KONTAKT DER JUNGLINGE – -1: BREMEN, LAGERHAUS, 28-04-2001 (CD by Die Stadt)
THOMAS KONER/ILLUSION OF SAEFTY (7″ by Die Stadt)
ILLUSION OF SAFETY – MORE VIOLENCE AND GEOGRAPHY (CD by Die Stadt)
STEINBRUCHEL – END5/SIXSIX6 (7″ by Synchron)
STEINBRUCHEL – 00SIEBEN/CONTACT8 (7″ by Synchron)
FROG POCKET – BARAL ORGAN (CDR by Mouthmoth)
GUITAR – SUNKISSED (CD by Morr Music)
FAMLENDE FORSOK – ONE NIGHT I HAD A FRIGHFUL DREAM (CD by The Crawling Chaos)
V.A. – SAMPLER #4, SAFE AS MILK FESTIVAL 2002 (CD by Safe As Milk)
WOLFRAM – SUPERRECOMBINATION_SYS (CDR by Mik Musik)
OPOPOP – CARO DE COMPUTAR (CDR by Mik Musik)
EDITION TERRANOVA – HITCHHIKING NONSTOP (CD by !K7)
KMH – LIVE AT HBK (Self produced CD)
NEVER KNOWN – DAWN OF AN ERA (CD by Afe Records)
PELLARIN – TANGIBLE ABSTRACTIONS (CD by Couchblip!)
POLMO POLPO – THE SCIENCE OF BREATH (CD by Substractif and Alien8 Recordings)
SMYGLYSSNA – WE CAN FIX IT (CD by Vertical Form)
SQUAREPUSHER – DO YOU KNOW SQUAREPUSHER? (2xCD by Warp)
VARIOUS ARTISTS – MINIMA (CD by List)
WASTELAND – AMEN FIRE (CD by Transparent)
WINDSOR FOR THE DERBY – THE EMOTIONAL RESCUE LP LP (CD by Aesthetics)
BURNING STAR CORE – BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY (LP by Thin Wrist)
KONTAKT DER JUNGLINGE – -1: BREMEN, LAGERHAUS, 28-04-2001 (CD by Die Stadt)
THOMAS KONER/ILLUSION OF SAEFTY (7″ by Die Stadt)
ILLUSION OF SAFETY – MORE VIOLENCE AND GEOGRAPHY (CD by Die Stadt)
Ah, so it’s a countdown. This, the third CD by these two heroes is
-1, and it started with 1, then 0 and now -1. Things at concern here
is a live recording at one of those fine Die Stadt evenings, which
are celebrated with 7″s… (more on those later). Thomas Koner and
Asmus Tietchens, two masters, each in their own way of musique
concrete and ambient (and usually the fine line between those two)
take us here on a journey. Or rather: a trip. Not headtrip or drug
trip, but a trip inside a submarine. From the rusty opening crackles
things go down, inside the machine room with it’s metallic rumblings,
the water outside. Then we up, to the control room. We here far away
the machines working overtime, but a voice counts up (in German – now
that seems a really historically loaded thing to me) here in the
small control room. Claustrophic music, but one that surely
fascinating to hear. Comparing Tietchens’ music to submarines has
been done before (or rather, to his alter ego, which wasn’t his alter
ego, Werkbund), but this surely comes close. A rather noisy affair
that night in Bremen. Icy, chilly music from the polar seas.
Thomas Koner played this year at the very same place, on a night with
Illusion Of Safety – another stable mate these days for Die Stadt.
They share a 7″ which was for sale that night, with the remainder on
Die Stadt’s mailorder. Thomas Koner does what he does best: chilly,
deep ambient music – which makes you regret that this is a 7″ only.
The time span is simply too short for his music, which needs time to
breath. But it’s forecast of more nice music.
On the other side we find Illusion Of Safety, who go back in time
with their piece ‘Hearthmath’ – orchestral bursts going down in
level, with samples underneath breathing in order to work to a
crescendo towards the end. It sounds like ‘Historical’ (their first
CD from years ago) cramned in five minutes.
