MONSTRARE / WILT – GRAVEFLOWERS (CD by Angle)
FEAR FALLS BURNING – FIRST BY A WHISPER, THEN BY A STORM (self-released CD)
RYFYLKE – BOKNAFJORD (CD by Roggbif)
POPOL VUH – AGUIRRE (CD by SPV)
MICHEL BANABILA – HILARIOUS EXPEDITION (2CD by Tapu)
MINAMO – SHINING (CD by 12K)
ASMUS TIETCHENS – E-MENGE (CD by Line)
LAU NAU – KUUTARHA (CD by Locust Music)
MARSPITER – ULTIONIS (CD by Somnabulant Records)
ZAVOLOKA – PLAVYNA (CD by Nexsound)
JEFF SURAK/ANDREY KIRITCHENCKO/JONAS LINDGREN – CRITIKAL STATE (MP3 by Nexsound)
PROCESS – #1 (MP3 by Nexsound)
INSTITUT FÜR FEINMOTORIK – AKOASMA (7″ by Synchron)
BAS VAN KOOLWIJK/CHRISTIAN TOONK – RGB (CDR by Umatic)
SINDROME – CLANDESTINE TRANSMISSIONS AND RADIO PROPAGANDA (CDR by Apocalyptic Radio)
DEVIOUS BEHAVIOUR – UNTITLED (CDR by Digital Kranky)
LIKE PLANKTON FOR THE ELEPHANT – TICKET (CDR by Digital Kranky)
DJ ORDEAL – ODDS & SODS (CDR by Push The Putton Records)
PISTOL DISCO – SOUND ATTACHE (CDR by Push The Putton Records)
NIKOS VELIOTIS/NICOLAS MALEVITSIS – MURDER MELODY (CDR by Absurd)
MACHINEFABRIEK – HIEPERDEPIEP (3″CDR)
FCKN BSTRDS – NOISE TRASH (DVD-R by De Hondenkoekjesfabriek)
PS STAMPS BACK_ID – TWO LIVE RECORDINGS (CDR by 1000+1 Tilt)
PS STAMPS BACK VS ANAL VISSI – HOMEFUCKING IS KILLING MUSIC (CDR by 1000+1 Tilt)
ADAPTORIES – MUSIC PLAYGROUND REVISTED (CDR by 1000+1 Tilt)
FREDRIK NESS SEVENDAL (CDR, self released)
COMPEST – WRECK (CDR by Cyber Blast Records)
FDH – NOVAELA (CDR, self released)
COMPOSITION 3, VOLUME 1 (CDR compilation by Taped Rugs Productions)
MAIKKO – KNEEDEEP (MP3 by Stasisfield)
MAIKKO – POLYSTATIC (CDR by Otolab)
MONSTRARE / WILT – GRAVEFLOWERS (CD by Angle)
The previous release I reviewed from the Canada/Montreal based label & distro Angle was an album by Aidan Baker, and this is the second CD on the label. The last time I heard Cordell Klier (here signed as Monstrare) was on the label Acid Fake, and it’s the first time I’m listening Wilt, who have released on the label Ad Noiseam before. Monstrare here offers 6 tracks and Wilt 4. It’s quite absorbing music, in an industrial ambient style, to lose yourself in it, if that’s your thing. Careful and close listening recommended, otherwise it’ll lose it’s point, and may become just a background buzz without a point. This music sucks you into it’s own world, which may be worlds apart from any reference point in the reality or elsewhere. No concrete connection to a strict tradition in music or art, besides the general ambient-industrial sound, instead this music prefers to be on it’s own ground. Wilt brings in more intensity with the wonderful track ‘Hemophilic root plow’. The cover design is reminding of a Van Gogh painting in a darkened industrialised manner. Impressionistic industrial ambience, of a fine kind. (BR)
Address: http://www.angle-rec.net
FEAR FALLS BURNING – FIRST BY A WHISPER, THEN BY A STORM (self-released CD)
Never heard of Fear Falls Burning? No problem. ‘First By A Whisper, Then By A Storm’ is his first CD. His, as Fear Falls Burning is no one less than Dirk Serries, our man behind Vidna Obmana. After twenty more years of dabbling around with the complexities of ambient music, it was about time, that Dirk Serries tried a different tune, and maybe one that is less complex. Dirk plays guitar on his side project, which he feeds through a whole bunch of effect boxes, but no synthesizers or fancy laptops. Everything on this CD is played live, without any overdubs or other studio wizardness. Although