JONAS BERING – SKETCHES FOR THE NEXT SEASON (CD by Kompakt)
TRAPIST – BALLROOM (CD by Thrill Jockey)
MAITREYA – TELLURIC WAVES (CD by Council Of Nine)
MARSPITER – VIGILA (CDR by Somanbulant Corpse Recordings)
MATTHEW DEAR – LEAVE LUCK TO HEAVEN (CD by Ghostly International)
OTOMO YOSHIHIDE & NOBUKAZU TAKEMURA – TURNTABLES AND COMPOSERS (CD by Headz)
TAYLOR DEUPREE & CHRISTOPHER WILLITS (CD by Audiosphere)
GLIM – MUSIC FOR FIELDRECORDINGS (CD by Karate Joe)
NELS CLINE & DEVIN SARNO – BURIED ON BUNKER HILL (CD by Ground Fault)
MURMER – THEY WERE DREAMING THEY WERE STONES (CD by Ground Fault)
EKKEHARD EHLERS/FRANZ HAUTZINGER/JOSEPH SUCHY – SOUNDCHAMBERS (CD by Staubgold)
TUNING DREAMS & SHIFTING HARBOURS (CD by Kraak/Beau Rivage)
DE PORTABLES – GIRLS BEWARE! (CD by Kraak)
PRURIENT – SHIPWRECKER’S DIARY (CD by Ground Fault)
JOEL STERN & MICHEAL NORTHAM – WORMWOOD (CD by Ground Fault)
CHEAP MACHINES – WELT (3″CDR by Snip Snip Records)
P. MILES BRYSON – FROM SOME BYGONE HEROIC AGE (CDR by Cynfeirdd)
P. MILES BRYSON – ALEJANDRO’S CARNICERIA (CDR by Illegal Art)
PHROQ – LIVE AT BEARS (CDR by Authorized Version)
DANIEL MENCHE – VOKE (3″CDR by Authorized Version)
CHARLES RICE GOFF III – COO STICKY (CDR by Taped Rugs Productions)
FAMLENDE FORSOK – RETURN OF MONSTER ATTACK (CD by The Crawling Chaos)
EXIT KANON – JAZZ FOR ALIEN INDIVIDUALS (CD by The Crawling Chaos)
INSTRUCTION SHUTTLE – OPEN SAD CIRCUIT (CD by Zenapolae)
CHEFKIRK – OXAL MEAT (CDR by Zenapolae)
DRUGSTORE RACER – TO LOSE US (CDR by Zenapolae)
FURWAY DECAY – FURWAY DECAY (CDR by Zenapolae)
JONAS BERING – SKETCHES FOR THE NEXT SEASON (CD by Kompakt)
Frisky beats from the moment the laser hits the five-inch silver saucer. France’s Jonas Bering has stirred up the dusts of his wicked ways to produce a sincerely tech-electro recording that draws most of its tact from moogy 80s syths and clap tracks. It’s a look back with a forward-thinking methodology. The word scrunch comes to mind when enjoying the shifting, beat-laden ‘Nighthawks’ – it has a sort of 3D appeal. ‘Circus’ makes me queasy, with warped, assorted junk culture rhythms. And then there are moments in repose on ‘Mustang 1966’, extracting all the nervous energies from the ear with a coating of spirited trance. Bering does diligence to the blistered world of contemporary electronica by acting out his ambient fantasies out loud. ‘Sketches for the Next Season’ has no gray areas, it is much on the surface, containing a few additional layers of colorful downtempo similar to the tranquil world of Moby’s alter ego as Voodoo Child as heard on the scenic relics ‘Wissant’ and ‘Ninas Song’. Bering’s sophomore effort is a classic spin. (TJN)
Address: http://www.kompakt-net.de
TRAPIST – BALLROOM (CD by Thrill Jockey)
Trapist (Martin Brandlmayr, Martin Siewert and Joe Williamson) make up, essentially, a jazz trio of percussion, synths, guitars, bass and electronics. Ballroom is their sophomore release after their debut on the esteemed HatHut imprint in 2002. This is jazz for upstarts, it has
a lazy, free appeal. Something along the lines of a scaled down Splatter Trio or a more temporal Grassy Knoll with shades of Dead Cat Bounce. Though, this is just the beginning. These gents know how to wreak havoc in the mix with scattered noise inserts accompanied by risky drumming and sizzling percussion provided by Brandlmayr. There is an essential dose of free beat atmosphere that twists salaciously in improvised awkwardness. Running at about 50 minutes, these five tracks fill the room with an auspicious sense of confidence. For a moment, on ‘Observations Took Place’ it sounds as though Siewert is channeling both John Cage and the Phantom of the Opera simultaneously until the abrupt end draws fierce punctuation to this melodious cacophony. As for risks, Trapist seems somewhat fearless for a three-man operation gliding over its aural canvas like a masterful brush in the form of strings, metal and digital memorabilia. ‘The Meaning of Flowers’ is the only track here that seems slightly lackluster, albeit for all its Sigur Ros styled subtleties, its chops are a bit lazy, hazy. Thrill Jockey will do for Trapist what Phish did for Medeski, Martin & Wood – bring a built-in fanbase that understands the logic behind experimentation and expressive sound tension to a crowd that may have little exposure to middle-aged genres like jazz. (TJN)