The very same Illusion Of Safety has a new CD on Die Stadt – or
rather an goldie oldie. ‘More Violence And Geography’ was released in
1988 on Complacency – Dan Burke’s own label. It marked the first big
release of I.O.S. after a bunch of cassettes. I don’t recall what I
thought of the record back then – at least I couldn’t find any review
in the good ol’ paper version of Vital (those grey-haired, pipe
smoking readers know what I am talking about and if you don’t know –
ancient history talks here). It’s going into a time machine hearing
this. Orchestral tape-loops, analogue electronics, primitive
sampling, taped radio interviews bowed guitars, tonal outbursts: all
those ingredients of ‘Historical’ in an even more primitive setting,
but I must say it surely went well through time. Unlike many other
re-issues of music of those days which sound now dull (mainly the
recording technique, rather then the artistic content), but the
remastering of this went really well. A clear, crisp sound gives a
nice depth to these recordings, which I really couldn’t remember from
the days of the LP (I must admit, it was a while ago since I last
heard the LP). Let’s hope this sets off more re-issues of I.O.S.,
such as their excellent RVE cassette or the split LP with Holeist.
(FdW)
Address: www.diestadtmusik.de
STEINBRUCHEL – END5/SIXSIX6 (7″ by Synchron)
STEINBRUCHEL – 00SIEBEN/CONTACT8 (7″ by Synchron)
Two more 7″s by Swiss recording artist Steinbruchel. I think he is a
much underrated artist, despite his small but consistent catalogue of
works. These are the next two in the ‘Granulat’ series of seven 7″s
in total. Here Steinbruchel collaborates in concert with testeam, who
is responsible for the visual part of the concert and the insert. The
7″s are a documentation of the concerts. Again with two tracks per
side.
End5 is a quite industrial affair, with highly reverberated walls of
noise, set against the smallest clicks.
Sixsix6 (hey, maybe Throbbing Gristle influenced) seems a more quiter
piece, desolate and atmsopheric.
OOsieben has a deep end bass, and the second piece seems like he’s
been using treated vinyl sounds. On the Contact8 side it’s even more
difficult to recognize the difference between the two tracks as they
both hoover around in low end sub bass parts. The second piece is
more towards the techno even, but maybe at the same time remotely
away.
Steinbruchel hoovers on a fine line between noise, old skool
industrial, but also glitch and techno. Overall it’s pretty dark
music, but with a distinct quality. (FdW)
Address: www.synchron.ch
FROG POCKET – BARAL ORGAN (CDR by Mouthmoth)
Frog Pocket is a name to stay – this is the fifth album by the very
same guy that also does the Mouthmoth labels (and the fourth Frog
Pocket on Mouthmoth). He calls it ‘uplifting happy-sad splatterbeat
folk-electronica magic” – it might be a very appt description. Frog
Pocket samples the hell out of folky, country & western, fiddle songs
and adds his either upbeat or downbeat rhythms to it, smears a dash
of synths somewhere. ‘The Stare’ is one such track, topheavy of
sounds, a fiddle, banging rhythms, breakbeats everywhere. But unlike
what one might expect with such an overload, it’s never too much or
too cliche. Also, it’s easily followed by such a melancholical piece
as ‘Omulad’. It seems like a lot of these things fit together very
well. This is one of the better Frog Pocket albums I know –
consistent throughout. And some pieces, like the aforementioned
‘Omulad’ could very well be put on any upcoming Morr Music
compilation. (FdW)
Address: www.mouthmoth.go.to
GUITAR – SUNKISSED (CD by Morr Music)
The cover looks like one of those free CDs you get with magazines
like ‘Guitarplayer’: “50 instrumentals to play your guitar too!”.
Calling y’r band Guitar is of course a great joke, and certainly when
it comes to this band. Guitar is, as I understand, Digital Jockey and
Ayako Akashiba – the first responsible for the guitars and
instrumentation and the second for the vocals. Heavy beats, loads and
loads of guitars and whispering female vocals – shoegazer music
updated for the 21st century? What else can there be said? It’s nice
music, a bit of an odd ball in the Morr Music catalogue, but nothing
earth shocking. (FdW)
Address: www.morrmusic.com
FAMLENDE FORSOK – ONE NIGHT I HAD A FRIGHFUL DREAM (CD by The Crawling Chaos)
Famlende Forsk, a Norwegian band (Lumpy Davy, Chrisph, and Brt) with
roots in the industrial music scene, has been recording since 1981.
