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IF, BWANA – RADIO SLAVES (CD by Monochrome Vision) *
BATCHAS – EXPLORATIONS 85-95 (CD by Monochrome Vision)
ROULETTE RUSSE POUR EN PEU DE CAVIAR (CD by Monochrome Vision)
FRANCISCO LOPEZ – WIND [PATAGONIA] (CD by And/Oar) *
TATSUYA NAKATANI – PRIMAL COMMUNICATION (CD by HH Production) *
DIF:USE – MANDRAKE (CD by Symbolic Interaction)
DAVID NEWLYN – RELATIVELY DOWN (CD by Symbolic Interaction) *
ROGER DOYLE – THE NINTH SET (CD by Die Stadt) *
JOHN DUNCAN / KONTAKT DER JÜNGLINGE / C.M. VON HAUSSWOLFF (CD by Die Stadt)
DEMONS – EVOCATION (CD by No Fun Productions) *
PAIN JERK / INCAPACITANTS – LIVE AT THE NO FUN FEST 2007 (CD by No Fun Productions)
TOSHIJI MIKAWA – GYO-KAI ELEGY (CD by Anoema Recordings) *
LASSE MARHAUG – QUALITY CONTROL (CD by Anoema Recordings)
MARC BARON & BERTRAND DENZLER & JEAN-LUC GUIONNET & STEPHANE RIVES – PROPAGATIONS (CD by Potlatch)
JOHN LUTHER ADAMS – RED ARC/BLUE VEIL (CD by Cold Blue Music)
RHODRI DAVIES & MATT DAVIS & SAMANTHA REBELLO & BECHIR SAADE – HUM (CD by Another Timbre)
JOHN BUTCHER & XAVIER CHARLES & AXEL DÖRNER – TEMPESTUOS (CD by Another Timbre)
SOPHIE ANGEL & PHIL MINTON – TASTING (CD by Another Timbre)
COMA – ORNAMENTAL URBAN SHRUBBERY (CD by Edgetone)
EDDIE THE RAT – INSOMNIA SOUND BIBLE (CD by Edgetone)
FRANZ HAUTZINGER – GOMBERG II “PROFILE” (CD by Loewenhertz)
COMPACT LISTEN (CD by CLaudia)
MATTIN & TAKU UNAMI – ATTENTION (CD by w.m.o/r/Hibari Music)
WOCHTZCHEE – DIKTUONEEMAKILT (CD by Ulmeplaadid) *
SMEGMA – THE SMELL REMAINS THE SAME (LP by Anarchymoon)
REDGLAER – AMERICAN MASONRY (CD by Anarchymoon)
FILTER FEEDER – PLEASURE CYCLE/PEAK OIL/13/11 (LP by Entr’acte)
HAPTIC – CORRECTION (7″ by Entr’acte/Absurd)
YAKI UDON BAND – BASHO ATE MY HEART (7″ by A Binary Datum)
JEFF GBUREK – VIRTIUOUS CIRCLES (CDR by A Question Of Ee-Entry) *
THE BOHMAN BROTHERS/THE SONIC CATERING BAND (CDR by Absurd)
ASCANIO BORGA – PERIPHERAL VISION (CDR, private) *
JAN-M IVERSEN – DET ER DET DET ER (CDR by Verato Project) *
CONES – ICE FIELD ELEPHANTS (CDR by Ikuisuus) *
ENFER BOREAL – L’ESPACE DES ETERNITES POSSIBLES (CDR by Ikuisuus)
MATSUTAKE – GUITAR VS PC (CDR by Arterija) *
UKR.TELE.KOM – COMPOSITIONS AND IMPROVISATIONS (CDR by Arterija)
PIERRE GERARD – VOYAGE AU CENTRE (CDR by Un Arbre En Bois)
VUELTA MAGENTICA – FACE A, FACE B (CDR by Un Arbre En Bois)
JLIAT – NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL NOISE (CDR by Larks Council)
ARCHIPELAGOGO (CDR, private)
PLEKO (CDR, private)
MICROPHONE STAND (MP3)
IF, BWANA – RADIO SLAVES (CD by Monochrome Vision)
BATCHAS – EXPLORATIONS 85-95 (CD by Monochrome Vision)
ROULETTE RUSSE POUR EN PEU DE CAVIAR (CD by Monochrome Vision)
If you are twenty, and you work inside experimental music, there is no need to send a demo to Monochrome Vision: this Russian label deals with old people; people who started in the 80s with cassettes, then moved to LPs and eventually CDs. That is, if they didn’t have a break in their career. If, Bwana’s Al Margolis is still around and never was away. In the 80s he had his own Sound Of Pig Music, which released hundreds of tapes (if my memory serves right), and If, Bwana was his solo music thing. ‘Radio Slaves’ was originally released as a cassette on French Medicinal Tapes and it’s primary instrument is the casio SK-1 sampler. More than the VL-Tone 1, which was a small synthesizer, the SK-1 (and the SK-5) was THE instrument of the cassette underground. You could record two long or four short samples (on the SK-5), which couldn’t be stored, so you had to play with them on the spot. That’s what Margolis does here. Lots of vinyl and radio sources, the sixteen tracks are foremost short, sketch like. Voices from opera, preachers, orchestral bits, vinyl cracks – it’s all there. Almost like a DJ, but then twenty years ago. It’s throughout nice stuff, although some of it perhaps a bit too sketchy for my taste. Also included are four bonus pieces, and excellently remastered – something you don’t find when ripping this of a blog.
