LOSS – I KILL EVERYTHING (CD by Spectre Records)
RANDOMNUMBER – GOLDEN ACRE SLEEPS (CD by Highpoint Lowlife) *
TOSHIYA TSUNODA – RIDGE OF UNDULATION (CD by Hapna)
3/4HADBEENELIMINATED – A YEAR OF THE AURAL GAUGE OPERATION (CD by Hapna) *
MERZBOW – MERZBUTA (CD by Important Records)
AREA C – TRAFFICS & DISCOVERIES (CD by Last Visible Dog)
FIRE IN THE HEAD – BE MY ENEMY (CD by Audio Immolation Industries) *
SERGE BAGHDASSARIANS & BORIS BALTSCHUN (CD by Charhizma) *
MICHEL DONEDA – SOLO LAS PLANQUES (CD by Sofa/Sillon)
ALESSANDRA ROMBOLA – URENA (CD by Sofa/Sillon) *
WADE MATTHEWS – ABSENT FRIENDS (CD by Sofa/Sillon)
A NEW STAR IN THE HEAVENS (CDR compilation by Zaftig Research)
IN CAMERA (LP by Some Fine Legacy)
AF URSIN – AURA LEGATO (LP by La Scie Doree)
BENJAMIN BRUNN – DE-ESCALATE (12″ by Bine Music)
BOGGER – BOGGER (12″ Vinyl by Digital Gadget)
GLENN DAMBO – GLENN DAMBO EP (12″ Vinyl by Digital Gadget)
HELVETIKONE – HELVETIKONE (12″ by Digital Gadget)
PANICSVILLE/SPIRES THAT IN THE SUNSET RISE (7″ by Nihilist Records)
RESIN – SPRING THE SACRED (CDR by Tib Prod) *
SOUND_00 – LOVE EP (3″CDR by Tib Prod)
GOH LEE KWANG/TIM BLECHMANN – @ FREI RADIO FUR STUTTGART, 2 FEB 2005 (CDR by Tib Prod)
RECONSTRUCT III: SWAMPS UP NOSTRILS REMIXED (2CDR by Tib Prod)
BJERGA/IVERSEN – STREAMS OF FROZEN LIGHT (THE LIGHTHOUSE TAPES VOL. 6) (CDR by Simple Logic)
THE ONE MAN ENSEMBLE OF DANIEL PADDEN – LIVE AT VPRO RADIO (CDR by Brainwashed) *
PARADIN – COMA DIGENEAN (CDR by Gears Of Sand) *
THE PORTABLE QUARTET – TAKE THE TRAIN (CDR by Crouton Music) *
HENRY LEO DUCLOS – THE FALL OF MY CHURCH (MP3 by Audiobulb) *
CADUCEUS – INFL 03 (MP3 by Caduceus Music) *
LOSS – I KILL EVERYTHING (CD by Spectre Records)
I kill everything! The album title very well predicts what to expect when putting this second release by Loss into the player. Usually artists working in the fields of Power Electronics concentrates on expressions of sheer sonic violence. Loss does too, but with a twist! Stylishly reminiscent of early Cold Meat Industry-artists (The Protagonist, Raison D’Etre etc.), Loss also applies elements from the intersection between Neo Classical and Dark Ambient. On first part of the album the orchestral sounds of dark classical dominates while noisy electronics operates in the sub-levels. During progression the roles of the album changes, ending up with a more abrasive expression as the tranquilizing atmospheres of orchestral ambient is suppressed by the full throttle impact of aggressive Power Electronics. Screaming vocals sounding like demons from hell and distorted in the traditional Power Electronics manner, saturates most tracks on the album. So despite the emotional melancholic sense on the album we are dealing with an album of hard-thrashing aural machismo. “Beauty and the beast” has, in other words, been pushed further to the extremes. (NMP)
Address: http://www.spectre.be
RANDOMNUMBER – GOLDEN ACRE SLEEPS (CD by Highpoint Lowlife)
Apparently there in the post-code LS6, that is Leeds, United Kingdom, the population of bands is enormous, and it’s also the place where Random Number (or rather randomNumber, as he spells it), aka Matt Robson, hails from. He’s probably best known as the drummer of Hood, as-well some other, unnamed bands, but as randomNumber playing two ‘unsynchronized laptops and a tabletop of controllers and effects’. randomNumber released music on Rocket Racer, Fencing Flatworm, Catmobile and Rock Action and offers ten tracks that fit the Highpoint Lowlife catalogue very well. Or that of like-minded labels, like Expanding or Static Caravan. However I am the first to admit that randomNumber may sound alike so many others, it’s at the same time a bit more crude, a bit more angular than so many of his mates in this area. The melancholic element is present and alive, but operates on a much more marginal level. Beats and stuff like that are more energetic and free floating and this is quite a nice album. Alike so many but just a little bit more refreshing and a little bit more of his own. (FdW)
Address: http://www.highpointlowlife.com
TOSHIYA TSUNODA – RIDGE OF UNDULATION (CD by Hapna)
3/4HADBEENELIMINATED – A YEAR OF THE AURAL GAUGE OPERATION (CD by Hapna)
