KOZO INADA – MORT AUX VACHES (CD by Staalplaat)
RUNES ORDER – MISANTROPIA (CD by Transf. Order)
JONATHAN COLECLOUGH/BASS COMMUNION/COLIN POTTER (2CD by ICR)
COLIN POTTER – SEE (CD by Infraction)
ANDREW LILES – ALL CLOSED DOORS (CD by Infraction)
N.IN – ASTRONOMY FOR CHILDREN (CD by Highpoint Lowlife)
PAULO RAPOSO & CARLOS SANTOS – INSULA DULCAMARA (CD by Sirr-ecords)
GULTSKRA ARTIKLER – GOLOLED (download at Autoplate)
CRNO KLANK – ETAT DES LIEUX (CD by Ad Noiseam)
BIG CITY ORCHESTRA – PIXIES (CDR by Dhyana Records)
SOME ASIAN FEMALES BODYBUILDERS/DE HONDENKOEKJESFABRIEK (CDR by De Hondenkoekjesfabriek)
KOZO INADA – MORT AUX VACHES (CD by Staalplaat)
One might safely say that Kozo Inada is a Staalplaat discovery. The man who lists his works as ‘[]a’ or []b’ had two works out on Staalplaat, the first being is first work ever. So it makes perfectly sense when he comes over to Europe, the Staalplaat people put him up in the VPRO studio and have him record his work live. Kozo’s earlier works on Staalplaat (and other labels, such as Selektion or V2) were rather densely layered and at times pretty noise, but in his in live work this is different. The densely layered part is still there, but the noise is gone. Kozo Inada is a drone artist, who cleverly builts up his music in one brush stroke. From a small, thin line to a massive stroke and when he takes the pencil off a short black hole occurs in which all sounds disappears. Everything is sucked away at that point. Here, in this forty three minutes this happens twice. After some twenty five or so minutes and at the end. Right after the black hole bird and insect sound occur, like a morning dawn rise. All the time in between the hole and the next hole is filled with taking the sound up again, little by little. Using computer software and treated field recordings, he depicts a beautiful, but dark world. And looking at the cover, the black hole sound theory is shared by others, like the designer of Staalplaat. A massive release. (FdW)
Address: http://www.staalplaat.com
RUNES ORDER – MISANTROPIA (CD by Transf. Order)
Everyone familiar with the movies of Italian Horror Director Dario Argento, knows that an essential explanation to the scariness of his milestones “Suspiria” and “Profondo Rosso” (a.k.a. Deep Red) was the superb soundtracks by Italian electronic based prog rock band Goblin. Goblin managed with especially the Suspiria-soundtrack to create the perfect nail-biting edge-of-your-seat atmosphere. Not without reason has the earlier works of Italian composer Claudio Dondo (a.k.a. Runes Order) been compared with Goblin. Originally released in 1988, “Misantropia” was the debut album of Claudio Dondo, who in that period was composing under the name “Order 68” before changing into “Runes Order”. The album combines the infernal atmospheres of ’70 Italian horror movies with melancholic electro-acoustic expressions resulting in a unique sonic experience. Opening with some ringing bells, and with the sound of what could be a guitar tuning process, the first waves of creepy electronic drones shortly after penetrate. As these minimal electronic waves of sound begins to dominate, the atmosphere changes from strange to claustrophobic. And thus begins a journey into cold and haunting territories, a journey that also includes instruments like organ and toy piano. With only a few signs of rhythmic texture during the 38 minutes playing time, the album first of all floats on dark and moody soundscapes that in its cinematic expression would be able to make even the friendliest episode of Teletubbies end up as a nerve-crushing trip to hell. Atmospheric and cinematic ambience at its best, Misantropia is an essential album for listeners of creepy dark ambient music. (NMP)
Address: www.runesorder.cjb.net
JONATHAN COLECLOUGH/BASS COMMUNION/COLIN POTTER (2CD by ICR)
COLIN POTTER – SEE (CD by Infraction)
Early 2003, Colin Potter and Jonathan Coleclough did a remix for Bass Communion, which is the solo project of Steve Wilson, who is also mastermind behind Porcupine Tree (the true successors to Pink Floyd) and No Man. In his solo material, Wilson strives for some dark ambient music, which has both similarities and differences with the ambient drone music of Potter and Coleclough. But it’s logic that He would invite them to do a remix. But as such things go, much more material was recorded, which is now released into a double CD set. The first CD has four lengthy tracks, two by Colin Potter, one by Bass Communion and one by Jonathan Coleclough. It’s hard to tell what the sound source input was from each of the participating artists, but in general it’s very heavy droning musics going on here. The two Potter pieces are kinda melodic, with even a touch of rhythm and Stephen Wilson approaches the eerie dark drone music by Potter/Coleclough and adds a whole bunch of field recordings. The final (and longest) piece is by Jonathan and is a trademark piece of his own personal style. The second disc is entirely filled by one piece by Jonathan Coleclough, based on sound material by Bass Communion. This seventy-four minute epos starts out in a low droning mood, but over the course of the piece, more lighthearted tones are set forth. Even a slow changing melody chord are to be recognized. Maybe it’s a bit on the long side, and maybe not the best of Coleclough works (maybe because one doesn’t expect him in such a lighter tone), it’s much better than a lot of would be drone meisters.