The good things about Monochrome Vision is that the covers (all in stark black/white) have liner notes and so I learned that Robert Masse, who was once the active force behind Batchas (as well as Freq 63, Mydaus, Trebor Semas, Microscope, Myiase and Mental Showdowns) is no longer active in music, but works as a flash developer. What a pity, certainly when we hear ‘Explorations 85-95’, which of course has material from this period. Each of his projects had a specific sound and Batchas hoovers about in the dark alley of highly atmospheric music. Played on a bunch of analogue synthesizers, this is darker than life mood music, sometimes going almost beyond the threshold of hearing. Great stuff, which calls back to memory his old records, or in fact the scene that came with it, the ambient industrial posse. Very music of that age – highly ambient, a bit industrial: we’d call that drone music these days.
In Annecy, France lives Philippe Blanchard, also known as Lt. Caramel, who organized a festival called ‘Bruit De La Neige’ (the noise of the snow), with exclusively young Russian music makers. We come by a whole bunch whom we met on CDRs before, such as Cisfinitum, CDR, Alexey Borisov and Bardoseneticcube, but also new names names such as Interior Disposition, Moscow Laptop Orchestra, Noises Of Russia and Instant Movie Combinations. Throughout the music here seems indeed the work of young, serious men and their laptops (thus destroying what I said earlier), who all play a fair bunch of field recordings, feeding through laptops, plug ins and what have you. But also sound bricolage, using reel to reel machines, cassettes and other lo-fi quality recordings never seem far away. Not every piece is convincing, but throughout it was a most pleasant introduction into the experimental music from a different country than the usual suspects. And as such quite nice. (FdW)
Address: http://www.monochromevision.ru
FRANCISCO LOPEZ – WIND [PATAGONIA] (CD by And/Oar)
Many of the works by Senor Lopez are sparsely packed: his name, untitled number so and so and a label name. The vast majority of his work doesn’t go beyond that low level of information. For reasons I am not entirely sure off (or rather not at all), some works are packed with text: ‘La Selva’, ‘Buildings [New York]’ and this new one ‘Wind [Patagonia]’ too (the link might be they are all recorded in America). So we learn that this piece of fifty-six minutes is an ‘non-processed, not mixed environmental sound matter from a certain ‘reality” and in this case the reality is the wind the empty spaces of Patagonia, in the southern part of Argentina. During the ‘austral winters’ of 2000 and 2003, Lopez recorded a whole bunch of wind. The empty space, usually referred as a quiet one in the world of musical reviews (certainly by Vital Weekly) is of course a misconception. Silence as such doesn’t exist and the wind can be harsh player. The wind blows here heavily in the microphone – varies types are used – and the membrane shakes along. It’s not a straight forward, almost one hour piece of win blowing. In his piece he uses various segments of wind sound, both the ‘quiet’ and the ‘loud’ and thus depicts a beautifully cruel world. As a biker I learned to dislike the wind, as much as I like it; it depends on which way you are going. This new work fits along very, very well along the two previous mentioned releases and for those who care to know: this isn’t the all out silent Lopez, as it’s audible through the end, although the sound is in a long fade out. A great conclusion to a great trilogy. (FdW)
Address: http://www.and-oar.org
TATSUYA NAKATANI – PRIMAL COMMUNICATION (CD by HH Production)
After I played this for the first time, I already knew it was a disc of solo percussion. But somehow I thought it would have been a multi-tracked version of solo percussion. Because it sounds like that in certain places – although not everywhere. Unlike that other recent solo percussion disc, ‘Metal’ by Jon Mueller, this is from the world of conventional improvised music, even Nakatani, from Japanese origin, but in the USA since the age of 13, uses bows to resonate the cymbals and various objects to play his instrument. He doesn’t like the words ‘improvisation’ or ‘experimental’, but instead uses the word ‘contemporary solo percussion’, which indeed is perhaps a more adequate phrase. Nakatani used eight microphones to capture his playing, which he mixed down to stereo. Perhaps that’s why I think it’s multi-tracked. For Nakatani the rhythm is not the most important thing about percussion music, as there are portions in which he scraps his cymbals in a furious way – almost like strings of a violin and it sounds far, far away from traditional percussion music. I must admit I quite enjoyed this release, because on one hand it’s traditionally improvised but on the other hand, it seems to be his concern to make it sound like anything but percussion music. Almost an hour long, Natatani takes the listener on a journey through highly varied textures, which make a great listening session. Very extended percussion music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.hhproduction.org
DIF:USE – MANDRAKE (CD by Symbolic Interaction)
DAVID NEWLYN – RELATIVELY DOWN (CD by Symbolic Interaction)
Both of these releases deal with an extended meaning of ambient music, but worked out differently. Dif:use started out as a laptop big band, including Don and Roel Funcken (of Funckarma fame), Cor Bolten (of Mecano fame), Hanno Leichtman (of Static) and some others which I forgot. They played some high profile concerts, and I was there when they did a public rehearsal. I wasn’t blown away by it, back then. Big washes of ambient sounds, all sauced by an unhealthy dose of reverb and echo, which mudded the sound and whatever beats were thrown in. I sort assumed it was an one-off project, but much too my surprise now, four years later, there is a CD by Dif:use, reduced to Don, Roel and Cor. In contrast to much of their other work, the Funcken brothers, have an ambient tag here, but I am afraid I’m still not very much blown away by it. The music still seems an amorphous mass to me, sounds are thrown about, without much head or tail, like an improvised music jam, but all glued together with an like wise unnecessary amount of sound effects. Completely lacks tension, me thinks.