The Swedish Hapna label is slowly expanding, here doing two releases at once. The first is the second release on their by Toshiya Tsunoda, who is also responsible for the first release on the label in 1999. Tsunoda works field recordings as-well as music dealing with sound in relation to space. On this new CD there are various examples of this, such as the eight times layered sine waves in the opening and closing pieces of the CD. In between there are three pieces of field recordings. Here they are presented untreated (as usual). Tsunoda knows where to put a microphone and how to make a field recording that is interesting to hear and not ‘just’ a field recording. Three further pieces on this CD deal with aluminum plates and vibrating objects, picked by piezoceramic sensors to make the vibrations audible. In all eight pieces Tsunoda explores sound phenomena, but it’s explorations that are interesting to hear, not just for the sake of exploring. Three different approaches for Tsunoda on one disc, that is something odd. Usually he explores one idea per release (just field recordings, just vibrations), so in that respect this is something of a ‘best of’ or perhaps ‘an introduction’. In any case it’s probably the most varied work of Tsunoda so far. In case you need a place to start: here it is.
The other new release is the second CD by 3/4Hadbeenelimated, following the self-titled debut on Bowindo from 2003 (see Vital Weekly 423). The band is expanded to a quartet, besides Stefano Pilia (guitar/double bass), Claudio Rocchetti (turntables) and Valerio Tricoli (sound architect) also Tony Arrabito on drums. The mentioned instruments are only half what they really use, because every sound object can be an instrument, and then there is still the studio itself. 3/4Hadbeenelimated operate out of the tradition that improvisation can be the basis of sounds that can be further re/deconstructed in the studio. They cite This Heat, Todd Rundgren and P16.D4 as their influence, and especially the first can be easily traced back indeed. They improvise together in their own studio and then take the sounds apart, and stick them back together in a way that suits it better. Various pieces are layered, chopped up (although never in a radical manner), slowed down or sped up, but invariably 3/4Hadbeenelimated is interested in playing a bit psychedelic music, music with a good flow to it, for the listener to dream away. A bit cosmic, a bit kraut, a bit singer-songwriter (with vocals mind you, so also in that respect less P16.D4) but all quite nice. Think Tape, but with more instruments and a bit more rocky. (FdW)
Address: http://www.hapna.com
MERZBOW – MERZBUTA (CD by Important Records)
Merzbow is hardly new to using rhythm and percussion in his work. He started out, after all, as a drummer. Many of those early Merzbow recordings are filled with percussion sounds, most of the recent ones involve competing rhythmic loops, and some even utilize acoustic drums over which noise junk is grafted. That Masami Akita understands rhythm cannot be denied. But the key difference between those recordings and his new direction is that the drums on his new albums are electronically generated dance beats that seem to reference industrial techno, rather than jazz or rock. Here, the beat seems to be a gimmick that effectively anchors each piece to one spot from which it cannot move. Maybe that paradox is intentional, but for me it doesn’t work very well. Throughout “Merzbuta”, the beats are so bludgeoningly repetitive that they don’t allow the music to do much more than mark time; it becomes clear after just a few minutes that they aren’t very interesting as sounds on their own (they sound like they could be some software presets), and that the album will be five slight variations on the same limited idea. I found myself growing weary at about the middle of track 2, restless at track 4, and finally I caught myself watching the minutes tick down on the CD player. What went wrong here? I’m reminded, unfortunately, of Muslimgauze, who also relied on a looped pulse as an artificial device to keep uninteresting music aloft until the length of a CD is filled. The beats are the most distinguishing feature of this album (aside from the nihilistic “animal domination” artwork, which is too juvenile to be taken seriously… if you really think all humans should die, who would buy your records? or, for that matter, make them?), and yet they are like boulders holding down music that, judging by the synth squalls that flutter impotently underneath and around the beats, wants to soar. (HS)
Address: http://www.importantrecords.com
AREA C – TRAFFICS & DISCOVERIES (CD by Last Visible Dog)
