MARSEN JULES – LAZY SUNDAY FUNERALS (download album from Audioplate)
THE MITGANG AUDIO – THE VIEW FROM YOUR NEW HOME (CD by Suction Records)
MUSLIMGAUZE – RED MADRASSA (CD by Staalplaat)
OHNE – 020503 (CD by The Egg And We)
OHNE – 020510 (CDR by Spirals Of Involution)
BUDAPASTIS – La bouche fermée (CD by Heyermears)
ANTI ACTION TRIO – (CD by Heyermears)
HANS TEUBER / PAUL RUCKER – OIL (CD by Jackson Street Records)
PAUL RUCKER – HISTORY OF AN APOLOGY (CD by Jackson Street Records)
FORMATT: CONNECTIONS / SAMULI ALAPURANEN : APINAVIDEO (CDR by Abflug)
VERHAVERBEKE KRZYZOSIAK : IKKUNA / VYGANDAS SIMBELIS : IN ARMY OF
LOVERS (CDR by Abflug)
HINTERLANDT : SITTING, GOING PLACES / KARRI O. : DEPARTURES AND
ARRIVALS (CDR by Abflug)
COMFORTER VS LEFTHANDEDDECISION (CDR by Spirals Of Involution)
COMFORTER – BLATNOJ CHANSON (CDR by Spirals Of Involution)
HOW TO USE YOUR FRIENDS AS ORGAN DONORS (CDR compilation by Spirals
Of Involution)
TELEPHERIQUE VS ALIENLOVERS IN AMAGASAKI – GLOBALISERUNG (CDR by
Spirals Of Involution)
PAUL WIRKUS/MARCUS KUERTEN – HEBAN (CDR by Authorized Version)
EVERY KID ON SPEED VS EVERY KID ON ACID (CDR by Retinascan)
NEBOGEO – PRESENTS: 0 (CDR by Retinascan)
YANNICK DAUBY & CHRISTOPHE HAVARD (CDR by and/OAR)
XV PAROWEK – KILOGRAMY (CDR by XV Parowek Records)
TOSHIYA TSUNODA/CIVYIU KKLIU (2xminiCD by Bremstrahlung)
RADU MALFATTI/ILYA MONOSOV (2xminiCD by Bremstrahlung)
FCKN BSTRDS – TOTAL SECURITY (CDR by Hondenkoekjesfabriek)
PEETALL – RMXS 2 – FOR JEFF SURAK (MP3 by Earlabs)
DO MAKE SAY THINK – WINTER HYMN COUNTRY HYMN SECRET HYMN (CD by Constellation)
MARSEN JULES – LAZY SUNDAY FUNERALS (download album from Audioplate)
While playing this CD, I was thinking that it is really music for an
occassion. It says ‘lazy Sunday Funerals’, but as far as I know
nobody is buried on a sunday – at least not in christianity. But
there is a contemplative sadness on this release which makes it
indeed music for funerals. Martin Juhls, also known to be part of
Krill.Minima (see Vital Weekly 390) and Falter, samples classical
music, mainly opening sequences played by a solo instrument, loops
them, and then starts to fiddle around with it. He’s not hiding away
his sources – not that I recognized any of them (I wish my father was
here, he would no doubt recognize them), but they stem from the
romantic, nineteenth century tradition I’d say. It’s all in a sadder
mood, like funeral music. This music is not about a nice song, or a
great melody, it rather captures the atmosphere, the brooding
atmosphere of a graveyard, or a nineteenth century barely seen
streets in a small town, the atmosphere of an Edgar Allen Poe story.
A haunting soundtrack. If there is a need to compare this with
anything, I’d say it’s the missing link between Ekkehard Ehlers’
‘Betrieb’ album and Wolfgang Voigt’s ‘Gas’ albums. And the good thing
is it’s all available for free. (FdW)
Address: http://www.thinnerism.com
THE MITGANG AUDIO – THE VIEW FROM YOUR NEW HOME (CD by Suction Records)
Over the years that Suction now exists it remains a small label.