Music by David Newlyn was already reviewed before, in Vital Weekly 557, when he had a release on Boltfish. On ‘Relatively Down’ he moves away from the rhythm machine, which he already sparsely used on ‘Ancient Lights’, in favor of a more non rhythm ambient approach. The pieces are short, ten in thirty six minutes, and are a varied bunch. Processed field recordings, some guitar doodling, but also a relatively loud ‘Overview’, of stretched out drone material. Moody music, but it’s the variation here that makes this a highly enjoyable album. Unlike the Dif:use album which seems more like a long track cut into various shorter bits, this is to the point, composed but also not intense, but that’s the whole point of course. Relaxing, cloud covered autumn music.
Address: http://www.symbolicinteraction.net
ROGER DOYLE – THE NINTH SET (CD by Die Stadt)
JOHN DUNCAN / KONTAKT DER JÜNGLINGE / C.M. VON HAUSSWOLFF (CD by Die Stadt)
To be honest I must admit I didn’t keep up with Roger Doyle’s extensive discography, that started in the mid seventies with his Operating Theatre, that in the early 80s gave us the classic ‘Rapid Eye Movements’ album. What I always thought was great that his work found his way to the underground, with labels such as Artware or Die Stadt, but also to the serious avant-garde such as the Dutch BV Haast label, but the latter usually doesn’t reach the weekly desk. So I missed out on the first two volumes of the Passades series, as they came on BV Haast. The first eight sets were found there, and here is ‘The Ninth Set’, in five parts. Two of them won a prize in Bourges – another fine example of how he mingles in the overground. Apparently the music is made ‘from software that freezes sounds like a freeze-frame in DVD’, but how it exactly relates to the music is a bit unclear to me, and of course it’s not really necessary to know the exact ins and outs of this. The five pieces seem (!!) to be built from either heavily processed instruments, or perhaps (!!) even orchestral parts, although in some instances in the third and fourth part (movement?) there is electro-acoustic sources to be spotted. The work shifts from loud parts to very quiet passages, like a good symphony would do. It is, but forgive me as I am not the true expert, related to the acousmatic music and the releases by Empreintes Digitales, but it sounds less software based, or at least it doesn’t show off all the techniques hidden in the computer. It’s hard to say if I would award this a prize, but it’s surely a great work. Should hunt down the previous parts, me thinks.
To be on Die Stadt as an artist seems to me a great thing. Besides great looking releases, they organize events for you, and for such an occasion they usually release a CD or a 7″, which can be bought on the night, but there is always a left-over for the unlucky who didn’t make it. Last month there was an event in Brussels with three stable mates: John Duncan, CM von Hauswolff and Kontakt Der Junglinge. Perhaps Die Stadt asks too much of their artists, and none did a new studio recording, but you could also think it’s interesting to capture a live track by them. So three live tracks here. Duncan’s piece was recorded at the Compound, earlier this year, and although it’s a while since I last heard studio recording by John Duncan, it sounds like a trademark piece for him: micro tones, composed from heavily processed shortwave sounds, make up a fine piece shifting from intense loudness to careful and delicate. Very nice. Kontakt Der Jünglinge, being Asmus Tietchens and Thomas Köner, present a recording from 2003, at the Mutek festival. They too present a characteristic piece for them with computer processing of acoustic sounds. Loads of dark rumble and high pitched processed sounds. Hauswolff’s piece seems to be made with bird sounds, looped around and with a crescendo of noise coming in and more insect like sounds. Nice but not his best. Three good introductions of three great artists (well, four), in case you ever would need that. (FdW)
Address: http://www.diestadtmusik.de
DEMONS – EVOCATION (CD by No Fun Productions)
PAIN JERK / INCAPACITANTS – LIVE AT THE NO FUN FEST 2007 (CD by No Fun Productions)
Apparently going analogue (again) is some sort of re-appreciation for different sound textures for many noise artists, with artists such as Merzbow, Carlos Giffoni and several others recently closing their laptops to switch on their synths and such. Demons, a duo of Nate Young (Wolf Eyes) and Steve Kenney is no different with their all analogue approach. As obvious as it sounds these recordings do sound more warmer, even when the musical palette is a rather bleak droney affair. Links to what the English/Americans call Kosmiche (sic) can be found here, it sounds more spacey then noisy, complete with some universal acid bleeps (but no beats). I find it difficult to fully get into it when it so directly sounds like a dislocated jamming unit from the 70s, especially when the sound variety is kept to a minimum as it is here and it therefore all comes down to compositional/improvisational qualities, which on this album just about suffice.
Japanese noise flagbearers Pain Jerk and Incapacitants came to Brooklyn earlier this year to play at the No Fun Fest, the yearly congregation of noisicians organized by No Fun/Carlos Giffoni. Their live sets from that weekend are now collected on one disc. Pain Jerk’s piece is almost comical in its formulaic approach to Japanese noise, a simple torrent of sound without any idea of variation. It just flows. I’m not sure who exactly needs music like this after thousands of similar noise records/performances, but maybe in this case it’s just legend that verifies it. The slightly more well known Incapacitants are slightly better, with a more hands-on approach that leaves a little more space for individual gestures. It probably was much more fun seeing it in the flesh, though what makes this release worthwhile is it’s great packaging, including nice shots of the shows and some liner notes about how to get elusive Japanese noise musicians onto your festival bill.