>From the same Colin Potter a CD was released which contains two older works and one recent, the bonus track. The original release was on a cassette on Potter’s own ICR label, back in 1990. The cover doesn’t hold any title or order, but the infraction website informs us about the fact that the new track is twenty four minutes long, so it opens this CD. This is a strong drone piece, played on synths with an occassional storm sound. As the piece evolves the drones get gradually stronger and stronger, but it never bursts out in a real mayhem. In the second piece a choir that is on endless hold provides the backbone of the piece and occassionally there is a bang on a synth. Maybe a bit too kitschy, but not too much… In the last piece, which is held together by a somewhat more lighthearted drone in the background, a simple melody plays in the foreground, which gives this piece a nice and gentle touch. Despite the oldness of the recordings, they still sound fresh, at least to me, today. And surely one that should go down with the drone fans around. (FdW)
http://www.icstudio.co.uk
http://infractionrecords.com
ANDREW LILES – ALL CLOSED DOORS (CD by Infraction)
In Vital Weekly 380 we discussed Andrew Liles’ second CD ‘Aural Anagram’, but that was a more recent CD than this ‘All Closed Doors’, which was delayed for reasons unknown. Liles is from the UK, from Brighton to be precise and has been around for a great number of years, but so far without much luck for getting his name around. Which is sad, because his music might appeal to some people with a love for dark, but surreal music, say the areas of Nurse With Wound. Liles operates on his own in a more electronic than good ol Nurse With Wound. Synths and sound effects play a big role in his music, but his input consists also of samples from voices, piano’s, orchestras or sounding objects. In a bed of ambient related drone musics, Liles paints his surreal landscapes, with children voices singing ‘que sera’ or the sound of doors opened (or closed). Less thematic than ‘Aural Anagram’ and therefore a little bit more scattered and fragmented and at times not entirely focussed. Maybe I heard this material too often, seeing him a couple of times live. But in case you haven’t, this might be a very worthwhile CD to have, certainly if the dark alley is yours anyway. (FdW)
http://infractionrecords.com
N.IN – ASTRONOMY FOR CHILDREN (CD by Highpoint Lowlife)
Don’t worry: Nine Inch Nails still didn’t make it to Vital Weekly, as this N.in is the name chosen by Nyles Lannon, a musician from San Francisco. He has wide musical interest, being part of the rock band Film School and as an acoustic singer/songwriter, but as N.in he opts for a strict electronic style. On his first entirely electronic record, Lannon offers eight melodic pieces which do not cover the interests of people like Autechre or Black Dog: the same broken beat style, melodic synth lines and ambient textures. It’s not a brilliant album, but it’s not bad either. The forty two minutes are a nice ride, pleasent to hear and good fun to pass your time with. I read the newspaper, tapped my feet and it was ok. Sometimes that should be good enough. (FdW)
Address: http://www.highpointlowlife.com
PAULO RAPOSO & CARLOS SANTOS – INSULA DULCAMARA (CD by Sirr-ecords)
These two names might not mean a lot to you, but Paulo Raposo is the guy who runs the Sirr-Ecords label, who explores his soundwork in relation to architecture and his work was showed and played in France, Germany, UK, Spain, USA and The Netherlands. His working with Carlos Santos is not new, they released a CD before as Vitriol (see Vital Weekly 279), but here thet present their work under their own names, for reasons I don’t know. Together they explore the depths of micro cosmos in sound in a world filled with cracks, clicks, cuts, processed feedback and much more. I have no idea what their input is, but my best guess is that they have a whole bunch of field recordings at hand, which are slowly fed to a horde of hungry plug ins. Hard to trace any recognizable sound in there, but the abstractions work really well. It’s not that these two composers have done an incredible new work per se with a brilliant new look on the future of electronic music, but overall it’s a good and solid work of serious microsoundings. (FdW)
Address: http://www.sirr-ecords.com
GULTSKRA ARTIKLER – GOLOLED (download at Autoplate)
