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* noted are in this week’s podcast
RICHARD FRANCIS – TOGETHER ALONE, TOGETHER APART (CD by CMR) *
MOVE D – TONSPUREN 1-10 (CD by Bine Music)
GOLDMUND – TWO POINT DISCRIMINATION (CD by Western Vinyl) *
SHUTA HASUNUMA – OK BAMBOO (CD by Western Vinyl) *
RHYTHM (CD by Gruenrekorder)
MARCUS SCHMICKLER – ALTARS OF SCIENCE (CD by Mego)
POCAHAUNTED & ROBEDOOR – HUNTED GATHERING (2CD by Digitalis Industries)
MARISKA BAARS & WOUTER VAN VELDHOVEN & RUTGER ZUYDERVELT – ZEEG (2CD by Digitalis Industries) *
REFORMED FACTION – THE WAR AGAINST… (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings) *
CONTINUUM – 2 (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
PLUMERAI – WITHOUT NUMBER (CD by Silber Media)
ORIGAMI ARKTIKA – TROLLEBOTN (CD by Silber Media) *
JULIA KENT – DELAY (CD by Important Records)
COLUMN ONE – FELDAUFNAHMEN 1 (CD by Auf Abwegen) *
ROEL MEELKOP – 5(ZWISCHEFALLE) (CD by Auf Abwegen)
ADAM PACIONE – FROM STILLS TO MOTION (CD by Infraction Records)
NORTHERN – DRAWN (CD by Infraction Records) *
MICHAELA MELIAN – LOS ANGELES (CD by Monika Enterprise)
PROJEKT67 – YOU GIVE ME MUSIC (CD by Reddog Products)
MODAN GARU – FOXHUNTING FOR YOUR ATTENTION (CD single by Moga Records)
MARKUS REUTER & ROBERT RICH – ELEVEN QUESTIONS (CD by Unsung Records)
JAN VAN DEN DOBBELSTEEN – COSMIC VOLUME 29 (LP by Cosmic Volume)
LEGENDARY PINK DOTS – ALCHEMICAL PLAYSCHOOL (double 10″ by Caciocavallo)
YASUSHI MIURA – MAGNITUDE NO.7 “MEEK” (CDR by Karidome)
(ETRE) – I CAN’T TAKE MY HEAD TO SEE HIGHER BECOUSE THE SKY IS LANDING OVER MY NECK (CDR by Riz(h)ome Records)
BRIAN LABYCZ & JASON ROEBKE – DUO (CDR by Peira)
TIM BARNES & JASON ROEBKE & NATE WOOLEY – TRIO (CDR by Peira) *
VASØK (CDR by Zang:Records) *
NUMUSIC COMPILATION 2007 (CD by Numusic Records)
OLAF HOCHHERTZ – PETS (CDR by Naiv Super) *
TIM BLECKMANN – RE-READING (CDR by Free SS) *
KAKOFUNK – FRUTAMENTAL (CDR by Free SS)
MUTANT APE – DRES (CDR by Produck)
COURTIS – 250107 (CDR by Produck)
ASHER – IN CAMERA (MP3 by Homophoni) *
RICHARD FRANCIS – TOGETHER ALONE, TOGETHER APART (CD by CMR)
Despite still be young of age and nature, Richard Francis has been active in the field of music since 1996. You may remember his Eso Steel band and his CMR label which he uses these days as a vehicle to release lathe cut records from the New Zealand scene. But here he releases his own work on a CD. Since many years Francis’ work deals with field recordings and acoustic objects, such as fabric, wood, plastic, ‘self noise of home stereo amplifiers’, loudspeakers and record players. He writes that he is inspired by ‘a particular moment of sound heard in my surroundings, [I’ve] come to call these brief sonic impressions ‘sound moments’, of 10-20 seconds in length where my attention is drawn to an interesting combination and arrangement of sounds’. His music is not a recording of these moments, but rather a ‘cover’ version using different sounds. That is a nice way, but hard to check out. We didn’t hear these original sound moments. Three lengthy tracks here of not too careful music. It seems to be based, at least from this perspective, on a bunch of loops, which fade in and out in an irregular mode. Continuos sustaining sounds of crackling sound, low sonic rumble and debris flying around. Is it drone music? Well, perhaps it is. Is it microsound? Indeed, it might be. But it’s harsher, more present, certainly in the first two tracks. It doesn’t lull the listener to sleep. Perhaps it’s musique concrete? It is, but the aspect of a continuous sounds built from loops may suggest otherwise. I think this is the strong thing from this CD. It sounds familiar but upon close inspection it’s not easy to lump this into any genre. A strong CD, that at just under thirty minutes, is perhaps a bit short. Another piece would have been most welcome. (FdW)
Address: http://www.cmr.co.nz
MOVE D – TONSPUREN 1-10 (CD by Bine Music)
It seems like yesterday that we reviewed the ’10/11 Live At Johanneskirche’ by Move D, a.k.a. David Moufang. But it was in Vital Weekly 580… Bine Music unearths another Moufang work from the archive here: a recording of Move D at the second Sonic Arts festival in Erlangen, early 2003, where the guiding theme was ‘Sound and Reality’. Moufang uses field recordings, ten different ones, which he sets to music, using his laptop and real instruments, such guitar, pedal steel and slit drum. The field recordings bit is of course about ‘reality’, and Moufang knows his rain and train sounds, which he sets to his music. And that didn’t change much: deep space synthesizers, jazzy keyboard lines, a jumpy rhythm and an acid style bass line. As such there is not much difference between this release and the previous one on Bine Music by him, save of course for the addition of field recordings. It’s nice flowing and floating ambient music, armchair techno, traveling music for ipods (be sure to use a good high resolution convertor) and it’s actually quite alright. (FdW)
Address: http://www.binemusic.de
GOLDMUND – TWO POINT DISCRIMINATION (CD by Western Vinyl)
SHUTA HASUNUMA – OK BAMBOO (CD by Western Vinyl)
