FARMERS MANUAL – RLA (DVD by Mego)
PAIZS MIKLOS (CDR by Ultrahang)
PRELL – 23.09.11 (CDR by Ultrahang)
STEVE CURTAIN – WIRES ON DRY TRESS TURN NIGHT INTO DAY (CDR by Foreign Lands)
BRANCHES & ROUTES – A FAT CAT COMPILATION (2CD by Fat Cat)
87 CENTRAL – FORMATION (CD by Staalplaat)
ELECTRIC PAVILLON (CD compilation by Medienkunst Tirol)
JARRA – SAMA 2 (CDR by And/Oar)
POWERBOOKS FOR PEACE – YOUR BRAIN IS A CRAZY GUY (CDR by Alienation)
APPARAT ORGAN QUARTET (CD by Thule Music)
ASRA – SOUVENIR A ASRA, LA POUPEE VIVANTE (LP by Le Souffleur)
JASON LESCALLEET – ELECTRONIC MUSIC (LP by RRRecords)
JASON LESCALLEET’S DUE PROCESS – COMBINES XIX-XX (LP by We Break More Records)
EMIL BEAULIEAU – ABUSING THE LITTLE ONES (LP by Self Abuse Records)
SCOTT FOUST – THE FIGHTING SENSUALIST (2x cassette by Pineapple
Tapes/Swill Radio)
TART – BRING IN THE ADMIRAL (LP by Swill Radio)
KAPOTTE MUZIEK – COLUMBUS, OHIO (CDR by Gameboy Records)
CONTEMPORARY CULTURE CONVENTION III (CD by Everest Records)
DJ NAMEZ (CDR by Boxmedia)
DJ ELITIST SNOB (CDR by Boxmedia)
DJ JUNKROC (CDR by Boxmedia)
DJ SPARE TIRE (CDR by Boxmedia)
AVANT COLLECTIVE – THE LOST (CDR)
AVANT COLLECTIVE – AVANT COLLECTIVE (CDR)
ROCCO DI PIETRO – TEARS OF EROS (CDR)
E*ROCK – CONSCIOUS (CD by AudioDregs)
DRONAEMENT – YR (CDR by Afe Records)
SELFSERVICE – HOT PIXEL (3″CDR by Piehead Recordings)
CORNUCOPIA/PABLO RECHE – NEBULA 9.3 3″ CDR (TESTING GROUND)
GREG DAVIS – PRECURSORS (7″ by Melektronikk & Safe As Milk)
MILKLAND 2: PHONOPHANI & VIBRACATHEDRAL ORCHESTRA (7″ by Melektronikk)
KUWAYAMA / KIJIMA – 02.08.23 (CD by trente oiseaux)
FARMERS MANUAL – RLA (DVD by Mego)
Of course I wasn’t made for these times, all these fancy machines,
gadgets and toys. Internet, computers, SACD, DVD: as long as it comes
with a very clear instruction of how it works, I might be able to get
it working. My natural enemies in life are of course multi-media
pranksters Farmers Manual, who offer their entire live recordings
archive on one DVD (that is, as far it was saved). When I put this
DVD in my computer and to start to play I just got a fifteen minute
some movie of some guys smashing a wall. Nothing else. Not the
promised live material by Farmers Manual. No menu to choose from. The
DVD file on the computer showed a hmtl linked so I went there. But it
seems kinda silly to buy a DVD for music, which then reverts to a
website. So I asked Mego and one has to open the folder that says
‘rom’ and drop everything in say a Mpeg player, I tunes or whatever.