I’m sad to report that I don’t like this new CD on one of my favorite American labels very much. With Last Visible Dog, I have such a huge respect for the publisher that I’m willing to start with the premise that if LVD is excited enough about something to put it out, then I want to hear it. Unfortunately, Area C, the “band” of one Eric Carlson of Providence, Rhode Island, seems to be a rather typical new-age-like guitar droner, far less creative than the tangentially similar 1/3 Octave Band or Andrew Chalk. On most of the pieces presented here, what makes the biggest impression on me is the sound of rack delay effects, rather than the music. Sure, it’s pleasant enough, and the other evening when I had friends over for dinner and beers, I unhesitatingly put this on in the background. It was innocuous, sure, but the unpleasant odor of New Age seeped through enough to subliminally steer our conversation towards the topic of 80s Tangerine Dream records. Whoa. There’s a point about midway through the album where the sound of processed strings is less pronounced, and some synth pulses take over. Fine, but it’s still so… nice. Not beautiful, not reaching for anything in particular or taking risks, but merely a pleasant sound. It’s like Peter Wright without balls, all surface but not much to chew on, pretty yet flat. (HS)
Address: http://www.lastvisibledog.com
FIRE IN THE HEAD – BE MY ENEMY (CD by Audio Immolation Industries)
From the noise department comes Fire In The Head,
a project by Micheal Page, since early 2004. Page was a member of Slogun, when they played live but after a while he wanted to do his own thing, mixing noise, drones, dark ambient and power electronics. So far he has released ten CDs/CDRs, which I didn’t hear. So it’s not easy to relate the new work ‘Be My Enemy’ to that. Ten tracks are to be found here of not just the classical noise of banging some sheets of metal and feed that through a bunch of distortion, causing a storm of feedback. Fire In The Head uses synths, distortion, the usual power-noise vocal screaming, but there are also moments of relative tranquility, taking things a few steps back, such as ‘Daddy’s Got A Gun’ (the whole thing with titles of course is the usual thing with the power noise musicians), which is a spooky affair. Influences by Whitehouse (or any copyist since them) are never far away, but Fire In The Head gives the material a strong twist of his own, and makes this into a more than nice disc of power noise. (FdW)
Address: http://www.collectivexxiii.com/fireinthehead/
SERGE BAGHDASSARIANS & BORIS BALTSCHUN (CD by Charhizma)
Now here’s something I just don’t seem to figure out about. I must admit I never heard of Serge Baghdassarians nor Boris Baltschun, and there isn’t yet any information on the Charhizma website. The cover, though nice as it is (a combination of letraset and an Ikea catalogue), doesn’t hold any substantial information. I expected this to be somewhere along the lines of improvised music, but that isn’t the case – it seems. There are three tracks, almost fourteen minutes, eleven en twenty-five minutes. Ok, so it’s music, but just what kind it is – I don’t know. It seems to me sampled together stuff, perhaps electro-acoustics, maybe guitars? These are processed together in these longer pieces, which are basically collages of sound. Sometimes these sounds appear as blocks of heavy, upfront sounds (though never noisy), or almost inaudible crackle and static. Altogether in one piece. So, I don’t get it, but do I like it? That is also something I haven’t quite figured out. Sometimes the blocks of sounds are quite nice for what they are, and a certain tension is felt in them, but at other times things are just too simple for words, and seems to be put together with rather simplistic means. A most curious disc that leaves me quite confused, to say the least, but certainly that should be given a few more spins, before any of it’s content becomes a bit clearer. But not today. (FdW)
Address: http://www.charhizma.com
MICHEL DONEDA – SOLO LAS PLANQUES (CD by Sofa/Sillon)
ALESSANDRA ROMBOLA – URENA (CD by Sofa/Sillon)
WADE MATTHEWS – ABSENT FRIENDS (CD by Sofa/Sillon)
Norway’s Sofa Music label were never reviewed before (sad to say, but true) but they have an extended catalogue of improvised music by loads of Norwegian musicians, but they have recently started a sub-division called Sillon. Here they release CDs in nice hand-stamped carton sleeves, in an edition of 500 copies, of works that consist of improvised music by one person.
