MEDUSA – MEDUSA (Cd by Moloko+)
THE EVOLUTION GARDEN – SHADOWS DEFYING THE LAWS OF TRADITIONAL
OPINIONS ABOUT HOW LIGHT MANIFESTS (3″CDR by Evolution Garden)
KOJI ASANO – GONDOLA ODYSSEY (CD by Solstice)
KOJI ASANO – ABSURD SUMMER (CD by Solstice)
KOJI ASANO – PIANO SUITE VOL.1 (CD by Solstice)
SLOW SOUND SYSTEM – SHOW CASE: FIRST STEPS (CDR by Grain Of Sound)
DEEP – DRIVE DEEP DOWN HILL (2×3″CDR by Dhyana Records)
STILLUPSTEYPA – PROJECT HORROR EXPRESS (LP by En/Of)
STEPHAN MATHIEU – ONCE (LP by En/Of)
PAN AMERICAN – MEMORIZE (LP by En/Of)
TELEPHERIQUE – HOERSPIELE (CD by Afe Records)
DOF – IF MORE THAN TWENTY PEOPLE LAUGH, IT WASN’T FUNNY (CD by
Highpoint Lowlife Records)
HERPES Ö DELUXE – HAVARIE (CD by Everest Records)
VERTONEN – STENDAC (CDR by Boxmedia)
ANTHONY PATERAS & ROBIN FOX – COAGULATE (CD by Synaesthesia)
SNAWKLOR – IT COULD HAVE LIVED HERE (CD by Synaesthesia)
DELIRE – DIASPORA (CD by Synaesthesia)
DANIELLE LEMAIRE – SPACEMAKING (CDR by Inner Landscapes)
THE MUSIQUE CONCRETE ENSEMBLE – DISONANCIAS Y REPETICIONES AMBIGUAS
(CD by Eco Discos)
OREN AMBARCHI/GUNTER MULLER/VOICE CRACK – OYSTERED (CD by Audiosphere/Sub Rosa)
BASTARD NOISE/CHRISTIAN RENOU – BRAINSTORMING (CD by Desolation House)
PHILL NIBLOCK – TOUCH FOOD (CDx2 by Touch)
SURFACE OF ECEYON – DRAGYYN (CD by Strange Attractors)
CHARLIE FERRARI – IN CORPUS, SANGUIS FLUIT (3″ CD by Alku)
ERKKI KURENNIEMI – AANITYKSIA RECORDINGS 1963-73 (CD by Love Records)
TSUKIMONO – THE BACK IS A COLLECTION OF BUSTED STATIC (MP3+PDF)
DAVID TOOP – BLACK CHAMBER (CD by sub Rosa)
MEDUSA – MEDUSA (Cd by Moloko+)
In Greek mythology, Medusa was the mythological female who had the
knowledge of everything. Having chosen such an ambitious name,
members of German project Medusa, Andreas Brüning and Gerald
Lindhorst, virtually reduce the entire history of music into one hour
of excellent cut-up insanity, crossing a great number of musical
styles and traditions throughout this, their self-titled debut-album.
A fascinating crossover of styles such as Jazz, raga, blues ethnic
folk music just to mention some of the dominating elements. As a
dedicated acoustic bass player, Andreas Brüning has a great free
improvisational approach to his instrument. A warm and funky bass
line lies in the background on most of the tracks, giving a nice
organic feeling on the album meanwhile standing as a great contrast
to the cool electronic cut-up (mis)treatments of Gerald Lindhorst. On
the rhythmic side the dub-like downtempo rhythms are the most
obvious. A few tracks though turn away from the downtempo rhythm
patterns straight towards more energetic breakbeats. On the vocal
side, Medusa first of all manipulates exotic vocal samples ranging
from eastern chant to hymns of American natives. Medusa works in the
field of blending cold electronics and warm acoustic instrumentation.
They certainly do it well here! (NMP)
Address: http://www.medusa-music.com
THE EVOLUTION GARDEN – SHADOWS DEFYING THE LAWS OF TRADITIONAL
OPINIONS ABOUT HOW LIGHT MANIFESTS (3″CDR by Evolution Garden)
The ever so active Evolution Garden now releases a 3″ CDR, which is
their first release in quite some time not to be part of the
‘Rehearsal Series’, so I gather this is a composed piece of music
that might or might not be part of their forthcoming full length
release. In the course of eleven minutes, The Evolution Garden built
up their piece in a rather slow, evolutionairy way. Guitars start to
tinkle, and slowly arise in a mass, with a bass being added later on.