I picked one file and that is a concert from 1995 at the phonotaktik
festival and that lasted just over an hour. In the ‘rom’ folder there
are no less then 51 sub folders and each is a concert, so one can
easily there is more music in there then in the entire Merzbox and
Throbbing Gristle 24 hour box together (the total length of this DVD
is 3 days, 21 hours, 38 minutes and 3 seconds). I hope you will
excuse me for not having heard all of them before setting myself to
write this review. Information comes here as a massive overload
(right so, of course in this day and age of information overload – in
that respect Farmers Manual do whatever is expected of them). I can’t
imagine anyone playing all of this is a row, but I can imagine people
returning to this every once in a while and play the odd concert. A
lot (if not all) is also on the Farmers Manual website and luckily
there newly live recordings are added, so if this DVD is simply not
enough one can of course start downloading…
And oh yes, the music itself, you may wonder? Farmers Manual has been
of the more interesting bands to work solely with computers, and each
concert was an unique jam of the band (sometimes four members,
sometimes less) but unlike so many newer laptop bands, they
incorporate (techno, dub) rhythms, synths etc. They might be staying
much closer to ‘real’ music, as opposed to the all improvising laptop
bands and that makes a three day listen session all the more
endurable. Even when there is a weak spot during a concert… (FdW)
Address: www.mego.at
PAIZS MIKLOS (CDR by Ultrahang)
PRELL – 23.09.11 (CDR by Ultrahang)
In Vital Weekly 363 we reviewed the first two releases on Ultrahang,
an organisation from Hungary, who are about to release twelve CDRs
with musicians from Hungary. After they are all released we might be
hearing some more about them, since the CDs themselves do not come
with much information. If would have been nice to know more about
Paizs Miklos for instance and what he is doing. Apperentely, based
upon hearing, he’s is into voice music, maybe sound poetry or vocal
improvisation. Sometimes it is close to overtone singing, sometimes
he produces sounds by slapping his cheeks and it’s all wordless
singing. In some piece he seems to be using electronica, like in the
third piece, but the voice is the main thing. A fascinating, but
short release that should appeal to fans of Henri Chopin or Jaap
Blonk.
Also no information about Prell, whose CDR is called ‘23.09.11’, so I
assume it was recorded that day. He has four lengthy pieces of really
strong ambient material. It hiss a lot (not recording wise, but in a
musical sense), with sounds arising from the mass. Probably heavily
influenced by people like Francisco Lopez or the older work of Jim
O’Rourke, this is still pretty much something of his own. Ambient
industrial at it’s very best. Music of nature, music of a radical
nature. It’s like a sea of sound that totally immerses the listener.
Of the four releases on this label so far, the best! (FdW)
Address: http://uh.hu/uhcdr
STEVE CURTAIN – WIRES ON DRY TRESS TURN NIGHT INTO DAY (CDR by Foreign Lands)
Steve Curtain is from Detroit and has been ‘exploring the analog
world since the late 1970’s and has incorporated modern technology
into his compositions for a blend that is most pleasant listening’.
With such titles as ‘Space Machine’, ‘High Frontier’ or ‘Moonbase’
one can sense which direction this goes: downright into the realms of
cosmic music, inspired by the likes of very old Tangerine Dream or
Klaus Schulze. Unlike those, Steve Curtain rather goes for the drony
aspects of sound, with continious blocks of sound and occassional
bleeps of space craft landing or taking of. Also unlike the
aforementioned German masters, Steve Curtain’s music sound rather
recorded lo-fi, but that makes it rather nice and raw. None of the
fourteen pieces sound really earthshaking new but it’s a nice space
journey anyway. (FdW)
Address: <voostviszt@yahoo.com>
BRANCHES & ROUTES – A FAT CAT COMPILATION (2CD by Fat Cat
No doubt Fat Cat is one of the nicest labels around. Last week (May
1st) they presented their label in Belgium, with a whole range of
artists, all of which are to be found on this nice double CD
compilation. In case you don’t know the eclectic taste of Fat Cat, I
recommend that you rush out to your local dealer to get one. Fat Cat
has post rock (Sigur Ros, David Grubbs, Set Fire To Flames), dub
(Seen), techno (Matmos, Grain, Duplo Remoto), guitar noise
(Xinlisupreme) and laptop-heads (Fennesz, Com.a, Funkstorung, Sylvain
Chauveau) and everything in between. Twenty-seven acts in total. If
you are a keen and open minded follower of the label, I suggest you
bypass this release, since only five tracks are previously unreleased
(Stromba, Seen, Sigur Ros, Drowsy and Crescent), but no doubt these
pieces will pop up on their next full lengths? That is a pity, but
taken all in account, Fat Cat is a damm fine label. (FdW)
Address: http://www.fat-cat.co.uk
87 CENTRAL – FORMATION (CD by Staalplaat)
This is one of those names which one sees popping up in our
announcement section, but whose releases so far are quite small. It’s
no wonder that all three of his releases so far were on Dutch labels,
since Jeff Carey, whose origins are across the ocean, lives in that
