[THE USER] – SYMPHONY #2 FOR DOT MATRIX PRINTERS (CD by Staalplaat)
V.A. – CLEAN – (CD by Line)
COH – NETMöRK (CD by Source Research)
THE TRAGEDY OF ERRORS (Compilation CD by Source Research)
ASSUMED POSSIBILITIES – STILL POINT (CD by Rossbin)
SCOTT FIELDS ENSEMBLE – FROM THE DIARY OF DOG DREXEL (CD by Rossbin)
HAJSCH – 1992 (CD by Sonig)
SYNAPSCAPE – RAW (CD by Ant-Zen Recordings)
CHRIS DOOKS – YOU KNOW, YOU LOVE SOMETHING LITTLE (CD by Lost Vessel)
DISTORTED ANIMALS – CATALOGUE 01 (CDR by Mik Musik)
PATHMAN – POZA (CDR by Mik Musik)
RETRO SEX GALAXY – LE BOOTLEGUE PARISIEN (CDR)
BEEQUEEN – A TOUCH OF BRIMSTONE (CD by Korm Plastics)
CORDELL KLIER – APPARITIONS (CD by Ad Noiseam)
STAR SWITCH ON (CD compilation by Touch)
FENNESZ – FIELD RECORDINGS 1995-2002 (CD by Touch)
NIKOS VELIOTIS/DAN WARBURTON (CDR by Absurd)
RABBIT SPEECH (CDR by Absurd)
DR. TREZNOK/CO CASPAR/INOX KAPELL – BEI SUPAMOLLY (3″CDR by Dhyana Records)
SAKADA – UNDISTILLED (CD by Matchless Recordings)
MASSIMO – HELLO DIRTY (CD by Mego)
[THE USER] – SYMPHONY #2 FOR DOT MATRIX PRINTERS (CD by Staalplaat)
Basically the title of this disc describes exactly what the listener
can expect. [The User] has actually taken the trouble to program
enough dot matrix printers to play a complete concert. It is
difficult to tell how much editing was applied, but the sound
spectrum of these machines is pretty awsome. I think it is safe to
assume that all possible sounds that these printers can make have
been used in this symphony. Aside from the gimmicky aspect of this
release, the CD has some very good tracks on it, although the sound
is getting a little tedious after a while, also because there is a
certain constant rythm. However, when the symphony nears its end, the
parts tend to get more ambient. The last part, for example, consists
only of the hum of the printers, until they are switched off, one by
one. In my humble opinion, with a little more emphasis on sound
generation and less on rythm, [The User] could make some more very
interesting stuff. (MR)
Address: www.staalplaat.com
V.A. – CLEAN – (CD by Line)
This new one on Line features three bands (or projects or ?):
Duul_Drv, Nibo and Vend. So in a way it is a three way split album I
guess. Firts up is Duul_Drv from Canada with three very beautiful and
atmospheric tracks with lots of subtleties, mainly in the high
frequencies. One of the most interesting things in their music is the
sparse use of ‘natural’ acoustic sounds, dripping through a texture
of dark drones and subtle glitches. The next three tracks are by Nibo
from Japan. All of them are made with the good old sine wave and do
indeed add something to the ‘genre’. Soft and gentle, but piercing.