Halfway through it suddenly collapses and the piece takes a new
shape, in a more ambient direction. The first half is less of an
ambient direction, and more experimental. Quite a nice piece (or
maybe two pieces in one?). Get on with that new CD – I’m getting very
curious. (FdW)
Address: http://www.evolutiongarden.com
KOJI ASANO – GONDOLA ODYSSEY (CD by Solstice)
KOJI ASANO – ABSURD SUMMER (CD by Solstice)
KOJI ASANO – PIANO SUITE VOL.1 (CD by Solstice)
Koji Asano is back on track, three CDs at once, and they are both
very different from each other. Being a ‘real’ composer aswell as an
improviser and composer of electronic works, he is likely an easy
one to cover many fields of music. ‘Gondola Odyssey’ for instance is
an electronic work in four parts. At first I thought it was the
processed sound of a church organ, but that was only so in the first
piece. The three other pieces might be derived from it, but are less
easy to recognize. The four pieces are in full minimal mood,
Asano-styled I might say. Tones and timbres slide by ever so gently,
as this is a work of relatively softness – for Asano standards. This
is one of the better works by Asano I heard so far.
The two other releases are totally different from ‘Gondola Odyssey’,
but also different from each other. ‘Absurd Summer’ is a short CD,
thirty one minutes, and explores in eleven pieces the guitar, at
least that’s what I think, in mostly loud pieces of noise oriented
music. Short pieces that is, but that’s ok, me think here. Rather
then an hour of noise orgy, the different short pieces offer a strong
variety of sound, culminating in the eleventh piece, which is also
one of the longest: soft and gentle minimalism.
‘Piano Suite Vol.1’ is even shorter, nineteen minutes and has twenty
tracks, all for solo piano. These pieces were written by Koji Asano
and performed by Isao Otake on the piano. I must say that this is
probably the sweetest release of the three, but for me the least
interesting. I have nothing against solo piano music, but these short
sketch like miniatures just couldn’t keep my attention very much. It
was, if you don’t me saying so, too much living room muzak. (FdW)
Address: http://www.kojiasano.com
SLOW SOUND SYSTEM – SHOW CASE: FIRST STEPS (CDR by Grain Of Sound)
You might know Slow Sound System from their various announcements in
previous editions of Vital Weekly. They are a bunch of DJs, who deal
with ambient music and soundscapes and the work is presented in
various spaces around London. For their first release, compiled by
the member called Imax, they plunder from the previous releases on
Grain Of Sound, who is now releasing the result. I am quite surprised
that the result is far from ambient. It hisses and cracks all over
the place in fine laptop manner – this is probably due to the input
(CDs of previous music being mixed). Any other, more ambient or
soundscaping input, would have probably resulted in something that is
more along the lines of ambient of soundscaping. In the end the
result is nice, but also a bit dissatisfying. My problem is that the
whole DJ business. Why release something like this? It’s fun to
create a mix of various sound inputs and listen to it, but not a
great, creative thing. Why then release the result on a sound
carrier? To me it seems that one takes other people’s creative ideas
and by playing around with it in a very direct manner, adding again
other people’s creative ideas, and then call it something of yours,
is not a very appealling thing. Maybe I’m just plain old-fashioned.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.grainofsound.com/slow.htm
DEEP – DRIVE DEEP DOWN HILL (2×3″CDR by Dhyana Records)
Deep are a German duo who have released their works on Dhyana before.
Together they play bass, actually two of them, vocals, feedback and
sounds. Deep is a very apt chosen workname. As one can imagine with
the use of two bass guitars, it hoovers on the deep end of sound
spectrum, but their sound consists not merely of ambient drones. They
play their instruments with bows and sound effects, and both pieces
(each mini has two tracks of twenty minutes) start in droning mood,
but gradually fade over into stoner rock. The basses are plucked and
vocals are added, with simple repeating lines that enhance the
brooding atmosphere of the songs. Delicate, maybe a bit out-dated
stoner rock, shoe gazing if you want, but nevertheless quite
effective music at that.