beautiful small country since some time. ‘Formation’ is the release
that was recorded between his debut LP on ERS Records and his recent
“Sax Mower” (see Vital Weekly 359), but released just after “Sax
Mower”. The cover of this CD lists his instruments: no-input mixer,
computer models of feedback systems, field recordings and samples of
dan armstrong playing guitar. The funny thing about 87 Central is
that he drags all of this (save for Dan Armstrong) onto the stage,
where he starts fiddling about with it; it’s certainly not just
another laptop artist. The combination of all of this modern-day
gadgets result in highly rich tapestries of sound. Bird calls and
fire sounds in combination processed feedback and the washy sounds of
Dan’s guitar (only in one track though), make this into a kind of
ambient record, in which happens more then the usual washes of
digital synths and plundered sound effect CDs. 87 Central plays
around with environmental, concrete and abstract sound, and does it
with great care. The glitchy elements present on “Saxmower” are not
apperent on this release, so I recommend this to all ambient hearts
out there. Strong stuff. (FdW)
Address: http://www.staalplaat.com
ELECTRIC PAVILLON (CD compilation by Medienkunst Tirol)
“This CD is not specifically a political comment but definitely a
message of solidarity to the anti-globalization movement” – you bet,
just looking at the cover, one could easily be mistaken to think that
this is a political statement. This CD is a documentation of a
festival held held in Innsbruck, Austria in september 2001. The music
here is a pretty mixed affair: from lo-fi techno pop (Musikkreis
MS20, Gelee Royale, Lampe, Landschaftspflege), dub
(Martinek.C-deluxe), environmental oriented (Mnortham), clicks & cuts
(Curd Duca, Thilges 3, Iftaf, Fon), noise (Joma Sounds, Auction) and
punk (Weigand/Pettibon, Tight Finks). As you can see a pretty mixed
affair, so I am not sure who is really attracted by this release –
unless of course if you are that anti-global that you wish to break
down all musical structures too. Pricewinning track here is by Bidner
and Martinek, who cleverly rape Bowie’s ‘This Is Not America’ into
‘This Is Not My Government’ – staying awfully close to the original,
which makes it all the more scary. (FdW)
Address: http://www.transporter.at
JARRA – SAMA 2 (CDR by And/Oar)
This is the follow up to ‘Sama 1’, which was reviewed in Vital Weekly
343. Made on the same trip to Malaysia, but now at dawn, while sun is
rising. Jarra is awake early and outside the hide where he spent the
night, he sits there with his microphone and minidisc to record the
events in the jungle. Quite contrary to ‘Sama 1’, this is a much more
minimal affair. In ‘Sama 1’ we could hear the rain coming, which
eventually grew into a large tropical rain. Nothing here of that
kind. The jungle comes alive after the night of rain and we hear the
insects, birds and other animals waking eachother. ‘Sama 2’ is a very
minimal work, that, when superficially heard, is maybe one static
work, but when listened more closely is a very vibrant work. Small
events happen, sounds disappear as they rise, outbursts, far away, of
insects. It’s not as impressive as ‘Sama 1’, but once again Jarra
proved to have a great pair of ears to capture, in all it’s
simplicity, the sounds of the jungle. Great work of soundscaping.
(FdW)
Address: <dk137@juno.com>
POWERBOOKS FOR PEACE – YOUR BRAIN IS A CRAZY GUY (CDR by Alienation)
This is the second Powerbooks For Peace release I’m aware, after the
3″CDR for Alku, which was reviewed in Vital Weekly 361. This trio
from England (whom are also active in various solo projects) play of
course powerbooks and in general go wild opening up soundfiles,
plug-ins and patches. As you can imagine, they still lurk around in
Mego/Pita/Farmers Manual areas, and whereas that 3″ was nice enough
by itself, I must admit I have a bit of problem with this one. The
eight lenghty excursions into the world of bites and bits is a bit
too much. Just under an hour this is, and that is simply too much for
me. There must be quite a bit of fun playing around like they do, and
maybe in a live situation it might also be enjoyable, but captured on
disc it is a bit too much. The first few pieces are alright, but once
we get to the seventh and eight track on this release, we know their
game. If they were left off, it might have been a well endurable
disc. More is not always good… (FdW)
Address: http://www.ops.dti.ne.jp/~thirdorg/
APPARAT ORGAN QUARTET (CD by Thule Music)
You remember ‘Four Organs’ by Steve Reich? (of course you do) It’s
not just four organs, but also maraccas playing. Something similar is
here on the Apparat Organ Quartet – four guys playing organ and one
is drumming. This Icelandic quartet however don’t get their ideas
from good ol’ Steve Reich, but from Kraftwerk. Uplifting
techno-oriented electro music, with pounding rhythmlines (a drummer,
a rhythmbox) and tons of vocoder voices. Ein Zwei Drei Vier – Stereo
Rock N Roll. Kraftwerk on acid, certainly for the more uptempo
pieces, which are in favourite with me. They have a great drive and
wit to them. The slower tracks, such as ‘The Anguish Of Space-Time’
or ‘Sofdu Litla Vel’ are nice, but don’t really seem to work for me.