Their releases are mainly centered around the label’s own bands,
Lowfish and Solvent, but occassionally they come up with another
band, like The Mitgang Audio. Of course an one-man band, being this
time Ray Sweeten, who nows lives in Brooklyn, NYC and who apperentely
works for Sesame Street and who is a member of The Plantains, a
synthpop/multimedia-performance band. With his debut album he comes
up with something that is strangely enough perfect for Suction
Records, but at the same time is also something different. It has
electro, robotic pop classics like we would expect from Suction, but
also an electronic baroq piece in the form of ‘The Escape’. The
baroqy Italian style also comes back in no less then four of the
seven songs which are sung in Italian: Ray Sweeten lived in Italy for
two years, so go figure. Sweeten takes his inspiration from the
golden age of electronic popmusic (early 80s in pieces like ‘Minor
Causes’, ‘Binary Life’ or the early Depeche Mode inspired ‘Tokyo
Scope’), but it’s much more – a track like ‘Forme’ shows his interest
in Giorgio Moroder and the ambient pieces are likewise 70s inspired.
The ten tracks on this CD are one varied bunch and it makes this
record enjoyable from beginning to end. Quirky uptempo pieces next to
songs filled sadness, like ‘Passenger Perspective’. It’s the various
styles of electronica that makes this into a highly inspired debut
album – a true blast. Each track is great and there isn’t a single
boring moment. Given the right promotion and attention, this has
classic stamped all over it. (FdW)
Address: http://www.suctionrecords.com
MUSLIMGAUZE – RED MADRASSA (CD by Staalplaat)
Having produced more than 150 albums, the flowing stream of
interesting sound material from Bryn Jones seems endless despite his
death almost five years ago. Red Madrassa belongs to some of the
harsher sides of Muslimgauze heard for quite a while. Abrasive
soundscapes similar to albums like “Azad”, “Keffeen Head” and “Hafaz
Al Assad” (the last albums being part of the Box Of Silk And
Dogs-release) have been mixed with minimal and repetitive textures
similar to albums like “Fakir Sind” and “Hand of Fatima”. The tracks
have been divided into two sections weaving into each other. One
section containing five tracks all titled Rhodesia roughly built
around the same sound texture though still expressionally quite
different. Rhodesia represents the main part of the album especially
thanks to the opening and closing tracks each lasting almost 20
minutes. Both tracks are repetitive with a bunch of samples of city
noises, crowd yelling, voices of children and women. Intricate tabla
rhythms and strange melodies are stretched into repetitive
soundscapes, echoing of both a mythological Far East and, more in the
distance, a damp western city. The other section is titled “Rya ba
mutant”
containing three shorter tracks that are generally more aggressive in
style and rhythmically faster. Those tracks belong to the danceable
part of the album in a great ritual style. Red Madrassa is a great
exploration into Eastern atmospheres what this might carry of beauty
and
ugliness. Highly recommended! (NMP)
Address: http://www.staalplaat.com
OHNE – 020503 (CD by The Egg And We)
OHNE – 020510 (CDR by Spirals Of Involution)
Ohne is a performance/music group which include Tom Smith, Daniel
Loewenbrueck (of the Tochnit Aleph label), Reto Maeder (of Domizil)
and Dave Phillips (of To Live And Shave In LA), who play noise music
on a laptop, electronics, contact microphones and singing. In 2002
they played an one-off gig in Minsk, in the Republic Of Belarus. That
performance is documented here in both audio and video format. The
video is particular fun: it sees them travelling to Minsk, setting up
for the gig and parts of the concert. If you never witnessed such a
thing, it’s fun to see. There is certainly a rock n roll element to
this music, especially when Dave Phillips is (trying) to sing a wacky
song. The audio part is of course more complete, but certainly if you
watched the film first (like I did), elements return, but in a less
chopped up way. Ohne goes through their material in a rather lo-fi
way, cracking up sounds (a ballon and tin foil belongs to their
musique concrete pastiche) and crancking up volume. But this is not
y’r typical over the top noise event – it’s not an ongoing brutal
noise attack. It very much fits the tradition of Schimpfluchgruppe –
a strict personal view on both musique concrete, electronica and rock
and roll. This document tells you all, both in audio and in vision.