Address: http://www.nofunproductions.com
TOSHIJI MIKAWA – GYO-KAI ELEGY (CD by Anoema Recordings)
LASSE MARHAUG – QUALITY CONTROL (CD by Anoema Recordings)
Mikawa is known for being one of the two form-destroyers in Incapacitants (and before that some time in Hijokaidan). Although he has been active in these Japanese noise groups since the late 70s this is his first album under his own name. It’s pretty rough material as could be expected, but there’s also a delicacy at play here that makes this record quite an exciting listen. The best thing here is that Mikawa unleashes his sound with the same intensity that made Incapacitants so infamous, but there is always place for detail, with several layers working simultaneously, the screeching noise always supported by a more subdued backbone, like a second noise record being played in the next room and softly filtering through. Timing and some form/idea of basic compositional interest are obviously not completely lost on him; nothing outstays its welcome here, and nowhere does it get boring because of a possible lack in sound variety. Simply a great noise record.
Quality control is probably an self-critical joke towards his own release policy, but it is fact that people like Lasse Marhaug have shown that releasing 5 CDs a month doesn’t mean that they don’t know what they’re doing. Well, maybe he doesn’t, but there certainly is no quality decrease since I started listening to his music several years ago. On this new one he’s not discovering new land for himself, more like taking a walk amongst already explored territory. That’s not a bad thing, Marhaug is still inventive and abrasive enough with each release to make it an enjoyable listen. Especially the frenetic (the louder you play this the more sounds seem to emerge) nature of some of this material reminds me why I became a fan in the first place. (RM)
Address: http://www.anoema.com
MARC BARON & BERTRAND DENZLER & JEAN-LUC GUIONNET & STEPHANE RIVES – PROPAGATIONS (CD by Potlatch)
For french saxplayers join forces here for a CD on the french Potlatch label. A label specialized in improvised music. I must say, it is some time ago that I came across a cd with the sax-quartet format, as there has been a time when this format was very popular (Rova, etc.). But these gentlemen still see possibilities.
All you might expect from a saxophone quartet is not here. Everything you expect from jazz either. This quartet choses for a very stripped down approach, resulting in a very abstract music made up of long sustained notes or very short ones. With straight lines and dots they divide space, leaving enough room for silence. Their improvisations sound very controlled and disciplined, and they are not a highly emotional affair. On the other hand their music sounds very delicate, subtle and even intense.
All four players made their mark in the french improv scene. As a quartet they play and study since three years, working on their own sound and music with a prominent place for the less is more principle. They do not chose the easy way. They make use of extended techniques for coloring their sound, making you often forget you listen to four saxophones. With little means – a very reduced use of musical idioms and vocabulary – they impressively succeed in sculpting a fascinating structure that lasts some 40 minutes. (DM)
Address: http://www.potlatch.fr
JOHN LUTHER ADAMS – RED ARC/BLUE VEIL (CD by Cold Blue Music)
In the world of serious composed, modern classical music, the name John Luther Adams is a well-known one. He has composed works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, electronic and solo instruments and some of this work was released by labels such New World, Albion, Mode and now on Cold Blue. The four pieces presented here are for one or two pianos in combination with percussion and electronics. The first two pieces are piano pieces. Swelling, rising tones with lots of sustain, sounding a bit like Charlemagne Palestine. Cascading sounds, but not entirely convincing. Which is also something that can be said of ‘Qilyaun’, a solo percussion piece of which the nicest thing is that it is very stereo. Here too bangs are in full crescendo, speeding up and slowing down. The final track is the title track and that I thought was the best on the CD and it all comes together. The electronic processing of mallet percussion and piano, make a nice minimal music piece, all seemingly from one note and having that classical minimal music (mid seventies Steve Reich) small ensemble feel to it. That piece alone would justify the purchase of this CD, me thinks. Received with mixed feelings. (FdW)
Address: http://www.coldbluemusic.com
RHODRI DAVIES & MATT DAVIS & SAMANTHA REBELLO & BECHIR SAADE – HUM (CD by Another Timbre)
JOHN BUTCHER & XAVIER CHARLES & AXEL DÖRNER – TEMPESTUOS (CD by Another Timbre)
SOPHIE ANGEL & PHIL MINTON – TASTING (CD by Another Timbre)
On the vastly populated horizon of labels releasing improvised music, here is another new name to remember when you go out shopping: Another Timbre. On the first three releases we find a duo, a trio and a quartet. The latter is with Rhodri Davies on harp and objects, Matt Davis on trumpet and electronics, Samantha Rebello on flute and Bechir Saade on bass clarinet. On June the 23rd of this year they play together for the first time as a quartet at the Red Rose club in London. The curious thing seems here, at least to these ears, that the two players who also have electronics at their disposal play a more electronic version of their instruments, and not as much their original instrument. That gives us a nice balance with the other two players, who use unusual techniques to play their instruments. In the interaction between these four voices they create some intense moments, ranging from the utter quiet kind to more louder, even drone like parts. It worked best for me in the latter moments, because they were more tense. In the quieter moments it seemed as if they were searching a bit more for the right sound, but the quiet fifth final piece had a similar intensity. Nice one.