The others are great poppy tunes and with the right amount of
attention, they could easily score an underground hit with it. (FdW)
Address: http://www.thulemusik.com
ASRA – SOUVENIR A ASRA, LA POUPEE VIVANTE (LP by Le Souffleur)
Asra is a duo, consisting of Af Ursin and Raymond Dijkstra. Both of
these people have by now quite some history in releasing music. Their
interest is mainly in releasing vinyl, for whatever obscure reasons,
and they both have done a few. Both Af Ursin aswell as Dadaphon (in
whatever guise he pops up) have a personal way of creating music.
Using an old eight channel reel to reel tape machine and a mixing
board, they record densely layered sounds. Rubbing sounds, scratching
objects, but also they play a wide variety of instruments, such as
wind instruments and violins. Just as they don’t like CDs, they also
don’t like electronica that much. So it’s a highly analog affair.
It’s hard to describe what it sounds like. There are traces of old
Nurse With Wound (but not as collage like) or the recent minimalist
drone masters (Mirror, Ora, Monos), but it’s less closed. On their
collaborative record, they of course do whatever they can do best.
The a-side has three tracks (although one is so short it’s merely an
intro), staying close to the recent Af Ursin LP or the Dadaphon 10″.
‘Electronisch Samenspel’ (meaning ‘electronic interplay’) is a short
track on the b-side (being clueless why they used only one third of
the available vinyl) and a rather lo-fi theremin play, I assume by
the both of them. Strange to hear them doing electronic music, but
it’s kinda of nice, really. Strange and remotely playing. A very nice
record by two lovely boys. (FdW)
Address: <souffleur@xs4all.nl>
JASON LESCALLEET – ELECTRONIC MUSIC (LP by RRRecords)
JASON LESCALLEET’S DUE PROCESS – COMBINES XIX-XX (LP by We Break More Records)
EMIL BEAULIEAU – ABUSING THE LITTLE ONES (LP by Self Abuse Records)
USA’s beloved underground star these days is Jason Lescalleet. I
reviewed some of his work before and per new release, I think he gets
better. This record, on the recentely resurrected RRRecords (with
cataloguenumber 001, as if Chadbourne’s LP never existed), consists
of four pieces of electronic music, all in that very fine Lescalleet
style. Using analogue machines (old reel to reels, tape effects and
guitar effects), Lescalleet creates a very fine, yet very thick
tapestry of sound, that is close the older, more intelligent forms of
industrial music (think P16.D4 for instance, but less collage like),
but via computer edits, he has found his own way and has updated the
sound idiom of the past. More so then before, the dynamic aspect of
his music is important. Things happen on various levels of the music,
and the softer and louder elements play a great role in creating this
music. It’s hard to tell whatever sounds Lescalleet is feeding into
his machines, therefore the sound is too blurry and the original
sources can’t be recognized. Not that it is really important.
Lescalleet bridges the gap between the old school industrialists and
the modern day laptop composers.
More Lescalleet can be found on the Due Process LP. For those who do
not remember: Due Process is a group with RRRon Lessard as it’s main
member. Over the years other people have joined, but it’s always
RRRon and someone else. Since some time, it’s Ron and Jason
Lescalleet. This album, announced as ‘Jason Lescalleet’s Due
Process’, is probably just Jason’s edit or mix of Due Process, me
thinks. In Due Process Ron does what he also does in his Emil
Beaulieau guise: abusing records on a turntable. But packed together
with Jason’s treatments, it sure goes somewhere. The combination of
both makes Due Process into something nice of its own and one doesn’t
have the idea of listening to a DJ record. Halfway through the second
side of the record we have the Due Process trademark sound (which I
believe comes from an old Michel Chion record) and we know it’s a
true Due Process record.