Only one day after I wrote the review of this CD, I received another
Ohne release, also from Russia and also with a live recording. I have
been thinking about the Ohne titels and it seems to me that it’s
year, month, day. This means that this CD was recorded on May 10th,
2002, a few days after the one on The Egg And We. I must say that by
and large this Ohne release contains similar material as the one on
The Egg And We. I find it hard to appoint a winner in this
competition: both releases are good showcauses of the Ohne sound, but
two them in a row is a bit too much. The cover of ‘020510’ bears a
sticker saying ‘contains audio and video’, but the copy I reviewed
only contained audio… (FdW)
Address: http://www.eggandwe.org
Address: http://soi.yoll.net
BUDAPASTIS – La bouche fermée (CD by Heyermears)
ANTI ACTION TRIO – (CD by Heyermears)
Budapastis is a french-hungarian collective with the following
members: Lore Bargès (voice, Zsolt Kovacs (guitar, objects), Franq de
Quango (percussions, contact mic) and Zsolt Sores (Viola, objects).
Bargès and de Quengo record together under the name Dragibus.
Like his mate Zsolt Sórés, Zsolt Kovács (improvising musician,
composer, performance and conceptual artist) has built up experience
in the past with numerous experimental bands like SoKaPaNaSz, Talesco
and Spiritus Noister. In the last few years Sórés and Kovács are
active as members of the Abstract Monarchy Trio(Austria-Hungary) and
Izo-fr.
Since 1994 since they work together as an improvisational duo named
S.K.Y. They have an cd out on the Avult label.
His mate Zsolt Sórés (violonist) is into experimental and improvising
music, performance and conceptual art as well. Both performed also
with numerous musicians like Franz Hautzinger, Erno Király, Phill
Niblock, Thomas Lehn, Voicecrack and AMM, a.o.
So the activities of Sórés and Kovács parallell in many aspects. Also
concerning their musical influences they share the same interest.
Both are deeply affected by the music of Edwin Prévost, Morton
Feldman, Morphogenesis, Organum, Kapotte Muziek, etc.
In 1999 they met Dragibus and a friendship grew. Somewhere in august
2001 they it was the right moment to go into the studio and record
some music. They recorded two lenghty improvisations that are now
available on ‘La bouche fermée’ (total time: 72 minutes).
From time to time the music is a little self-indulgent for me. But
there are also several beautiful moments where there is real
communication between the players.
Strings are plucked and all kinds of little objects are used. The
drummer plays constantly but in a non-dominant way. With a soft voice
Lore declaims a text on few moments during the trip. Yes, together
they make an interesting brew or pastiche of electro-acustical music.
Really intense music from time to time. This group has potential. But
if my information is correct Budapastis is not meant to be a
permanent group. Alas.
Also of considerable interest is the cd by the Anti Action Trio. In
this hungarian-canadian cooperation we have again Zsolt Sórés, now
playing with Laura Kavanaugh and Ian Birse.
Kavanaugh (sampler, digital effects, mixer, microphone), Ian Birse
(guitar, contact pick-ups, mixer feedback and sampler) and Sórés
(viola, digital effects, cymbal, ebow, contact pick-up, flotsam &
jetsam) also like to travel in electro-acustic environments. They
playing is more tight compared with Budapastis.
Kavanaugh and Birse have been collaborating since 1997 on audio
and/or video work.
Kavanaugh is a performance artist interested in real-time sound and
image creation. The same for Birse who employs real-time video
manipulation and electronic sound in immersive environments for his
art. In 2001 they toured Eastern Europe and I suppose that on this
trip they met Zsolt Sórés and decided to spent some time in the
studio to create some audio work. Another nice cd of
electro-acustical music is the result.
To conclude the Heyermears label, that is associated with the Kassák
Centre for Intermedial Creativity in Slovakia, is an interesting
outlet for experimental music from eastern Europe. Hope to hear more
from this label (DM).