Three wind instruments on the trio disc: John Butcher plays tenor and soprano saxophone, Xavier Charles plays clarinet and Axel Dörner plays trumpet. A live recording from 2006 from the Huddersfield contemporary music festival on a windy november night. Although indexed with seven tracks this is one piece. Much to my surprise this work seems to be more about the regular improvised playing than about all sorts of extended techniques. The three blow their lungs off, however also leaving space for the others. Long sustained tones are changed for fragments of silence and a little bit of ‘other’ treatments. One player – I don’t know which – manages at one point to make it sound like the strings of a guitar. I thought this was a fine work too, but perhaps a bit too long. One third or so too much. Here some editing could have helped.
Phil Minton of course is known as the voice improviser with a long career to his name, but I never heard of Sophie Angel who plays the piano. Their concert was taped in june 2006 in Poitiers, France. Angel plays inside and outside of the piano. She’s all over the keys and the strings, thus guiding Minton’s voice. Or perhaps it’s the other way round? Unlike the other two releases, it seems here that the six pieces are to be understood as six pieces, and not as one long concert. That is good, since it makes the pieces rounded off, with a head and tail. Throughout I must admit also that voice improvisation is not that much of my liking, even when it comes to a skilled performer as Minton clearly is. Angel’s piano playing however makes up a lot. Especially in the third piece when the piano playing is the main thing and Minton’s voice seems to be electronically processed, there is some really good interaction.
One thing about the covers of these three releases: why is improvised music so often badly designed? This seems no exception. (FdW)
Address: http://www.anothertimbre.com
COMA – ORNAMENTAL URBAN SHRUBBERY (CD by Edgetone)
EDDIE THE RAT – INSOMNIA SOUND BIBLE (CD by Edgetone)
Coma, or The California Outside Music Associates is around since about eight years. And “Ornamental Urban Shrubbery” is the second release of this group. To be more exact, it is a collective performing in different configurations. For this recording Coma includes John Vaughn (saxes, percussion, theremin), Zone (electric cello, electric bass, percussion) and Dax Compise (percussion). Vaughn and Compise are both founding members of this collective. Both have played in groups performing music ranging from classical, blues, rock and they meet here for their love for improvisation. These backgrounds are often evident in their improvisations, that consists mainly of very common ingredients. From this point their improvisations have nothing interesting or new to offer. But also they do not tell us any relevant of surprising, using worn out vocabulary. Also in their playing and performance I didn’t find any magic. So alas, they didn’t convince me.
With Eddie the Rat we have something very different in our hands. Like Coma they present their second cd. They try to sell some Residents-like weirdness. Eddie the Rat is the dream of composer and multi-instrumentalist Peter Martin. He started it as a one man experiment in 2000. But soon Eddie the Rat evolved into an extensive ensemble. Over 25 musicians make their contribution on “Insomnia Sound Bible”, a collection of 16 poppy songs. We hear trumpets, clarinets, violins, guitars, cellos, percussion and many undefinable sounds and instruments. Also most tracks have vocals, singing in a theatrical style. In each piece we find strange breaks and twists, but always Martin stays within the song-format. For sure Martin has many ideas. In some pieces this really works like in “Cahoozle Blooze”, others however are boring. A minor point is the singing, but all together Eddie the Rat is a promising project of theatrical and dramatical potencies. (DM)
Address: http://www.edgetonerecords.com/
FRANZ HAUTZINGER – GOMBERG II “PROFILE” (CD by Loewenhertz)
A quick listen before sending this off to Dolf Mulder, our in house reviewer of most things very improvised was what I thought when I opened the package. Not so, as you can guess, since I am writing these words. It’s not because it’s not improvised, but rather because I very much like it myself. Franz Hautzinger is the inventor of the ‘quartertone trumpet’ (a picture would be handy), which plays quarter tones too… well, I guess. The material on this CD might be generated through ways of improvisation, but it’s absolutely not a work of a single instrument recording. In the studio of Christoph Amann (who has recorded lots of Austrian artists), Hautzinger has worked on dubbing his trumpet playing, in some instances up to fourteen different voices. Sometimes he plays similar voices at the same time, sometimes slightly out of phase, so that drone like pieces arise, but also at other times, it’s more different pieces together. Things work best I think when he allows himself time to develop a piece. The shorter pieces here don’t work as well as the longer pieces. ‘J.M.’ for instance is such a piece that is short, but only partly successful, but it’s followed by ‘Unken’, in which various tones and intervals are used to create a nice call and response game among the trumpets. It has time to develop and explore the material, which is fine. So for the next ‘Gomberg’ more of that. And please, less pictures of the artist and perhaps a proper designer. (FdW)
Address: http://www.loewenhertz.at
COMPACT LISTEN (CD by CLaudia)
From the active scene in New Zealand, where