My first encounter with Keith Kenniff’s project Goldmund, whose ‘Two Point Discrimination’ is his third release. His music fits the 2007 tradition of playing the piano. In a twist of difference he just uses a piano and no electronics, but he does something interesting. In stead of having a microphone pick up his playing, he places various microphones at various points close the piano: near the hammers, the strings and the pedals, as well as probably an overall microphone. It adds a rather unusual texture to the recordings. Kenniff mixes his pieces in various way, sometimes allowing one microphone, then another one. Eleven short pieces (total time is about twenty four minutes) of this kind of pieces, which aren’t exactly Erik Satie or Claude Debussy, but more joyous and uptempo, yet also quite atmospherical. Minimal music influences with arpeggio’s and also Feldman like with loosely played tunes. Quite a nice release indeed, an easily one of the better piano works of this year.
Hasunuma self-titled debut was reviewed in Vital Weekly 539 and he too has discovered the piano, or perhaps he just returns to it. Hasunuma takes the piano way further in the digital terrain, more than Goldmund, but also more than many others who came to Vital Weekly with their 86 keys. Hasunuma takes the piano apart, builds it up, twists it around, and change it, and also adds guitar and vocals. Glitch music of the highest order, and much of what I had to say on his first release, counts here too, perhaps not so much influenced by Mathieu anymore, but surely a lot of music on Spekk, Noble or a band like Flim. Music from an already long tradition, but surely Hasunuma is one of the better players in the field. It’s not too soft, ambient, but rather angular and at times even unsettling. Fennesz and The Books are also obvious points of reference. Quite a complete work this one. (FdW)
Address: http://www.westernvinyl.com
RHYTHM (CD by Gruenrekorder)
A much ignored feature in the area of field recordings is that of rhythm. You tape sounds outside and there is hardly a sense of continuity or even rhythm, at least not in a musical sense. Germany’s Gruenrekorder thought about this and asked various known and unknown field recordists to capture the environment with the idea of rhythm. It is best shown here by Peter Cusack from London with a recording at the Jaguars car manufacturing plant: machine drone at it’s best. Also Eric La Casa has a slight rhythmic field piece of metallic banging. Unfortunately that’s it. The rhythmic sense of the other pieces is low, and sometimes even non-existent. It’s not that they aren’t great field recordings, because they surely are so, but they don’t always have something in common with rhythm. Maybe it’s just hard to find pure rhythm in sync in nature, and this is just a decent compilation of field recordings. Included are the usual posse of Dale Lloyd, Roland Etzin, Jez Riley French, Takahiro Kawaguchi, Takefumi Naoshima, Sawako, Lasse-marc Riek and Walter Tilgner, because the two aforementioned ones. Nice, but a bit beyond the concept. (FdW)
Address: http://www.gruenrekorder.de
MARCUS SCHMICKLER – ALTARS OF SCIENCE (CD by Mego)
One of the things I like about Marcus Schmickler is his sheer variety in music styles. Wether it’s rock with Pluramon, serious composing for a choir, improvisation or pure electronic works, he can do all seemingly without too much trouble. The luck of being classical trained probably. This new CD is actually a DVD: there is a portion that can be played on any audio CD player and on the DVD part the same piece for multi-channel set-up. That I don’t have, so I have to do with the stereo version. Apparently it’s his first electronic work since 1998, when he released ‘Sator Rotas’, and ‘Altars Of Science’ is a serious computer music work. Schmickler takes the form of ‘old’ serious electronic music, but then no longer analogue synthesizers or oscillators, but computerized sounds. Things pop up, take shape, disappear. Most of the times in a somewhat loud and noise based territory. We should not forget that Schmickler is also a member of Mimeo, so a bit of noise is well-spend on him. Sometimes buzzing like insects, but usually totally abstract. A strong work I think, taking this kind of music away from the acousmatic counterparts that is part of the serious work, and as such a work that truly stands out from the rest. Powerfull, at times even noise like, but moving about without staying in static territory. An example of how these things should sound for noise heads, serious composers and improvisers. Listen and learn. (FdW)
Address: http://www.editions,ego.com
POCAHAUNTED & ROBEDOOR – HUNTED GATHERING (2CD by Digitalis Industries)
MARISKA BAARS & WOUTER VAN VELDHOVEN & RUTGER ZUYDERVELT – ZEEG (2CD by Digitalis Industries)
Two releases from the world of drones, but with two different outcomes. Pocahaunted and Robedoor are both bands from Los Angeles, who share both a split and collaboration together. Robedoor has four pieces, Pocahaunted three and then there is a collaboration between both bands. The drones applied by these two bands are best be classified as space rock. There is a guitar that is in distortion mode, crying in the background, and on top there is a jamming free guitar, strumming away nicely and vocals that bring a long howl, certainly in the case of Pocahaunted. Robedoor stays a bit more close to the idea of drone music, with sustained sounds in long and spacious curves that move about in a slow manner. Drone rock or rock drone which ever side of the medal you like to approach this from that has a solid basis in New Zealand, but apparently it can be played elsewhere too. Nice, but not exactly new.