Maybe in a less serious mood, maybe not, is Ron Lessard’s guise Emil
Beaulieau. For over a decade or so, he uses this name (stolen from a
mayor somewhere) to abuse records. Hilarious it is, certainly in live
concert (as I had the pleasure to experience only a while ago). On
‘Abusing The Little Ones’, he picked nine 7″ releases from Self Abuse
Records and gives them the good ol’ Beaulieau treatment. Of course
noise is the thing here. I am honest enough to say I don’t know all
the 7″s on Self-Abuse, but looking at the names (Crawl Unit, Stimbox,
Mlehst, Deathpile, Hanged Mans Orgasm, Atrax Morgue, Dead Body Love
and Surgical Stainless Steel), they all share a noise background, so
I can easily say Cage like works: “how to improve Self Abuse Records?
You only make things worse”. And that is a compliment, as Emil is
maybe not the greatest living noise artist (anymore?), but he is sure
on of the better and wittier ones. (FdW)
Address: http://www.rrrecords.com
Address: <webreakmorerecords@pobox.com>
Address: http://www.selfabuserecords.net
SCOTT FOUST – THE FIGHTING SENSUALIST (2x cassette by Pineapple
Tapes/Swill Radio)
TART – BRING IN THE ADMIRAL (LP by Swill Radio)
Scott Foust is a genius – let there be no doubt about it. When he is
supposed to release at least a CDR of his history, he releases 2
cassettes (that, for the younger readers among you, is a slightly
outdated format with the big advantage of the possibilities to
re-record it) and a booklet of his work from 1979 until the present
day. All of his bands are present, from Y Front to The Braces, but
his most known bands are Anschluss, The XX Committee, The Idea Fire
Company and Tart. With all of these bands he did one or more records,
which gained quite an underground reputation. Roughly his work has
two distinct directions: one is free rock oriented stuff (like Y
Front, Red Light, Red Disk) or minimalist electronics (XX Committee,
Idea Fire Company or Tart) – but both are pretty much lo-fi affairs
in terms of recording and production and both ends of the musical
spectrum and both are made out of pure love for music, I guess. Wish
this was on CDR though… The second tape that comes in this package
is Tart live is an extension of the studio sound, see also below.
Even more so then on vinyl, it captures raw and minimalist patterns,
hammered away on very low level casio samplers and analogue synths,
aswell as e-bow processings.
At the same time, Tart also release their second LP. Tart is, besides
Scott, also Graham Lambkin and Karla Borecky. They play each
keyboards, guitar and radio. They offer rather lo-fi drone music,
continuous noise played on synths, with occassional interruptions
when they hit a bum note – wether or not it is intentional. It sounds
kinda similar to the recent show I saw of Idea Fire Company (with the
best looking girl I saw in the USA!): very stripped down minimalist
electronics, which do not play for the effect being nicely recorded,
but rather goes for the effect on the mind. I think I coined the term
outsider music before, Scott Foust, for whatever he does is true
outsider music. (FdW)
Address: www.anti-naturals.org
KAPOTTE MUZIEK – COLUMBUS, OHIO (CDR by Gameboy Records)
It’s been a while since I saw/heard Kapotte Muziek live. It used to
be quite a surprise each time and hearing this one I guess it still
is. Three people carefully preparing a dish full of secret sounds and
which are being served right from the oven.
This cd presents an edit of Kapotte Muziek’s performance at the 2002
Avantronics festival in (ah, you guessed…?) Columbus, Ohio. Two
works clocking out at 37’55”. The music has undergone very minimal
editing. For instance there is some accidental feedback which is not
removed, and the applause at the end of track two is cut off while we
can just hear that someone is starting to announce something. The
sounds of the performance itself are mostly unedited and especially
in the first track they seem to consist of amplified micro-phonics.