everybody seems to be making music, hails the CLaudia label, of whom we reviewed releases before. But now they venture out to releasing real CDs, and like a young label would the first real CD is a compilation, showcasing only thirteen of the talents from the world down under. We come across well-known names such as Greg Malcolm, Metal Rouge, Mhfs, Sam Hamilton, Rosy Parlane, Antony Milton, but also Stefan Neville, The Futurians, Sweetcakes, Jane Austen and the very dutch name of Arie Hellendoorn. Throughout the music is experimental, working out in different directions. Drone like, lo-fi guitar playing, computerized glitch drones, and more straight forward improvised music. There is however a strong element of ‘atmospheric mood music’ to be detected in all of these tracks, even in the more heavy outing of The Futurians or Stefan Neville. Tracks are throughout short and to the point and none of them is a real high flyer, but there isn’t also a real weak link. A good overview this compilation of just a tiny bit of a big scene. (FdW)
Address: http://www.halftheory.com/claudia
MATTIN & TAKU UNAMI – ATTENTION (CD by w.m.o/r/Hibari Music)
File under ‘practical jokes’ this one. Taku Unami plays a guitar, but produces not many sounds throughout the entire seventy-three minutes. A note here, silence, a note there. Ok. That’s one the right channel. On the left channel there is Mattin rambling about this music, and that you should play it at the best possible installation, and asking if you are still there. ‘Go Buy This CD’ is also a statement, followed by lengthy silence, as all of his remarks are one liners, statements, but hardly do make a coherent text. We all had a good laugh and then played some music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.mattin.org
WOCHTZCHEE – DIKTUONEEMAKILT (CD by Ulmeplaadid)
It might seem an odd name, and certainly not one that is easy to pronounce, Wochtzchee (one of the reasons of not doing announcements in our podcast!), but behind it’s one Estonian Taavi Tulev, son of Toivo Tulev, who apparently is a world famous composer in contemporary music (but I readily admit I know only one famous Estonian composer). Taavi was trained on the violin, but stopped playing it and then went on to create other types of music, including electronic music. As Wochtzchee he tries to play hypnotic music, incorporating the far end of dark ambient and techno rhythms, although those are kept in a strict minimal, somewhat slow fashion. I couldn’t help thinking of Plastikman’s ‘Consumed’ album, as it carries that similar interest in darker than life mood music in combination with stripped down, minimalist beats. When I first played it, I sort of dismissed it as a Plastikman clone, but then, later at night I played it again, somewhat louder and I must admit the album grew on me. Quite densely layered material, that works best if played in a somewhat darkened space to create that extra scary mood. (FdW)
Address: http://www.ulmeplaadid.ee
SMEGMA – THE SMELL REMAINS THE SAME (LP by Anarchymoon)
REDGLAER – AMERICAN MASONRY (CD by Anarchymoon)
Though being a constant factor in noise & free rock for as long as those genres might even exist, I can’t recall ever listening to a full Smegma album apart from collaborations with Wolf Eyes or Jazkamer. This new LP, subtitled SINGLES 90-95, might therefore be the best introduction to this group that has been around for longer then I’ve been. Considering that this is a collection of 7″ tracks it makes for quite a diverse and exciting listen, even including a relatively straightforward garage rock track with opener “Swamp Dick”. What amazes me most here is how good they actually are as musicians. Tracks like “Fish Story” end up as some alien free jazz, not unlike some Art Ensemble of Chicago, and what also strikes me is the spirited use of loops, found sound and sampling. It makes the group sound in places like a musique concrète lab experiment injected with a viral disease. I wonder if their all-out approach to sampling is something from the 90s or if this has always been their sound. I will certainly need to start checking out more of them now. Better late then never.
Much less known, and much younger, is Redglaer. The solo project of one Bob Bellerue, this new CD contains a live recording made in Tulsa in 2006. The title of this recording is chosen well, it sounds like somebody who knows his craft, and builds sonic walls for his after-work pleasure. The music takes place at the crossing between drone music, dark ambient and the occasional noise, but stays abstract enough to neither annoy or grab attention. At some moments vocals come to the fore, especially in the third, final, and best track, which for a short moment sounds like an extended buddhist chant overlayered with, I assume, Redglaer’s own wordless incantations ending in some rather nice stormy weather. (RM)
Address: http://www.anarchymoon.com
FILTER FEEDER – PLEASURE CYCLE/PEAK OIL/13/11 (LP by Entr’acte)
HAPTIC – CORRECTION (7″ by Entr’acte/Absurd)
The three previous releases Julian Doyle’s project Filter Feeder were qualified here from ‘bad’ to ‘o.k.’, but nothing great yet. He now releases a LP which he expands his sounds, and tells us on the cover about his working method. Doyle likes his music to be rhythmic, and usually finds it’s shape through improvisation. He sets about an arpeggio rhythm on a synth, which is then fed through a bunch of other synthesizers and mixed as such. The rhythm can also be derived from anything else, he writes on the cover, but if that it is true, I wonder on which track, because they all sound like drum computer patterns to me, certainly on ‘Peak Oil’. Minimalist beat stuff, head nod music. Maybe the improvisational aspect is a bit in the way, I think, because if it would have been properly multi-tracked and mixed, the potential of the music could have been so much bigger. This new one can be classified as ‘o.k.’ again, but still no master piece.