this is far away something that deals with ambient music, it’s actually much more postrock, in all it’s stretched out monotonous approach but with some of the distortion it’s also a bit ‘dirty’, this sound. Earth or Sunn 0))) spring to mind in these pieces, along with Stars Of The Lid meet Windy & Carl. Maybe not every track is great, and some tension is lacking here and there, this is actually a most promising start, and since this is sold as the ‘unofficial’ tour CD, it means Fear Falls Burning can be seen shortly, in your area too. At least if you live in Europe, since that’s where he is going first. (FdW)
Address: http://www.fearfallsburning.be
RYFYLKE – BOKNAFJORD (CD by Roggbif)
Maybe Norway is, besides Japan, one of the countries where noise is really a big thing, but maybe it’s only or so it seems. The band Ryfylke is a duo, of Stian Skagen and Sten Ove Toft. I only recognized the last name in connection with previous releases on labels such as Humbug. The five pieces on their new CD ‘Boknafjord’ show that these boys have been around for a while, since this is not y’r usual off the wall noise affair. Dynamics seem to be their game. ‘Guljar’, one of the shorter tracks around here, hoovers at a considerable lower volume here and is an intense collage of piercing sound, but yes, softer. Sometimes, at other occassions, of course Ryfylke know how to play their game of noise, distortion and mayhem. It’s hard to tell what they use to generate these sounds, maybe field recordings, guitars and/or synthesizers, but they manage to play some noise that has inspiration, variation and dynamics. Here is something interesting happening, me thinks. It takes the Merzbowian blast of noise into the field of electro-acoustic/musique concrete, but still is on the forcefull noise side of things. Therefore a great music, that could attract others to noise (or ‘again’, if they felt disconnected, or never get beyond Merzbow). (FdW)
Address: http://www.roggbif.com
POPOL VUH – AGUIRRE (CD by SPV)
The german SPV-label started an ambitious project in 2004. They announced the rerelease of the complete Popol Vuh-catalogue in a series of 19 cds. At the moment about 11 of them have seen the light. The rest will no doubt follow in 2005. Allthough most of their albums were available through various rereleases (ZYX, Spalax, etc.), the rereleases on SPV deserve special attention because all recordings are newly remastered or restored. Also each cd will have bonustracks of previously non-released tracks. Does this mean that SPV delivers the ultimate rerelease of the Popol Vuh albums? Alas, this is not the case but it is surely a big step forward. A minor point is that the bonustracks are not dated. Information who is musically involved here is missing. Each rerelease has a nice booklet included. But they are all more or less the same and don’t go into the history of the specific albums.
For this review I’ll concentrate on the “Aguirre” album because its of special interest. Most if not all rereleases of this album did not contain the original piece “Vergegenwärtigung” but a compilation of three later acoustical tracks. The original piece however is a dark electronic work on moog, which SPV makes available now again at last. And it deserves to be heard. It is absolutely not familiar with the common german electronic music from those days (Tangerine Dream, Schulzr, etc.). It’s a very sensitive and moody one of a kind piece pf meditative space music.