Address: http://www.k2ic.sk
HANS TEUBER / PAUL RUCKER – OIL (CD by Jackson Street Records)
PAUL RUCKER – HISTORY OF AN APOLOGY (CD by Jackson Street Records)
Out of nowhere (Seatlle to be more exact) come these two recordings
from the new Jackson Street Records label. For more background
information surfing to their address is not of great help at the
moment. Most of it is still ‘under construction’.
To start with ‘History of an Apology’, I’m surprised to see such a
varied company of musicians. Bill Horist and Bill Frisell. Two very
different guitarists. Amy Denio on accordion. Veteran trombone-player
Julian Priester, who played with Sun Ra for some time if I’m not
mistaking. Farko Dosumov a popular bassist from Uzbekistan (!)
accompanied by several other musicians from the Seatlle scene (Hans
Teuber, Jacques Willis, Erik Anderson, Issac Marshall, Flora McGill,
a.o.)
The cd is recorded bit by bit between November 2001 and March 2003.
Not all musicians apperar on all tracks. Most tracks have between 6
and 9 musicians playing Ruckers’ compositions. Exceptions are the
short intro-piece played by saxplayer Hans Teuber and the great solo
cry from misses Josephine Howell in the gospel-rooted piece ‘Lost
years’.
The ensemble pieces offer a fusionlike and entertaining kind of jazz.
The titletrack has a burning guitarsolo by Bill Frisell. We hear
nicely layerered arrangements. Unusual instruments for this kind of
jazz as melodica and accordion. Alas all good players assembled here,
can’t help that music sounds dull at moments. The compositions refer
to the 60s and 70s state of the art. ‘Oil’ also sounds traditional in
this respect. But it’s much better then ‘History of an Apology’ in my
experience. ‘Oil’ is a collaboration of Hans Teuber (alto sax) and
Paul Rucker (cello). The pieces don’t sound instantly composed to me.
In some tracks themes are lend from other compositions. In ‘Somber
Time’ we here ‘In the Summertime’.
There is a lot more of unity and togetherness in the playing here
compared with ‘Apology’. A modest and sincere work is created by both
gentlemen. The playing is warm, lyrical and sophisticated. They love
melodic lines. It’s a record that perfectly would fit in the
ECM-catalogue (DM).
Address: http://www.jacksonstreetrecords.com
FORMATT: CONNECTIONS / SAMULI ALAPURANEN : APINAVIDEO (CDR by Abflug)
VERHAVERBEKE KRZYZOSIAK : IKKUNA / VYGANDAS SIMBELIS : IN ARMY OF
LOVERS (CDR by Abflug)
HINTERLANDT : SITTING, GOING PLACES / KARRI O. : DEPARTURES AND
ARRIVALS (CDR by Abflug)
Abflug is a new Finnish label based in Helsinki both dedicating its
releases to sound and video arts. The first three releases of the
label seem very promising each containing an aural and a visual part.
On the first release of Abflug, Belgian artist Formatt takes care of
the aural side, working in the field of atmospheric ambient. 23
minutes of delicate waving ambient swirling alongside crackling
noises and subtle pulsing beats lying somewhere between deep ambient
composers like Steve Roach and clicks’n cuts legend Kit Clayton. On
the visual side we find Samuli Alapuranaen working with moving
pictures of apes in a rain forest added a gentle synth-tune with
subtle drones underneath. The three minutes tune functions as the
soundtrack to the slow moving pictures and it does work well. Second
Abflug release presents Verhaverbeke Krzyzosiak on the audio side and
Vygandas Simbelis on the video side. Verhaverbeke works in the field
of ambient-based guitar experiments. Subtle noisescapes of clicks and
crackles stand as a great background for the five tracks of guitar
tones and gentle strumming. As with the first Abflug release the
visual side is the most abstract part. Controlled by Lithuanian
artist Vygandas Simbelis the video titled “Army of lovers” presents
different toy dolls jumping on camera close-up. The soundtrack sounds
like field recordings of a continuously running reel containing
sounds of percussions as well as human noises. As the movie develops
echoed sounds appear and the sound spectre turns from minimal to a
more varied expression.