On a 7″ size Haptic from Chicago, which is Steven Hess, Joseph Mills and Adam Sonderberg. This trio generates their work through improvisation but sometimes process whatever they record later on. This is their second release for Entr’acte, following a split release with Mouths. ‘Ybo’ on one side is largely dominated by various recordings of cymbals, which sound like a swirling, drone like mass of sound. On the other side we find ‘Sum’ which opens with a music box like sound that suddenly drops and then is taken over by loads of strange sounds, which do remind me of scratching the surface. It swells, audience noise comes in and it ends as suddenly as it started. Great music, however way too short. This is music that should have a longer duration in order to grow on the listener, despite the fact that they are rounded of compositions. Quite enjoyable. (FdW)
Address: http://www.entracte.co.uk
YAKI UDON BAND – BASHO ATE MY HEART (7″ by A Binary Datum)
This might be an odd release for A Binary Datum, following some more arty music records, but it also makes sense. All releases deal with a certain low fidelity character in recording. Behind Yaki Udon Band we find ICO on guitar and vocals and Kurusho Mabo on drums. There are six tracks on this 7″, but it’s hard to decipher where one stops and the next one begins. Yaki Udon Band certainly didn’t invest in recording gear, that’s for sure. Scratching and scraping form the main techniques to play the music, and all in a less careful way: Yaki Udon Band like a bit of noise, that is for sure, but again the low quality of the recordings prevent this from being the Merzbow type of noise. To be honest I must admit I am not blown away by it. A bit too many ‘low’ in here. (FdW)
Address: http://www.abinarydatum.net
JEFF GBUREK – VIRTIUOUS CIRCLES (CDR by A Question Of Ee-Entry)
THE BOHMAN BROTHERS/THE SONIC CATERING BAND (CDR by Absurd)
The release by Jeff Gburek looks pretty vague from the outside, but he wrote some extensive liner notes about the area in Berlin he lives in (Kreuzberg and Neukolln), a poor area with lots of immigrants. It’s in these streets where he made his field recordings that resulted in his piece ‘Virtuous Circles’, along with recordings from Paris, San Francisco, New York, Java, Morrocco, Kenya, Egypt and Iraq. A blend of western cities and ‘third world’ cities – the clash of cultures? On a microscale this is what Berlin is like too, a melting pot of cultures. In Gburek’s piece there is a lot of high end sounds at the start, quite abstract, but if you can, turn up the volume and play this louder. Below the high end surface there is a lot of activity going on. Later on the field recordings become louder and it’s possible to dissect voices, sounds of transport means, street sounds and such like. I thought it was a pretty strong work this one, with a particular strong composition and not just a pure work of field recording. Fascinating journey this one.
Also fascinating, vague but too short is ‘Impartial Metric’ by The Sonic Catering Band and The Bohman Brothers. Vague, because it’s hard to tell what is what here. My guess is that the opening piece is by The Bohman Brothers, reciting some text at the beginning and then continuing with amplified cooking sounds, which sounds like a great musique concrete piece of music. Cooking sounds are also the territory of The Sonic Catering Band, but their ‘Refrigeration’ is probably more about cold food. They present a bunch of shorter pieces, which are more like sound events, of partly heavily cut together sound sources, and straight forward recordings. Nice, but less convincing than the brothers. With sixteen minutes in total, this would have made a nice 7″. (FdW)
Address: http://www.void.gr/absurd
ASCANIO BORGA – PERIPHERAL VISION (CDR, private)
Exactly one year ago, we reviewed the first three releases by Italy’s Ascanio Borga (see Vital Weekly 550), even when those releases were quite old already. On his fourth release, ‘Peripheral Vision’, he continues to explore the vast area of ambient music. The previous lot showed he was capable of producing various forms of ambient, cosmic in one, more industrial in the other two, but here he goes out, all the way into the ‘real’ ambient music. Heavily textured music, all played on a guitar, but he could have fooled me. I assume this all goes through a whole bunch of computerized environment (I don’t know why I think so, but Borga has ‘a formal background in mathematics and works in the software industry’, maybe that’s why). It shares common ground with the work of Vidna Obmana (mid nineties) and whatever was released by Hypnos (also in the same period). It makes this music heavily dated, but that’s not really a big problem. To re-new the music area of ambient is not necessary, if not impossible, but in general it’s also not of concern for those who play ambient, like Borga. His goal is deliver an hour worth of music that creates a beautiful environment for the listener and as such he succeeds wonderfully well. (FdW)
Address: http://www.ascanioborga.com
JAN-M IVERSEN – DET ER DET DET ER (CDR by Verato Project)
Bits of this release we already heard on the compilation CD ‘Don’t Get Annoyed, Get Inspired’ (see Vital Weekly 581), where said it’s ‘glitch’, but now we get the full work. Jan-M Iversen is best known as an improviser with his Bjerga/Iversen duo, but also because he a long line of solo releases, many of them on his own label Tib Prod. The quality of his work is of a varying nature, from the more noise related work to more ambient outings. ‘Det Er Det Det Er’ falls in between these two categories. It starts out in a true ambient drone fashion but half way through in the background distortion leaps in, however Iversen manages to keep things under control here. It’s like a wall which you can sort of see in the background, but not entirely well visible, so that the overall work is still of a distorted but ambient nature. It’s a fine work, perhaps one of the best solo discs I heard of mister Iversen. (FdW)
Address: http://www.verato-project.de
CONES – ICE FIELD ELEPHANTS (CDR by Ikuisuus)
ENFER BOREAL – L’ESPACE DES ETERNITES POSSIBLES (CDR by Ikuisuus)
On the small Ikuisuus label two releases of people I think I never heard of. First there is Cones, a duo of Marcel Turkowsky and Ulf Schutte, who are also members of Datashock and have involvement in “Aosuke, Tapetektoniks, UUHUU, Hui Tales Collection, Leo Mars and more”, although none of that rang a bell here. It’s a bit hard to say what they use equipment wise, but the music is quite interesting. In one way it’s quite lo-fi, with all sorts of rumbles going on, but in a vibrant way. Things keep evolving and revolving around rotating loops and electronics that drop in and out. Maybe a lot of turntables used here? I think the music is generated through improvisation, and I was reminded of the work of Bjerga/Iversen. Quite cosmic/psychedelic release, with the title track being the prize winner here.