The other release is announced as ‘the best that the Dutch underground has to offer’. Well, ok. Of course the name Rutger Zuydervelt, also known as Machinefabriek, is known here of course (or otherwise you didn’t read it very well in the last two years). Mariska Baars is someone with whom he has collaborated in the past already, and by herself she works as Soccer Committee, where she is, me think, like Oren Ambarchi with vocals. Wouter van Veldhoven is the unknown one, but I saw a concert by him a while ago which was great: tape loops, modular synth and a music box, playing careful glitchy music. They all know eachother quite well, and on July 15th of this year they recorded ‘Zeeg’ together in a live setting. Vocals aren’t present, or at least we don’t know about it. This too is drone music, but of all totally different kind. More spacious, but also more open, with the tinkling of guitars, that seem to float weightless in space, careful crackles courtesy of Van Veldhoven, and everything else that they use is looped around, changes shape and volume, and meanders about in a slow and peaceful manner. Nothing heavy weight, such as the Pocahaunted/Robedoor discs, but more light of hearth and tone. Hard to believe that this is ‘just’ a live recording, but let’s believe they are not lying to us. A highly successful collaboration this one, and bringing the comet career of Zuydervelt a step further. (FdW)
Address: http://www.digitalisindustries.com
REFORMED FACTION – THE WAR AGAINST… (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
CONTINUUM – 2 (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
These two new releases on Soleilmoon Recordings both deal with the notion of collaboration. In the world of Vital Weekly we don’t see as many bands as we see solo projects, so the collaboration is the step in between: solo musicians playing with others, and sometimes on such a steady basis that we can see them as a band, which is the case here for both of them. Behind Reformed Faction we find two former Zoviet*France members, Robin Storey (better known as Rapoon) and Mark Spybey (better known as Dead Voices On Air, Propeller and member of Download and Sofortkontakt!). While watching Werner Herzog movies, drinking red wine they spend hours of improvising together during a weekend, taking the material to the stage and ultimately compiling ‘The War Against…’. If you are familiar with the vast output that these two made under their various guises, you probably noted the similarities between all those projects: atmospheric music. Be it ambient influenced, be it rhythmical, there is always a great sense of atmosphere about their music and ‘The War Against…’ is not different. All of the ingredients are present: the ambience, the rhythm, vague tribal rhythms, low resolution samples and an extended use of delay and reverb. Quite if not highly enjoyable music, if nothing new under this extended horizon. That’s alright, as musical innovation is not their concern; to play a great atmospheric tune is very much theirs.
