DELPHIUM – GOOD MORNING HEARTACHE (CDEP by Moloko Plus)
LOWFISH – 1000 CORRECTIONS PER SECOND (CD by Suction Records)
SNOW ROBOTS VOLUME THREE (CD by Suction Records)
XENIS EMPUTAE TRAVELLING BAND – NEW ETHERIC MUSE (CDR by Larkfall)
XENIS EMPUTAE TRAVELLING BAND – THE SUFFOLK WORKINGS (CDR by Larkfall)
OOPHOI – THE DREAMS OF SHELLS (CDR by Mystery Sea)
SACHIKO M & SEAN MEEHAN (CD)
CHRIST – METAMORPHIC REPRODUCTION MIRACLE LP (CD by Benbecula)
87 CENTRAL – FORMATION (CD by Staalplaat)
DEREK BAILEY & ANTOINE BERTHIAUME & FRED FRITH – SOSHIN (CD by Ambiances Magnétiques)
KLAXON GUEULE – GRAIN (CD by Ambiances Magnétiques)
LOREN NERELL – TAKSU (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
MARK SPYBEY – I HAVE NO MONEY BUT I AM ANTONIN ARTAUD (3″CDR by Piehead Recordings)
SENKING – TAP (CD by Raster.Post)
MUSLIMGAUZE – ARABBOX (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
DELPHIUM – GOOD MORNING HEARTACHE (CDEP by Moloko Plus)
CD singles released as a commercially interesting item, with various mixes of and the same track is something that is usually eludes me, but then I am not part of the real music world anyway. On this five track mini CD (five inch in size though), we find three remixes of the title track and two new tracks – although judging by their dates not really new. Delphium here hails a proto techno dub style, with heavy, almost gothic synth lines (such as in ‘Token Ring’), which somehow won’t make it to the MTV techno party, but rather stays neatly underground with the techno nomads scene. The remix by The Infant Cycle really misses a point: adding more sound effects to an already loaded song is maybe just killing it. The best track of the lot is the breakdance inspired ‘Ngatangiaa Taxis Dub’, which has space invader sounds, against a backdrop of a dub rhythm and again fat keyboards. The two other remixes of the title piece are alright, but not ground breaking. I wonder who is aimed at with this release… (FdW)
Address: <ralf_friel@ferrostaal.com>
LOWFISH – 1000 CORRECTIONS PER SECOND (CD by Suction Records)
SNOW ROBOTS VOLUME THREE (CD by Suction Records)
Two new releases by Suction Records – finally! Still one of my favourite labels when it comes to sheer pleasent robotic electro music. Lowfish, aka Gregory de Rocher, lists all of his influences on the cover (early Numan, early OMD, Nitzer Ebb, early Human League, Depeche Mode – you get my drift) and bakes us thirteen nice electro pop songs. But unlike his heroes of yesterday (almost twenty years ago today), Gregory de Rocher keeps his music strictly instrumental. I have never heard him speaking or singing, so I can’t judge wether his voice is not good enough to sing, but a major breakthrough in popmusic – and Lowfish aims no less than at world domination – can only be established by singing a tune or two. When I played this CD, I wondered that all three Lowfish CDs are instrumental CDs, but for a label that states doing robot music, it would be natural to have a robot sing? The variations for Lowfish lie in the micro world of electro music itself. Who would recognize the difference in songs that are classified as ‘melodic synth pop’ or ‘electro/ebm stomp’? I am sure no master of recognizing the differences. What matters to me is that this is a very nice, poppy, retro electro CD.