The first release was a bit earlier in the year by Michel Doneda, who plays soprano saxophone. The seven pieces were all recorded in july 2004 and consist of a fine balance between sustained notes on the saxophone and loosely played fragments, not hasty but pastoral and intense sounding. The saxophone is to be recognized as such throughout this work, and I must admit that I am not a bigger lover of the instrument, I think here with the sustained, almost drone like sound, things sound pretty much OK. It is a very intense, almost noise related music of an acoustic kind. Quite an achievement.
The name of Alessandra Rombola is new to me, and she is originally from Italy, but now living in Spain, where she plays contemporary and improvised music. Her debut CD ‘Urena’ was recorded in the small village of the same name, in the church of that city to be precise. She plays flute along rather conventional improvised music lines most of the times, but there are parts where she uses the flute to play rhythmical figures with her fingers. The church space provides of course natural reverb, which adds an even more spacious character to the music. I was more taken by her playing of the flute as an object, rather than some of the more conventional playing, but over all this is a very fine disc of improvised music.
Also living in Madrid, Spain, is Wade Matthews, who plays alto flute and bass clarinet. Previously he had a release on Creative Sources (see Vital Weekly 470), and even when he worked with electronics before, this is his first release using only software synthesis – ‘no sampling, no overdubbing’ – it says on the cover. In seven pieces he plays around with high end sounds, buzzing around likes bees, in a highly digital surrounding. Minimalist sound patterns spark off and things move around rather in a slow way. It’s ok stuff, I think, but not really great. Sometimes it hears like a bit too much of ‘switch it on and see what happens’. Maybe it’s something other people can do better. (FdW)
Address: http://www.sofamusic.no/sillon
A NEW STAR IN THE HEAVENS (CDR compilation by Zaftig Research)
It is of course the time of the year for a Christmas compilation, and even if you don’t like it (like me) than it’s hard to avoid. But you can always enjoy a special alternative christmas compilation. There was (or perhaps is) a Dutch radio station, known for the Staalplaat Mort Aux Vaches, who commissioned special christmas tunes and put them out on limited CDRs, which by now would take you through half a day of listening fun, but then you can continue with ‘A New Star In The Heavens’, a very lengthy compilation by Zaftig Research. Not all of the tracks seem to have a direct link to God, I mean Christmas, as some are just about the time of the year, such as ‘The Long Descent Into The Dark Of Winter’ by Goose. It’s a varied bunch of tracks that either pay seriously homage to some of the finest christmas songs, or like C/A/T try to make fun of all the things that surround christmas. And with some it’s hard to find any link, either to the time of the year or christmas, other than perhaps the title, like in Azoikum’s ‘Clicks’n Noise Carol’. But in all this is a very nice compilation that is mostly suitable for this month, but in some cases for the rest of the year too. (FdW)
Address: http://www.inhell.com/eskaton/
IN CAMERA (LP by Some Fine Legacy)
AF URSIN – AURA LEGATO (LP by La Scie Doree)