When I wrote “Curious what the next volume will bring” when reviewing the first volume of Continuum (see Vital Weekly 469), I must admit that I sort of expected more of the same, expecting developments to go slow. But of course I couldn’t know that metal is new keyword in the experimental noise scene (think Nadja, KTL, Jazkamer), and that Dirk Serries’ guitar project Fear Falls Burning would take of like a rocket and Steven Wilson’s main project is a rock band (albeit not a metal one). Dirk played with Nadja, so perhaps that inspired him (or them) to make the second volume of their collaborative Continuum project more about guitars. Heavy guitars. Certainly in ‘Construct IV” registers are all open including drums, but things are a bit more open than with Nadja, whereas in ‘Construct V’ things are more below the surface but building in strong tension. Distorted guitars are strong and present here, but held back. The final piece here is the least one. Things howl around, but apparently for no reason. Slow metal. These three new pieces certainly break away from the previous CD in a major way, which is of course a great thing. In an odd way, Serries and Wilson combine ambient music with metal music, which if you read this sounds like the most illogical possible (next to metal reggae), but hearing is believing. A major leap forward and making me curious to the third installment. That will be two years from now, see how the world will be changed by then. (FdW)
Address: http://www.soleilmoon.com
PLUMERAI – WITHOUT NUMBER (CD by Silber Media)
ORIGAMI ARKTIKA – TROLLEBOTN (CD by Silber Media)
Just like the previous batch I received from Silber Media, this has one release that is totally the alley of Vital Weekly and one that is far out. To start with the latter, Plumerai is a band from Boston, consisting of Elizabeth Ezell (vocals), Martin Newman (guitars), James Newman (bass) and Todd Richards (drums). Silber describes this as a cross-over between PJ Harvey, Portishead, The Cure, The Cranes, Radiohead and Gogol Bordello; is that outside the wide territory usually covered here or not? Ezell’s voice is indeed like Portishead, Harvey but also Bjork like. As far as the music goes, and overseeing my limited knowledge of all the references mentioned, I must say I thought it was all quite enjoyable. Plumerai play emotional rock music, even when I don’t understand what all the lyrics are about, but I’m sure it’s all emotional stuff (sensing from the way they are sung), the music is tight, and, hurray, there is also a sense of experimentalism, allowing other instruments to be part of it, like keyboards and accordion. It would all make more sense to me if I was hearing this twenty-five years ago, but even in this day and age I quite like it.
From the extended family tree of Origami, the one
that is called Origami Arktika is in my eyes the one that is musically the most accessible one. No laptops, no noise, no harshness. Origami Arktika is a kind of big band including members from Kobi, Del, Motorpsycho, Salvatore and founding member Tore Boe. They play a wide variety of instruments, such as guitars, drums, organ, bass but also strange objects. Trollebotn is a remote area in Norway, with their own strong traditions. Somewhere in the booklet there is a picture of a shed. Perhaps the recording studio? The music evolves around the voice of Rune Flaten, who recites rather than sings the lyrics. They are of course in Norwegian. Origami Arktika apparently improvises freely around those lyrics. Slow and intimate music this is, and it’s great, but but but – it starts sounding the same after a while. That is the great weakness of this album. I couldn’t help thinking after the fifth song, alright, I get your drift. Maybe it’s best to play this in a few parts anyway… But some of it at a time is truly beautiful. (FdW)
Address: http://www.silbermedia.com
JULIA KENT – DELAY (CD by Important Records)
Probably best known for her cello playing with Anthony and the Johnsons and Angels of Light, as well as her membership of Apocalyptica, Canadian-born Julia Kent has finally released her first solo album. Delay was recorded between endless touring and traveling and it shows. Inspired by long waits at airports, Kent creates her private world in the midst of the usual chaos and disorientation. Consisting purely of multi-tracked cello and found sounds, the tracks on this album are like an oasis in that micro-cosmos called the airport, in a sense following Eno’s concept of Music for Airports. Each track on this album is interspersed with short interludes of environmental sounds recorded at a specific airport (such as Idlewild, Malpensa and Schiphol), which gives the track its name. This concept works wonderfully well. Kent manages to give each airport its own atmosphere, ranging from hectic and chaotic to an almost pastoral calm. As a total, the mood of this album reminds me much of Daniel Figgis’ brilliant 1994 CD Skipper. Delay is a great album in an already great music tradition of albums inspired by airports. I’ll be traveling to Finland soon and I’m looking forward to play Delay as a peaceful musical haven in a chaotic world. Delay? You’d almost wish for one. (FK)
Address: http://www.importantrecords.com
COLUMN ONE – FELDAUFNAHMEN 1 (CD by Auf Abwegen)
ROEL MEELKOP – 5(ZWISCHEFALLE) (CD by Auf Abwegen)
Both of these recordings deal with field recordings, but the outcome is totally different. Over the years Column One has been a group that loved electricity – to connect their synthesizers, samplers, computer or whatever. Their music was strongly rhythmic and there was always a media edge to the music. Nothing so on ‘Feldaufnahmen 1’, the first in what is going to be a series of pure field recordings (as that is what the title means actually). Column One member robert Schalinski went out in East Germany to the Polenztal and recorded twelve different sound events. For whatever obscure reason they are titled in French, but the title leaves nothing to guess: ‘The Insects’, ‘The Forest/The Dog’, ‘Water/Insects’. We hear dogs, children, rocks, all in a pure form. Very easy? Yes, very easy, but as someone who likes sounds, I must admit I pretty fascinated by these recordings. Simple and pure, phonography in it’s purest form. I am not sure what the hardcore fans of Column One will think about this, but I thought this absolute break with the past is a great move and the result is likewise.