Address: http://www.dhyanarecords.com
STILLUPSTEYPA – PROJECT HORROR EXPRESS (LP by En/Of)
STEPHAN MATHIEU – ONCE (LP by En/Of)
PAN AMERICAN – MEMORIZE (LP by En/Of)
Three new releases on the En/Of label, the first three of a total of
nine in 2003. Each record comes with an unique piece of art by a
reknowned artist.
Daniel Roth is the visual artist who made a laserprint with each a
unique photo and Stillupsteypa deliver the music for it. A while ago
I saw them play live and they seemed to be more and more diving into
fucked up disco and techno music, but these influences aren’t so
clearly present on the first side of this record. Here, rather,
Stillupsteypa (I believe this is their first record since they are a
duo) seem to go back in time and influences and seem to be taking
their Hafler Trio influences once again. The b-side is a reflection
of the recent concerts. Cheap organ rhythms with added noise and
distortion go by. I am not sure if this is the way I would like to
see them develop more. I prefer the more worked out a-side of the
record.
Stephan Mathieu is the first to have a second release on En/Of and
here the piece of art is a print by Darren Almond, whose dreamy
picture fits the music well. Two side-long pieces by Stephan here,
one is ‘Once’ for guitar and one is ‘Frequenzen’ for harmonika. The
latter is a beautiful gliding piece of tones shifting in and out, in
a very fine Phill Niblock or Alvin Lucier mood. ‘Once’ is also based
on just a few tones, but is more rhythmical, with shorter loops. Over
the course of this side the music develops slowly but unmistakenly,
unlike the more static side of ‘Frequenzen’. Of course none of the
instruments are to be recognized. The instruments are strongely
reworked on the computer and Stephan Mathieu is a true master at that.
Pan American is one of those things you never read much about in
Vital Weekly, but it is one of my favourite musics around. Started
out a solo project from Mark Nelson of Labradford, with a stronger
focuss on keyboards and rhythms, here Mark returns to the use of
guitars. Four relatively sounding pieces of organs, a far far far
away bass drum and on top the guitar picking tones, playing slides
and creating a desolate dessert feel over the music. ‘In Harbor’ is a
piece that is more along the recent paths of Pan American and is a
minimalist piece of music, of a desolated industrial areas. A perfect
soundtrack to a roadmovie – when will Hollywood find out? His record
comes with a print by Thomas Demand. All En/Of records are limited to
100 copies only. (FdW)
Address: http://www.bottrop-boy.com
TELEPHERIQUE – HOERSPIELE (CD by Afe Records)
Telepherique are main players in the world of underground noise since
god knows how many years. Their discography must long and filled with
obscure LP releases, CDs and CDRs. On their most recent release
‘Hoerspiele’ (which is that remarkable German word for radioplays)
they explore the world of ambient and musique concrete. Taking
elements from daily life and feeding that through samplers,
synthesizers and sound effects (reverb is the most important one,
sadly enough as I am no particular big fan of the use of reverb) and
thus creating music that is about the ‘sensibility of hearing, the
chance of hearing, meditating and travelling by the means of well
known noises that we can hardly hear because they always surround
us’. The result is quite nice ambient music that avoids the kitschy
cliche’s and is most of the time upfront present. Only in ‘Fernweh’,
with it’s ambient house rhythm and dolphins cry, they miss a point.