What goes for the audio part of the three releases, the third release
contains the least accessible but nevertheless also very interesting
work. German composer Jochen Gutsch (a.k.a. Hinterlandt) has a
musical background ranging from classical trumpet to noise guitar.
His work takes its starting point in four different pieces each
titled after certain locations around the world. Even though
Hinterlandt also focuses on an ambient sort of expression his style
seems more psychedelic and crossover-like with among others elements
of jazz. Owner of the Abflug-label represents the visual side of
third release. As revealed in the chosen label name, Karri O. has an
interest in air transportation, which also comes clear with his video
“Departures and Arrivals”. Greasy video recordings of aero planes at
terminals and aero planes about to take off slowly fades in and out
as minimal ambientscapes of backwards moving sound samples represent
the soundtrack. “Departures and arrivals” are the most straight lined
piece of video art of the three releases. Overall three very
promising releases of the Abflug label, also making some extra points
in the conceptual idea of combining sound art and video art into one
disc. (NMP)
Address: http://www.abflugrec.com
COMFORTER VS LEFTHANDEDDECISION (CDR by Spirals Of Involution)
COMFORTER – BLATNOJ CHANSON (CDR by Spirals Of Involution)
HOW TO USE YOUR FRIENDS AS ORGAN DONORS (CDR compilation by Spirals
Of Involution)
TELEPHERIQUE VS ALIENLOVERS IN AMAGASAKI – GLOBALISERUNG (CDR by
Spirals Of Involution)
Spirals Of Involution is a small Russian CDR label that releases
unknown Russian musical projects aswell as some more well-known
western bands captured in live concert in Russia (like the Ohne CDR
reviewed elsewhere) and a forthcoming Pan Sonic disc.
Comforter is a band that I can be really short about. It’s noise
music of the very loud and very aggressive kind. Distorted radio
signals, fed through a couple of old synths and the rusty circuits of
guitar effects pedals, and the volume crancked up to ten while
recording (just because an eleven was not available). Likewise I
don’t know much about Lefthandeddecision or how the piece ‘The Study
Of Hate & Whiskey’ was made, but they seem to care more about some
built up throughout a piece. But by and large they cover similar
ground. Nice for the initiated, but best left alone there.
Things get interesting on three way group compilation ‘How To Use
Friends As Organ Donors’ – it’s not that Comforter does anything
comforting or different than on the previous two releases, but the
more inspiring moments come here from Daruin, the act of Kazuya
Ishigami who displays his love of cutting up sounds through digital
editing techniques. Noise is his thing too, but at least it’s moving
along and it has more variety. The most interesting pieces are by
Alexei Borisov (see also Vital Weekly 328) whose noise seem to have
some purpose at least – not just painful agony, but he’s actually
composing around with the found noise snippets. The most experienced
player of the three – and it shows.
The final new release by Spirals Of Involution is a collaborational
effort between the well-known German underground trouppe Telepherique
and Alienlovers In Amagasaki. They both have two tracks of their own
and two tracks in which they rework eachothers material. Behind
Alienlovers there is the same guy as Thirdogan. Of course he is
known, and no need to change that view when choosing a new name, as a
noise musician. His portion, both in his solo works, aswell as in his
collaborational piece, is that of computerized noise. The picture on
the cover of him probably says it all. After which, actually first on
the release, the music of Telepherique is sheer pleasure. Calm,
atmospheric, multi-layered sounds of synths and concrete sounds.