Roel Meelkop is also a guy who loves the field recordings, but for him it’s never the end goal. He takes his recordings home, puts them on his computer and starts treating them until it’s very hard, if not impossible to recognize what they are about. His previous work, at least quite a few of them, had a number, like ‘9 (Holes In The Head)’, ‘5 (Ambiences’), ‘7 (Perceptions’) and so on, and usually it referred to the number of tracks on the CD. Not so in this case. ‘Zwischenfalle’ is not really a German word, but it sounds so. To spoil a bit of the fun: there are four lengthy pieces here and five short ones, so make up your mind what a zwischenfall could be. Meelkop is in usual fine shape here, and as such this album brings nothing new for him. His material hoovers at the low volume end of the musical spectrum, out which things can suddenly rise, even explode, but then it breaks as suddenly as the explosion started in order to start an entirely new life as something else. The collage method, which is not always very subtle, certainly if one has the tendency to play this loud because of all the soft passages. Like I said, Meelkop is in good form here, but then he usually is (and my perception may be clouded, I readily admit that). Not a big surprise, but a fine work anyway. (FdW)
Address: http://www.aufabwegen.com
ADAM PACIONE – FROM STILLS TO MOTION (CD by Infraction Records)
NORTHERN – DRAWN (CD by Infraction Records)
These two new releases on Infraction Records show not only the label’s love for ambient music, but in true minimalist action, there are subtle differences to be spotted, and even a degree in appreciation can be made. Pacione’s work so far has been released on Elevator Bath (see a review of ‘Sisyphus’ in Vital Weekly 497) and here comes on Infraction Records. It seems to me that the guitar is a prime instrument for Pacione and that there is a little bit of field recordings involved, but a massive amount of sound effects. Slowly moving, this is heartland drone music. Peaceful, moving, vast landscape, all the cliché’s from the music come to mind, but it’s a great album. More Stars Of The Lid/Ultrasound than Mirror or Ora, I think, but these are subtle differences. Nothing new under the still beautiful sun, this one.
Speaking about differences, there are as said differences between Pacione and Northern, the collaboration of two brother, Davin and Kevin Chong from Canada. Their debut CD ‘Drawn’ may start very much along the lines of Pacione, the difference is in the slightest rhythmic particles that hoover about these recordings. Stretched out fields of sound, immense tapestries of clouds, fields of hay – that’s the Pacione link, but below surface there is the ur-beat, the heart rhythm, the ticking of a clock that makes this very very vaguely connected to minimal techno (and I mean very very vaguely) of Chain Reaction at their very very most laidback sense. Like a simple delay ticking. ‘Drawn’ sounds perhaps more 12K than Infraction, but then Infraction didn’t exactly settle for one specific form of ambient music, and that’s why it’s such an interesting label and these two releases proof their fine taste in that music. Both aren’t ‘new’, ‘hot’ but great subtle, atmospheric music releases. (FdW)
Address: http://www.infractionrecords.com
MICHAELA MELIAN – LOS ANGELES (CD by Monika Enterprise)
The debut album of Michaele Melian is from two years ago, and named after the small German village Baden-baden, the follow up to a slightly bigger city, ‘Los Angeles’. I didn’t hear Baden-baden, but I understand from the press text that it’s shift away from the previous record. Melian is a multi-media artist and bass player from FSK, a band I also don’t know. As a solo musician Melian plays music that is inspired by techno but she takes it to an entirely new ground. Take for instance the opening piece, ‘Locke-Pistole-Kreuz’, with it’s looped piano motif, a bit of guitar and a very subtle rhythm pattern kicking in. I believe this where we should place the shift between the first and second CD. Apparently the first one dwelt more on rhythm than this album. There is a strong sense of melancholy on this album, with minor keys being played throughout, subtle string parts, drones and organs. When things become minimal here I was reminded of Stephan Mathieu, with a similar sensibility, but a piece like ‘Stift’ is much more Beatles like, with pizzicato violin and a semi-middle eastern cello pattern, against a 4/4 beat. ‘Convention’ is almost like a jazz tune. In these pieces she sounds a bit like Gas, with that subdued beat in the background. Quite a nice and varied CD this one, to which I may only object that some pieces are a bit too long for what they are. The most curious piece is at the end, a cover of Roxy Music’s Manifesto song, and the only vocal piece around here. (FdW)
Address: http://www.monika-enterprise.de
PROJEKT67 – YOU GIVE ME MUSIC (CD by Reddog Products)