Accidently there are recorded sounds but for the most part sounds are
what they were like when recorded. Rasping is important, background
city noise. There is a small toy car in track one. Whereas in track
one sounds the atmosphere is mostly intimate because of the focus on
‘small’ sounds, track two starts off with the sounds of the
performance space. We hear people cough, shifting their positions,
sighing, clapping. After which the noise begins. The recording of
this session is not a focus but the total sound of the performance
space. We hear people coughing, humming of an engine, some slides of
this over concrete. Though it was shorter than the first track I like
the second one more. Kapotte Muziek’s use of live acoustics is quite
refreshing and I think that they are a welcome guest at many a
festival where laptop and mixing desk music seems to be the standard
nowadays. The cd could have been more carefully finished. But i guess
the goal here was to give the listener a good insight into what KM
sounds live. You should go and see them. (IS)
Address: <ms@gmby.net>
CONTEMPORARY CULTURE CONVENTION III (CD by Everest Records)
I am not entirely sure what this compilation is about… is it an
annual compilation or part of some festival? In any case, it has
eleven Swiss artists of mostly electronic music. Involved are some
known names such as Steinbruchel, RM 74, but also some of which I
never heard before. It is quite somem mixture here, even when they
all stay in the realms of electronic music. From glitch to dub, from
techno to ambient industrial, it’s all there and most of the times
the tracks are quite alright – the Wolfgang Voigt rip-off by Niels
Jensen is in fact very nice, but overall none of these tracks showed
really much else then what is in truckloads available. Maybe this is
the clicks and cuts of Switzerland, but that series is a cliche by
itself too. I may sound a little negative and that doesn’t entirely
justify the music, because like I said, by themselves they are quite
nice tracks. And to be complete, names include also Kaleidophone,
Everest, Balduin, Dimlite, Person, Peter Baumgartner, Herpes ö Deluxe
and And Me. (FdW)
Address: http://www.everestrecords.ch
DJ NAMEZ (CDR by Boxmedia)
DJ ELITIST SNOB (CDR by Boxmedia)
DJ JUNKROC (CDR by Boxmedia)
DJ SPARE TIRE (CDR by Boxmedia)
Boxmedia just started to release a whole bunch of CDRs with DJ
material, DJ sets by people who give themselves silly names but with
some nice results. DJ Namez is Micheal Hartman of TV Pow fame, whose
fifty minute set is built around microscopic crackles, techno beats
and ambient noise.
DJ Elitist Snob is mister Gameboy, Mike Shiflet. His DJ set is less
coherent, and rather all over the place, from noise to drone to rap
and hip hop. But even for one that is not known to be a lover of rap
and hip hop, this ecletic mix is quite nice. A well-untuned radio.
Very close to the traditional DJ mix is DJ Junkroc, aka Junko Okada.
His (her) DJ set is a traditional techno set, in the best Cologne
tradition – nicely mixed, as far as I can judge, because I am not a
DJ and not a technohead.
Last but not least is DJ Spare Tire, and here we find Brent Gutzeit,
the man behind Boxmedia. His DJ set is along the lines of DJ Elitist
Snob, even when Brent is more the man of drones and free rock, in
combination microsound electronics. Also on his set I recognized just
one track (and none on the others – so either I don’t know much about
music, or there is just too much): Oscillations by Silver Apples pops
by for brief moment. (FdW)
Address: www.boxmedia.com
AVANT COLLECTIVE – THE LOST (CDR)
AVANT COLLECTIVE – AVANT COLLECTIVE (CDR)
ROCCO DI PIETRO – TEARS OF EROS (CDR)
I received these promo’s with a couple of leaves explaining about the
music. In some cases you really need accompanying texts but they can
be quite annoying and actually interfere with your trying to relate
to the music itself. So most of the time I decide not to read. Okay,
away with the paper and on to the music itself.
The theme of the music on the first cd (The Lost), composed by Rocco
di Pietro, is serious matter: the lost children. Every year thousands
of kids get lost. They are abducted and you really get sad when you
think what could, and too often will, have happened to them…. The
titles of the first part of this cd-r refer to a few of them. Their
titles are the names of lost children. The music is spatial, tense,
morose. Instrumentation: sampler, bass, percussion, accordion,
guitar, trombone. The name of the child is mentioned at the beginning
of each track, which adds to the gloomy atmosphere. The recording is
acoustic, I think in a jazz-like setting. It does have its moments,
although at first I had trouble listening to it. Worth paying
attention to.