Maybe not top of the avant-garde, but after a couple of hours
captured in noise land, actually a total relief. But for all
releases: nice packaging! (FdW)
Address: http://soi.yoll.net
PAUL WIRKUS/MARCUS KUERTEN – HEBAN (CDR by Authorized Version)
Solo work by Marcus Kuerten has been reviewed before (see Vital
Weekly 388) and also his work with Polish sound artist Paul Wirkus
(Vital Weekly 307). On the latter they use computer and analogue
synthesizer in a very nice piece of drone music, but for their new
release, two collaboration tracks and one solo track by Wirkus, I am
not so sure what the sound input is. I think I heard various string
instruments, a piano and a choir, but somehow I don’t see them
conducting an ensemble of players together, so it may easily be
coming from a computer. Especially the solo piece by Wirkus sounds
like either a taped or sampled choir piece. Heavenly voices, in loop
mode and with slight variations. This piece, ‘Grabarka’ walks on a
very thin line between kitsch and serious avant-garde. The
collaborational pieces maybe also sampled, but most defintely less
kitschy. Very minimal sounding, with maybe samples of orchestral
instruments (like pizzicato strings in ‘Ohne’), an occassional bang
on a piano, this comes close to modern classical minimal music, but
interesting enough not close to Steve Reich et al, because this is
all going at a very slow pace without hardly any move at all.
Especially the two collaborational pieces are great and I’m lesser
convinced about Wirkus’ solo piece. (FdW)
Address: http://www.a-version.co.uk
EVERY KID ON SPEED VS EVERY KID ON ACID (CDR by Retinascan)
From the ever active underground computer music scene dividing their
time between putting MP3s online and releasing music on CDR, comes
Antonio Dimitrov, from Skopje, Macedonia. He runs the Acid Fake label
and has various musical projects, such as Microsound_00, Sound_00,
Every Kid On Acid and Every Kid On Speed. This new release sees him
remixing himself. The difference between ‘Acid’ and ‘Speed’ is that
the ‘acid’ monniker is ‘dark ambient’ and that ‘speed’ is about
glitch and cut up electronics. The whole dark ambient thing has
vanished in these remixes as it is all about glitch and cut ups.
Dimitrov throws a lot of sounds into the computer and produces in a
rather improvised way a noisy, a nasty and speedy cut up electronica.
I have no idea what he is using here, but it seems to me that he
opened the box of max/mspandora and that the software eats it’s way
like a maggot through his sound files. Music that arrives with this
speed is an attack on the senses. The short seventh track of vinyl
cracks doesn’t bring the peace. Even when I liked this release a lot,
I’m glad it’s only twenty minutes – for such mayhem a perfect length.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.retinascan.de
NEBOGEO – PRESENTS: 0 (CDR by Retinascan)
Pawfal is a website devoted to free software, made for Linux
computers and it is also a community of musicians using the software.
Nebogeo is one such group of artists, or maybe just one person – the
website has a lot of information that is not really clear about this.
Whatever may be the case, Nebogeo makes electronic, techno influenced
music. Simple ticking away, a bit crude on the production side and a
bit unclear what the software does that is available, because it’s
hard to see what makes this music different from the many others who
operate in similar territory of broken beats and atmospheric synths.
What is left are eleven nice tracks, nothing earthshaking new, but a
pleasent listen throughout. Sometimes that’s all there is and it’s
ok. (FdW)
Address: http://www.retinascan.de
YANNICK DAUBY & CHRISTOPHE HAVARD (CDR by and/OAR)
You will have to excuse me for the delay of this review, but somehow,
somewhere this release was misplaced in the Vital HQ (humho), but a
review is never too late. The recording is almost two years old and
is described on the cover as a ‘improvised laptop duet’ – actually I
saw this only after I had heard it. I swear it was a combination of
the good old laptop in combination with someone producing
electro-acoustic sounds, amplified tin foil, screws and bolts, combs:
that sort of thing. Well, maybe they were on the laptop as original
sound sources. In the course of forty-three minutes, things unfold
only a very slow rhythm – a gentle moving glitch (as opposed to
glitches), almost inaudible passage and whatever software they are
using: it is hardly to be recognized. Maybe it’s just two guys
playing their finished soundworks and nothing is improvised? It
certainly sounds like it. I am sure not many improvisers would agree