The number 67 is the name Projekt67 is not some magickal one that I never heard of, but it’s simply the year in which Simon van Weelden was born. He is one half of the band, playing all the instruments, while Erna Berendsen sings. The project part of the name refers to the fact they use guestplayers. They hail from Groningen, up north in The Netherlands and have been together as Projekt67 since 2003. ‘You Give Me Music’ is their second release. Just like the Lycia releases that I reviewed recently this is music that is a bit far away for the average Vital Weekly digest. Berendsen’s vocals reminded me at times of Portishead, the guitars at the prog rock best, somebody compared it to Pink Floyd even (which is of course erm, well also not my thing). But the combination of folk (vocals), rock and a bit of experimentalism makes this, at least for alternative rock standards quite a daring album; no doubt the the bigger alternative channels will applaud this. But I think it’s all a bit too retro for my taste, harking back to the old ideas of psychedelic music, without adding necessarily many insights. It’s an alright work nevertheless, which I enjoyed hearing, but I am not sure if I’d play this again. (FdW)
Address: http://www.projekt67.com
MODAN GARU – FOXHUNTING FOR YOUR ATTENTION (CD single by Moga Records)
In Norwegian’s Helge Olav Øksendal’s work popmusic is never far away, but you know it might not be easy to reach for the top of the pop. But with his trio Modan Garu, he might aim for a position up there. Yes, the top 40. But then they should press more than 500 7″s and, costs are no problem, probably 500 promo CD singles. Modan Garu is besides Øksendal, Tore Renberg and Elisabeth Røise and they take their influences from both Kraftwerk and Duran Duran. Quick uptempo song this ‘Foxhunting For Your Attention’ with fat, analogue retro synthesizers and sing along qualities. The song is short, but there is also a highly danceable remix by one Rosenberg. Great song, top 40 quality indeed. Cheesy popmusic. (FdW)
Address: http://www.modangaru.no
MARKUS REUTER & ROBERT RICH – ELEVEN QUESTIONS (CD by Unsung Records)
Perhaps the name Robert Rich is not very often in Vital Weekly, but you may recognize the name as one of the masters of ambient music. Markus Reuter by comparison is perhaps a less easy to place name, but he is a member of Centrozoon, a band whose music I never liked. Rich and Reuter spent a week together to record this album, which apparently dwells more on acoustic and electro-acoustic instruments, such as lap steel, touch guitar, piano, acoustic guitar and flutes than synthesizers. The press text rambles about the ‘instant hookiness’ of the pieces, but I am pretty sure they mean a wholly different kind of hookiness than I do. These tunes are not catchy poptunes, but in some cases nice flowing ambient pieces and in some cases tedious psychedelic music. It works best in the same what more abstract pieces, and less in those pieces which emphasize e-bow guitars. It may seem to be recorded with acoustic and electro-acoustic instruments, but there is a sturdy amount of sound processing going on here. Perhaps even a bit too much at times. Throughout it’s a pleasant late evening album of shorter ambient works that provides a nice, melodic background music while sipping a glass of wine. Nice but hardly surprising. (FdW)
Address: http://www.unsung-records.com
JAN VAN DEN DOBBELSTEEN – COSMIC VOLUME 29 (LP by Cosmic Volume)
Late 2005 I attended a very nice evening at Extrapool. Not the usual laptop posse, or improvisers, but three more or less conceptual performances about music. Goodiepal’s whistling act, Toktek playing ‘canvas’ (with attached oscillators, which were connected by cables and looked like painting) and Jan van den Dobbelsteen who presented the project ‘Esrever Tnatsni’ (read as ‘Instant Reverse’) in which he recut 93 7″s, which he played on a turntable which played backwards and from inside outwards. A strange but nice evening of three different ways of working with sound, out of the ordinary. Van den Dobbelsteen presents his work here on this record (packed in a beautiful gatefold sleeve): a random selection of these 7″s. It’s an interesting concept, but one could wonder if a whole LP is necessary to document it. Especially side one sounds like reversed music, and nothing much else. In that sense the second side is more musical interesting. Here things sound reversed too, but they also sound interesting, more like a radioplay with elements of sound collage. Rain, instruments, hiss: almost in a narrative way. That is quite nice. Maybe one can wonder if a concept should be heard or even documented, but especially the second side proofs me wrong. (FdW)
Address: http://www.iae.nl/users/jada
LEGENDARY PINK DOTS – ALCHEMICAL PLAYSCHOOL (double 10″ by Caciocavallo)
Perhaps the press text says it all: “The audio content, however, is identical to the CD edition, so no one should feel compelled to purchase this record unless they love vinyl as much as we do!”. I like vinyl, but overlooking my castle, I realize I don’t have enough space for vinyl, so when it comes to preferring one or the other, I opt for the CD version. But both the CD version and the double 10″ version look great. The stone soap box versus the handmade paper (“deluxe silkscreened gatefold folder mae of recycled sugarcane fiber, with a full color poster, and each record is stored in its own hand-made marigold flower petal-infused, plastic lines sleeve” mind you). As for the music, not different than before, we return to Vital Weekly 529, when Freek Kinkelaar wrote (wrongly credited to me actually): “Alchemical Playschool is an altogether different beast. It comes packed in a beautiful trident-carved soapstone box that weighs a ton. Here the Dots-core of Edward Kaspel and Phil Knight rework environmental sound-material recorded in India (by Charles Powne of Soleilmoon records, the original recordings are available on CD as Indian Soundscapes). In doing so the Dots create a beautiful dreamscape. The four long tracks (parts one to four) evoke scenes of the East with street sounds, crowd noises, voices and field recordings drifting in and out. At times the results are pastoral and on other occasions downright hectic – just as you’d imagine India to sound like. Part Four, with its beautiful voice sample and washes of sound, forms the highlight of this fascinating album. Alchemical Playschool is welcome proof that the Dots are still willing and able to create exiting experimental music.” Quite right there. At 250 copies a certified pre-programmed collectors item. (FdW)