And at some point, too much….. The last five tracks are by Vend
from the UK. They are all short, ranging from two to four minutes,
and made from short sounds as well. With generous amounts of silence,
these tracks have a certain mesmerizing quality, not unlike ambient
music, but starting from a totally different approach. Most of the
sounds are in the high frequencies range and sort of flutter around
the ears, stirring the listener into a certain state of drifting
consciousness. Very well done. (MR)
Address: www.12k.com
COH – NETMöRK (CD by Source Research)
THE TRAGEDY OF ERRORS (Compilation CD by Source Research)
Many of the releases on Source Research label deal with re-working,
re-mixing of some kind. Coh contributed to an earlier project of
Source Research, the Emre (Dark Matter) one. Apperentely the music he
played there was interesting enough to rework and extend. ‘Netmörk’
is, I believe, not a real word, but pulled together from the words
net (as in network) and mörk, meaning dark. What happens inside the
telephone lines network? Is there more happening then people talking
to eachother? This is loosely what this CD is about. The first
lengthy piece is indeed a dark, haunting piece of laptop electronics,
which gradually fades over in ‘Love A Hate’, which is a very open
piece of a telephone signal, being processed into just wavering
tones. Halfway through deep end drones are faded in. The final piece
in this trilogy is a piece dedicated by Giorgio Moroder and Khari
Kelvin of Solrais and is an almost disco like piece indeed, but then
top heavy of all the effects. As a bonus one gets a fourth, smaller
track ‘Undercosm’, which finds Coh in Pan Sonic territories. The good
thing about Coh’s music that it takes its inspiration from many
influences: clicks and cuts, laptop trickery but is also influenced
by Coil and the likes. This CD proofs it again. Coh is good
More reworking on ‘The Tragedy Of Errors’. Three bands each do an
original track, which is passed to the next band, who do a remix and
then pass it on to the third band. Involved are Source Research (the
band behind the label), Steinbruchel and Cattivo, the latter fully
unknown for me. If I put thing in a rather rough perspective, then
I’d say that Source Research mainly deals with loops and beats,
Steinbruchel with cracks and Cattivo is sort of in between these two.
It’s funny to see that when it comes to remixing other people’s work,
the original sound input stays so obvious. Take Source Research remix
of Steinbruchel. The crcaks and deep end sounds of Steinbruchel are
basically re-arranged in loop mode by Source Research. Or the vice
versa track: Steinbruchel cracks Source Research into loops. It’s not
an easy task to do a fully interesting and new remix based on the
sounds of someone else. As tracks by themselves this is quite a nice
CD, as the result of a bunch of remixes, I must say, it’s not
entirely successful. And I surely don’t understand why there is a
track ten with 16 minutes of silence, followed by two minutes of
noise. That idea is so worn out. (FdW)
Address: www.source-research.com
ASSUMED POSSIBILITIES – STILL POINT (CD by Rossbin)
SCOTT FIELDS ENSEMBLE – FROM THE DIARY OF DOG DREXEL (CD by Rossbin)
Assumed Possibilities is a quartet from London with Chris Burn on
piano and toy piano, Rhodri Davies on harp, Phil Durrant on violin
and Mark Wastell on violincello. All four are well rooted in the
lively London improvisation music scene. As a quartet they exist
since 1998 and this CD, their second, was recorded in january 2001
when they celebrated their third year of existence. The nine pieces
are of course highly improvisational, but it’s all of a highly
controlled atmosphere. It seems that silence plays an equal important
role as the music itself. These four people play the instruments with
a great passion and with a keen ear to what the others are doing and
everybody has their place in the bigger picture. Carefull and
delicate, detailed and great.
All of that I can’t say for the CD by Scott Fields Ensemble. Composed
and improvised music play an equal role here, but the interplay of
oboe, trumpet, electric guitar, horn etc. couldn’t keep my interest
very much. They play all by themselves in a horrible improv manner,
very much the way people to expect what improvised music sound like.
Four movements – over 50 minutes in length. The most interesting, but
also out of place, piece is the final, fifth, piece in which all the
sound elements are blended together with the use of Max/Msp software.
That piece saves the CD more or less for me. But one good piece is
not good enough at all. (FdW)
Address: www.rossbin.com
HAJSCH – 1992 (CD by Sonig)
This is indeed a much welcomed re-issue, but I must say it’s also a
bit of history forgery. On this CD you will find two records that
were released ten years ago by Hajsch (aka Jans Jurgen Schunk) on his
own Quiet Artworks label. One was a real solo LP as Hajsch and one
was a LP by PFN, a duo of Hajsch and Monika Westphal. But the liner
notes do not mention this at all. Now it seems as if it’s all just
Hajsch. Another point of critique is that these are not the complete
LPs as released back then. I reviewed both records in Vital, when it
was still a paper version. For this new review I decided not to
re-read my old review, but rather go by my memory and what I hear
now. There are five lengthy tracks on this. The first and the last
represent the PFN LP. And that is a gorgeous LP. A standout classic.