The next Avant Collective (untitled) too, was at first too much for
my already burdened mind. It took the whip of editor in chief Frans
de W to get me going and hear this out. The start of this same
titled/ untitled release is anarchistic and tense but fun too. It
reminds me of oldfashioned 60s Zappa (uncle meat experiments) and
John Zorn in his (for me) best period (big gundown). Bass, piano,
tape, guitar, computer, voice. All very well constructed, edited and
mixed into a nice soundscape. Then somehow, when we arrive at track 4
Avant Collective suffers from a collective loss of their senses. It
all descends into a nightmare of cheesiness. Track 8, 9 and 11
succeed in getting somewhere but after that it’s really over. Too
bad, cause the music totals no more than 32 minutes. So in all the
really brilliant music is approximately 12 minutes while the rest is
a bloody nightmare.
Di Pietro also composed the radio play ‘tears of eros’. This is
rather disappointing. Basically ( that’s always a dangerous approach,
because it most of the time is not fair to the composer to regard
things ‘basic’ ), basically this composition consists of a
juxtaposition of the soundtrack of hardporn movie and the recitation
of the sublimated wet dreams of two writers/philosophers Mangwana and
Bataille. The latter two explain about their relation to sexuality in
general and women more particularly. Okay, yes and in between there
are sounds of tuning forks and computer generated noise. All fine and
dandy, but too brainy for my loins. (IS)
Address: http://roccodi.freeyellow.com
E*ROCK – CONSCIOUS (CD by AudioDregs)
Portland’s E*Rock has released a melodic piece of sound design.
Small, unfiltered blips and careful beats with the inclusion of wind
instruments by guest Colleen French. Opening with the unconsciousness
of ‘Living, Breathing, etc.’ this is a welcome audio sideshow,
crafted for slacker artists everywhere. It just moves like liquid,
whispering of fine grooves and confident quietude. There are
certainly moments here that may have been originally paved by Dr.
Seuss, tiptoeing around the Meredith Monk infused ‘Them What Do’ with
breathy voice and silly toy-like sounds. But unlike other recordings
that are steeped in humor as the primary catchy concept, here there
is a cerebral blend of other drifting passages which counter
frivolous levity. ‘Lightest Blue’ is a bit too light, and veers in
the dayglo spontaneity of 60s psychedelic folk rock, making it a bit
of a square peg here. The flute draws too much attention to itself
and masks the sounds in a way Mr. Rogers might wish you a happy day,
neighbor. The bright ‘Shrink Ray’ plays with Microstoria-like
impulse, with a hint of an awkward lost female voice. The backwards
playing darker drone compliments the baby-crib mobile like sparkle
instead of countering it. There is some modulated sound warping going
on throughout ‘I Was Thinking of Things To Draw’ – in many ways
paying homage to latter day Parker Bros. and Milton Bradley. This is
the most fun you may have outside of a thematic thrill ride this
Summer. E*Rock doesn’t exactly ‘rock’ instead they make an attempt to
caress your sense of play, making your eardrums luminous and wide
open to the power of its suggestion. (TJN)
Address: http://www.audiodregs.com
DRONAEMENT – YR (CDR by Afe Records)
The man behind Dronaement is a busy bee. Besides the Dronaement
project, Marcus Obst is also involved in Das Rhythmische Ornament and
Oscillator and he runs a small label, Nauze [Muzick]. His releases
find their way usually on CDR or tape. This new release is no
different, expect that the packaging is really nice and some badly
xeroxed white paper. For this release he plays around with an old
organ, synthesizers, a little sampler, lots of guitar effects, field
recordings and, that is what makes this into quite a nice release, is
the addition of a cello and an acoustic guitar. With music that
dwells very much on the effects of drone, you can easily imagine that
the pieces on this release are lenghty. Six tracks, totalling some
fifty-five minutes, of dark and drony soundscapes, with sounds being
fade in and out, guitar playing being looped ad infinitum, or the
sound processings being done on the recordings of a thunder storm: it
all evokes bleak and dark images of industrial sites, sparsely lit at
night, with fog-covered swamps and misty seashores. Nothing
spectacular new to the likeminded of Troum or Tarkatak, but certainly
one that can easily meet with them. Extra data is also enclosed on
the release, in case you want to know more. (FdW)
Address: http://www.aferecords.com
SELFSERVICE – HOT PIXEL (3″CDR by Piehead Recordings)
Reading the press text that comes along with this, I see that
Selfservice is a duo of Rebecca McClellan and Jakob Thiesen, both
from Toronto, and that they are helped by David Fortino on guitar.