Address: http://www.soleilmoon.com
YASUSHI MIURA – MAGNITUDE NO.7 “MEEK” (CDR by Karidome)
This CDR is the follow up to the CD ‘Eternal Clash’ from 2006 and it’s by one Yasushi Miura, who on both the previous and this one proofs to be the true laptop artist. No river is too deep or mountain high, he slabs it on his laptop and messes things about until they do not sound like anything we know. Chopping things up in a heavy way, cutting them down to the smallest particles which form small beats, which hop around in a spastic manner, most of the time. Hectic, nervous, crazy, breakcore like, this is an unsettling release, that is best played very loud in a dark club. I don’t see many dancers for it, but lots of people nod their heads to the music. Nice, but a bit too immature for the old man that I am. Gameboy music for the 21st millenium. (FdW)
Address: http://emodirak.web.infoseek.co.jp
(ETRE) – I CAN’T TAKE MY HEAD TO SEE HIGHER BECOUSE THE SKY IS LANDING OVER MY NECK (CDR by Riz(h)ome Records)
Some time ago, we reviewed ‘A Post-Fordist Paradise In The Strike Of Events’ by (etre) (see Vital Weekly 527) the project of Salvatore Borelli, who now returns with a limited edition CDR with a horrible spelling mistake in the title (yeah, I know I am not pervect either), with two lengthy pieces dedicated to Angnus MacLise and Jackson Pollock. In the text that comes along I read about a second release that should be in between this and the previous, ‘Voices Stomp Flames For Requiem Times’ and that the whole thing is a ‘trilogy of the voice’. On one side there are the normal instruments such as lap steel, guitar, esraj, zither, shruti box and kalimba and on the other side we find the laptop to the processing. And of course the field recordings, from various Italian cities. It’s an interesting work, these two pieces, but I must admit I thought both pieces were also a bit unfocussed. Lots of field recordings of people talking on streets and pubs (it seems), computer processing and such like but to what end? What is the structure behind these pieces? Or is it like a Pollock painting – many layers of sounds smeared on the hard disc? Music wise there is still the high and mighty influence of say Fennesz, but it’s unfortunately not the best copy of the master around. (FdW)
Address: http://www.freeglitch.com,
BRIAN LABYCZ & JASON ROEBKE – DUO (CDR by Peira)
TIM BARNES & JASON ROEBKE & NATE WOOLEY – TRIO (CDR by Peira)
A new label from Chicago is Peira. They seem to be focussing on improvised music, judging by their first two releases. Nice packaging (printed sleeves) to start with. From the five artists that play the music on these first two releases I just recognized the names of percussionist Tim Barnes and trumpeter Nate Wooley. Brian Labycz plays electronics and koto and Jason Roebke plays double bass. Labycz is an improviser with Vadim Sprikut as LSD and cuartor of the Myopic Improvised Music series. Roebke has played with Tigersmilk (which includes Rob Mazurek), Art Union Humanscape and has played with various jazz bands. On their collaborative CDR they play highly demanding improvised music which lasts for quite some time, and a certain tiredness leapt in here. There is perhaps only as much as a person can take. Great improvised music but a bit too much.
The other release, obviously called ‘Trio’ is by Barnes, Wooley and Jason Roebke. Like with the other this is a head dive deep into the world of improvised music. Right from the start we aren’t left alone, but there is always sound to guide us. What seems to be acoustic rumbling at the start of loosely disjointed sounds, will gradually grow into something electric sounding. I have no idea how or what they are doing there to generate these sounds, but it surely sounds great. It expands the original sound, makes it richer, but also more chaotic and nervous. Both of these releases are in the same alley, of free improvisation, of loud onkyo, or soft noise (whichever suits you), but both are demanding releases. Put these on and play them, might not do them justices at all. Sit down and concentrate and a new world will open for you. (FdW)
Address: http://www.peira.net
VASØK (CDR by Zang:Records)
NUMUSIC COMPILATION 2007 (CD by Numusic Records)
Strange folks, those lads at Zang:Records. They can release super serious music by someone like Pal Asle Pettersen, but then they also release Vasøk, a.k.a. Vasilij Malcev from St. Petersburg but based in Stavanger, where Zang:Records is located. He tells us, through his music, that he likes his music to be minimal and danceable. Whatever he chops up to get a rhythm, it surely grooves about. The influences range from early Noto, Pan Sonic and Goem, but everything is spiced with a healthy amount of techno influence, without loosing the eye for experimentalism. A pretty varied release this one that in mixing various influences is quite a genius.