Now that Mirror is on hold, perhaps for ever, it’s time that Christoph Heemann starts something new, but it’s something that has been in the pipeline for some time. Together with Timo van Luyck, also known as Af Ursin, and sometimes member of Noise Maker’s Fifes and of the Mirror live line up, he has been working on new material as In Camera (which is not to be confused with the best Joy Division rip off on 4AD in the early 80s). Just like once Mirror did, the first LP is released by Some Fine Legacy, in a beautiful, Mirror like cover. It’s hard not to think of Mirror when listening to the first In Camera, but there are some fine, small detailed differences. First of all there is the stronger use of ‘real’ instruments, such as piano and percussion and the more spacious use of sounds, i.e. less dense than some of the Mirror material. Overtones and sustained sounds are of course an ongoing interest for both artists. They lurk in the background and at the beginning of the second side they arise a little bit from the mass, but throughout the record they add a nice drone dimension to it. Some damm fine stuff. Can’t wait to hear some more (and hopefully not all as expensive and rare as the Mirror stuff)
At the same Timo van Luyck releases a new LP as Af Ursin, if I’m not mistaken his second or third. Van Luyck produces all the sounds himself on his records, which are finely woven together. He plays electronica to process sounds from a flute, voices, glass harmonium and on side two even, a drum-machine and bass guitar. Here, on this side, things are jumpy, perhaps even a bit krautrock like, which doesn’t sound unlike old HNAS records. But for the most part this record (four lengthy pieces in total) contains wonderful extended drone music, that is alike some of the UK counterparts, but Af Ursin adds a much more musical dimension to it, through a much clearer use of instruments and a likewise much clearer production. Great stuff for those who like expand beyond the ‘ordinary’ drone music. (FdW)
Address: <timo.van.luyck1@telenet.be>
BENJAMIN BRUNN – DE-ESCALATE (12″ by Bine Music)
This is the follow up to ‘Music Under Pin’ (see Vital Weekly 481), which then presented four tracks by the for me unknown Benjamin Brunn and four remixes, including one by Frank Bretschneider. Here he is by himself again, with another four tracks of minimal techno. A forceful yet minimal rhythm built each of the tracks and small icing is put on the cake. It’s not in it’s kind but also nothing ground breaking new. If I was a DJ of this kind stuff (or in fact a DJ at all), I would perhaps stick this in my record bag and give it a few spins along some of the finer Bretschneider and Kompakt stuff – it wouldn’t be a too strange thing to do and would no doubt be a good spin. But at home, these pieces by itself didn’t do much for me. (FdW)
Address: http://www.binemusic.de
BOGGER – BOGGER (12″ Vinyl by Digital Gadget)
GLENN DAMBO – GLENN DAMBO EP (12″ Vinyl by Digital Gadget)
Jeff Pils has become a popular name in the DJ-communities of Berlin thanks to his uncompromising sets on the Dönerlounge Club, Berlin. Second and third release of the Berlin-based Digital Gadget present the composing part of German Oliver Kiesow alias DJ Jeff Pils. Operating under the name Bogger on the self-titled second Digital Gadget-release, Oliver Kiesow very clearly marks his attachment to the club-oriented style. Four tracks that all would be suitable for some physical performance. This 12″-vinyl album opens with the track titled “Joana”, a track that first of all uses the old-school Detroit techno-sound to create a track of sheer minimalism based on repetitive up-tempo beat-textures and only a few other elements of sound. Following track titled “Octron” is noisier, more experimental and more down-tempo with slow and distorted rhythms still repetitive though. Side B continues with another upbeat dance-floor track titled “Etacon” followed by “Kontrolle” – a track that is more noisy and experimental but still with a leg on the dance-floor thanks to some house-like interruptions in-between the slow-breathing machineries and mid-tempo rhythm texture. On the other Ep, Oliver Kiesow operates under another project name “Glenn Dambo”. In comparison with the Bogger-release there is still a lot of club-attitude on Glenn Dambo. Also the funkiness remains, but the overall style is darker and