Address: http://www.thrilljockey.com/
MAITREYA – TELLURIC WAVES (CD by Council Of Nine)
After several listens this disc has garnered some dust over the months it has sat on my desk. Its one of those rare, hard to sum up in one note kinda spins. Beautiful would be too trite, ambient magic makes it sound like some Hallmarkian new age fodder, so where do I go from here? Adjectives are almost endless for a release like Telluric Waves and this one is deserving of a bucketload that might conjure up a million ideas of what it may be about. So, simply put, this is primal, cross genre-bending ambient electronica with a focus on the lighter side of things. Not quite what you might expect from classic micro/ambient imprints like EM:T or 12K, this is a seedling pod of harmonic vision. It’s got the aura of something large and pulsating, but the wherewithal to keep it sparse and well, wave-like. Dare I also say it is a bit dreamy, and it is in this spirit that its resilience as an A-class recording steers clear of its orbit from anything too syrupy sweet. There are no real new ideas here, its just a cornerstone for a new take on something tried and true, and the potential is there for future
headway. The sound, at times seems to be conforming to sphere-like objects and retreating like diminutive alien craft. Astral projection comes to mind when the static rain starts falling and the whole universal system here appears to be designed for padded floatation. Sit
back, relax and enjoy this mental reconditioning massage. (TJN)
Address: http://www.councilofnine.co.uk/
MARSPITER – VIGILA (CDR by Somanbulant Corpse Recordings)
Big bad percussion and a drone as thick as the icing on some Krispy Kremes – Marspiter means business unusual. Is this what Gothicism will become? From what is witnessed here through storm and deep bass only the most barren of cauldron-stirring impossibilities are likely. Through the murk there is a vague anthem playing, almost symphonic, but audible enough to make one wonder about the real hydaulic power behind the mysterious layers here. Part impending drama, part dalliance, part aural earthquake yoga. If Captain Kirk used a compass and plugged his coordinates backwards using floss to save the bridge you might come close to what Marspiter is getting at. It’s all rather esoteric and somewhat remains informal and rough edged. There are horns and bass drums moulding the atmosphere. And all the while this shapes as a soundtrack to some haunted corner of a small town left of the center of town. This is a new wave of our industrial past, the baby siblings of Hafler Trio or the second coming of Dead Voices on Air. If you like the grey areas of broad, full-bodied dark ambient music this is one of the more essential releases this year, from the arthouse label who are
neighbors to Microsoft out of Redmond, Washington. Even more effective on playback. (TJN)
Address: http://www.somnambulantcorpse.com
MATTHEW DEAR – LEAVE LUCK TO HEAVEN (CD by Ghostly International)
After his incredible performance at last year’s Mutek Festival in Montreal, it is with bated breath that this primarily vinyl-based Canadian releases his first full length disc of mixed contortions. While he was the envy of all as a newcomer amidst veterans like Coil, Senor Coconut and Ritchie Hawtin, Dear seemed to fit like a missing puzzle piece. That may be because, like Germany’s Monolake, he has his the ability to be of incredible live presence – so how does it transfer to a pocket-sized compact disc? Punctuated beats flex their muscles with washes of oncoming traffic from freeways and other click-clack on ‘Fex’. The grooves are voraciously deep and fatter than our recently departed sitcom superstar, Re-Run. But don’t lett that confuse you with any case for one hit wonders – as ‘Leave Luck to Heaven’ is high on the low end as Dear offers dazzling dizzy vocals on ‘Just Us Now’ – succeeding where others have overused similar techniques (Danny Tenaglia, Peter Rauhofer). And all talent aside, when vocals are used in a continous dance mix it can become parody and repetitive, and this disc survives that often stage DJs get to when working in the medium for too long without a break. Dear has a fresh sound, seemingly influenced by some of the more experimental electronic artists out there – making him an anomaly in his field. There are interesting moments of faux 80s synths and clumsy beats that just make the listen that much more engaging for those of us who have crossed the electronic (er X) generation gap. On this recording he has a keen sensibility that covers flavors of jazz, hip-hop and pure techno from an at times comedic perspective. One thing is certain here – he keeps the rhythm up and the knobs spinning. Dear proves to have learned quite a bit from equal measures of Kraftwerk and Sly Stone. The funk is alive and well and pumping through Dear veins. (TJN)