with me here, but saying something sounds like it’s composed, while
it’s actually improvised, is probably an insult to the rigid improv
minds. But I rather see it as a compliment. Only at certain times,
this sounds improvised, but for the better part, it sounds like a
well-planned thing. Either way: it doesn’t matter. The result is nice
and that’s what counts. (FdW)
Address: http://www.and-oar.org/
XV PAROWEK – KILOGRAMY (CDR by XV Parowek Records)
Hailing from Poland comes Bartek Kalinka, aka XV Parowek, who was
inspired by Einsturzende Neubauten when he started in 1994 to produce
sound of his own. The first experiments were harsh noise, but over
the years XV Parowek changed to what it is now: musique concrete
inspired noise, that is generated, I think, in an improvised way. The
cover lists, quite funnily ‘50% objects, 20% filtering, effects, 20%
radio, 5% field recording and 5% other’. It’s not entirely clear to
me whether he uses a computer or that it is old fashioned four track
– I suspect it’s the latter. There is a certain rawness to be noted
in both recording and mixing of the sounds, that adds a very lively
atmopshere to it. I was reminded to some very early Merzbow (in his
cassette years) and the work of Brume. Both have a similar in your
face approach, a sound that allows no silence, no point of rest but
contrary jumps around leaving the listener breathless. I understand
that this is one of the less noisy works of XV Parowek, so maybe
that’s why I like it… (FdW)
Address: http://xvp.terra.pl
TOSHIYA TSUNODA/CIVYIU KKLIU (2xminiCD by Bremstrahlung)
RADU MALFATTI/ILYA MONOSOV (2xminiCD by Bremstrahlung)
Bremstrahlung so far brought us two double CD compilations under the
name ‘lowercase’. Music that is beyond the threshold of hearing,
pointing at the microscopic details of sound. Now they started a most
curious project: a series of double mini CDs (even when they are
pressed on 5 inch CDs) packed in a nice metal box. In total there
will be ten metal boxes. Inside the first box we’ll find Toshiya
Tsunoda and Civyiu Kkliu. The first one is already known from his
releases on Hapna, Sirr and Lucky Kitchen. Tsunoda is a man who tells
what he is doing, even when the messages are cryptic. In ‘Recorded
Landscape: Pier’ it is most obviously the environmental recording of
a pier (although no water sounds are heard) and is a very dense
recording which covers a really low bass end sound. The other two
pieces are electronic pieces, unlike much other work by him. The
first ‘Fragments For Stereophony’ is crackly and the second one
consists of high pierced sounds. Unlikely pieces for Tsunoda but he
is a man to record unlikely sources, so nothing is really a
surprise… The second CD in this box is by Civyiu Kkliu, of whom I
only know his Bake Records release ‘111’. It turned out that that
work is part of a larger series, named ‘111-11111111111’. Unlike
Tsunoda Kkliu doesn’t describe what he is doing. I think he uses
spaces with special acoustic conditions to play back his unnamed
soundmaterial in. This new work is called ‘1111111’ and is much
louder, soundwise, then the previous Bake Records release. On the
surface, it seems a very static drone, in which not much seems to be
happening. Changes in the material only seem to happen at a very
superficial level. Even upon very close listening, the changes might
not be fully there and only when played at a moderate volume, things
become alive in your own space; I am sure that’s exactely the sort of
thing Kkliu is aiming for. Here the conceptualism is at work on a
great level.
The second box has a work by Radu Malfatti and Ilya Monosov. Malfatti
is mostly known as an improviser with people like Phil Durrant and
Thomas Lehn, and he is one of the most minimal players around. His
instrument is the trombone. In ‘Selbander’ he uses three of them (I
am sure not at the same time) which uses the 16th intervals. Cutting
silence as an equal part to the music – which is quite loud, I might
add, in contrary to some of his more silent work – makes this into
quite a crazy release. Maybe not as powerful as some of his other
work, dwelling a bit too much on the conceptual approach, but
nevertheless a powerful work. Ilya Monosov you may know from his LP
on Elevator Bath, earlier this year (see Vital Weekly 359). For his
work ‘Structure #1, #2 and #3’ he uses ‘a computer, a trumpet, a nice
daym a bad day and several other days in the year of 2002′. The
shortest CD so far, which lots of silence in between very very sparse
sounding material. Just an occassional bleep here, there, then and
sometimes now. It certainly stretches the patience of the listener.