Florian Fricke who formed Popol Vuh around 1970 is known for being one of the first owners of a Moog synthesizer in Germany. But only a few years later he declared the Moog wasn’t his thing and he turned to acoustical instruments. Over the years Florian Fricke and his Popol Vuh became widely known for his music for several films of his old mate Werner Herzog, like “Aguire, der Zorn Gottes”. But I think Fricke did not understand himself as a writer of filmscores. Nor did he want to establish himself as a electronic wizzard. Electronics where only a means for his musical visions. And if you know some of their albums you’ll find out that Fricke, who died in 2001, intended above all to create religious or sacral music. He did so in a very authentic and personal way. Concerning the “Aguirre” album the track ‘Agnus Dei’ is a perfect example of his religious intentions. Besides the moogsynthesizer in the early days Fricke made also use of a rar e mellotron-related instrument, the choir-organ. We hear it prominent in track “Aguirre I”. How curious this instrument may be, what Fricke pulled out of it is unforgettable/ All in all “Aguirre” is not the most coherent of all Popol Vuh-albums. But each track is of interest for different reasons as I hoped to illustrate above. If you want to have a good overview of the Popol Vuh discography, have a look at my discography that is available on the polish Popol Vuh-site: http://www.venco.com.pl/~acrux/ (at the end of the discography-section) (DM)
Address: http://www.spv.de
MICHEL BANABILA – HILARIOUS EXPEDITION (2CD by Tapu)
A very mixed bag this time from the dutch ambient master Michel Banabila, which proves that he is still very capable of a surprise. Maybe the variety can be explained by the fact that this double cd brings together work Banabila composed for six different occasions: four theatre productions and two films. But also Banabila seems to be in the mood for experiment. Not that he leaves the ambient-path, but he is trying hard to expand the universum of his approach of ambient music. Thirdly for the projects included here, Banabila worked with a even greater variety of musicians. Jazz and impro musicians from the Rotterdam scene as well as some more well known musicians like Ernst Reijeseger and Eric Vloeimans. Other musicians have a background in pop. His old mate Yasar Saka with whom he made two ethnic flavoured ambient cds in the past is also involved. All these aspects help to constitute the wide spectrum of Banabila’s music. That Banabila is open for jazz influencens we already know since his third “Voiznoiz” album where he cooperated with trumpetter Eric Vloeimans. The critics let us know that this was a very succesfull collaboration. Maybe it’s because of this succes that Banabila continues here to work with jazz and impro musicians. Again with Eric Vloeimans but also with more unorthodox musicians from the Rotterdam impro-scene. In melting together ambient and jazz his music is sometimes comparable to that of M.F.Cote. He is not afraid for extremes. He even combines ambient music with completely free improvised parts that are of a totally different order. For example, in a track like “Plein (1)” we hear a Rota-like filmtune, but the free improvised interludes give it a special twist. Of course we hear on this double the trip hop – with or without ethnic touch – as we know from earlier recordings. But other pieces offer a different meal: assemblages of fieldrecordings, often with the human voice in the center. “Mobiles” is a very funny piece based around the sounds of mobiles. The musical form perfectly illustrates our hasty and never ending culture of communication. “Phonema (2)” is a curious attempt of dadaistic soundpoetry, something one does not expect from Banabila. “Bouwtekening” ends with an orchestral climax that is never heard before in the work of Banabila. “Crime scene” starts with a long percussive intro that brings Organum to my mind. In “Salar’s Dream” the violinplaying of Salar Asid from Iraq introduces some explicit Eastern influences. “Bottle Groove” is a very bluesy piece, etc., etc.
The crosscultural “Hilarious Expedition” proves once more that Banabila is able to integrate great many influences and ideas in his concept of ambient music with great subtlety and souplesse. Through his multifaced talent he is able to introduce new challenges within the realms of comfort (DM).
Address: http://www.banabila.com/
MINAMO – SHINING (CD by 12K)
This Japanese quartet have been regular guests in Vital Weekly, two of their previous four CDs have been reviewed in these pages (338, 374), aswell as various solo projects by it’s members. Minamo’s members play guitar, computer, acoustic guitar, keyboards and electronics. I believe that much of their music is generated through improvisation, which is either edited or played through until a composition arrives – I am not exactely sure how this process works for these guys. The combination of the guitars and the electronics work not against eachother, but along eachother. Sometimes as a striking contrast, such as the opening of ‘Raum’, but in ‘Crumbling’ everything seems to be interwoven with eachother. These things, improvisation and electronica, do not stand any of the ambient musics in the way; this is after all a 12K release. All six pieces are nicely stretched out, minimalist ambient pieces, which nicely glitch by, with enough emphasis on such things as the guitars to make it not entirely drench in computer technology. This is the way this should be done, I gather. After four ‘good’ CDs, ‘Shining’ can be classified as ‘better’. (FdW)
Address: http://www.12k.com
ASMUS TIETCHENS – E-MENGE (CD by Line)