even more repetitive. The four tracks on the album all takes the starting point in minimalist electro, with much focus on repetitive rhythm structures and hypnotic grooves. There is only a minimal use of distortion on the album. Instead the album uses microsounds and clicks’n’cuts giving a more multileveled expression. Second track on the album titled “Input” uses Kraftwerk-reminiscent robot voices in the mix adding a great artificial expression on the electro style. Two quite interesting Ep’s by DJ Jeff Pils. Picking only one of the two Ep’s, the best choice would have to be the Glenn Dambo Ep, if you ask me! (NMP)
Address: http://www.digital-gadget.de/front
HELVETIKONE – HELVETIKONE (12″ by Digital Gadget)
German sound artist Eduard Müller alias Helvetikone, has the honor of being the first artist out on Berlin based label Digital Gadget. Artists released on the label are affiliated with the radio show “Digital Gadget” broadcasted in Berlin. Helvetikone works in the abrasive territories of club-oriented IDM with broken beats, distorted noise and voice samples blended into a storm of rhythmic chaos. Sheets of ambient are being used to create excellent atmospheres in the fast and breathtaking eight tracks. Closing track on the album, “Before I”, creates the climax and the grande finale of the album with massive drones of crushing power electronics finding its way into the atmospheres of ambientscapes and complex break-beat textures and thus empowering the feeling of sonic apocalypse. A short album clocking 28+ minutes, but with the ability to knock even the strongest dance-floor-athlete down on his knees. A very promising debut-release from Digital Gadget! (NMP)
Address: http://www.digital-gadget.de/front
PANICSVILLE/SPIRES THAT IN THE SUNSET RISE (7″ by Nihilist Records)
In the ongoing series (if such a thing is the case) of split 7″ records, Panicsville here teams up with the oddly named Spires That In The Sunset Rise. They are a four piece playing guitar, organ, drums, slide guitar and zither. ‘Little For A Lot’ is a freely played song, with a folky voice. New folk perhaps, or perhaps a bit more adventurous version of Current 93, without the nasal voice of Tibet (or whatever it is these days). Nice song, a bit too long. After the break would have been a good ending.
On the other side there is Panicsville, who is now also a four piece, besides Andy Ortmann (on ‘clicks, creaks, bumps in the night’), including vocals, piano and guitar. Their song is along the lines of the other side, and has also a semi-medieval feel to it. Again a bit of Current mixed with some older Dead Can Dance. A strange move, but it’s a nice track altogether. I am not sure wether a full length CD would be right next move, but we’ll see. Ortmann is always in for a surprise or two. (FdW)
Address: http://www.nihilistrecords.net
RESIN – SPRING THE SACRED (CDR by Tib Prod)
SOUND_00 – LOVE EP (3″CDR by Tib Prod)
GOH LEE KWANG/TIM BLECHMANN – @ FREI RADIO FUR STUTTGART, 2 FEB 2005 (CDR by Tib Prod)
RECONSTRUCT III: SWAMPS UP NOSTRILS REMIXED (2CDR by Tib Prod)
BJERGA/IVERSEN – STREAMS OF FROZEN LIGHT (THE LIGHTHOUSE TAPES VOL. 6) (CDR by Simple Logic)
One of the best pieces of modern classical music, but still in a tradition, from the twentieth century is ‘Le Sacre Du Printemps’ by Igor Stravinsky, from 1913. A ballet about the rite of spring, a piece with a lots of drama and changes. A powerful, percussive work. Resin from Canada uses sound material from this great piece for his own, well, remix? reinterpretation? appraisal? He created four pieces that dwell heavily on the use of violin parts of the original, and less on the percussive outbursts that the original have. Resin plays more moody music that however is quite nice too. Moving slowly with an endless mass of sampled strings, going from light to dark over the course of these four pieces, this is quite a nice release.