Especially in the first two (of four) tracks, this influence is
apparent, since they sound very much like a cross-over between
postrock and post electronica. What helps of course is the fact that
there is some real, live drumming going on. The result, and here
especially in the opening track ‘Neon Band’ is a very psychedelic
sound, with sounds coming in and out of the mix and is indeed a nice
trip. The other tracks, while shorter, don’t have that same feeling,
but, again while shorter, they are maybe much closer to the ordinary
poptune, which is nice too. I wondered, if this was a full length CD,
which of the two, psychedelic or pop would have prevailed? Maybe the
further can tell, after this nice starter. (FdW)
Address: http://www.pieheadrecords.com
CORNUCOPIA/PABLO RECHE – NEBULA 9.3 3″ CDR (TESTING GROUND)
The 19 minute track contained on this professionally packaged 3″ cdr
is a collaboration between Cornucopia (Puerto Rico) and Pablo Reche
(Argentina). At first I was planning to describe it as one long
static drone, but the more I listen to this ep, I believe it would
be more accurate to call it vacuum music. The sound emanating is a
deep, submerged, rumbling, like being sucked into a black hole.
Drones usually have a linear progression, a single or group of sounds
held for a certain duration. Nebula 9.3 stays in one place, and just
increases the pressure. Slowly higher tonal pitches are introduced.
The bottom drops out, you attain weightlessness, and float into the
void. Necessary music for all your cosmic journeys. (JS)
Address: http://www.testinground.com
GREG DAVIS – PRECURSORS (7″ by Melektronikk & Safe As Milk)
At 45 RPM, the 7″ remains one of my favorite sound storage devices.
So everytime I receive one of these I put them on right away, except
in this case, because I was gone for a couple of days. So I had a
delayed pleasure. Davis presents two short tracks, the first of which
starts with a pretty rough part of computer manipulated sounds, but
ends with soft guitar and field recordings. The second track
basically goes on where the first one ends: it becomes something of a
lullaby, because of a short melody that is repeated again and agian.
The whole piece is done with a gentle instrumentation of guitars,
harmonium and other windy instruments, which adds to the soft
character. A good one for a late night. (MR)
Address: http://www.safe-as-milk.org/melektronikk
MILKLAND 2: PHONOPHANI & VIBRACATHEDRAL ORCHESTRA (7″ by Melektronikk)
This 7″ is the second in a series called Milkland. It is a split 7″
series combining the interest of both labels: Melektronikk’s
experimental electronics and Safe as Milk’s experimental rock. The
track by Phonophani from Norway is a weird mix of minimal music,
combined with electronic distortions. All seems based on traditional
instruments, mainly wind instruments, but somehow processed and
layered. The result is dense and almost claustrophobic.
Vibracathedral Orchestra are from the UK and have a different
approach: instead of processing their instruments, they layer them so
strongly that a consistent drone is created. Fragments of melodies
appear every now and then, only to be replaced by other instruments’
melodies. A strange mix of folk and industrial. (MR)
Address: http://www.safe-as-milk.org/melektronikk
KUWAYAMA / KIJIMA – 02.08.23 (CD by trente oiseaux)
Once again these two Japanese string playes have embarked on a tour
of Nagoya city. This time they have found an abandoned warehouse in
the port area. In this warehouse they have made the recordings for
this CD. Of course the acoustics of the location play an important
role in the work, as well as other wanted environmental sound events.
In this case there are two sounds up front: water and cycadas. The
water is not so strange, because the place is in the port and the
cycada’s make me guess that the 08 in title refers to august. As
always the pieces are very well done, concentrated and absolutely to
the point. These two have mastered great skills on their instruments
as well as improvising with each other, this is clear from the start.
It is also no wonder that this work is released on this label: there
is is strong sense of timelessness to it, one listens and at a
certain moment, time seems to have gone somewhere else and one wakes
up from a state of sleepy wakefulness. Very strange indeed. But also
high qualtiy stuff. (MR)
Address: http://www.trenteoiseaux.com