‘Akasa’ is a droning piece, with some far way sounds. ‘Für Cleo’ is
even more beautiful. Drones on guitar start the piece out, but a
sentimental saxophone sound ends the piece in total solitairy. The
three tracks in between comes from the Hajsch ‘Nagual’ LP. Back then
they were divided into seperate pieces, but now they are grouped
together into three lengthy pieces. In his solo work Hajsch has
similar interest in drone music, but overall it’s a little bit louder
and abrassive. Sounds generated with bicycle, guitar, field
recordings, melodica and sampler, hoover much more in effects and are
maybe a bit more dated then the timeless PFN LP. I do remember that
back then I had similar opinion, but I must also say that now I like
the Hajsch solo material better then what I reminded of it. They were
indeed two LPs that were worth receiving a complete CD re-issue, but
maybe there is more to come? (in fact to be complete: they were
released as a group of three LPs, the third one, by Ios Smolders, is
also a CD re-issue worth!). (FdW)
Address: www.sonig.com
SYNAPSCAPE – RAW (CD by Ant-Zen Recordings)
Hissing drones opens this over-the-top voyage into the back-catalogue
of German harsh-industrialists in Synapscape. Responsible for the
very first release on German label Ant-Zen Recordings, Synapscape was
one of the true pioneers of the Power-Noise-sound that first of all
characterizes the style of Ant Zen Recordings. When listening to some
of the earlier works by Synapscape, it soon becomes clear that the
sound of old-school Industrial shines through the thick walls of
noisy electronics. Especially when the second track on the album
titled “Sorrow” (1994) outbursts, associations of Whitehouse
penetrate, thanks to the rumbling power electronics moving ahead like
rhythm-less machines of extreme aggression (not surprising since
Whitehouse masterwork “Erector” released in 1981, has been considered
the first power electronics-album ever) While some moments of “Raw”
deliver subdued noise-drones suppressed by heavily distorted rhythms,
other tracks let the drones of noisy power electronics rise from the
sub-level into the centre of the listener. Looking back to the first
seven years of Synapscape, “Raw” delivers everything that make
Synapscape sound like they do today: Explosive rhythmic textures,
Industrial soundscapes of beauty and ugliness as well as mysterious
and not too friendly vocals. In that sense “Raw” is a great
Synapscape-anthology and with the additional never-released
materials, the album should keep us well entertained until next opus
from this legendary power-noise act see the
daylight. (NMP)
Address: www.ant-zen.com
CHRIS DOOKS – YOU KNOW, YOU LOVE SOMETHING LITTLE (CD by Lost Vessel)
Chris Dooks has been around for some time, but most people will
probably know him from his Bovine Life monniker and albums on Fallt
and Bip Hop. He is also a filmmaker. A 20 minute film is also to be
found on this, his latest CD. Chris likes to keep things short. His
twenty six tracks take no more then fourty four minutes. He applies
very much the same laptop trickery as a lot of other people do, but
where a lot of others leap into lenghty, yet pointless excursions of
laptop masturbation, Chris keeps everything nice, playing little
melodies, piss takes on ambient and certainly adds his own flavour.
Not every track is a smash hit, but due to the shortness that is no
problem. Bad things are over and replaced by the better parts of the
record, and which are luckily in a majority.
The film on this CD could not convince me. In a setting of an empty
castle two people act in the dark, in some kind of tale which I
didn’t fully comprehend. The music sounded like a mixture of body
sounds and mediaval music – at times slightly processed, but even
then not my cup of tea. (FdW)
Address: <info@lostvessel.cjb.net>
DISTORTED ANIMALS – CATALOGUE 01 (CDR by Mik Musik)
PATHMAN – POZA (CDR by Mik Musik)
RETRO SEX GALAXY – LE BOOTLEGUE PARISIEN (CDR)
If one chooses Distorted Animals as their bandname, one can be
nothing else then a punk. Here the punkband is an one guy thing: a 19
year old from Poland and this is his debut release. With the full
seventy seven minutes filled with music, it might also be a bit too
much. Distorted Animals has a punk attitude towards electronic music.
Chopped up, collaged and then cut again into small portions. There
are bits of techno, noise and even a bit of improvisational music in
‘Dotdotdot Proud’, hustled together. It sounds fine, but at this
length and this amount of tracks also a bit tiring. Maybe it would
have been better if the guy would have concentrated a little bit more
on fewer tracks, and worked out the potentionally interesting ideas
better.