Address: http://www.ghostly.com/
OTOMO YOSHIHIDE & NOBUKAZU TAKEMURA – TURNTABLES AND COMPOSERS (CD by Headz)
In thirty three minutes these Japanese composers descend on your eardrums with a futuristic buzz that is both clean and precisely distorted. It’s a living thing, a pulse so smooth and elegant it becomes a bit alarming. The free contortion bends the sound like something rubber, giving foundation and 3D leading into a batch of static, sinetones and other currents in frequency. This is a surprisingly first-rate combination of two significant talents of the more avant garde side of electronica and experimental noise and it does take them a bit to warm up, but once they are good and ready, about half way through this short spin, they are going gangbusters. There are some usual silences and peculiarities but the lid stays on this kettle. With Takemura’s penchant for keeping it minimal with an occasional jazz reference or child-like toying around and Yoshihide’s unpredictable clamor this meeting has tempered both of their styles into something of a summation of edits, a detail of either’s usual drama and subtleties. What develops is something of a permutation of filtered textures, making
for a natural hybrid that channels an interesting collaboration. (TJN)
Address: www.faderbyheadz.com
TAYLOR DEUPREE & CHRISTOPHER WILLITS (CD by Audiosphere)
Not your typical micro fare by these two sound stylists. In fact, the combination reminds me of Matmos’ sparely alive contribution to Bjork’s Vespertine. I could just imagine a lilting chant or pagan voice chiming in through these vibrant drone harmonies. Willits’ work on Ireland’s Fallt and Deupree’s own 12K/Line have been intriguingly rhythmical and warm. Deupree’s broad perspective on all that is pulsing in minimalism offers some grounding to this collab, which has an immediate seamlessness about it. Still, as the ticking sounds offer, this may be an experiment in passing batons. Deupree came to prominence in the early 90s after helping found and package the then mostly unknown, but righteously alive electronica set Prototype 909 and after some turns under several monikers (Human Mesh Dance, Arc, etc) and founding his fantastic label he has since dedicated himself to the further development of many young and upcoming sound artists. His good deeds have enabled him a place to also continually evolve as a soundmaker himself, and that leads to solid projects like this one. There is a pace that somehow infers sadness on this untitled recording. This also gives us one of the few opportunities to hear separate live recordings (at Tonic, NYC) by these men. At first Deupree’s piece sounds as if he were warming up to play an assortment of glass with prepared tape loops. As he shapes these 19 minutes a lone beat appears to go forward and
back, up and down, with a flattering echo only to vanish. There is a matter-of-fact approach to his live playing here, its almost as though he has ideas to present, many ideas, and they are presented haiku style. Alternately, Willits lets his stride rip with reverse loops and other up-beats. His playful style is like a masterful deconstruction of Mike Oldfields Tubular Bells. (TJN)
Address: http://www.12k.com/ or http://christopherwillits.com/
GLIM – MUSIC FOR FIELDRECORDINGS (CD by Karate Joe)
Don’t you just love the title of this album? So many different kinds of field recordings have been and still are used (abused?) for making many different kinds of good and bad music… And now here you have some music for (making?) fieldrecordings… Does this make sense? How it sounds? How can there be music for fieldrecordings? What that means? These are some of the thoughts and questions I had about the album’s title, and I was curious to hear because I like field recordings.