Vocals can be found on the very catchy and poppy third volume of ‘Snow Robots’, a compilation of likeminded to Lowfish from around the world – mostly from the UK and Canada. Seven tracks can be found at previous Suction releases, six are exclusive to this compilation. Highlights for me are Orgue Electronique (and not just because he is from The Netherlands) with a tune that could be any Trumpett Tapes from 1985, GD Luxxe’s great cover of Joe Crow’s ‘Compulsion’ (who remembers this great 7″ on Cherry Red?), Laurent Boudic’s piece which was apperentely recorded in 1981 and the two Tinfoil Teakettle pieces (Suction’s collaboration between labelbosses Lowfish and Solvent, still waiting for a proper release I guess). Also included are Skanform, Lowfish, The Mitgang Audio, Solvent and Black Turtleneck. This CD won’t be available in the shops, but you can order a copy through the Suction website. I’d say: go for it. (FdW)
Address: http://www.suctionrecords.com
XENIS EMPUTAE TRAVELLING BAND – NEW ETHERIC MUSE (CDR by Larkfall)
XENIS EMPUTAE TRAVELLING BAND – THE SUFFOLK WORKINGS (CDR by Larkfall)
Two new releases by the Xenis Emputae Travelling Band, whose release ‘Under A Soular Moon’ was reviewed in Vital Weekly 330. The packaging of these releases remind me very much of my father’s classical music collection (late nineteenth century romantic music being his special thing), and I feared something along the lines of gothic. There is not much information with regard to both the band and the music, except that it’s a further exploration of the previous themes – psychogeography and folkore are mentioned. I imagine this band, if indeed it is a band, in a shed, somewhere in rural England, with a bunch of metal sheets, recorders (that is flutes, rather then something magnetic) and some old synth. On a rainy day they come together and play their music. Despite being inspired by folkore, I gather they improvise their music on end – just like zoviet*france does (did?). The vocal track ‘A Lyke Wake Dirge’ on ‘New Etheric Muse’ is beautifully sung, rain pours down and a bell like sounds in the back. Yes, to some extend this folk music, but of a more alchemistic, darker kind. The ‘New Etheric Muse’ is the more musical of the two and ‘The Suffolk Workings’ is the more experimental and dense one. Both releases contain music that you won’t find me spinning very often, or that I dive into deeply, but I thought both discs were really good. Played with care, executed with love. (FdW)
Address: http://larkfall.cjb.net
OOPHOI – THE DREAMS OF SHELLS (CDR by Mystery Sea)
Behind the name which I can’t pronounce is one Gianluigi Gasparetti, who has released (but unheard by me, I’m afraid) discs on labels such as Amplexus, Electroshock, Nextera, Hic Sunt Leones and Hypnos. For this release on Mystery Sea, who are slowly establishing themselves as a fine small label for drone music, Gasparetti takes his inspiration from the sea and the mysteries that surround it (that is: if you are open for it). Three lengthy pieces of which the first one, ‘Cydron’, is a slow, almost static piece of music, which seems to hardly moving once it’s fully there. The other two pieces, ‘Kalyx’ and ‘Narwal’ are more musical, more is happening here, although it’s still about ripples in the water. One sees a big ocean, which from above looks like a static, a monochrome painting, but if you are bird and go down towards the sealevel, one sees small waves and ripples on the surface – and below the surface, small and big fishes, see weed and on the bottom of the ocean there is stones and rocks. Gasperetti depicts all of these on various levels in his music in a few strokes of sound. Maybe so far the most thematic approach by Mystery Sea. (FdW)
Address: http://home.planetinternet.be/~chalkdc
SACHIKO M & SEAN MEEHAN (CD)
>From the world of fragile sounds comes this duo CD by sine wave player Sachiko M (known for her work with Ground Zero aswell as leading improv lady from Japan) and Sean Meehan. The latter might be unknown for you. He plays snare drum and cymbal, but of course in a rather unconventional way – how he plays it, remains a mystery, even after the hearing this CD. Sufficient to say he produces sound with it. The sounds he produces with it are best described as using the surface of the instruments to come up with a kind of scratching, crackling sound. Combined with the sober sine waves of Sachiko M’s no memory sampler, the result is fragile music. Music that hoovers at the edge of audibility. Empty music. Music that is of great stillness, music to contemplate by. It’s music that is a steady stream of sound, ongoing even when it is fractured occassionally when the proceedings crack up and things turn silent – even then it’s an ongoing stream of sound. I like to play music like this at a rather volume – the sinewaves fill the space best then. If you move about while this is playing, one will note the changes of the frequencies best. Even when this CD is just under forty minutes, it seems like a timeless thing – time doesn’t seem to exist here. Weightless. (FdW)
Address: http://www.home.earthlink.net/~overturnedbowl/
CHRIST – METAMORPHIC REPRODUCTION MIRACLE LP (CD by Benbecula)