“Epsilon quantity” is what E-Menge means – at least if I could re-create the Greek E on my computer. This is the fourth part in a series but unfortunally the three previous (Alpha-, Beta- and Gamma-Menge) are not easy to get these days: the original label is bankrupt for some time. With this series, Tietchens breaks away from his older musique concrete work (the treatment of sounds through studio techniques; computers are not his thing) into a more electronic body of work. That is to say: I think. Maybe his Menge series is an extension of his previous musique concrete work, but with new technology. This new work, and so did the previous three, are works that shows that Tietchens is connected to the world of microsound. An almost empty sound, or maybe some faint background hum, and on top some sort of rhythmic construction, which is being repeated every now and then never seems to form any sort of repeating rhythm. Tietchens says that his work deals with space; not the one above our heads or anything astronomical, but as in three dimensional. Some of the sounds are in the foreground and some are in the background. The background is usually the humming part and the foreground the rhythmic constellations – which, excuse me, sound like rotating planets and stars shooting by. As a truely devoted Tietchens man I can only applaud this CD, another fine small masterpiece. (FdW)
Address: http://www.12k.com
LAU NAU – KUUTARHA (CD by Locust Music)
Lau Nau stands for Laura Naukkarinen, who is the vocalist in Kiila, Päivänsäde, The Anaksimandros, not all bands that ring bells here, but then I must admit that I am not into the Finnish folk music. Not that I don’t like it, but it just goes by me. Lau Nau plays a whole list of instruments, besides her singing: banjo, electric guitar, organ, bamboo flute, acoustic guitar and bass, recorder, violin, but also cowbells, willow whistle, beer cans and comb and much much more. I have been playing this CD a lot of times in the last few weeks trying to make up my mind on it, and I still don’t know what to think of it. The singing is intimate and wordless, so it seems – maybe it’s my understanding of the Finnish. The playing of the instruments is rather unconventional but at the very same time also intimate, like it was recorded in the living room, surrounded by all these things to play. It’s certainly not music that I am used to playing a lot, and doubt if I will play a lot, but in a fairly small dose like this, it’s actually quite alright. Twenty-first century folk music, no doubt of that. (FdW)
Address: http://www.locustmusic.com
MARSPITER – ULTIONIS (CD by Somnabulant Records)
My latin was never that good, so I had to be told that Ultionis is the Latin word for revenge. Marspiter released their album, appropiately (?) on Valentine’s day. I don’t think Marspiter likes Valentine’s Day very much, and, upon hearing his CD, I doubt wether he is full of joy anyway. The tone of the tracks is dark and somber. Slow percussive sounds, set against slowed down choir music, marching music and wind humming, all set in a bed of sometimes distortion, but at other times more clear. Stuff like a melody is not really present. Each track rambles on, without too many changes. Some of the marching music gave me a rotten taste, but it’s too unclear wether it’s any historically wrong stuff. I am sure there are lovers for this dark ambient ritual industrial (you don’t have to call it like that if the term shocks you), maybe in the areas of Cold Meat Industry, but I have to pass on. (FdW)
Address: http://www.somrec.com
ZAVOLOKA – PLAVYNA (CD by Nexsound)
JEFF SURAK/ANDREY KIRITCHENCKO/JONAS LINDGREN – CRITIKAL STATE (MP3 by Nexsound)
PROCESS – #1 (MP3 by Nexsound)
Ukrains Nexsound label have been around for quite some time now, dividing their time and energy between releasing ‘real’ CDs and releasing MP3s.
Katja Zavoloka hails from Kyiv in the Ukraine and has released a couple of MP3s albums and some CDRs, most notably for Zeromoon (see Vital Weekly 414). That was a bit too short to say anything about it, but here is her debut release on a CD, co-released with Austria’s Laton label. I’ve read that the “Plavyna” album is inspired by the folk music of her region, but it’s probably not entirely my unawareness that I didn’t recognize any of this in the vivid rhythmic yet abstract digital sound collages of Zavoloka until after the seventh track. Melodies arrive in there, here and there, but most of the time things are hectic and full of energy. Sometimes the use of reverb is a bit too tedious, but as a whole this is clicks ‘n cuts of the better kind. In ‘Kosytsia’ she reaches an almost technoid beat, with warpian senses. In the final pieces of the album, she starts chopping up the folk tunes, which she does rather nicely, but however this also breaks the album in two different things, which is a pity. However, the entire album is quite nice as a whole.
‘Critikal State’ is an online release by Jeff Surak of Violet, V, Second Violin and the Zerommon label, Jonas Lindgren of Dead + Hurt and Syri and Andrey Kiritchenko, the man of his own fame and of course the director of Nexsound. Together they have put together this work of collaborative efforts, presumably through mail. Their instruments include guitar, contact microphones, prepared record player, hurdy-gurdy, autoharp, toys and of course the usual suspects of computer and field recordings. If you know the music that these are putting out with their solo projects, then you might have an idea where this collaboration is. In the corners where ambient meets industrial, drone meets field recordings. It’s quite a pleasent release of good, sturdy experimental music, with no real surprises, but also no real weak tracks. If Mirror and Ora would play shorter tracks, then they would end up with this. Shorter but still to the point.