This is music about travelling, I very much agree. It moves from the
country-side to the city and back. It’s forcefull yet still ambient
music, loaded from top to bottom with sounds and effects. Despite
some of the effects being too much present in the mix, it’s still a
nice release. (FdW)
Address: http://www.aferecords.com
DOF – IF MORE THAN TWENTY PEOPLE LAUGH, IT WASN’T FUNNY (CD by
Highpoint Lowlife Records)
The press release with this release sound promising. Behind DoF there
is one Brian Hulick from Philadelphia who has been making music since
four years, after a meteorite crash landed in his backgarden. The
text raves also about a ‘truly original album’, but at the same time
it is compared to Matmos, Boards Of Canda and Autechre. I always
thought that ‘original’ defies anything else and is something of it’s
own. ‘A Path Lights This Way’ opens the CD and is very nice that is
built mainly around guitar loops and time stretches. Nothing
expectionally new, but a very nice track. It turns out that the
guitar plays quite a big role on this CD and the cross-over with
indeed the three aforementioned influences on the electronica side of
the music. Quite pleasent music altogether, maybe at eleven lenghty
tracks a bit overlong. Maybe the same amount of tracks, but then
shorter, or just lesser tracks would have been better. Maybe original
in it’s cross-over style, but otherwise not something shockingly new
and just an entertaining CD. (FdW)
Address: http://www.highpointlowlife.com
HERPES Ö DELUXE – HAVARIE (CD by Everest Records)
Despite the fact that this band exists since ten or so years, this is
their first release. They play the music on ‘cables and machines’ and
not ‘cables and screens’, meaning that they play their music on
analogue synths, turntables, tape-loops and voice. Sometimes they
play their music in conjunction with theater and also with ‘explosion
artist’ Pavel Schmidt. The four lenghty pieces of music are to be
found on this CD and as far as I understand they are derived from
improvisations. It’s hard to describe their sound and the way it is
generated. It’s very full and darkly loaded with synthesizers sounds
and an occassional far away human voice. Somewhere it is along the
lines of ambient industrial music or early Illusion Of Safety. In
’13. Kaverne’ hints of a rhythm drop in. Because of the cloudyness of
the recording, it’s kinda hard to form a good picture of the music.
It’s dark, atmospheric through out, but also a bit too much what I’ve
heard ten years ago and this didn’t strike me as particular good or
bad. Maybe back then it would have made more impression… (FdW)
Address: http://www.everestrecords.com
VERTONEN – STENDAC (CDR by Boxmedia)
Behind Vertonen is Blake Edwards, who also runs the Crippled
Intellect label. Blake’s music is mostly about drones, continous
blocks of sound that sometimes work as a loop. I believe one of his
main instruments is a turntable and of course sound effects. Over the
course of these five tracks on this release, Vertonen builts up in
volume. ‘Pt. 1’, the opening piece is quite soft and almost inaudible
and ‘Descent’, the final track, ends with a high feedback peep. The
use of turntables is most present in ‘4 Min’, which is mainly
crackles from vinyl, being fed through a whole bunch of sound
effects. In general I very much like Vertonen’s music, even when I
think that some tracks are bit over long: what can be said in five
minutes shouldn’t be said in ten minutes. Sometimes he takes too much
time to tell his story. But in terms of ambient meeting industrial
music meeting concrete sound, this is a very fine release. (FdW)
Address: http://www.boxmedia.com
ANTHONY PATERAS & ROBIN FOX – COAGULATE (CD by Synaesthesia)
SNAWKLOR – IT COULD HAVE LIVED HERE (CD by Synaesthesia)
DELIRE – DIASPORA (CD by Synaesthesia)
A whole bunch of new releases on the Synaesthesia label, who were on
European tour recentely but sadly missed by me. Anthony Pateras and
Robin Fox play with voice, synths, discarded piano, electronics,
objects and computer and from what I gather much of this was recorded
during various improvisational settings. The opening piece ‘Vox
Erratum’ it seems like they hired Jaap Blonk to do the vocal
improvisations, which they feed through a whole bunch of electronics
(just as Jaap does these days). In the following four pieces they
continue this course of noise and improvisation. At times they sound
like Merzbow, but with a much opener sound and much more smaller
events happening more clearly in the mix. The best piece however is
saved for the end of the CD: ‘Recombinant’ is the longest piece but
also the softest of the lot. Processed feedback, fed back via
computer systems play a nice ambientesque piece of pulsating tones
and swirling harmonies, not unlike Stephan Mathieu or Steve Roden. In
all pretty varied and very nice CD.
Snawklor’s debut CD ‘Rushes’ was reviewed in Vital Weekly 344 and ‘It
Could Have Lived Here’ is the follow up to that. Moreso then on
‘Rushes’, they take sounds from their immediate, downunder,
environment and process that in their music, whilst taking also in
account the traditional musics of the origional inhabitants of
Australia. Rusty metal pipes open the CD, but it has a strange
rhythmical groove to it. This process is repeated in many other
tracks. Metallic gamalan like music, with occassional computer
doodlings err processings. This makes this into a very homogenic CD,
but the consequence is also that it is a bit boring after some time.
A little bit more variety would have been nice. Price winning piece
is ‘War In The Trees’, with it’s loose flute arrangement, outdoor
sounds and feedback processing.