Much more conventional are Pathman, ex-members of Atman and people
from Motr Drammaz (who run the Mik Musik label). Four people on the
instruments, including accordion, guitar, bass, electronics and
clarinet. All of these recordings were made in concerts, but treated
afterwards in the studio and little bit extras were added. The
material is made in an improvisational way, which opens nicely on the
first two tracks with an interesting interplay of simple guitar lines
– Steve Reich unmistakenly influenced. After that CD gets out of
control. Bits of improv, oriental rock, glitch and noise: it seems
like these boys want to cover the entire history of alternative music
in less then an hour. Although it’s quite alright, it’s a bit of
tiring music, with all these changes in style.
Retro Sex Galaxy is a solo project by Wojtek K. of Pathman and Motr
Drammaz. It finds his work in an entirely different territory.
Entirely electronic, entirely laptop probably. The material was
recorded at a radio station in Paris, and is total electronic mayhem.
It skips, cracks and clicks, but is not really the sort of usual
clicks & cuts type of music. Retro Sex Galaxy is more interested in
the guerilla tactics of collage. The radio is used as sound input,
and the plug ins work overtime to process all these sounds. Quite a
noisy affair, but at that: quite alright too. Although not a Mik
Musik release, I’m sure you can get it there. (FdW)
Address: http://www.da.terra.pl
BEEQUEEN – A TOUCH OF BRIMSTONE (CD by Korm Plastics)
Beequeen (Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar) have released A Touch
of Brimstone, the newest stealth recording from a powerfully growing
discography. Comprised of ten tracks this collection includes never
before released recordings from their vaults dated from 1989 through
1996. The din is enterprising, the pacing is primordial. The
immediate impact of the overall work is stunningly thought-provoking.
The tracks slow the body while listening, paving a sense of raw
comatose. The voice on Rainhas des Abelhas , one of their very first
constructed pieces for 4-track, is Dennis Cooper, sounding like a
lecturer from a 1940s instructional radio broadcast. Several of the
Meta Phase tracks here were noise experiments created for a photo
installation piece by Erik van Wesserloo back in 1991. Look for
Beequeen’s inclusion on the Tribryd Installation Soundtracks due in
the Spring on Beta-lactam Ring Records. The title track is somewhat
of a cross between sine waves and feedback, with a plotting
background and seething high-pitched center. On Suite 31-28 the
sounds are based on concepts of warmth and temperature. Its defiance
of literalness makes it a more watchful
listen. The experiment is in our mind, the perfectly blended sonic
weave of protection is a figment of our imagination. A Touch of
Brimstone presents a language all its own, on par with SOS or
artificial intelligence. The art of noise is clear. (TJN)
Address: http://www.staalplaat.com
CORDELL KLIER – APPARITIONS (CD by Ad Noiseam)
Ghostly slow-wave clicks filtered and smooth, like a mid summer
campfire with just the faint crackle of the elements, or snowflakes
melting in mid air. This is the new disc by Codell Klier. Complete
with low cadence cling-clang this recording represents the full-on
richness of what can be developed within the realm of mcrosound.
Chilly, staged observances of minute sounds amplified for to bracing
effect. This reminds me of a monitoring satellite, far beyond the
solar reaches, powered and static. This sounds like a field recording
from some interplanetary cosmos, absorbing your attention through
atomic discourse. Klier steeps your ears and ferments your mind.
(TJN)
Address: http://www.adnoiseam.net
STAR SWITCH ON (CD compilation by Touch)
Was it last week, when I wrote: remix CDs, who needs them? Much else
I said last week, might apply to this compilation. Seven people remix
Chris Watson’s wildlife recordings (one of them is Chris Watson), but
I must assume none of these artists come as big surprises, nor do I
think that say the Fennesz fans never heard of Chris Watson or his
releases on Touch. So it’s all a bit incestious, humbly me thinks.
Also the website info reads that many more tracks were received but
not used (by People Like Us, Ambarchi and SETI among others), which
is a pity since it’s a relatively short CD. So apart from all sour
grapes, the music is of course that what counts. Chris Watson
(ex-Cabaret Voltaire and ex-Hafler Trio) spends much of time going
out with a mini disc, doing recordings of animals in exotic places.