Also online is a release by Process, not a very original name, certainly not for a band whose bandmembership fluctuates. For their ‘#1’ release they were Holubowski on accordion, Nazarewicz on flute, Drewniany on electronics, Mazur on bass guitar; the latter is a core member. All of these instruments are used in an unprocessed way. Although the music is made through improvisation, they manage to play quite dense walls of sounds; hermetically closed music, with not much air to breath. However their improvisations are a bit too regular shaped for me and I found it hard to hear much of interest. Quite conventional, me thinks.
Address: http://www.nexsound.org
INSTITUT FÜR FEINMOTORIK – AKOASMA (7″ by Synchron)
Despite their career spanning close to a decade now, Institut Für Feinmotorik is not a band of many releases. This new 7″ is their tenth release since 1997 (and apperentely another 7″ was also released recentely, which I haven’t heard). The Institut plays music with recordplayers without records. Using turntables they play surfaces in unconventional ways, bearing similarities with minimalist techno, but in their own unique way. ‘Akoasma’ is a slightly chaotic piece, that over the course of the piece starts to make sense. Not exactely dance music, unless you are from outerspace. ‘In B’ is not a cover of Riley’s ‘In C’, but a likewise hectic tune with more disjointed scratches on the surface. Digital glitch goes acoustic – unplugged at last! (FdW)
Address: http://www.synchron.ch
BAS VAN KOOLWIJK/CHRISTIAN TOONK – RGB (CDR by Umatic)
More music based on the RGB colour spectrum (see also last week’s Kadet album), and all the sounds on this release were ‘derived from properties of the PAL video signal’. Bas van Koolwijk used to work with Radboud Mens and Christian Toonk is unknown to me. Together they made the three tracks on this limited CDR release. ‘Teleton’ is basically an earth hum that slowly changes, but with a damm noisy character. Drone noise so to say. The shortest track here, ‘Futic’ is a similar thing and ‘Polkolor’ is the longest and the only one, so it seems to be based on a multiple sounds. It’s like feedback lurking around the corner. It’s also the only track I really liked, for it had overtones which worked nicely. It reminded me a bit of Alvin Lucier’s ‘Music On A Long Thin Wire’. Concept wise this might be a strong release, but I wouldn’t play it a lot though (a bit like my appreciation for Lucier, I guess). The drones, played at a louder volume, could cause a serious headache.
Address: http://www.umatic.nl
SINDROME – CLANDESTINE TRANSMISSIONS AND RADIO PROPAGANDA (CDR by Apocalyptic Radio)
A new name for me is Sindrome, at least that’s what I think. It sounds familiar, but maybe there is a couple of more bands called like that. I believe this Sindrome comes from Italy and they like two things: radio transmissions and rhythms. They (he? she?) tapes the ether to find interesting radio waves (in whatever short to longwave) and mixes that with the forceful rhythmic parts. Forceful to sound like heavy New Beat rhythms of many moons ago, with in ‘Turn Back’ also some heavy type of singing. Nice maybe, but in all it’s dark undercurrents, it’s all bit too gothic for me. The albums best pieces are ‘Nocturnal_Drone 1’ and ‘Nocturnal_Drone 2’, in which things take a more quieter mood, and radio signals and synths are densely interwoven. Otherwise not so my cup of tea. (FdW)
Address: <apocalyptic-radio@web.de>
DEVIOUS BEHAVIOUR – UNTITLED (CDR by Digital Kranky)
LIKE PLANKTON FOR THE ELEPHANT – TICKET (CDR by Digital Kranky)
The name Digital Kranky pops up in the announcement section of Vital Weekly quite a lot. They organise a lot of concerts in Berlin and occassionally release stuff. The release by Deviant Behavious is something special. On the text side of the CDR there are twenty-eight lock grooves which can be played; don’t know how, but they can. The man behind Devious Behaviour is Raimund Kompatscher, who played in rock and grindcore bands, before switching on the computer. In his music he finds ways to combine serious electronic music, club music and field recordings. In ‘Birdindustries’ he uses a lot of bird sounds, set against a somewhat unfocussed set of electronic sounds – not the greatest fusion of interests. The four other tracks are much more interesting: forceful, a bit dark dancefloor material with a healthy dose of experimentalism around.