But of late, due to a number of side projects, their musical output
has been on hold. In fact, you may recognize Lumpy Davy from his
psych band The Smell of Incense. FF has been obsessed with HP
Lovecraft since the band’s inception and finally their musical
tribute has culminated in this demo CD. Some of the music on this
demo was performed live back in 1988, but it does not sound dated.
Since it is a demo, there are some rough edges, but this fact does
not detract from the listening experience. Borrowing heavily from
Lovecraft ‘s work, FF skillfully blends it with their music to create
the proper atmosphere of chilling horror of Cthulhu and his minions.
Sometimes progressive, sometimes atmospheric, FF offers you the
Beginners Guide to Lovecraft. Many of his important works are
excerpted (The Dunwich Horror, The Call of Cthulhu, The Shadow Over
Innsmouth, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Nyarlathotep, and At
the Mountains of Madness) except for The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
Brt is the narrator for these eerie supernatural tales of the Old
Ones and the saurian inhabitants of an alternate New England, his
exotic Norwegian accent conveys an appropriate amount of fear and
mystery. Gibbering madly in the darkness Cthulhu calls you to this
CD. You MUST obey, or fear a long and painful death. This one very
cool CD needs a home with a sympathetic label. Tell your friends and
your favorite indie labels about this demo. It will definitely
appeal to Lovecraft fans and is truly one amazing listening
experience!
Address: <lumpy.davy@c2i.net>
V.A. – SAMPLER #4, SAFE AS MILK FESTIVAL 2002 (CD by Safe As Milk)
Safe As Milk is a Norwegian label supporting contemporary Norwegian
underground (their own choice of words) music, not only by releasing
this music, but also by organising festivals. The term underground is
a somewhat broad definition and that can be heard on this CD: the
variation in styles is as big as the number of tracks, that number
being ten. The CD opens with a very short and funny track by
Waffelpung, called Atari #2. Basically some glitches and that’s it.
But it doe shave certain melody and rhythm and it’s a “song”. So much
for duration! Second track is ‘Laughing with daggers’ by JR Ewing,
well done but lacking a little in identity. Jazzkammer’s ‘Durex 5’ is
next and is probably one of their best tracks yet. Simple, but with
great subtlety and suspense, excellent! Track four is ‘Time stands
still’ by This is music Inc, a short song with a very good atmosphere
and good vocals and instrumentation. Stockhaus is next with ‘DIY in
NYC’, guitar music again, with clear and fuzzy guitars, good drums
but bad lyrics. Number six is by (LYD)”, the song is called ‘Lund’.
Drums, guitar and synth with a vague free jazz feel and always a
little off. Could be better, but could be a lot worse. And then a big
surprise: Anders Gjerde and PÂl A. Pettersen with ‘Cossed Fish’. A
very sensitive piece with acoustic sounds and digital glitches and
other noises. It starts very subtly with a bell sound, to which the
other sounds are gradually added and a strong tension is built up
that holds well until the end. Need to hear more! The next track is
guiter stuff again and somewhat falls into a void after the last
track. Arabrot’s ‘Life thru a peephole’ has its qualities, but is
misplaced here. Better off is Sister Sonny with ‘Best newspaper’, a
gentle popsong that is very well produced and gets the attention it
needs. The final man on the disc is Lasse Marhaug with ‘The tingler’,
a nasty rhythmic experience in the mid frequencies with a slow fade
in of dark engines in the basement and some bugs. A good one to
finish the CD. (MR)
Adress: www.safe-as-milk.org
WOLFRAM – SUPERRECOMBINATION_SYS (CDR by Mik Musik)
OPOPOP – CARO DE COMPUTAR (CDR by Mik Musik)
As far as I understand these two releases are extensions of
eachother. Both are remixes of a CD that was released about a year
ago on the same Mik Music label, “Superrityn.ses” by Wojt3k
Kucharczyk. That work was remixed by Wolfram. His release gets then
remixed by someone else, in this case Opopop from Spain. Opopop’s
work is remixed by someone else. etc etc.