Here these recordings are used as source material. Mika Vianio has a
rather dark creepy piece of really low end beeps, Philip Jeck is both
rhythmical aswell as rather noisy for his doings. Hazard is here also
not in his usual ambient territory, but rather tries to sound like
Fennesz, with a cracky, laptop like sound. Fennesz has a short fuzzy
piece that is among the best of the CD, just like AER (Jon
Wozencraft’s sound project), who processes the sound of goats in a
very nice piece. Also Biosphere’s pieces hoovers around short samples
and is lesser ambient then we are used by him. This collection also
includes two unreleased recordings by Chris Watson, of which
especially the last (cramned inside Biosphere’s piece) is a haunting
pack of wolves – open for further process? (FdW)
Address: www.touch.demon.co.uk
FENNESZ – FIELD RECORDINGS 1995-2002 (CD by Touch)
About 20 years ago, the CD arrived. I never thought that so many of
the obscurities of my vinyl collection would be on CD. Since I move
houses too often, I am so delighted to get rid of my vinyl and
replace them by CDs. So a collection of Fennesz is most welcome, even
when one can get rid of one piece of vinyl after that… This
collection has the famous ‘Instrument’ 12″ – the first statement of
Fennesz as a guitarist working with samplers and computers (after his
initial career as a rock guitarist) and what a great relaunch of a
career. Besides this we find a whole bunch of compilation tracks that
might be hard to get or which are deleted (and in a most curious
case, also one that will be released next year, his remix for
Mathieu/Ehlers ‘Heroin’ project). It’s interesting to see Fennesz
work evolve over the years. ‘Instrument’ is still a fairly ‘normal’
piece of music, with rhythmmachines and gliding drones. Compare that
with ‘Odessa’ or ‘Codeine’ – pulsating drones in which electronics
celebrate (with a guitar strum never far away). But in all it’s
aspects, Fennesz slightly fuzzy electronic sound, which is warm most
of the time, the musical element is never far away. He never drowns
in letting the plug ins wander freely, but limits himself to
composing a small, yet definte composition. A rare quality not often
seen among the glitchtoppers. Fennesz is still the best! (FdW)
Address: www.touch.demon.co.uk
NIKOS VELIOTIS/DAN WARBURTON (CDR by Absurd)
RABBIT SPEECH (CDR by Absurd)
An interesting work of collaboration between a violin and a cello
player, the first is Nikos Veliotis and the other Dan Warburton. They
recorded various sound files in Paris, which each took home to rework
on the computer. They arrive a very different pieces of music but
both of equal length. Nikos Veliotis stretches the sound out into a
long, droning piece without hardly any move. A beautiful piece which
brings the best memories of Mirror alive for me.
Dan’s piece opens in similar vein, but is already more crackling.
Half way through things burst out in computer generated noise, which
sort of takes things to an extreme – an extreme operating as the
total opposite of Nikos’ piece. I must say that from that point, the
piece wasn’t as good as it started, and certainly doesn’t have the
same quality as Nikos’ piece, but maybe that’s just because I am a
bit tired of noise, even when it’s computer generated. But as said,
that only happens half way through the piece, leaving at least 2/3 of
the release of rather good music.
I must admit that my close study of the liner notes for ‘Rabbit
Speech’ was fairly unsuccesful. I have no clue what it is about, but
apperentely it’s some performance cum improv event, including various
collaborations between various people, including Absurd’s labelboss
Nicolas Malevitsis. Also I must admit I am not really blown away by
these improvisations. They hoover around in noise too much, even when
it doesn’t include sheer hellish feedback, but overall the
improvisational pieces do not seem to go anywhere. It’s all a bit too
much of a hit and miss for me. Maybe with viewing the performance it
would have been better, but the music by itself doesn’t stand out.
(FdW)
Address: <absurd@otenet.gr>
DR. TREZNOK/CO CASPAR/INOX KAPELL – BEI SUPAMOLLY (3″CDR by Dhyana Records)
A neat little CDR release, which was recorded earlier this year by a
most odd trio: Inox Kapell, Co Caspar and Dr. Treznok. Knowing the
background of Inox Kapell and Co Caspar it seems hard to combine
their funny pop style of Inox Kapell with the acoustic, metallic
sound sculptures of Caspar. Dr. Treznok is here for me the odd ball,
I never heard of him. These six tracks are mostly improvisations
built around acoustic instruments, except for one piece which is a Co
Caspar piece (with his trademark use of sound effects). Instruments
include found sounds, wind instruments and Caspar’s metallic pipes.