One of the owners of Digital is Christian Böhl who works as Plankton and for his project with John Edward Donald (aka The Human Elephant), they call themselves Like Plankton For The Elephant. I am unaware of their solo output, so I don’t know it’s relation to this collaborative work. They play seven tracks of electronic popsongs on synthesizers and rhythmboxes. And Donald ‘speak-sings’ his lyrics. He doesn’t have the greatest voice around and the musical setting sounds very much like the eighties cassette popmusic, when synths got cheap and everybody wanted to be The Human League, although Like Plankton For The Elephant is a bit darker, say the League’s earlier work. I guess it’s ok, but maybe I rather play the real old stuff instead. (FdW)
Address: http://www.digitalkranky.de
DJ ORDEAL – ODDS & SODS (CDR by Push The Putton Records)
PISTOL DISCO – SOUND ATTACHE (CDR by Push The Putton Records)
Two more releases on the crazy Push The Putton Records from Sweden and both by people I never heard of. Apperentely DJ Ordeal has a couple of his own releases on his own Sparticus Stargazer label and he uses tapes, vinyl and electronics and the nine pieces on his ‘Odds & Sods’ release are best described as pure plunder mayhem. Taking apart the notion of popmusic from say the last fifty years (and maybe a couple of tunes from before), he crafts a speedy and energetic piece of music. Dancehall dance music, except no one is dancing but sipping beer and thinking: wow what a great and crazy DJ we have here tonight. This you can put when no DJ is available at y’r artparty too.
Of course if a music group is called something with Pistol, it’s hard, at least on this side, not to think of the Sex Pistols. And although Pistol Disco uses the electronics of a sampler to splice together rock music, it has the crude and aggressive side of punk rock. Apperentely, or despite the fact that it’s made with samplers, this was more or less recorded live. Pistol Disco sample the hell out of rock records, mainly the guitar parts and add their own rhythmmachines to it and the two start a fight. The addition of distortion on both parts add to the mayhem. Furious music in the best tradition of XBXRX, not for the faint of heart. (FdW)
Address: http://www.pushthebutton.tk
NIKOS VELIOTIS/NICOLAS MALEVITSIS – MURDER MELODY (CDR by Absurd)
Nicolas Malevitsis is probably best known for his Absurd label, releasing CDs and CDRs of all kinds of experimental music, but he has dabbled around himself with experimental music too. Here he releases a recording of himself on turntable and Nikos Veliotis on cello. Veliotis released an excellent solo CD of his drone related cello playing on Confront (see Vital Weekly 405). On this almost eightteen minute recording, Veliotis takes the leading part with some soft and subtle playing of his cello – and maybe a bit of delay on the microphone. Long sustaining sounds occur over which Malevitsis improvises with obscure scratches of vinyl, rather than making long spins. In the second half of the piece both sounds seem to collide together and play unisono. Nice work, but a bit short. (FdW)
Address: http://www.anet.gr/absurd
MACHINEFABRIEK – HIEPERDEPIEP (3″CDR)
A strange guy, this Rutger Zuydervelt, who calls himself Machinefabriek. Releasing only 3″CDR is no strange thing, but this ‘Hieperdepiep’ is the second live one and matches perfectly the previous live recording ‘Piepshow’ (see Vital Weekly 456). Strange because these two live recordings are so different from his studiowork, which is in general smoothly electronic, guitar oriented and introspective. In a live situation Machinefabriek (machine factory) live up to it’s name: machines and factories are the easiest things to associate with this hell of a noise fury he puts. Taking his cassette tapes through a couple of cheap guitar pedals, he creates a Merzbowian onslaught on the listener. As much as I liked ‘Piepshow’, partly because I was present at the concert, I am a bit put off by this: too similar to the previous show. Maybe Machinefabriek should think how to translate his studio sound to the stage… (FdW)
Address: <machinefabriek@chello.nl>
FCKN BSTRDS – NOISE TRASH (DVD-R by De Hondenkoekjesfabriek)