Wolfram hails from Poland and has released music with Neurobot and on
the Polycephal label. His work goes into a more droning field of
music, with various ambient overtones then is usually found in his
work. Taking the smallest particles possible, he feeds them to the
hungry patches and builts carefully small, gentle fields of music,
with an occassional tonal and rhythmical burst, which is a rather
nice piss take on Pan Sonic…
Opopop hails from the cycles around Alku and many other Spanish
microwave composers. His work lasts only some twelve minutes, and has
thirteen short computerized pieces. Clicks and cuts in a true sense
of the word. The original has disappeared through all the various
Max/Msp patches and a clinical residue is there. Cold and chilly
music from a warm country – now that seems to be a true
contradiction. Lovers of Mego styled laptoptatics may find their fun
here.
Both releases are limited to 55 copies only… (FdW)
Address: www.molr.terra.pl
EDITION TERRANOVA – HITCHHIKING NONSTOP (CD by !K7)
Banji girls of the world are unleashed and on the rampage.
Hitchhiking Nonstop With No Particular Destination is just like that,
freeform funk with beats for days! The second full-length disc by
Berlin-based trio Edition Terranova (Mastermind Fetisch, Meister and
Shapemod) opens with Concepts and Equal Rights, both have a similar
aesthetic to that of pre-Tweekend Crystal Method. Cath Coffey
(Stereo MCs) handles the powerful vocals and DJ Fetisch is firmly
‘in-da-house’. Sublime breathes beauty in the dirty mind of a rapper
mixed up in his pre-occupation in pink cocaine and jeri curls. Women
Beat Their Men updates Peter Bauman’s Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight disco
anthem tagline complete with vocoder treatments and a slow burn
deconstruction. Mongril uncages the sleeping lion with an automatic
quick-lip, shrill vocal. Bass heavy butch vocals are shrouded in a
poppy percussive beat. The snap of Out of my Head hastens me back to
the floor of the darkened, polysexual club scene circa 1982 (think
Blue Monday). Obscured, hazy lyrical content with a vamped voice to a
slow bpm that just smolders. Poet Mike Ladd provides the street rap
reality in a friendly De La Soul style, but with a much shaper
tongue. The first single release, a brisk new take on Bob Marley’s
Running Away, curves the odd bassline underpinning of Bauhaus’ Bela
Lugosi’s Dead and it just made me realize the quality blend
masterminded inside. I think I’ve died and gone to Mars. Maybe this
is our destination? (TJN)
Address: http://www.k7.com
KMH – LIVE AT HBK (Self produced CD)
kmh are three multimedia artists from Berlin and Tokyo. They have
used laptops to develop hypnotic microcosms of sounds that rip from
roots, pop with affection and stare you flatly in the ears. The five
untitled tracks included on this debut live disc prepare you for a
long, channeled drive through timed beat per measure. Filtered and
stuttering, the intimacy of this recording has been substituted for
sly variations in atonal microbeats. kmh have provided all the
clicks and sine wave modification in pitch one could possibly desire.
Not to say this recording is in-your-face, it just has a ring to it,
and around it. Like a satellite, out there floating, transferring
encoded messages, a new noise has landed.This may be, in subtle ways,
a continued doctrine of Duchampian theory, a pivotal break from
rational sound structure. The fractional bytes obliterate the dusty
road ahead. Someone better scoop them up before they float away and
radiate. (TJN)
Address: www.boylesoftware.com/kristen_/media.html
NEVER KNOWN – DAWN OF AN ERA (CD by Afe Records)
Milan-based label Afe has released an arsenal of quality music on CDR
over the last few years. Dawn of an Era starts with a Kubrickian
overture that has lots in common with some of the finest work by
Randy Grief’s Nocturnal Emissions. Never Known (Afe label guru,
Andrea Marutti) recorded this disc between 1994-94 and re-issued from
an earlier in 1999 release on tape, now it has been re-mastered in
its CDR format with three additional tracks, clocking in at 70+
minutes. The percolating ambience of distant airplanes with a
continuous drone is ominous in our time, but dually calming and
transformative. But something suspicious is lurking. Recalling the
film City of Lost Children, there are dark canals, curious outposts,
foreign entities. This (lucky?) thirteen track disc peaks in
grayscale, hundreds of slightly deviant tones and shades. Its quiet
in here, but the silence builds a fear factor. Long sweeping drones
become white noise, placing the listener in its vacuum, time
traveling to ‘the edge of forever’. (TJN)
Address: http:www.aferecords.com
PELLARIN – TANGIBLE ABSTRACTIONS (CD by Couchblip!)