How this music sounds? The album starts with something that’s certainly not a field recording, but has a very natural sense. The music is composed and arranged by Andreas Berger aka Glim during 2002/2003. This music is very much in the area of the glitchy ambience, peaceful and surrounding atmospheres. Warm and very subtle clicky-glitchy sounds that can be compared with Sogar, nothing harsh is happening, which is very good in this case. Acoustic guitar sounds appear sometimes and that may remind someone of some tracks from Fennesz’s Endless Summer.
This is a good kind of landscape music, I’d like to listen to it loud while skiing on a sunny day. Or I could play it as a DJ on an open space, on a top of a mountain covered with snow, while others are skiing. It would merge perfectly with the surrounding with it’s sound of composed fieldrecordings. Glim is probably not an outer limit, speaking in Wire-terms, but it’s certainly a very decent electronica. (BR)
Address: http://www.karate-joe.at
NELS CLINE & DEVIN SARNO – BURIED ON BUNKER HILL (CD by Ground Fault)
With the releases on Ground Fault everything is divided in series. Series 1 means quiet music, series 2 is medium and series 3 is loud music. But somehow the headhoncho of Ground Fault made a mistake and labelled this release as a series 1 release, but it should have been a series 2. All noted by the headhoncho himself on his site, so you won’t hear me complaining. Nels Cline and Devin Sarno are guitar players. Nels also played with Thurston Moore, Zeena parkins and his own The Nels Cline Singers and Devin Sarno plays bass in his excellent project Crib (solo bass music) plus he plays in Waldo The Dog Faced Boy. They have been playing together since 1994 and have had various releases on Volvolo Records and Win Records. On this new CD, they took the guitar and bass into the studio and started multi-tracking them, which results in a very densely layered wall of sound. At times a totally amorphous mass of sound, without head or tail, which doesn’t make life very easy for the listener. Elements of prog-rock guitar solo’s leak through. The best track here I thought was ‘Only Peace’ which consisted of low drone music and which is definetely different than the other three. I guess this is quite an ok release, but unfortunally failed to make a really big impression on me. (FdW)
Address: http://www.groundfault.net
MURMER – THEY WERE DREAMING THEY WERE STONES (CD by Ground Fault)
Slowly Murmer builts an interesting body of work based on field recordings. This must be his first real CD after a couple of interesting CDR releases for Bake, Absurd and S’Agita. Murmer, aka Patrick McGinley, records sounds in his environment and puts them on his four track recorder and builts sound collages out of that. Rather than investigating and processing the sounds he uses the sounds as they are. While mixing these seperate sound sources, he adds a little bit of sound effects, but not much. His sources include a car seat massager, telephones, airplane cabin, a 600 gallon galvanized steel water tank but also the brooklyn bridge. For some reason this CD has three tracks, one is called ‘Prologue’, one is ‘Part One’ and the final track, the longest, is ‘Part Two, Three & Four’. In ‘Part One’, McGinley even manages to get a very minimalist rhythm out of his sources. McGinley goes for the overal minimal approach in these pieces. Dense, layered fields of sound recordings go over each other and form a mass of slowly moving ice, especially in the final piece. Slowly moving and changing shape over the course of some time. Great ambient music made out of daily sounds. I’d say his most refined moment so far. (FdW)
Address: http://www.groundfault.net
EKKEHARD EHLERS/FRANZ HAUTZINGER/JOSEPH SUCHY – SOUNDCHAMBERS (CD by Staubgold)