The final new release by Synaesthesia is by Delire, whose name is not
revealled. He works both in the production of electro-acoustic music,
aswell as in video game production. In eleven audio tracks and two
quicktime movies, Delire shows a great interest in fast edits of
music. Sounds swirl in and out of the mix with great intensity and
speed, maybe the title of the CD is programmatic. Sounds, mostly
taken from computer game synthesis, are scattered around the place.
Delire brings a perfect synthesis between the old Ina-Grm school and
Mego schock tactics. I am not familiar with computer games, so I
can’t compare to anything in that direction, but rest assured: life
is not easy in those games. Taken in account that it is a rather
short CD, just over thirty minutes, it is just long enough to make a
really good impression. (FdW)
Address: http://www.synrecords.com
DANIELLE LEMAIRE – SPACEMAKING (CDR by Inner Landscapes)
Sometimes there is music that is so remotely away from any hype or
genre, that descriptions fail. Outsider music I would like to call
this. Danielle Lemaire is one such outsider artist in my humble
opinion. On this CDR release she presents her work: a handful of
sounds (stirring coffee, a short accordeon piece, or a phonecall) and
more then a handful of songs. In total 32 tracks with a playing time
of almost seventy minutes. Danielle sings and plays organ in these
pieces. Her voice is not really trained and the playing not really
refined. Does it matter? No, it doesn’t matter, because all of these
songs have a genuine feel to them. One feels she means what she sings
and everything is done in true honesty. There is apperentely no big
concept behind this, but just a strong personal desire to present
these songs and these sounds, however lo-fi they were recorded, no
matter if the singing is false at some times and the playing not
perfect. Strong personal document. (FdW)
Address: http://www.iae.nl/users/jada
THE MUSIQUE CONCRETE ENSEMBLE – DISONANCIAS Y REPETICIONES AMBIGUAS
(CD by Eco Discos)
The Musique Concrete Ensemble is a collection of musical spirits led
by producer Raphael Irisarri. Built into five tracks, called
“segmentos” with one “interludio” this is at once a graceful
recording filled with ambiance and mystery. On “Segmento A” beams of
crystalline light shining through a horizonline bordered by locked
secrets. The subtle addition of dragging metals or other field
recordings, simply glint with experimentation. Jorge Castro and
Irisarri’s guitars are the driving element – though strings are
barely recognizable in this mix, ‘cept for a repetive strum that
appears randomly throughhout. With an even deeper
take on sweet drone “Segmento B” adds the work of Jeff Surak on hurdy
gurdy and autoharp. Set adrift in a quiet environment with the
inclusion of field recordings by Thomas Ekelund this crosses worlds
of Canadian label Constellation with the more airy of Chicago’s Thrill
Jockey. The combination of Surak and Irissari is a finite coupling of
genuine collaborative voice. The track soars and vibrates and falls
to sleep peacefully with the finale of subtle truncated noise
provided by Ekelund. “Interludio” reminds me of what it might have
been like to catch an earful of Echo & the Bunnymen’s Will Sargent
tuning up in his heyday. The addition of Nuria Curras’ voice adds a
4AD-style flare and the guitars bow and purr. In the duet for
electronics and guitars Irisarri and Surak bend the listener’s ear
with a darker fusion of grey tones and quirky percussion. On
“Segmento C” the guitar keeps a feeling sense of pairing the analogue
and digital mix, and at the same time breeds an obtuse, symbiotic
style to “Disonancias y Repeticiones Ambiguas”. On the final
“Segmento D” they have obviously saved the best for last. This
melting pot of contorted pops and bubbles unite with the flare of
electric strings and other bumpy things. The percussion on this final
track seems slightly heavy handed at first, but works as a bridge to
conclusion nicely after you get used to it. When you read the fine
print you acknowledge the mastering by Andreas Tilliander in Sweden
and think to yourself, could it have gotten any better? Though,
please note, this is a recording for those who can tolerate a
synthesis of experimental electronics, rock and classical. Pretty
unconventional effort! (TJN)
Address: http://www.ecodiscos.com/
OREN AMBARCHI/GUNTER MULLER/VOICE CRACK – OYSTERED (CD by Audiosphere/Sub Rosa)
Clustered, pacing, stomping. The mechanics of this latest
collaboration by Ambarchi, Muller and Voice Crack manipulates