When I think of people who produce noise music, I imagine them to be quiet people in their daily life. I know one that literally is a very quiet man, but most of them noisemakers are also quiet persona on stage. Releasing a DVD of their concerts would be very boring. Not so with The Netherlands’ finest bunch of noise makers, the Fckn Bstrds. Maybe with them it’s the other way round – the music as such is maybe not the greatest noise thing to hear, in all it’s rather lo-finess, but live it’s true pleasure, even when I can testify myself, yet. The alternative is called ‘Noise Trash’, a DVD of six different shows. Or rather more, since one is ‘Potpourri’, consisting of various performances. The Fckn Bstrds is a collective of artists, visual and musical alike, who go for the lowest of art, that of trashy noise and likewise trashy outfits. Plastic sheets, masks, paint and cardboard is what they use and they go about screaming their butts off on stage, alongside with a hell of a noise. Their performances don’t seem to tell a story as such, unlike say Costes, but it’s rather the moment of mayhem that counts here. Have a beer, a joint and join in. Jump up, jump up around. Life’s a piece of shit and freak out the night away. The audience sometimes joins, or looks frightened. This DVD tells all. (FdW)
Address: http://www.xs4all.nl/~tellab
PS STAMPS BACK_ID – TWO LIVE RECORDINGS (CDR by 1000+1 Tilt)
PS STAMPS BACK VS ANAL VISSI – HOMEFUCKING IS KILLING MUSIC (CDR by 1000+1 Tilt)
ADAPTORIES – MUSIC PLAYGROUND REVISTED (CDR by 1000+1 Tilt)
>From these three new releases on 1000+1 Tilt, the Greek label with experimental music with a punk attitude, two deal with the music of P.S. Stamps Back. The first, simply called ‘Two Live Recordings’, has one concert by just P.S. Stamps Back and one of them together with ID. To be more accurate: it has edits from three concerts, not just plain live recordings. Still I don’t know who P.S. Stamps Back are (see also Vital Weekly 447), but apperentely they still love their analogue synths, and have added some more instruments, maybe a guitar. The first piece is an edit from two concerts, from two days in a row. Although it starts out pretty quiet and concentrated, things explode after a few minutes and brings this piece into a dirty lo-fi mood for the rest of its duration. It’s not exactely loud or noisy, but also without too much variation. Nevertheless not really bad either. The second piece with someone called ID is less noisy, at least for the bigger part. Sounds seem to be loosely connected, although it’s hard to tell what it is that these boys are using, besides synthesizers of the analogue kind. This piece has more dynamics and variations and is quite nice.
With a bandname like Anal Vissi and a title like ‘Homefucking Is Killing Prostitution’, you may expect a bunch of fucked (excus le mot) up noise. But it’s not, at least not on this collaborative effort with PS Stamps Back. Two laptops, one joint and some dried mushrooms were used to play around for two hours, which was trimmed down to less than one hour for this release. And what a surprise. Minimalist beats, with software processing that sound like analogue synths. The beats may sound techno like, but actually they are much more straightforward and have less breaks than say the average 4/4 record. This collaboration brings back the memories of Goem live and Pan Sonic, both live and on record. It’s a pity that my copy skipped a bit, but it’s nevertheless a great release. It breaks away from the usual PS Stamps Back work, and is more balanced and, perhaps, strangely enough, more worked out.
This is my first encounter with Adaptories, a band from Greece, I think. There is a whole bunch of instruments on this release, from laptops to fucked up guitar, pedal effects, MS20, metals drill, toy synth but also trumpet. The latter is not present in every track, but in those which it is, Adaptories manage to sound like Throbbing Gristle: the same sustained trumpet sound being through sound effects. Everything is recorded in a rather lo-fi manner here, so there are more connections to be made to Throbbing Gristle, especially how they sounded live. Rhythms are set in a mechanical way, instruments improvise freely and there is a bit of vocals which are hard to understand. Industrial music sounding like the old masters and that’s fine enough. (FdW)
Address: http://www.geocities.com/tiltrecordings
FREDRIK NESS SEVENDAL (CDR, self released)
Having never heard of Fredrik Ness Sevendal, nor of Clearsnare Records, this short, thirty-three minute CDR comes as a nice surprise. Sevendal plays guitar on all five pieces. Sevendal doesn’t treat his guitars until they disappeared, but rather plays them in real time, but he uses different techniques to do so. In ‘Silence To Say Hello’ this is a kind of free tinkling around but in ‘Sappélur’ he goes for some dirty drone like layerings. In ‘Wooden Leg’ however simple, layered strummings take place and likewise hummings in the background, a nice contrasting piece to the previous two. The final two pieces are a like these variations, with the psychedelic ‘Dream’ as the final track. Five different pieces, showing a true love of the guitar in it’s various aspects. Nice one indeed.