This CD has a great package – that’s for sure. It’s the result of ‘an architectural, graphical and musical installation that provides a site specific intervention in the park of Museu Serralves in Porto’ and has music by Franz Hautzinger on trumpet, Joseph Suchy on guitar and Ekkehard Ehlers on laptop. I have not been to this park in Porto, so I don’t know how that is translated to this music. I must admit that this music didn’t blow me away. It’s rather vague music. All of the sounds, wether they come from the laptop or the instruments, seem to be drenched in sound effects, echo and reverb, and try to play a kind of fourth world ambient music, which is not kinda unlike Eno/Hassell’s ‘Pavillion Of Dreams’. It stays on the same dynamic level throughout, maybe with the exception of the fourth piece, which rises out of the level of the ordinary rest, but as a whole it’s rather mellow and lazy. To produce good fourth world music, I would think a good execution of the ideas is also necessary. Now it’s rather tame and unfocussed, like when musicians don’t seem to be believe in it themselves. And that’s a pity because all three of them should be capable of producing a good thing and have proven in the past to do so. Pity. (FdW)
Address: http://www.staubgold.com
TUNING DREAMS & SHIFTING HARBOURS (CD by Kraak/Beau Rivage)
DE PORTABLES – GIRLS BEWARE! (CD by Kraak)
This compilation is part of an one-day project/exhibition/concert held in 2003 in Brussels, with various bands playing around the theme’s ‘identity’, ‘migration’ and ‘nomads’ and was a smaller version of an exhibition held in Los Angeles. The CD is an off shoot, or souvenir of the festival and has a pretty varied line up. From Christof Kurzman to Volker Zander of Calexio, from Steve Roden to Ingwio D’Hespeel (from Wio and De Portables). Alternative guitar pop sits hand in hand with laptop ambience. Steve Roden, Sogar, Jan Thoben or Christof Kurzmann represent the latter and James Merle Thomas (very nice track there), Ingwio D’Hespeel, Jochen Briesen, Andi Kunnecke & Christian Smukal, Luke Sutherland/Howard Monk/Loz Speyer. In between there is a cross-over of the two genres, with guitars, but also laptop processing and micro rhythms. Here we find tracks by Jules Etienne or David Grubbs & David Sheppard. A varied bunch of truely alternative popmusic. Pleasent sunday morning music, maybe despite the heavy weight of the thematic approach.
The compilation is a joint release between Beau Rivage and Kraak, and the latter have just released the second full length of Belgium’s four piece De Portables. The musicians are Ingwio D’Hespeel, Jurgen de Blonde (aka Kohn), Betrand Lafontaine and Hans Gruyaert, who mainly a conventional set of instruments (drums, bass, guitar, vocals and a little bit of electronics and even a saxophone in ‘Attack Of The Clones’). De Portables are on the border of alternative rock and post rock, with a light touch of electronica. There are many references to be made, from say The Beatles to Gastr Del Sol, and with that De Portables cover a very rich tradition of good quality popmusic, but they succeed well in producing songs that are very much their own. Mostly introvert playing, with dreamy guitars and heldback vocals. Normally this is not the kind of music that I spin very much, and, if you know me, the vocals usually don’t bother me very much in music, but here in De Portables it’s all done in a rather nice way. A very nice follow up to their debut ‘Rosegarden’. (FdW)
Address: http://www.kraak.net or http://www.beaurivage.de
PRURIENT – SHIPWRECKER’S DIARY (CD by Ground Fault)
Behind Prurient is one Dominick Fernow, of whom I didn’t hear before. He uses here source material provided by one Lindsey Watkins and Macronympha – now there is a name I do recognize. I am told that ‘Shipwrecker’s Diary’ is the most ‘pure noise recording by Prurient to date’. The cover advises us to play this CD ‘at high volume’. We have entered noise land here. Fifteen tracks in just over thirty-three minutes – that is a good thing. Speed is kept up to a maximum level. Prurient uses electronics. Whatever he uses to feed into the electronis, I wouldn’t know, as the distortion level is quite high here. More cut-up than say Merzbow, but with similar sound intention, makes this Prurient probably not the most original fellow travellers in the world of noise, but it’s certainly not the weakest link in noise. Short and to the point: that’s how I like them. (FdW)