It is certainly the second coming, of Kraftwerk that is! Well, actually all religion inferences aside – there are plenty of other comparisons that could be made, though this is like a melange of many good ones. Where did this guy come from you ask? I believe Christ (Liquid Chris H) hails from Edinborough, who knew?! This is a downtempo fantasy, pure and simple,
with deep bass that just takes it out. You could call this lush, in fact I will. I only have to kick myself that I missed his set at Sonar. ‘Dianoes Nouveau’ is a great collision between Flying Saucer Attack and Matmos, with a twist. Like the conceptual base of other new acts like the homoeroticism in the guise of Soft Pink Truth, or the lab disasters of Add N to X,
Christ seems to play god while fantasizing an incidental love/hate relationship of higher powers of being. ‘Eezeebreez’ updates what the Orb used to be, and instills a feverish funky beat on the most demanding ears, though its ending seems slightly misedited (maybe my copy is defective). The truth indeed is hard to rationalize, as heard on ‘Odds, Evens and Primates’ where ballroom dancing meets the Lone Ranger’s Trigger in a foreign, hyperhygenic
space. This nearly hour-long recording is also Christ’s first full-length effort. ‘Fantastic Light’ is like an open freeway that chills the space with creaky voices and percussive syncopation that stop/starts frequently without taking any unecessary turns. No first effort would be complete without its share of flat filler and ‘MK Naomi’ is just that herein. The track has a few moments towards its midsection that are slightly redeeming, though relies too heavily on hype driven, pre-millenium Tricky influences and bland repetition to get through its dusty four minute strut. The Broken Mix of ‘Pylonesque’ (from his first EP release) is a hanting refrain, a purely extatic lullaby. This mix just drifts and wanders, aided by the addition of disguised voice samples. Cryptic funk to be had as ‘A Giant Bird’ takes flight, rendering us all to our feet, or maybe our knees to build up the guts to explode on ‘Ray Breakout’ which turns out to have a hoola-hoop for a soul. This is where certain references to Autechre could be made, though things are a bit more rounded, smoother, mellower – and no afterbite. Again, however, the ending seems to be mixed abruptly, though it’s so good I am going to try not to notice. Closing with ‘School is not Compulsory’ as it searches and digs for its spot in our public consciousness it punctuates this 14 track introduction to Christ as an epilogue, as if we have known him all along, anything short of a smart one-liner, nipped and tucked, with a wink of an eye. (TJN)
Address: http://www.benbecula.com
87 CENTRAL – FORMATION (CD by Staalplaat)
Anyone having listened to drone ambient during sleep will know that the experience is quite amazing. Some ambient albums were directly linked to the sleeping process. In David Toop’s classic book, titled “Ocean of sound”, Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin) explains that 70 percent of his masterpiece “Selected ambient works vol. 2” were created under the state of lucid dreaming. American composer Robert Rich experimented with sleep concerts back in the early eighties. The main part of his excellent “Trances/drones”-album was drawn from the period of sleeping concerts. Comparable to the aforementioned masterworks by Aphex Twin and Robert Rich, third album by 87 Central, titled “Formation”, has the same sublime quality in the field of intricately subdued drone ambient. Having studied Sonology in The Hague, Jeff Carrey began his sonic explorations under the “87 Central”-flag back in 1999. Field recordings from various interesting locations seems like important bricks on “Formation” that consists of seven pieces melted into a singular sound space of vital beauty. Opening the album with dark shivering drones the atmosphere is calm meanwhile sinister. After ten minutes the opening drones slowly fades out and give way to another wave of drones. The atmosphere turns melancholic still in the dark sub-conscious way. The penetration of subtle beat-pulses similar to the internal rhythms of the body, combined with drowsy buzzing drones creates a great trance-inducing atmosphere. Favourite moment on the album is the third track titled “Pulsewidth”: Subtle textures of clicks and crackling sounds cripple inside strange organ-like soundscapes. As the track develops waves of white noise slowly interferes shortly changing the gentle drones into chaos until the white noise slips away and let the dreamscapes end out the track. What makes “Formation” such a great album is the way that atmospheric darkness and organic sounds of field recordings emerges into emotional complexity. Play the album while sleeping, play the album with the lights turned off or in any other state of total isolation. “Formation” is the true sound of sub-consciousness. My favourite ambient experience of the year! (NMP)
Address: http://www.staalplaat.com
DEREK BAILEY & ANTOINE BERTHIAUME & FRED FRITH – SOSHIN (CD by Ambiances Magnétiques)
Berthiaume is a guitarist, improviser and composer from Canada where he was born in 1977 (Montréal). On ‘Soshin’ , his first cd, he plays guitar in improvising duets with Bailey and Frith. Not bad if you succeed for a first cd to invite two such important impro-veterans as Frith and Bailey. With this choice Berthiaume instantly let us know where he takes his roots from.
