MACRONYMPHA/GOVERNEMENT ALPHA (CD by Mother Savage Noise)
Industrial music became a musical style which is just as ingrained as, say C&W, house or heavy metal. Where once innovation of sound and sound production played an important role, it now is mere entertainment. And as I wrote before, entertainment is not a bad thing per se. Some people like to be entertained with C&W, house or industrial music. I don’t see anything new happening in industrial music and this CD is just another fine example of people taking sound limits to its extreme. There is no shock to be felt, but, obviously if you are aware of this kind of music and you learned to appreciate it, the entertaining sound of feedback, scraped metal , tapes sped up etc. The fun lies in the fact that there is nothing such as first part by one and then second part by the other band, but tracks are mixed, one by Macronympha, then G. Alpha, then Macro, then Alpha etc. My negative point is that the cover could be better… (FdW)
Address: <if01@andrew.cmu.edu>
CLASSICA (CD compilation by Hyperium)
Hyperium’s back-catalogue is best described as ‘gothic in it’s broadest possible sense, Sometimes poppy, sometimes housy, some experimental. Recently their interest moved to house music, with all of it’s current divisions.
I will take the risk and give a musical technique explanation: add reverb to any instrument or sound, and no doubt 90% of the outcome will end up as something with a more esoteric nature. Ambient music with it’s heavily reverbed synths in that way doesn’t differ too much from gothic with it’s heavenly voices. Hyperium do take a risk. If I say Aphex Twin, Joey Beltram, U-ziq or Sabres Of Paradise are on this CD, you will hear a 4-4 beat in your head. This is not true. You will find that Philip Glass string quartet playing Aphex Twin, In The Nursery orchestrating the Sabres etc. Most of these tracks are firmly rooted in digital classical music. Towards the end you will find some trip hop and the CD ends with downright goths, Anchorage. In all, this is a strange affair, an unusual link between all these people, with an uncoming theme. It’s a well-made selection, with Aphex Twin being my favourite. (FdW)
Address: <100660.1760@compuserve.com>
THE HAIR AND SKIN TRADING COMPANY (7″ by Aquese)
Besides Main, The Hair & Skin Trading Company is another off-shoot from the legendary rock band Loop. But unlike Main, Hair & Skin stayed more into rock , but they are also keen to experiment with sound through improvisation. The press sheet speaks of abandoning the ‘song’ format, but especially the b-side tracks appealed to me, with the wordless, almost ethnic chanting. Like most of the Aquese records this one is limited to 300 copies, so grab a copy while they last. (FdW)
Address: Fax: + 44 1252-873766
STABAT MORS – O(H)M ENTSCHALUNG (LP by Abrect)
This is a new label, which are doing fully handmade covers in editions of 100 copies. Don’t expect just one stripe of paint; this is one is fully painted over. The music belongs to the industrial noise end. Densely layered noises which work like a purification from mental illlness. There is a lot of screaming going on on this record. The sound quality could be better on one side. But in all this is quite a nice record. (FdW)
Address: Meseck – Holzerheerstr. 37 – 28307 Bremen – Germany
PITA – SEVEN TONS FOR FREE (CD by Mego)
Although I first came acroos the name PITA on the Mesmer Variations compilation by Ash International, I can’t say their contribution made waves with me. This CD with 7 tracks, total running time about 31 minutes, is a strange mix between Panasonic (but mostly looped high end stuff) and Oval (but with steady repeats of the same sound). The result stays very minimal, and even though beats are not part of the program, there is an apparent techno feeling to this CD. This is the sort of thing my Vital Weekly partner (who is not in this one) would say you need 2 copies of to play and mix with. I would say: at least 2 copies. Check this out, and add to your list of minimalists technoids. (FdW)
Address: <pita@mego.co.at>