With the use of silence both apparent in the Malfatti work aswell as
here, it has become an important, if not equal factor in the
composition. Once more the question of what music really is has been
asked. I think the Monosov pieces are powerful pieces, contemplative
and zen like, with massive silence and only the smallest particles at
work. (FdW)
Address: http://www.lowercasesound.com
FCKN BSTRDS – TOTAL SECURITY (CDR by Hondenkoekjesfabriek)
Recentely I reviewed a release from the Dutch underground scene that
I am not really connected to, a CDR by Monobrain and De Fabriek
(Vital Weekly 390) and here is another one. Hummmm…. what’s it
about? Good question. Ok, so, I think it’s the documentation of an
event dealing with safety and breach of privacy, camera control and
big brother. The film on this CDR shows us in very small screen a
kind of surveillance camera thing of the proceedings, people making
music, dancing and just total mayhem. The music part, audio lasting
just under eleven minutes, is of likewise noise. The Fckn Bstrds, for
it is them who put on this rackett, are probably the best The
Netherlands have to offer in noise music. An open collective of music
makers cum performance troupe, usually their events end in chaos and
anger. The sound here contains of just downright noise, people
screaming (did anyone say ‘dick’ in there?), feedback and distorted
rhythms. Despite the vagueness of the whole thing, one can grasp a
little of what was going on back in april – state control happens
everywhere, but little cells remain free and celebrate their freedom.
(FdW)
Address:
http://www.angelfire.com/stars3/fcknbstrds/de-HONDENKOEKJESFABRIEK.html
PEETALL – RMXS 2 – FOR JEFF SURAK (MP3 by Earlabs)
In Vital Weekly 374 Jeff Surak discussed a MP3 release by Peetall, a
mysterious project, who delivered three remixes of the fab four (The
Residents?) and said it was a fine granular mash, using ‘the usual
plugins’ – especially that last thing upsetted Peetal, but they took
on the challenge and tried to improve things on new fab four (The
Gang Of Four?) remixes. I had a peep back then at the Peetal tracks,
but wasn’t blown away by it. Too noisy and not enough structured for
my taste. But the new pieces sound much better. I dare not speak
about plug ins – let alone usual plug ins (before you know they
deliver another remix) – but structure is apperent here. It’s mostly
done by editing small sounds, treating them carefully and cook up a
nice collage out of intro’s and outro’s. Even for non lovers of the
fab four (Four Tops?) a fine treat. (FdW)
Address: http://www.earlabs.org
DO MAKE SAY THINK – WINTER HYMN COUNTRY HYMN SECRET HYMN (CD by Constellation)
Fourth release from Toronto, Canada based collective Do Make Say
Think. If I understand the cover info correctly, we get three hymns –
Winter Hymn, Country Hymn, Secret Hymn -, divided into nine songs.
The opening hymn – the parts Frederica, War on Want and Auberge le
Mouton Noir – delivers your usual instrumental post-rock, where
outbursts of hard noiserock are countered by meandering pieces –
slow, military mars driven, with melodic strings or woodwind added.
Intense and exiting. The same can be said about the second
three-piece, Outer Inner & Secret, 107 Reasons Why and Ontario
Plates. Because of the painfully haunting cry of the electric guitar
in the first part, the band sounds exactly like label-mates Godspeed
You! Black Emperor. Come to think of it, it must be said that a lot
of the releases from the Constellation label sound awfully alike. Not
especially a bad thing – on themselves usually high quality albums -,
but chances are the long-time follower starts to get exhausted. In
107 Reasons Why Do Make Say Think experiments with jazz-chords, and
that’s pleasantly refreshing. The closing hymn – Horns of a Rabbit,
It’s Gonna Rain and Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! – steps back into the
standard post-rock idiom again first (although the recording seems
reworked with some interesting sound-effects) to slowly slip into a
joyful pop-ditty, full of twanging guitars and electronics with easy
listening tendencies. Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn is
definitely a good album, but you probably own most of it under
different titles from different other bands already. If that’s a
problem is up to the listener. (RT)
Address: http://www.cstrecords.comekly (1995
onwards) can be found at: http://staalplaat.com/vital/