resonance and miniscule particles like they are playing a game with
sensors that bark and bite back. The ominous nature of ‘Walking
Oysters’ uses plotted stepping which designs the frame for the
kinetics lurking inside. Over these forty+ minutes these gentlemen
incorporate electronics, strings and percussion to mold something
freely derived from bare open circuits and other happy mistakes. A
vernacular is built on ‘Briefing Oysters’ that forms slowly and
largely into a vibrating dissonance – but be careful – these
authoritative sounds are so ecstatic that they literally knocked my
bass woofer off the shelf (that was a first). If you play this on
headphones it is sure to be a significant mind rush. After the
tremendous pinnacle the piece is treated to the equivalent of a
breathing tube, charted by timed intervals inhalations (or percussive
metering). Starting as a static-laden drone ‘Grounding Oysters’
relies on the residues of quiet and bass thumping play between
channels. Like moving lumber and bark that is electrified, the
organic quality to this track is just stunning. Not satisfied to
simply use the formidable sine wave with subtle manipulation –
‘Oystered’ totally experiments with every aspect of frequency and
sample. There are parts that test your ear drum, giving the listener
a physical, sensory experience. This is active listening. (TJN)
Address: http://www.subrosa.net/
BASTARD NOISE/CHRISTIAN RENOU – BRAINSTORMING (CD by Desolation House)
From the first screaming note of ‘Upgrade to Extinction’ this is a
hellacious trip of double takes, crossing cinematic meanies in
haunting crypticism. Mastered by Robert Rich, this is a far cry from
anything semblancing peace and quiet. This is the core of noise, with
an evil twist that is bent just so. The combination of Bastard
Noise’s ardent smokescreen of horror atop Renou’s sensitive audio
fragmentation make for a colossal pairing. This is fresh, steering
clear of the plausible goth direction that many projects like this
could veer into. ‘Evipan Natrium’ gels a mystical, contorted whir
like a finite vortex of reverberation. There is a something of an
irritated entity that wants out. The sound of containment has a
building impact. One could image a breeding of sorts taking place as
the tonal shifts imply stages of life. On ‘Brainstorming’ the mad
science is pretty much left open to a varied study in hypertension.
The settled corners drift and soothe the ear after multiple detours
of vibrating tease. As the recording continues a concept emerges, a
language, as developed on ‘Sodium Annethal’. The corroded voice
sample and bright buzzing drone erect an homage to fear. Indicative
of the warp and mechanization in the turning point of many fantasy
films, ‘Königstiger’ drills like an air raid. In pockets of
sensitive ambience an ambiguous scene is developed. The recording
does not require volume; it is filled with brazen imagination and
original sound experimentation. The pauses are powerful, the feedback
is recontextualized, and the samples are manipulated to the nth
degree. In the closing ‘Remains of Paradise’ things have shifted and
the concept, however harrowing throughout, has one last chance to
bombard our nervous system with ‘irreversible destruction’ as
bellowed by the characters in this track. The escape is futile and
the pacing is ill at ease. Not a happy ending for this adventure into
foreign entities, but a vibrant effort for these two veteran
noise-ologists. (TJN)
Address: http://www.desolationhouse.com/
PHILL NIBLOCK – TOUCH FOOD (CDx2 by Touch)
Cinematic textures build in the drone of “Sea Jelly Yellow”. Phill
Niblock’s minimalst tapestry is continually woven and on this two
disc recording we experience the full-on essence of a septegenarian
in his prime. This dramatic place is filled with pure ambience and
ambiguity,
making it a difficult listen for untrained ears. At once striking and
dense, Niblock employs the superb baritone sax work by collaborator
Ulrich Krieger. The younger German has added his own aboriginal
styled slant in the work, organic and free. As “Sweet Potato”
introduces
itself with a quiet elongated entrance, a fervor is built with
collaborator Carol Robinson. Robinson’s tools include clarinets and
a bass horn. Here the listener experiences dusk by way of listening,
watching, waiting. The music here slows time and looks at the world
with a scrutinizing, macro approach. Toying with our consciousness of
delayed realism, altering our need for precision and clear linear
thinking, this cleans our system of any excess, leaving us hovering.