Solely the titletrack ‘Soshin’ is a composed piece by Bertiaume with the help of Denis Gougeon. This interesting work is played by Bertiaume himself. Under the supervision of this Gougeon Bertiaume is pursuing his Masters degree in contemporary compostion at the moment.
The two pieces with Bailey were recorded in 2001 in London. Other tracks they recorded at their session are available on ‘Visitors Book’, a compilation on Incus Records.
The tracks with Frith were done in Canada in 2002. All improvised duets resulted from the first encounters with these two maestros.
Some pieces sound more or less traditional. In a piece like ‘Morning Froth’ folk is not that far away. On the other hand, in the piece called ‘Wolf’s wood’ – also a duet with Frith – they are more into investigating the sounds that can be derived from the guitar. ‘Indicateur d’assiette’ is the most noisy and electric track. Great. So the three duets with Frith are the most adventurous in my perception. Both duets with Bailey are dominated by the typical playing of Bailey and are what can be expected.
All together this is a very sympathetic and very good cd by a promising new talent (DM).
Address: http://www.actuellecd.com
KLAXON GUEULE – GRAIN (CD by Ambiances Magnétiques)
Klaxon Guele has already two cds out on Ambiances: ‘Muets’ and ‘Bavards’. For their third release Michel F.Côté (percussion, MC 505, home mades), Bernard Falaise (guitar) and Alexandre St-Onge (bass, contrabass, electronics), continue to explore the possibilities of electro-acustic music. By the way, they do this also in a live setting as they played on june 13th this year at the Musiques Innovatrices Festival in St.Etienne (France).
For there new cd they inivited Christof Migone and Sam Shalabi, both playing electronics.
Sound-performance artist and bassplayer St.Onge is the connection here. St.Onge and Migone play both in Undo. St.Onge and Shalabi (Molasses) know each other from The Shalabi Effect. Also they make up a trio with David Kristian and have an cd out on Alien8.
Côté and Falaise are present on numerous cds on Ambiances Magnétiques and involved in countless projects in the field of new jazz and new music.
‘Grain’ offers ten sonic excursions, with a tendency to quiet and detailed sound paintings. By means of very unconventional playing on guitar, bass and drums (and electronics of course), the three carefully built up their music. They freed themselves from the free and impro jazz vocabular and lead us to more abstract and unknown regions where their reflective music gives you all the time to ponder on what we have here (DM).