Slithering bpms with AM radio crackle defines this new release from
the Australian Couchblip! label. With magical pixie sounds So Far has
a grey side but it is hidden under the glossy surface. Gentle,
aquatic waves of ambient sounds weave through soas mah and Polite
reminding me of elements missing in soundtrack recordings these days,
passionate content. Roskilde-based (Lars) Pellarin takes some
significant risks with a purely intangible form throughout the
fourteen track Tangible Abstractions. It’s as though he has taken
apart an early 80s John Foxx record, replaced some of it parts and
then filtered it through Richard James’ back end for good measure.
The stand out track is Community marrying a fairy tale and a Godzilla
flick with sharp traces of Glass. There is some unnecessary filler
(Auxi, Clean River) but for the record, he’s made a damn good one!
And if ‘language is a virus’ Pellarin muses about it here, stripping
all natural elements and creating a work dedicated to observing time,
space and shape. The ‘voice’ of Belarus has the tapping frequencies
once heard through Future Sound of London’s warped anonymity. Running
at just under an hour, this disc breaks down some common clichÈs in
today’s electronic music by way of experimenting with the quirkier
sounds of techno(logical) noise. (TJN)
Address: http://www.couchblip.com
POLMO POLPO – THE SCIENCE OF BREATH (CD by Substractif and Alien8 Recordings)
Polmo Polvo (Sandro Perri) has created a brilliant, yet densely thick
conceptual work that fills the room with deep rhythm. mid breathing
is a cauldron of bubbly, low-level whir that is gray-all-over.
Things change on the sultry beat of acqua where the image is of an
Ibiza club-darling atmosphere, but from a longing distance. This
saucy beat goes for an aerobic nine minutes, not drawing too much
attention to itself. Gone are the clichÈs of nightclub turntablist
dreams of overnight rave success. Here we have a simulation of a
club sound, minus the smartly dressed gang of usual suspects. low
breathing, once again, is a low-fi sizzle and quake build-up to
rottura which is a dreamy road song. There’s a half hygienic, half
comatose feeling in the air here. Lazy, drifting beats, so moody and
blessed, making the listener seem like a separate entity. This is a
warm sound, however. I can’t help but image a snowglobe, and its
sense of containment of another entire world. That’s what I hear on
The Science of Breath. A true sense of capture. On complete breath
things open up a bit while staying quietly focused, yet, reeling a
bit. At the end of the disc we are brought to the floor on the
frisky riva. If not to dance, to ponder the floor under our feet and
how we balance ourselves on surfaces. Maybe there is something to
the science of breath, of weight, of distance. (TJN)
Address:: http://www.substractif.com
SMYGLYSSNA – WE CAN FIX IT (CD by Vertical Form)
Might-It-Be’s and If-It-Were’s is an apt title opening this
unbalanced disc. Twenty-five year old Swedish-born Smyglyssna
(Henrik Johansson) is very clearly experimenting with the processes
as each track on We Can Fix It has its own individual vibe. This
sounds like a wannabe Warp recording but has a pacing that is more
congruent to his unlikely colleagues on Kid 606’s Tigerbeat 6.