With collaborator Kasper T. Toeplitz on electric bass, “Yam almost
May” begins. More of a sound sculptor than your average musician,
Toeplitz is a young French player who has already been around the
block and back, with many wonderful recordings to his credit. The
track sounds like a travelogue, and quite contained, unlike something
that probably has some elements of improvisation. The microsound pods
have been broken and the drone inside is spilling and spreading
everywhere. When shuffling to disc two “Pan Fried 70” is a seventy
minute long collection in five movements. Here Niblock includes
Reinhold Friedl’s piano work which adds an even deeper, physical
elements to the overall sonic mix. The piece plays on levels, like
steps, large, wide steps. Dreamy and rapturous, this is also chilling
after a while. The emotional impact of the sounds is really quite
bizarre. I am sure I am supposed to dread or materialize something
when listening to this disc. What comes to life is fleeting industry,
corregated manpower, less of the human hand, the human touch in all
we do. There is some type of comment embedded that is open discussion
for our world in chaos, a world of communication, at war. The overall
work’s correlation to food, beyond the lovely packaging images of
villages and people cooking in China, is totally foreign to me. (TJN)
Address: http://www.touch.demon.co.uk/
SURFACE OF ECEYON – DRAGYYN (CD by Strange Attractors)
This mythologically-based psych-electro recording brings Surface of
Eceyon (Aaron Snow, Adam Forkner, Daron Gardner, Dick Baldwin and
Phil Jenkins) together to make noise. A mash of guitars, drums and
all things that made the 60’s taste good. On “Stolen Wind” I am
reminded of crossing the wires of Jefferson Starship and Trans Am,
coming up with a totally new flavor. It’s a bit messy, but who cares.
“Council Is Called” is a quieter guitar work that sings sweetly and
has no bitter aftertaste. Next up is “Over Land, Over Ice” and brings
with it more traditional drumming and guitar with just the right
amount of reverb. “Surface of Eceyon” starts to sound a bit more like
Counting Crows sans vocal than something more experimental. By mid
way through this disc you realize this could be a pretty decent pop
record with the addition of some catchy lyrics, but it keeps its head
beneath the clouds sounding more like a studio group of musicians
preparing the tracks for the empty stage, no star, no hot lights.
So, with due respect this record takes the form of a sorta jam ala
Phish (per se). Things explode nicely on “Victory of Ice and Magyk”
where the awaited guitar bursts soar with discordant pride. There is
only a hint at the genius ramblings of Godspeed You Black Emperor
here, but it has to be noted for the record as the niche has been
carved so well. The lazy strings meditate and caress the smart
drumkit like a lapping wave. The introverted opening of “By A Curious
Vessyl” is inviting in its whispy elegance. With a hint of a lost
highway, and endless desert, this is quite the slow-mover. Could be a
lethargic day in the sun or a lullaby for a strange nuclear family.
“Freeing the Winds” concludes the festivities on “Dragyyn” with a
subterranean textures. Hints of vidnaObmana. Ambient, drifting and
light, the collective comes together in harmony. Towards the end
things get more ruckus and flamboyant. This may be your cup of tea.
(TJN)
Address: http://www.strange-attractors.com/
CHARLIE FERRARI – IN CORPUS, SANGUIS FLUIT (3″ CD by Alku)
A fun, sexy lil’ 3″ by Charlie Ferrari. Running at about 15 minutes
these four tracks meander like scurrying critters and church organs
bent in time. There are piano keys and blips and all sorts of
burrowing antics on this mini disc. One thing is for sure, this Brit
has some fun manipulating sounds that are atonal, but bright and
spacey. For all the cryptic static there is a balance of play school,
arcade quirks to keep your ears pleased for each enduring moment.
