kristen a step forward. These four pieces
sound more interesting then his previous 3″ CDR release, everything
seemed to be worked out better. As said, no shocking new view on
microscopic music, but nicely crafted. (FdW)
Address: www.boylesoftware.com/kristen_/
FULL SWING – EDITS (CD by Orthlorng Musork)
As Full Swing, Mathieu has released his second album for Kit
Clayton’s Orthlorng Musork label. This album is conveniently titled
‘Edits’ because he has used source material from several artistsí
tracks, reworked and rearranged them into beautiful, warm
soundscapes. That is just scratching the surface. The tracks he has
chosen to rework were previously released for Orthlorng Musork as a
limited 10″ series. “Edits” is a culmination of these 10″s released
on CD. Some of the artists he has chosen his source material from
are Laub, Yo La Tengo, Monolake, Kit Clayton among others. It is an
interesting and eclectic mix of names you would not ordinarily find
on one album together, but that is just one of the factors which make
“Edits” a beautiful body of work. I want to stress that the tracks
are not remixes. Mathieu has chosen bits and pieces of the original
work to focus on as his source material, whether it is a loop, chord
or crevice. He then goes to work on these pieces forming warm and
scenic tones, adding digitally processed clicks and repetitive,
overlapping textures. To put it another way, Mathieu takes the
skeleton or shell of the original track and discards it, so to speak.
He, then, takes the muscles and tissues and goes to work on them
selecting the sections that appeal to him aesthetically. I have
broken down the tracks by the original artists in an effort to give
detailed descriptions of the standouts.
Laub – Digitals pops evoking a rainy Sunday afternoon. Bass/guitar
line fades in with feedback. Tape delay sounds, rain fades, skeleton
of the song remains, while AGFís vocals are lured into the mix.
Dramatic ending as bass fades in and out, slowly until it vanishes
completely. Kit Clayton-Delicate, pulsing sine waves on top of thick
soundscapes, strings floating in and out of the scenery. Mathieu
takes Clayton’s cold and crisp sounds and converts them to warm, lush
environments. Antenne-Soft percussive elements ride the crescent of
warm waves and ambient tones, shifting chords, gently growing
stronger as the tides rise. Autoposies-Layered sine waves begin,
melting into faint pulses. We hear the sounds of mechanical dolphins
and whales conversing, ending with bubbling textures reminiscent of
Vladislav Delayís earlier works. Yo La Tengo-repetivetextures appear
clicking over one another creating digital harmony and ear candy.
Mathieu stretches the chords lightly. The chords are the remnants of
original track, no percussion, just soft clicks.
If you are not familiar with Mathieuís work, I strongly recommend his
ìFrequency Liberationsî on Ritornell, as well as “Edits”. He can also
be found collaborating with another artist raising the envelope,
Ekkehard Ehlers. They have a reissue of their work to be released
soon on Orthlorng Musork on double cd/vinyl. It will also contain
some remixes, but I am not concerned with the quality control factor
here. Right now, I feel that anything Mathieu touches, will be
unique and interesting; even the remix. (GK)
Address: www.musork.com
AFFLUX – AIZIER ST.MARTIN-SUR-MER DIEPPE (CD by Edition…)
Afflux is a collaboration by three wellknown French composers: Eric
Cordier, Jean-Luc Guionnet and Eric La Casa. They have built a
musical interface to work live with sounds from specific sites, one
of them recording those sounds and sending them to the other two, who
can manipulate them in various ways. This process can basically be
carried out perpetuously, so that a continous stream is created. As
sound sources for their work they have chosen similar sites: streams,
ports, stations, roads and so on. The title of the CD refers to the
locations where the sounds were recorded. Th results are works that
flow as the original material, but with many subtle alterations. It
is possible to stay in touch with the original, but one can just as
well focus on the manipulations and be wrapped in an imaginary
world, founded on the real one. This interplay between the real and
the imaginary is very seductive and creates an endless stream of
possibilities inbetween. It takes some time for the unreal to unveil
itself, but that is precisely the charm of this record. A very good
work. (MR)
Address: fenton@stonehenge.wrek.org
FRANS DE WAARD – KLANKSCHAP # 3 (Mini-CD-R by Aesova)
Mr. de Waard going Lopez? This was my first thought upon spinning
this little disc. A barely audible start, just a very quiet low
rumble, nothing else. And that with headphones! It’s impossible to
tell what the sound source is yet. Almost imperceptibly, the volume
rises, but still , it’s very difficult to hear the sound. It could be
a machine humming, wind blowing through a pipe, or maybe both.