The people behind Zang:Records are also responsible for compiling a CD that was released as part of the Numusic festival in Stavanger, Norway in early september. The CD doesn’t showcase all the artists but a selection that is representative for the festival. It has local artists such as Hoh, Bjerga/Iversen, Modan Garu (see also elsewhere), QRT but also Felix Kubin, Daedelus, Trencher, Eiko and such like. Not the most well-known that played the festival, but throughout a most enjoyable compilation. (FdW)
Address: http://www.zang.no
OLAF HOCHHERTZ – PETS (CDR by Naiv Super)
In 2004 Olaf Hochherz was thrown out of the music university of Essen, Germany, but that very day he also met someone from Naiv Super, who offered a release of his music, even when it took three years to come to a release of only twenty-three minutes in length. He plays music on a laptop, using programs he built himself. It starts out in a rather noisy vein, with lots of crackles and static, but suddenly there is a female voice to be heard here, and things soften out. From then on until the end piece ‘Celine’ things are more interesting. Highly academic, even when Hochhertz didn’t finish his school. Computermusic of software running amok, but with a lot of dynamics. The tides between loud and soft. I have no idea to what extent this was improvised or composed, but it surely sounds great. A bit like the recent Joe Gilmore CD on Cut. Quite an intelligent release, even when not entirely new as such. (FdW)
Address: http://www.naivsuper.de
TIM BLECKMANN – RE-READING (CDR by Free SS)
KAKOFUNK – FRUTAMENTAL (CDR by Free SS)
One thing I do when I put on something that has a Mattin connection is check the volume of my speakers. Low? Right, let’s play it. Mattin curates here a ‘free software series, for the promotion of works realized using free software’. Vienna’s Tim Bleckmann uses PD, which stands for Pure Data, and to the best of my knowledge, it’s a kinda like a max/msp, but solely for the pc. His recording may be a live recording, but it’s not that noise related as I expected. A single forty something minute composition/improvisation that I think is based on either processing the field recording of rain, or some internal crackling of the computer, which gets layered and layered, until a dense mass of sound arrives. Slowly towards the end things are thorn down and taken apart. It’s a great work. I could imagine this being a bit long for a concert, but for home entertainment this is a really nice work.
Kakofunk come from the ‘workers area of Bilbao’ is something different. There are no less than twenty-six tracks here in over an hour. He uses ‘gnu/linux o.s.’ and the pieces are studio and live ones. There are elements of noise, clicks and cuts, field recordings, all fed through the computer and it’s possibilities. ‘You can feel a sense of freedom which scorns genre divisions and narrow understandings of what electronic music can be’, Mattin writes, but it’s exactly the sort of diversity that Kakofunk offers that I don’t like. Maybe it’s because none of the ideas seems to be worked out a lot, they for most remain ideas and sketches. Perhaps it would be an idea for Kakofunk to opt for lesser genres and work out better what he wants. (FdW)
Address: http://www.freesoftwareseries.org
MUTANT APE – DRES (CDR by Produck)
COURTIS – 250107 (CDR by Produck)
Normally I would leave such releases as these two to Jliat, but I must say I like them. A lathe cut is a sort of record made out of plastic which are cut by Peter King in New Zealand. A CD is in principle also a piece of plastic. Produck from Germany sent a bunch of prerecorded CDRs to King and had him add some grooves to the CDR, so you can play both of these CDRs on your turntable. That is in my book a great idea. In both cases there is soft, scratchy noise which has not much to do with the music. On the CDR part, things can’t be long. Mutant Ape has only one track of earbitten noise. Harsh, distorted, but short and to the point.
Anla Courtis may perhaps come closer to the grooves of his record part of this. The title refers to the date when he gave a concert in Curmbox in Frankfurt. It’s not the best recording in the world, it may even be taped with a cassette recorder and a handheld microphone in quite some distance, as far as I’m concerned. Courtis improvises on his guitar in freeform, and feeds the result through a bunch of sound effects, but it’s not enough to keep any tension or attention alive here. More one for the die hard fans, I think or indeed those who love to collect a strange object. (FdW)
Address: http://www.produck.tk
ASHER – IN CAMERA (MP3 by Homophoni)
So far, Asher Thal-nir has surprised the world with by now a long line of MP3 and CDR releases, which all show his love for hiss, static, low volume and field recordings. This work is no different. Perhaps inspired by Christoph Heemann/Timo van Luyck’s new project, or the Joy Division clone of the early 80s? I don’t know, but I don’t think so. This new work seems to dwell even more heavily on many layers of hiss and static, but with outside sounds leaking through. Cars passing? Scratching the surface? There is however a marginal new feature in this music, that of stop/play. Things drop out and come back in, which add a subtle and settling element to the music. Like pasted together of old reel to reel tapes. Strange piece this ‘In Camera’, like an odd-ball in his catalogue, but, if a bit long, quite a nice one. It’s about time he releases a real CD, me thinks. (FdW)
Address: http://www.homophoni.com