They play along nicely in these strange, yet atmospheric sounds of
swirling noises, small treatments and an occassional blow on the wind
instruments. Suddenly a rhythmbox kicks in – Inox Kapell speaking
here. It’s funny to see that all of these things don’t fit together,
but then maybe odd enough they make a nice sense of this disc.
Captured in concert for a small audience in a small metal container,
this must have a strange evening. (FdW)
Address: www.dhyanarecords.com
SAKADA – UNDISTILLED (CD by Matchless Recordings)
Sakada is a meeting. A meeting of the old and the new. The old is
drummer Eddie Prevost (of AMM and much more fame) and Mattin on
‘computer feedback’ aand Rosy Parlane on computer and radio. Maybe an
unlikely collaboration, but one that works suprisingely well.
Captured here are three live recordings from early 2002, two from
London and one from Rotterdam. The first London show, at Audit, finds
the three in a rather noisy mood. Things hiss, crackle and noise
their way through the twenty minute piece. The longest piece is the
second piece, recorded at Worm in Rotterdam, and this is also the
best piece of the CD. Here the balance between the more noisy moments
of the Audit piece are combined with more austere moments of
contemplating improvisations, in which each of the three performers
have their own defined space. Certainly towards the end of the piece
the proceedings sound like AMM, albeit in a more electronic vein. The
final piece was recorded at Baggage Reclaim (does that still exist??)
and is the shortest of the three. Here it seems that the refinement
works best and most contemplating, but the nice mixture of the more
noisy bits with the austere bits is not so apperent here. However,
having said all of this, it’s a fine work of improvisation music, an
unlikely meeting of persons and instruments. (FdW)
Address: www.matchlessrecordings.com
MASSIMO – HELLO DIRTY (CD by Mego)
Surely one of the loudest CDs lately. Mastered plus god knows how
many extra db’s, Massimo rocks. Massimo rocks hard. Massimo is tongue
in cheek. The fake Japanese like cover which includes a real photo of
the popstar himself refers to popmusic, possibly attracting young
girls like Robbie Williams and others. But also the music itself is
about popmusic, I think. Despite the loud blasts, the digital mayhem,
the repeating blocks sound like lifted from old popmusic, but it has
been fed to a couple of monsters. No matter how hard they chew on the
matter, it sounds like guitars and rhythmboxes, but heavily
processed. One could place Massimo right next to Kid 606, but me
humbly thinks Massimo has more to say and is a bit more original then
his US counterpart. Whereas you can hear whatever Kid 606 is sampling
and messing about, the sources of Massimo are not revealed. And
indeed this need not be. Massimo takes off where industrial music at
his peak in the mid eighties became truly boring. In a way, Massimo
brings on the digital version of Esplendor Geometrico, but maybe less
linear and more chaotic and becomes his own voice of innovating
industrial music. It’s not necessarily a whole new voice in music,
but he’s certainly one that attracts young people to loud music. (FdW)
Address: www.mego.at
1. Miles Miles
Miles Miles, the guitarist and multi-instrumentalist with the group
Bourbonese Qualk died on Sunday 27th October having hung himself in
his flat in south London. Miles had finally lost a battle with drug
addiction and depression, the result of a childhood scarred by abuse
and humiliation at the hands of his step-parents and the suicide of
his father at an early age.
Miles was a gifted and unique musician. His influences ranged widely
from Brazilian, Ethiopian and Arabic music to mathematics,
architecture and number pattern theory. The characteristic ‘sound’
of the group was defined by Miles’s subtle, organic playing
contrasted against digital or mechanical patterns. His other unheard
influence in the group was his attitude: no one or nothing (including
himself) was spared his critical but witty denouncement. This often
lead to heated ‘debate’ and occasional fights and loss of musicians
with weaker stamina but I think contributed to the quality of the
groups published works.
As a mark of respect the remaining members of bourbonese qualk have
decided to dissolve the group. We feel that miles’s contribution was
far to important to be able to replace. We all miss him more than he
would ever have imagined, as a friend and as an artist.
Simon Crab for Bourbonese Qualk