This is gaming bliss, kept rational by the analogues of traditional
piano that floats like mist. Alku has once again released a credible
teaser disc by an emerging artist to watch closely. (TJN)
Address: http://personal.ilimit.es/principio
ERKKI KURENNIEMI – AANITYKSIA RECORDINGS 1963-73 (CD by Love Records)
The man who may have built the world’s first DIMI synthesizer in
Finland in the late 70s has been unearthed on this new recording that
showcases a decade of experimental electronic recordings that break
open some interesting doors that were only recently thought to have
been opened. Born in 1941, Kurenniemi is one of those audio pioneers
who to this day dabbles in the higher scientific arts. His sounds are
at once minimal and bouncy, serendipitous and monumental. Most of
these recordings from the early 70s reflect a direct correlation to
the works of so many coming after, who may not have ever recognized
his work. Love Records makes available a generous portion of
recordings that deal with sound shapes and rifting statics. Whether
testing equipment or composing groups of sounds to build a longer
piece of audio collage, this man developed sounds similar to those
heard on recordings by Organum, Illusion of Safety and John Duncan
some 10-20 years since. The crackling, rustling thick of 1963’s
‘On-Off’ could be a meditation on the elements of fire. There is a
flavor of Fluxus in the air tonight. The great thing about this
recording is that is only slightly dabbles in the stereotypical space
alien sounds of the era that brought fame to unlikely popsters the
Beach Boys and so many sci-fi film soundtracks. Kurenniemi uses his
tools well to concoct something worthy of risk taking in true
original sound-scaping. (TJN)
Address: http://www.lovemusic.fi/
TSUKIMONO – THE BACK IS A COLLECTION OF BUSTED STATIC (MP3+PDF)
A different outing here for the Fukk God Lets Create label which
normally focuses on drone type musics. The music of Tsukimono uses
acoustic guitar mangled with a laptop. Most of the times the guitar
sound is still recognizable, cut up into bite size fragments and
glitches. Cover this with some computer bloops and beeps, stir well
and you have what is a very sunny and cheerful release. Like acoustic
Fennesz for a sunny day. The final track is where it begins to get
cloudy and things return to familiar Fukk God stomping grounds:
bright organic clicks with a hesitant drone melody. (JS)
Address: http://www.fukkgod.org
DAVID TOOP – BLACK CHAMBER (CD by sub Rosa)
Welcome back Mr. Toop! Again, the listener is treated to further
explorations by one of the living masters of electronic
experimentation here on ‘Black Chamber’. With the addition on six
musicians, the sound is fuller than ever, and as sparse as you could
wish for. On ‘Soft Cavities’ the wheeze of hidden dread is eclipsed
by a creeking, industrial churn. More intricate and intimate than
noise for noise sake the track takes off into a curious venture that
proceeds cautiously as though working through a maze. Toop has
learned a lot and written a lot in his last few decades about the
theories of sound evolution, here we witness what he has in fact
learned from his peers, from younger musicians working in microsound.
The outcome is fiercely based on concentration, on taking the
organics of the sound, and laying it into a linear plane that just
pulsates with vibrant mystery. The sweet whistle of space so clearly
diagrams the pockets in sound voids on ‘Waxed Skin’ – it is as though
it records an apparition. A disturbance comes in the shape of urban
filtered irregularity throughout ‘Apartment Thunder (eros +
sacrifice)’. Its car jams and motors and street echoes serenade the
ear with familiarity and haunting revelation. Buzzes, moans, and
other bumps in the night appear impulsively throughout ‘Black
Chamber’ like those sounds of a jazz quintet rummaging in rehearsal.
Short cuts contain street samples and the rush of daily life. Stones
become crude percussion on ‘Plume, Preceded By Far Off Inside’ with
its distant sweet horn and manipulative synthesis of electronics.
Yurihito Watanabe provides an evocative vocal ala Ed Ka-spel on
‘Ill-faced Doll (Aozemeta Omozashi Ni Katadorare)’. The sizzling
drone burns through this track, taking poetic license with varied
layers of feedback and choral samples. The mystery continues on the
Eastern tinged guitar and electromagnetics of ‘Blind Eel Priestess’
which takes its pacing seriously. There is a peaceful elongated
passage that brings this track to conclusion with traditional Asian
themes. ‘Poison Incense’ is a darker theme, like being in space
sweating, awaiting the signal to press eject from your emergency
escape pod. There is an inferred danger, a call to awareness that an
intruder has entered the space. The repetition of ‘The Slapping Gun’
gives a broad base for all the ghosts floating in its background.
Impulses frame the screech of metallic winds and snake charmers like
an echo of a dream. The title cut recalls harrowing scenes from some
of David Lynch’s more sinister films moments. This chamber is an
explosive place that at times can be quite insular, yet its
multidimensionality grows and breeds from within and seeps through
the edges of all its sides. (TJN)
Address: http://www.subrosa.net/
correction: the Pholde CDR reviewed in Vital Weekly 368 is not a CDR
but a CD release