Address: http://www.actuellecd.com/
LOREN NERELL – TAKSU (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
To simply classify Loren Nerell as just an ambient composer is missing the point. I’d rather refer to Loren Nerell as a sound traveller. Either as a real traveller, armed with a microphone and tape-recorder, to Indonesia, taping sounds from traditional instruments, but also a traveller that takes you, the listener on a journey through the world. In that sense, Loren Nerell is more an ambient composer along the lines of Brian Eno or Jon Hassell and has less in common with Steve Roach or Robert Rich, for whom the pure instrument approach seems to be important. ‘Taksu – an intervention from the gods, endowing a man, or perhaps a ritual object, with divine direction. In a sense Taksu is the essence of a great performance or work of art’ – it says on the cover. Can’t really argue with the essense of a great performance or work of art, but this is a nice piece of music. Rainforest sounds, far away percussion (drum sounds, maybe anklung or gamelan), which are all embedded in a rich textured sound, but not that of a whole bunch of digital sounds, but it’s rather, or so it seems, a treatment of those sounds by electronic means. This CD is maybe not just music, it’s rather a bath: you take it, it surrounds you for a while and then you feel good. ‘Taksu’ is like a hot bath, it fills the space, the environment, it’s a surrounding that is nice to be in. And unlike a bath: you can put a CD on repeat and will still feel good and will never get cold. (FdW)
Address: http://www.soleilmoon.com
MARK SPYBEY – I HAVE NO MONEY BUT I AM ANTONIN ARTAUD (3″CDR by Piehead Recordings)
Here is one that may go down quick: a 211 copies only release, composed by Mark Spybey (aka Dead Voices On Air and Propeller) using improvisations made with Cevin Key, the old master of Skinny Puppy, Download and Tear Garden. These improvisations date back from almost a decade, and the transformations performed by Mark, render the improvisations beyond recognition – unless of course it was already a spacy synth loaded piece of music. With this release, Piehead breaks away from their previous releases. The musician is a well established name, but also the music is something different. No more lo-fi electro IDM punk, but one lenghty piece of effect loaded music that is just too forcefully present to count as ambient backdrop, but one that works overall as a nice piece of ambient industrial music. It’s not as nice as his recent meeting with Niels van Hoorn on the ‘Klaverland Klompen Voetbal Club’ (see Vital Weekly 332), but still a good standard. (FdW)
Address: http://www.pieheadrecords.com
SENKING – TAP (CD by Raster.Post)
Coming in at #4 in Raster-Noton’s ongoing Post series is Cologne’s Senking (Jens Massel) and his new completely studio-based record called “Tap”. The scene is micro-crystalline and organic. Here sound drifts like feathers in the wind with a relative intangible sense of itself. The building blocks are out on the table on “Sort” for a close inspection. Apparitions come and go and hover a moment. This reminds me of early releases on the Meme imprint. Long, hesitant passages that sort of creep around fragile melodies and other electronic beeps and scale shifts. “Fletcher” plays hide ‘n seek and may appear to some as a radically slowed down version of Pong. Only here there are random pockets of ambience and some static for good measure. “Tap” seems incomplete in its sense of certain tension – there just is too much air. What is floating in this air is quite impulsive, and lifelike at times as on “Emergent”. As this recording concludes the purr of “Exhausted” weighs in like a lead wrecking ball, at a stealth deceleration. Massel takes us to a place that few are allowed, but many have passed by unknowingly. (TJN)
Address: http://www.raster-noton.de/
MUSLIMGAUZE – ARABBOX (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
Muslimgauze is dead; long live Muslimgauze. Despite the fact that the man behind Muslimgauze died in 1999, there is still a steady amount of releases; mainly on Staalplaat, but since last year Soleilmoon are also catching up. I think they have a bigger archive left then Staalplaat, so there is more to come. Bryn Jones, worked at a craze – every day, every week: always. Many of his works can be seen as part of a work in progress. It would take a scientific study to figure out what the keyworks are and which works are part of the process. ‘Arabbox’ was recorded in 1993, following the Gulf War and released during the war on Iraq this year (which some people refer to as the second Gulf War, not me). Styllistically ‘Arabbox’ moves along the lines of ‘Veiled Sisters’ and ‘Betrayal’ (to mention two works that are well-known): quiet patterns played on synthesizers, laidback ethnic percussion and an overall dubby feel. It’s the diametrical opposite of another Muslimgauze interest, that of aggressive uptempo breakbeats. Muslimgauze made strong albums on both sides of the spectrums and also some weaker brothers. However, for the most part, and this goes probably for much of the Muslimgauze work, a critical look to what is released would not be a bad idea. ‘Arabbox’ is quite an ok CD (for instance if you have a hard time getting the other ones), but not necessary one to have if you are not a devotee. (FdW)
Address: http://www.soleilmoon.com