On the active label Autoplate a new release by Alexey Devyanin, aka Gultskra Artikler, who lives in cold Siberia. He is an active participant on the internet-label scene with release on Kahvi and Kikapu. ‘Gololed’ is his solo work and I must say I have mixed feelings about it. Devyanin throws everything in the samples, all possible sound sources (saxophones, rhythmical elements, electronics and what have you), but overall the nine compositions couldn’t really hang on. To me it seems that Devyanin loves to hear sounds going on, with the addition of sound effects (like delay or reverb), but that he doesn’t care that much about the composition of the piece, let alone if it’s interesting for someone else to follow what he is doing. He doesn’t grab the listener by the balls, at least not me. Just a too weak of a brother for me. (FdW)
Address: http://www.autoplate.org
CRNO KLANK – ETAT DES LIEUX (CD by Ad Noiseam)
You may ask who is Crno Klank, but he is C-drik Fermont, also known as C-drik, cdrk, kirdec and player with Ammo (with Johan Sellekaers/Xingu Hill), Axiome (with Olivier Moreau/Immeinent), Moonsanto (w ith Sellekaers & Silksaw), Ambre (with Moreau & Sellekaers) and Dead Hollywood Stars (with Sellekaers & Hervé Thomas/Hint). But maybe of more interest is his background: Greek parents, born in Congo, lived in Belgium and now in The Netherlands. His prime interest lies music, and especially rhythm, but he’s also working with theatre, film, sound installations and much more. As Crno Klank he worked before, but the project was revived a few years ago as part of a performance including singers, african percussion and throat chants. It brough C-drik the idea to mix Korean, black African percussion and old school industrial and noise. Indeed an odd combination. It’s not a combination that hasn’t been tried out before, I must say. Maybe not in this form but something similar for sure. Muslimgauze has combined industrial music with arabic rhythms and 23 Skidoo combined gamelan with electronics. C-drik has found his own little niche. Heavy drumming of course going on most of the tracks (although there are beatless pieces such as ‘Dromers’ and ‘Ontdekkingsreis’, which are more good ol’ industrial ambient), with piercing sound effects, mainly additions to the rhythms. The best piece is the machine, trainlike piece ‘Engourdissement’: manical drumming, piercing sounds – a great meltdown. It doesn’t make me necessarily a devoteed industrial fan again, but I liked the idea and it’s execution. (FdW)
Address: http://www.adnoiseam.net
BIG CITY ORCHESTRA – PIXIES (CDR by Dhyana Records)
It seems to me that Big City Orchestra enjoy their role as founding fathers of underground electronic music, who have been ‘overground’ for a while via a handful of real CD releases, but now happily explore the world of CDR – much more fun probably (and who can blame them?). Over the years Big City Orchestra have built a very consistent oeuvre of psychedelic and industrial music, here emphasizing the drone like character of the music. These drones are made with short loops, but they arrive in such a vast quantaty, that a close web is spun and a highly multi-layered pattern is built. An amorph mass of sound, in which nothing can be easily recognized, but with a strange hypnotic effect on the listener. I have been wondered where the Pixies do fit in this release, but you never know with such nice conceptualists as big City Orchestra: maybe it’s entirely built with utterly distorted and transformed loops by that legendary band. It wouldn’t have been the first time that Big City Orchestra reworked a famous band… And good to see that the sound effects are also back! Part thirteen already, so get working on those! (FdW)
Address: http://www.dhyanarecords.com
SOME ASIAN FEMALES BODYBUILDERS/DE HONDENKOEKJESFABRIEK (CDR by De Hondenkoekjesfabriek)
The band with the odd name Some Asian Females Bodybuilders was here before, with release on Verato (see Vital Weekly 380), here they share a release with the Dutch noise outfit De Hondenkoekjesfabriek (here being Monomarc and Wilja). The two projects are true brothers in noise. The tracks are mixed together, but if you don’t notice the tracklisting than it makes no difference who did what here. The noise they put on is in general of a more structured and thoughout kind than one hour worth of blast. They use synthesizer, sound effects and feedback to do their tricks, in an overall pleasent work of structured noise. This can be done, and these two proof it. Intelligent noise! It can be done. (FdW)
Address: http://www.angelfire.com/stars3/fcknbstrds/de-HONDENKOEKJESFABRIEK.html