Nothing else seem to be happening, one single track of one single
recording (at least, that’s my guess). Pure, unedited sound that
changes very very slowly in colour. Musically speaking not the most
interesting of things, but certainly in the same league as Tsunoda or
indeed Francisco Lopez. (MR)
Address: www.aesova.org
DONKEY – BIG SUR (CD by Accretions)
Probably many of you know Debussey’s ‘Ouverture ¦ L’Apres-Midi d’un
Faune’. It is one of those very late romantic works that are very
lyrical and actually tries to describe a faun in the woods on a sunny
afternoon. This kind of descriptive music is not found very much
these days (except as a film score). Donkey is an exception to this
rule, but in a totally original way. With electronics, they creates
birds, water and what have you in the forest. Coupled to these
concrete sounds are abstract flutters and wows, straight from the
machine. Now this is a strange experience, because two very distant
vocabularies are used at the same time. And that creates something
pretty unique. I am not sure yet that I like it, but it is certainly
a challenge, even (or maybe especially) for the experienced listener.
The three tracks are built up well, changing from one part to the
next, but they tend to get a little freaky here and there, forgetting
about the whole composition and paying too much attention to the
instruments themselves. This is a pity, because it undermines the
strength a little. (MR)
Address: www.accretions.com
M. BEHRENS – SELECTED MINIMALIST CONCERNS (CDR by Absurd)
Most of what you know from the work of M. Behrens is his current
computer music style. Very much along the lines of Francisco Lopez,
Bernard Gunther and Roel Meelkop: much silence, careful processing,
intelligent thoughout music. Here on a CDR we find another kind of M.
Behrens, one that went through his archives and looked for the more
interesting pieces of his earlier career. Behrens used to be involved
in releasing cassettes which had, I must say a more noisy approach,
although, as far as I know, he never went for the real industrial
blow out noise. He works here with the sound of metal and feedback,
manipulating them on his four track machine, adding maybe some sound
effects here and there. His feedback pieces are quiet and thoughtful,
kinda like his recent work, but more present in the sound spectrum.
This is an interesting release for those who want to know more about
Behrens growing process, but it appeals also to those who love the
more ambient industrial music and less the Gunther scene, who they
reject as too silent… (FdW)
Address: <absurd@otenet.gr>
MASSIMO – MORT AUX VACHES (CD by Staalplaat)
Under the name “Massimo”, Sicilian sound artist Massimiliano Sapienza
started his sonic journey into the Glitch area back in 1999. Since
then he has released albums on labels like Microwave, Mego and
Staalplaat and contributed to the first volume in the great Bip Hop
Generation-series. On his latest work collectively titled “Free
shower at Esther”, Massimo is out with his first album recorded live
in the VPRO-studios for the Mort Aux Vaches-project. The 37 minutes
long work is like a stream of glitches and digital catharsis that
keeps rushing out of the speakers straight into the listener. The
expression is harsh. Digital glitches, heavily filtered
guitar-samples, distorted noise-loops and some heavy use of power
electronics is just some of the elements chosen to cause the
aggressive, rough edged expression. Sometimes like a tidal wave of
noises, other times like masses of micro-noise wriggling, drilling
and twisting into your sub-consciousness. People having just a slight
interest in Noise and Power Electronics might enjoy this quite
humorous approach to ear-shattering sound. (NMP)
Address: www.staalplaat.com