Also, much to my surprise actually, quite a moody release from Sound_00, the man behind Every Kid On Speed and other some such names. As Sound_00 he presented quite some loud and vicious releases, but on his ‘Love EP’ he plays foremost ‘nice’ music. This release is part of a whole series of EPs, such as ‘dark’, ‘pain’, ‘flower’, ‘cut’ and more, all to be released by various labels. Chilly chill out music, with a bit of modern classical touch, but much slower and more minimal in approach, but unmistakably playing the a nice piece of highly atmospheric music.
The name Goh Lee Kwang seems to be popping up more and more and here he works together with Tim Blechmann. Together they recorded a piece for Frei Radio Für Stuttgart. Blechmann plays laptop and Goh plays feedback mixer. Not the easiest music, as you can imagine. Lots of high pitched piercing sounds that are fed into the computer, which in return does some fairly obscure things. Not always convincing in what they are doing here, but in the third track, the whole spectrum shifts from high end to low end and that was quite a nice move.
Every once in a while Tib Prod puts up some sounds on their websites by a specific artist which can be downloaded and used for remixing. A massive pack of do-it-yourself remixers in return come up with their remixes. Jan-M Iversen and Cadmium Dunkel were already done in the past, now it’s time for Swamps Up Nostrils, the project of Arnfinn Killingtveit (who also works as Helmetricon, Synkopat and Malebarisk), and which is a hotch-potch of musical sounds and directions, so probably more than excellent for remixing. Although on the two lengthy CDRs, it must be noted that the majority of the remixers choose for the ambient side of Swamps Up Nostrils. Stuff runs through plug-ins, creating a somewhat rawer version of ambient, but in general it’s quite nice altogether. Suspects include Tzesne, Chefkirk, Resin, Staplerfahrer, Every Kid On Speed, Carl Kruger and loads of others whose name you might recognize from the Tib Prod catalogue.
Of course a new batch of releases on Tib Prod must also include a new collaboration of label boss Jan-M Iversen with Sindre Bjerga, but it’s a release on the Polish Simple Logic label. The sixth and last volume of The Lighthouse Tapes (previous releases are on Foxglove, First Person, M.I.R. and soon on Paha Porvari and Kabukikore) is one of the best works I heard from these two guys. Cracking electronics (like trying to burn the element of the guitar), carefully toying around with feedback and minimal changes that are however quite present. A bit noisy, a bit ambient, careful and intense, nice recording (beyond the more usual lo-fi that is): perhaps even the best so far. Think old Zoviet*France, area ‘Mohnomishe’. Great. (FdW)
Address: http://www.tibprod.com
Address: http://www.simlog.tk
THE ONE MAN ENSEMBLE OF DANIEL PADDEN – LIVE AT VPRO RADIO (CDR by Brainwashed)
It is perhaps a bit confusing: The One Ensemble Of Daniel Padden, whereas the cover lists five players. The previous two albums by Daniel Padden contained music, all played by Padden himself, but as we are dealing here with a live album, it’s not strange to see it become a real ensemble. Padden, who is also a member of Volcano The Bear, is assisted by people who play bouzouki, drums, percussion, cello, viola whereas the man himself plays guitar and sings. As the attentive reader probably noticed the recordings were made at the VPRO radio, by the very same (nice) people who delivered so many excellent recordings for Staalplaat’s Mort Aux Vaches series, it’s, when you hear this, not really a big surprise that they aren’t released by Staalplaat. Although the series has many different musical angles, the music of Daniel Padden is very very far away from what Staalplaat releases. Padden plays a very personal version of folk music. Not always very skilled and trained, and the songs aren’t the nicest ones, this is new folk, a somewhat more grim version of folk music. Rooted not just in folk (or perhaps, not at all), this has traces of free improvised playing, with elements of drone and noise coming in at the far end of the sound spectrum. Just as it’s music that Staalplaat wouldn’t release, it’s also music that is vastly away from any daily appetite at the headquarters of Vital Weekly, but perhaps that’s the reason why I must admit that I quite like this. Surely not music I would want to hear all day, but this release blew me away, just because it’s so different than so many other things here (well, perhaps with the Panicsville/Spires That In The Sunset Rise 7″ mentioned elsewhere this week). Moody new folk music that fits the dark short days of the time of year best. Very very nice. Just 500 were made – and I don’t know why not on a real CD! (FdW)