Johansson must listen to a lot of jazz, in particular, early 70s-era
Miles Davis and this is reflected here. Though there are certain
moments where I am raring to groove a bit, the edge never tips
squarely enough towards the more funkier side to stick with it. This
may be the kind of record that would appeal to fans of say, The
Grassy Knoll or Ben Neill. Dylan Kendle’s cover art and titles like
The Duck People and Foaming Prairie infer a much more experimental
direction. There is certainly hope here, and an effort to
discombobulate the dance floor-friendly house opus’ all too
accessible, but we will have to wait for further developments. (TJN)
Address: http://www.verticalform.com
SQUAREPUSHER – DO YOU KNOW SQUAREPUSHER? (2xCD by Warp)
Things are bright and shiny out on the edge of the electronic
horizon. This is by far the most colorful example from the catalogue
of Squarepusher (Tom Jenkinson) thusfar, in terms of encrusting pop
idioms with an otherwise offbeat, left-of-center IDM sensibility. In
its fractured theme Do You Know Squarepusher a living/breathing rouse
marries these electro-twidlers to lapsed “Hey, Hey We’re The Monkees”
fare. Gone are some of Jenkinson’s former drum+bass hooks, and
though most effective within that tired genre, manages to keep the
essential aspects of what he designed flowing freely throughout this
superb exploratory disc. This is most noticeable on Anstromm-Feck 4
with its machine gun sense and appetite for speed. Clocking in at
only about a half hour the first disc on this set is nothing but
filled to the gills with heart racing madness and less expected
sensitive moments in repose as witnessed on the eleven minute
Mutilation Colony. Here we have the less logical, and more luminous
side of dramatic flare that sharply goes from sweet symphony to eerie
experimentalism. Its almost a short story where there is a
cliffhanger that keeps teasing you over and again. Of course no
record would be complete without its own rendition of Joy Division’s
Love Will Tear Us Apart, right? Who knows why this is included (and
in its pretty much unaltered state) – but the song is timeless people
(and Tom’s voice isn’t bad)! Since the sleeve notes are basically
only black-on-black graphics, the mystery will be sealed in the
vaults of postmodernism forever. Can I get a side order of chili
fries with that ma’am! OK, so now we are up for another ride on disc
2. This is Alive in Japan and was recorded in July 2001. All the
wires are in place, knobs aplenty, the crowd seems ready and
steady-goääthe sound is clear, and captures the place and its
enormous reverberation. The light din of the crowd is present
throughout arresting the real live experience. This crowd hangs on
every buzz, rephrasing and siss-boom-bah. This provides an apt
document of the event – but I think I might be happier to be included
in the sights and smells of the Bic lighter crowd! Or perhaps this
will become available on DVD? One thing is certain, feedback does
remain king. (TJN)
Address: http://www.warprecords.com
VARIOUS ARTISTS – MINIMA (CD by List)
Like any great compilation, the curatorial choice of having quality
sound artists is essential. List, a newcomer from France, has made
wise, fine selections from the very start. Opening with the magic
lilt of ambience on Sogar’s Aiuto Mathausen, whose sublime new
release Stengel also appears on List. The timewarp drone of Acoustic
Mass Interference Phase comes to us courtesy of Charles Curtis, an
American cellist with a penchant for understated, atmospheric
minimalism. The eight minute long player is a cross between white
noise and telecommunications-based interference that keeps its range
quite snug. There are contributions from Raster-Noton’s Komet (Frank
Bretschneider) and 12K’s Taylor Deupree and Richard Chartier. Also
found here is the “this is only a test” sine waves of (in)famous
noise technician Otomo Yoshihide on the lengthy twelve minute piece,
2 Guitars. Playing with the pitch wave of guitar feedback, he seems
to find an interruptive constant to the shrill mechanics, that test
my patience in its bating pluralism. The darkly painted portrait on
Ninjiki, by List co-founder Fabriquedecouleurs (Emmanuel Allard),
uses a suffocated approach to its fallen hero. Deupree’s circular,
spinning Occur.10 swims. Its miniature parts slightly obscured by
the tracks’ micro qualities and intimacy. Cytomics by *0 (Nosei
Sakata) is an ephemeral work that stops and starts again. The deep
thrust of pulse aims this as a purely abstract noise piece – almost
as though it were a sound test. Baltimore’s Richard Chartier offers
Composition 09.01, reminding me of his release on 12K’s LINE series
that was sound suited for headphone use. On this nearly eight minute
track the silences are heavy, an awkwardness is in the air, and the
anticipation of a moment is tense. But we only hear a very faint,
almost wind-like pattern. Chartier has distilled sound as far as it
can go, to where contemporaries like Bernard Gunter have taken it.