Address: http://www.groundfault.net
JOEL STERN & MICHEAL NORTHAM – WORMWOOD (CD by Ground Fault)
By now the name Micheal Northam should no longer be unknown to you. He has released various solo CDs and works with others, such JGrinzich. Northam is known for his extensive use of field recordings (wind going through large pipes for instance) aswell as using small, amplified objects. Joel Stern comes from the field of improvised music and has worked with people like Athony Guerra, Philip Samartzis, Oren Ambarchi and has had releases on Impermanent, TwoThousandAnd and Touch. The work they did together is more along the lines of Stern, going through, in an improvised manner, a whole bunch of found objects, prepared instruments, environmental recording and much to my surprise electronics and feedback systems. The five pieces were recorded little over a year ago on one night. Although Ground Fault labelled this as a ‘series 1’ release (meaning it should be quiet), I don’t believe such is the case. Especially the feedback used in many of these pieces give an unsettling approach to the pieces. It occassionally has a might beep. Below there is the soft rumbling of objects, plastic bags, amplified pieces of metal strings and more such things used in the field of electro-acoustic music. This is a good and execution of ideas floating around, and certainly would fill the needs of a hungry consumer for more upfront microsound (crossing electro-acoustic music into the far end borders of noise), but at the same time it must be noted, it’s also stuff that has be done before. Not that it differs very much, as I thought it was a most enjoyable work. (FdW)
Address: http://www.groundfault.net
CHEAP MACHINES – WELT (3″CDR by Snip Snip Records)
My first encounter with the music of Cheap Machines was through their release ‘Subfusc’ (see Vital Weekly 397) and that release gave me the impression that Cheap Machines were a modern musique concrete group, along the lines of Roel Meelkop or Justin Bennett, but ‘[Borehole]’ (see Vital Weekly 401), was a true noise orgy. This new work, lasting around seventeen minutes, is a combination of both, although it’s hard to tell what kind of sound sources where used this time, but I’m told they are processed environmental and found sounds, in combination with white noise and radio sounds. It builts slowly up until a noise orgy bursts out but that is not for very long. Radical cuts of silence have been made, after which the whole thing starts to breath again, in order to go wild later on. I must admit it’s an ok work, better than ‘[Borehole]’, but it still hasn’t similar qualities to the ‘Subfusc’ release. I’d love to hear more that goes into that direction. (FdW)
Address: http://www.iheartnoise.com/snipsnip/
P. MILES BRYSON – FROM SOME BYGONE HEROIC AGE (CDR by Cynfeirdd)
P. MILES BRYSON – ALEJANDRO’S CARNICERIA (CDR by Illegal Art)
This is the second release I heard by this man, following ‘The Patchwork Piano’ (Vital Weekly 245). Although that was a piano CD, I wrote back then that he also composed for orchestra’s and ensembles. Here are two new releases. The first is ‘From Some Bygone Heroic Age’ and is inspired to evoke ‘a sort of musical grand-epic, perhaps with musical flavorings of a Cecil B. DeMille film or certain moments of an old silent film by Fritz Lang, F. W. Murnau or someone similar: melodramatic, grandiose” and the soundsources he uses include recordings from the chain-link fence and gate of the warehouse next door and many many classical samples – Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss to Billy Holiday. There is indeed a strong melodramatic thing over this music, with a vague filmic character. It doesn’t seem to be music that should stand by itself, but it sounds rather like the support to film. Films with wide shots of landscapes, herds far away in a stampede and a lonesone cowboy smoking a cigarette near the campfire. Especially the final three pieces are quite long here and made my mind go wander away. The booklet holds many romantic images, so it’s looks ‘grandiose’ too – if that is the sort of images that would appeal to you.