Address: <clearsnare@yahoo.com>
COMPEST – WRECK (CDR by Cyber Blast Records)
In recent times I reviewed some music by Martin Steinbach, under such various guises as Monoid, Stillstand and Conscientia Peccati. Each of these projects had their own particular sound, but now Martin is looking for a sound that could be a combination of all of these project into one. The ambience of Stillstand, the rhythms of the other two projects, the ethnic samples: the whole lot into one. Compest is born. Indeed all the elements are here, the deep and dark synths, ethnic percussion, minimal electronic beats; all of these blended together does make sense, but it’s not music I particular like. The pseudo ethnic drumming, the percussion with lotsa reverb and the dark synthlines recall music that I was never particular fond of. Say Hybryds, Internal Fusion or Ah Cama Sotz – bands that like their music to be musick and magick. For Steinebach it might make sense, but not for me. I hope he continues his work as Stillstand, my favourite of his other outings and Monoid. (FdW)
Address: http://www.geocities.com/cyberblastrecords
FDH – NOVAELA (CDR, self released)
Despite his Belgium sounding name Frank den Haan, aka FDH is from Canada and ‘Novaela’ is his second release, following ‘Disseminare’ on Cynfeirdd in 2003. Apperentely this new album is different from his previous work, which I am not aware of. He plays seven lenghty pieces of electronic music. At times a bit dark, but also with a lighter side to it. Piano motives, far away voices and sparse electronics and percussive sounds, this is gentle music, but lighthearted and atmospheric at the same time. There are elements of Morr Music in there, but also slowed down IDM and even shoegazing patterns. It’s fairly pleasent if a bit ‘normal’ at the same time, real tension seems to be lacking here and there. It’s well executed though. For those who love their pop sensibilities to be a bit darker, then they should check this out. (FdW)
Address: http://www.fdh.atspace.com
COMPOSITION 3, VOLUME 1 (CDR compilation by Taped Rugs Productions)
Much of the music played in the pages of Vital Weekly is composed but not through classical means, ie a pen and paper and traditional scoring techniques, not even modern ones. However ‘Composition 3’ by Charles Rice Goff III is an exception. It’s modern score: ‘a work for four performers or for solo performer and multitrack recorder’. The score is enclosed and consists of a bunch of papers with instructions: ‘toss dice in bowl, pick a card, play a succession of different notes as many times as the value of the card indicates’. Goff urges anyone who performed this ten page score to send him a recording and this ‘Composition 3, Volume 1’ has seven different performances of this score. As with these kind of Fluxus inspired scores they all sound different. Much of the scores deals with spoken word and loose sounds, but the seven performers make up their own story as it were. The performers here are people that sometimes also have their traces in visual arts, such as Marcel Herms of Fever Spoor or Pascal Hament. This release is more curious than really good, but in case you wonder if it’s the score or the execution of the score, you should give it a shot yourself. (FdW)
Address: http://www.geocities.com/padukem
MAIKKO – KNEEDEEP (MP3 by Stasisfield)
MAIKKO – POLYSTATIC (CDR by Otolab)
Two releases by Maikko, the cofounder of the Otolab Audiovisual Laboratory Collective in Milano, Italy. ‘Kneedeep’ has two pieces of deep droning nature. In ‘Wasteland’ things are a bit distorted, but no doubt this is ment to be like this. Over the course of the piece things grow in intensity, like it’s on the edge of exploding. ‘Flowers On Their Graves’ is centered around looped and delayed sounds and is less aggressive in tone. Both tracks sound alright, but not great. A bit of naive and unfocussed.
‘Polystatic’ is a CDR released on the aforementioned Otolab label and has seven tracks. These tracks are shorter than on ‘Kneedeep’ and occassionally less noisy. Here focuss and attention are present, at least compared to the ‘Kneedeep’ release, but still this music is a bit naive, crude and seemingely made without too much attention. I guess that’s where MP3 and CDR releases fit in: a testing ground for new artists. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. (FdW)
Address: http://www.stasisfield.com/releases/sf-3009.html
Address: http://www.otolab.net