New Yorker Alan Licht, whose been known to create sounds a bit on the
more commercial side of the obscure, lands the ship with Retrograde,
a pleasing sci-fi lullaby. With a growing micromusic culture we now
see a wider choice from various countries, but all with a connection
to the invisible. (TJN)
Address: http://www.list-en.com
WASTELAND – AMEN FIRE (CD by Transparent)
After their most recent collab with To Rococo Rot, New York’s I-Sound
takes to the studio with UK’s DJ Scud in a refreshing beat concrete
lesson in thump and percussion. Briefly this “cross the lake”
collaboration called itself Thunder and Lightning – but Wasteland it
is! For a few moments I am reminded of Tortoise’s live play with
chainsaws on the suitably titled machinfest. Someone’s knocking, a
beat wants out, threatening to spring, but smoothly the transitions
are unexpected. A ravaged visage of something formerly funk has
wielded re-interpretation on Amen Fire. This is one of those discs
that make for a more active listening in its creeks and peaks. It
keeps shy of the dancefloor and for good reason, but hints its finer
penchant for shackled beats – even if they remain in bondage. It’s
like a quirky cross between microglitch and goth, with a bit of old
school industrial to spice things up a touch. In the far corners,
the screech and boon contrast in an unusual pairing of foreign
noises. There is a hinted Asian flare on lungfuls of air, with its
righteous handclaps and sluggish bassline. This is an urban record,
not like Lil’ Kim or Puff Daddy, but more streetwise, and less
filling – there’s just a saavy groove all the way through. (TJN)
Address: http://www.isoundinfo.com
WINDSOR FOR THE DERBY – THE EMOTIONAL RESCUE LP LP (CD by Aesthetics)
‘It’s the same, it’s the same, as when I hear you call my name,
every other love is put to shame’ is the refrain on the opening The
Same with breathy vocals, stunning guitar work and even mandolin (?).
I have to be honest about not knowing about these fine musicians
before being exposed herein, but, in fact, Dan Matz and Jason McNeely
formed Windsor for the Derby back in 1994. Over the years they have
reconstructed the face of the band and have at times included
contributions from Adam Wiltzie (Stars of the Lid) and Wayne Magruder
(Calla, Bowery Electric). I make a delicate comparison to the pacing
of Echo & the Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch and to Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom
minus the buzz. Joining the band here are Benjamin Cissner and Karl
Bauer on drums. Fall of ’68 is a hazy day tribute to the loss of
innocence and includes a charming horn to accompany the ‘fading’
vocals. Former Chicago-based label Aesthetics have only recently
moved out to the Pacific Northwest’s new center for alternative
culture, Portland Oregon and will be a very welcome neighbor. The
instrumental Indonesian Guitars has a softened hillbilly flare and
preps the listener for the continued bare Mythologies where
‘loneliness feels so real’ is spoken/sung as if it were a journal
entry. The few repetitive lines here create a trance-like statement
pursuing to convince oneself of your mirrored fate. Awkwardness has
a chilly similarity to the withdrawn and ghostly work of Joy
Division. Coming to conclusion on Donkey Ride, a distant carnival is
clouded in memory. The matte quality of its finish soothes this
finale as magically grande. PS: This recording has nothing in common
with the aging Glimmer Twins. (TJN)
Address: http://www.aesthetics-usa.com
BURNING STAR CORE – BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY (LP by Thin Wrist)
This LP was given to me months ago when I was in the USA. It slept in
a corner of the house for all these times, maybe because I expected
some industrial music of the worst kind looking at the painted
picture on the front of a skull. So when I finally got around to
playing this, I felt bad for not doing so earlier. ‘A Brighter Summer
Day’ lists CS Yeh on violin and electronics and Chris Rosing on
‘additional climax electronics’. In almost seventeen minutes they
unfold a hasty tapestry of noisy outbursts, set against the sampled
rhythms of a drummer, and an underpinning drone that sounds like Tony
Conrad on acid (or maybe not, who knows?). Surely improvised music
from the underground, that fits the best traditions of labels as
Fusetron, or band like Ashtray Navigations.
The other side ‘Baby It Wasn’t Meant To Me’ just lists Cs Yeh on
computer and these are ‘sleep deprivation experiments’ – organ like
sounds, minimal and peaceful, moving around in slow circles. A total
contrast with the other side. Quite a surprise, really! (FdW)
Address: www.thinwrist.com