More filmic inspirations on the release ‘Alejandro’s Carniceria’, for which Bryson got inspiration from Chilean born, Mexican resident filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky. Although Bryson is not hispanic, he lives near the Mexican border and is in general inspired by the Mexicans. He processes sounds from the mexican life and music into a more plunderphonic kind of collage. Sometimes a bit vague and long, such as in ‘Hilera De Almas’, but sometimes witty and to the point, with clear references to Mexican music, such as the loungy sounding ‘Castillo De Arena Y Pisadas’. It’s here that the music starts to breath and comes to life.
These two releases are miles apart from eachother and also miles away from his previous release ‘The Patchwork Piano’. This means Bryson is a musician who has a few strong ideas of his own. (FdW)
Address: http://www.cynfeirdd.com/
Address: http://detritus.net/illegalart/
PHROQ – LIVE AT BEARS (CDR by Authorized Version)
As the title indicates, this is a live concert held by one Francisco Meirino, aka Phroq at the infamous Bears Club in Osaka, Japan. Meirino is credited to play ‘Powerbook G3’. We are talking a strictly noise release here. Fifty minutes and forty seconds of sheer noise. Sheer digital noise that is, to be precise. One steady stream of digitalized noise, once broken by some spoken word/taped TV message and at some thirty seven minutes by a few sounds and the stream is broken (maybe a failure in the software). Erm is it a nice release? To some maybe, the die-hard noise freaks maybe for whom too much is not enough. But for me it’s ‘been there (a lot)’. (FdW)
Address: http://www.a-version.co.uk
DANIEL MENCHE – VOKE (3″CDR by Authorized Version)
As already recentely reported, Daniel Menche is back. Some new full length CDs and a collaboration with Kiyoshi Mizutani and now this eightteen minute work. One long piece of sizzling electronics, with a very dynamic range. It seems to me, that half way through there is even a computerized time stretch to be noted: maybe Menche switched to using computers these days. But then: maybe not. Menche is known to use organic material, such as sand or salt, rubbing it against his own body and amplifying this. An intense and personal process. If computers play a part these days in his work, than I’m quite impressed with the result, as this is a trademark Daniel Menche piece. Loaded with sound allover the soundspectrum, with a dark atmospheric undercurrent this is an excellent Menche piece. (FdW)
Address: http://www.a-version.co.uk
CHARLES RICE GOFF III – COO STICKY (CDR by Taped Rugs Productions)
Last week I reviewed a CDR release by Hal McGee who collaborated with Bret Hart and Charles Rice Goff III and from the latter I just received a CDR released from his own Taped Rugs Productions. Goff has been producing ‘avant recordings’ since the late 1970s under his own name, aswell as such names as Disism, Herd of the Ether Space, Turkey Makes Me Sleepy, and
others. Here he works together with a whole bunch of people who send him raw sound material to use, including Hal McGee and Bret Hart. Since this is my first encounter with Goff’s music, I don’t know if this is representative for his ‘avant recordings’. Generally speaking this is completely outsider music, alternative strumming of guitars, coupled with vocal/speech samples and eerie electronics coupled with strange, naive percussion. A whole range of alternative popmusic drops by, from The Residents to Half Japanese to R. Stevie Moore. It’s certainly a most curious bunch of music that is actually quite pleasent to hear. The only problem might be that it is at twenty-six tracks maybe a long CD. Like with so many of these things, it’s not necessary to put seventy minutes of music, whereas forty minutes would have been a pretty strong CD too. (FdW)
Address: http://www.geocities.com/padukem
FAMLENDE FORSOK – RETURN OF MONSTER ATTACK (CD by The Crawling Chaos)