Address: http://www.brainwashed.com/
PARADIN – COMA DIGENEAN (CDR by Gears Of Sand)
Earlier this year I had my first encounter with the music of Paradin, aka Ben Fleury-Steiner from the USA. He released ‘Flesh Of Caverns’ on Mystery Sea (see Vital Weekly 472), which means you have to find him the areas of deep and dark ambient music. His previous releases I never heard. Paradin uses synths, singing bowls, bowed metal and treated guitar here on ‘Coma Digenean’, a single piece that consists of five different parts and sees a continuation of the previous Mystery Sea work. However it should be noted that Paradin doesn’t play very strict ambient music, but is rather interested in creating a large atmospheric cloud of sound; this is something in which more happens than just one single drone, but various sounds move around each-other, all creating this atmosphere. In that sense there is more happening here than on an average ambient album, and that the sound is more up there and present. Spooky and mysterious music that certainly has a cinematographic quality. Very nice ambient music that makes a bit of difference from the rest. (FdW)
Address: http://www.gearsofsound.net
THE PORTABLE QUARTET – TAKE THE TRAIN (CDR by Crouton Music)
From the ever so-active Jon Mueller comes this
limited CDR by The Portable Quartet. Each of the four members plays besides their instrument (Mueller on snare drum, Chris Rosenau on banjo, Jim Schoenecker on oscillator and Thomas Wincek on melodica) a suitcase, and the whole thing was recorded on june 25th 2005 at ‘the now demolished Sturtevant Amtrak Station in Sturtevant Wisconsin’ probably using a simple set up of a mini disc and a microphone. There is a certain charming lo-fi quality to both the recording and the music. Everything sounds a bit remote, a bit far away, and also it sounds a bit old (through the use of banjo, perhaps) but Schoenecker makes sure that we do realize this is from the twenty-first century with high peeps and sweeps on the oscillator. The whole thing sounds as recorded by accident, four people waiting for the train to take them to the next gig. They sat down and waited and decided to play some music – perhaps things didn’t went as such, but just as-well could have been like that. The music, highly improvised of course when it comes from the house of Crouton, seems also to have this accidental approach, but it’s never too loosely improvised or haphazard. Things are pretty coherent throughout the recording. With a nice retro cover, this is a very nice thing. (FdW)
Address: http://www.croutonmusic.com
HENRY LEO DUCLOS – THE FALL OF MY CHURCH (MP3 by Audiobulb)
The more I listen to the five pieces of Henry Leo Duclos, the less I understand what it is about. On a label such as Audiobulb Records one would expect something that has to do with ambient and rhythm (in that order) that was once filled under ambient house. And certainly, Duclos plays something with rhythm and ambient (in that order), but he doesn’t like to play a very sequenced beat or some-such, but rather makes a collage of these elements, without caring too much if they belong to each-other very well. A bit of an uneasy marriage, as you can imagine. The rhythms are forcefully present, but don’t seem to run in a very smooth way, a bit abrasive and certainly not really a danceable thing. The music didn’t grab me that much either, so I am left behind with rather mixed feelings. (FdW)
Address: http://www.audiobulb.com
CADUCEUS – INFL 03 (MP3 by Caduceus Music)
The last words of the previous ‘Influence’ was: I wonder whose next (see Vital Weekly 497), and for some reason I missed one, since this is ‘Infl 03’ and here it is the album ‘Metri’ by ø, which was a great influence for Caduceus, and rightly so. That album influenced a lot of minimal techno-heads throughout the years. The strict minimal, cold and clinical beats but with a great groovy drive that was much imitated but not very often surpassed inspired many after that. The four pieces here are much along the lines of the original, which is nice, just in case (like me) you haven’t been playing the original for some time, but it’s perhaps at times also too close to the original. A good opportunity to get the original out of the dust and play it again. Like I said: imitated by many, surpassed by few. Caduceus do a good job, but also don’t pass ø. (FdW)
Address: http://www.caduceusmusic.net
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