Lumpy Davy and Brt started Famlende Forsøk in 1981, their music inspired by such great bands as Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle. Because Brt could not sing nor play an instrument, they decided to combine poetry and music (keyboards, tapes, guitars, and percussion). ChrispH joined the band in 1983. Since then FF has performed and recorded intermittently between other side musical projects such as the psychedelic band The Smell of Incense. From its beginning, FF has been obsessed with HP Lovecraft and his Cthulhu mythos. They recently released their Lovecraft project One Night I Had A Frightful Dream. Return of Monster Attack, originally released on cassette in 1996, is the first Crawling Chaos title to be re-mastered and reissued on CD. Though not a concept album, Return of Monster Attack is a loose collection of dark and edgy songs about HP Lovecraft (“Cthluhu Lives!”), David Lynch (“Looking for Bob” and “Music from the Black Lodge”), Beelzebub, and Freud. Brt’s otherworldly vocalizations lend just the right air of the outré to the music. The mood of the disc is somber, but right in the middle of the darkness is a ray of light from the psychedelic and dulcet sounds of Bumble B on “Spider & The Octopus”. If you are looking for that perfect disc to haunt your late nights, this is it. However, keep in mind the owls are not what they seem. (HS)
Address: <ch@osland.com>
EXIT KANON – JAZZ FOR ALIEN INDIVIDUALS (CD by The Crawling Chaos)
Exit Kanon is the solo project of one the Famlende Forsøk /The Smell of Incense family members, ChrispH. ChrispH has been working on and off on this music since 1985, only playing excerpts for his close friends. Today the world can hear this labor of love in its entirety. This set of 11 twisted instrumental pieces ranges from the pseudo-Arabic (“Varanasi”) through analog atmospheric space (“It’s Cold Out Here” and “Via Nebula”) to weird jazz (“Jazz Trip”). Jazz for Alien Individuals is quite a collection of musical styles, though it does not encompass all genres. ChrispH’s music is contemplative and somewhat relaxing, the perfect lounge music on Rigel 7 for sipping trania. (HS)
Address: <ch@osland.com>
INSTRUCTION SHUTTLE – OPEN SAD CIRCUIT (CD by Zenapolae)
CHEFKIRK – OXAL MEAT (CDR by Zenapolae)
DRUGSTORE RACER – TO LOSE US (CDR by Zenapolae)
FURWAY DECAY – FURWAY DECAY (CDR by Zenapolae)
A new label kicking off with three CDR releases and one ‘real’ CD. To start with the latter one, Instruction Shuttle is one Todd Christopher. I haven’t heard of him or his music before. Instruction Shuttle operates in the field where ambient and noise meet, ambient music in a rather unsettling way. There is a strong dark atmospheric undercurrent hoovering about in this music, but on top there is the rusty sound of submarines on the bottom of the ocean. Not really music which aim is to please, but on the other hand it’s to quiet to go down as industrial music. It’s a cross-over terrain that has been walked before, but Instruction Shuttle comes more from a digital background – me thinks, whereas the old school of ambient industrialists were more analogue. Easiest point of reference would be Illusion Of Safety – and that’s not a bad one to be compared with…
The first CDR is by Chefkirk, aka Roger Smith, who previous releases I reviewed without much enthusiasm. According to the blurb he “creates noise with more variation than one might normally find in the genre – employing rhythm and even the occasional melody” – I can only agree on the ‘rhythm’ part: yes, there are sequences of rhythms to be found here, amongst the block of rather uninteresting noise elements, digital distortion and obvious sound effects.
The second is by Dominic Traverzo, once the frontman of emocore band The Getaway Plan, now working as Drugstore Racer. After leaving The Getaway Plan in 2001 he started to work with turntables, synths, software and objects. Dominic is a man who loves the minimal approach. Per track he uses a few sounds and plays around with them in a looped form. But among the seven tracks there is some variety. From the industrial drumming of ‘Crashing’ to the more ambient outings of ‘Red Rooms’ – there is not a single track alike another one and this makes this into a pretty varied CD but at the same time also a bit without its own face. But most promising indeed.
A band from Singapore: I don’t think we ever had that in Vital Weekly. Furway Decay are Weinan and Shark and it is said that they have their influences from “IDM meshed with injected noise and disjointed ambience” – which I think is kinda true indeed. Like Drugstore Racer, Furway Decay is on the minimal edge, but less varied in their outings, which makes this altogether more coherent. Taking samples from IDM and rock music alike, they create minimalist pieces of cosmic techno music – complete with krautrock influences in ‘The Greeks Have Been Defeated’. Quite a surprising CD, but here maybe a too long. Eight tracks instead of eleven would have been enough too. (FdW)
Address: http://www.zenapolae.com