Also, likewise, I never heard of Maxime Primault, who works as Enfer Boreal, who runs a label called Crier Dans Les Musées. In August of this year he recorded his own debut as a musician, using a guitar, electronics, turntables, bass, radio, keyboards and voice. From various improvised music sessions, he created this release using multi-layering. Here too the result is quite psychedelic, although it lacks the somewhat harsher overtones found in the work of Cones. More drone based with minimalist changes going throughout each of the two pieces, that unmistakably move forward, entering new fields before you know it, but it changes like this throughout. It makes two lengthy, spacious pieces of music of the right length to remain interesting, with lots of subtle variations. (FdW)
Address: http://www.ikuisuus.net
MATSUTAKE – GUITAR VS PC (CDR by Arterija)
UKR.TELE.KOM – COMPOSITIONS AND IMPROVISATIONS (CDR by Arterija)
The man behind Matsutake is one Evgeniy Gorbunov, whom he met in Vital Weekly 544, when we reviewed a work with Dankoe and Zemlyanikeen, but here is on his own, armed with a guitar and a computer. His playing is improvised, and the sound is fed directly into the computer, which does all sorts of crazy things, but also at times allows to sound the guitar like a guitar. The original improvised playing can be heard through all the crazy effects. The artists sees his music like a mushroom, ‘ it grows and develops by its own but nevertheless weird things happen. The artist takes only a little part in the musical process by letting the music “grow by itself”‘ – he says. It’s a fine work, although I am not taken by his mushroom theory. You need to have input and keep on feeding with input otherwise your mushroom will die, I think. That aside, this is a fine work. Pieces have variations enough, throughout the release, and are kept to the point. No overtly long improvisations, but each with it’s thematic approach, sometimes gentle and sweet as the fourth part of part one, sometimes noisy and angular. Nice.
Named after the major Ukrainian telephone monopolist is Ukr.tele.kom, which is an open musical project of people sending in their sound contribution, which is compiled by Andrei Sechkovskiy, who started the project in 2002 with Sergei Klein. The text on the backside is barely readable, but this release is a collection of various improvisations with people and various compositions, which are made by Sechkovskiy himself. He plays with the live recordings of the group, home made improvisations and computer collages. I must say I am a bit lost in this release, it’s so much over the place that it’s hard to say what Ukr.tele.kom wants. Bits of improvised electronics, more regular improvised music, noisy bits, sampled bits: there is so much in some many different styles, that one bounces from one thing to the other, but it seems to me a too much. Add the sketch like character of some of the pieces, which leave an unfinished feel to them, it’s not easy to get into this one. (FdW)
Address: http://www.arterija.org
PIERRE GERARD – VOYAGE AU CENTRE (CDR by Un Arbre En Bois)
VUELTA MAGENTICA – FACE A, FACE B (CDR by Un Arbre En Bois)
From the man behind the label Un Arbre En Bois,
his third release, but the first under his own name: Pierre Gerard. Before he had two releases as Maison Medicale. One very long for solo bass, the shortest one for voice only and in the middle there is a track combining both. However besides these two basic sources, he also uses the computer to process his sounds. To start with the best thing: the title piece, the long one is a highly interesting piece of music. A fine combination of drone like material and microsound; sometimes the bass generates sustained drone pieces, but the whole thing is spiced with collated sounds dropping in and out. After almost thirty-two minutes this might well be enough, but there is two more shorter pieces. In ‘Lainage 2’ I don’t have the idea something is added to what has been said before, but it’s o.k. ‘Lainage 1’ is a superfluous voice based only, which as far I am concerned shouldn’t have been included.
The second new release on Un Arbre En Bois is by Vuelta Magentica, which is one Sebastien Demeffe from Valencia. He likes to toy around with tape-loops. Cut from all things magnetic – as opposed to all thing digital – he crafted four pieces together of voices and music. Things swirl in and out in a kind of relaxing manner, not loud, not harsh, but moody and atmospheric. Quite typical music of the 80s in the big days of the world of cassettes. The Horse He’s Sick. The Loop Orchestra. If you don’t remember, don’t worry, but it’s very much from that tradition. Not every moment in every track is great, but it’s all pretty decently made. (FdW)
Address: http://www.unarbreenbois.be
JLIAT – NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL NOISE (CDR by Larks Council)
Noise. (FdW)
Address: http://www.jliat.com
ARCHIPELAGOGO (CDR, private)
Behind Archipelagogo is one Arvid van der Rijt, from The Netherlands, who is a DJ and has work experience in record stores. Which is all he wants to share with us about his musical career. His self-released CDR was recorded in the first half of this year in Finland, and uses guitars, music box, feedback and ‘processed sound’. There are six tracks in total, and it’s a pretty decent affair. A bit dark, a bit microsound, Fennesz is never far away. At the same time it deems me that not every track is finished, and some could have used a bit more variation, or more structure and/or composition. Maybe a question of wanting to release something too soon? However the potential to grow is certainly there, but the possibilities should be explored more. However a promising start. (FdW)
Address: http://www.archipelagogo.com
PLEKO (CDR, private)
Nick Kurple, the man behind Pleko, constructed wind chimes out of various types of metal and used contact microphones to pick up the sound and feed it through his computer. We can only bow our heads and praise such thing, because the result, fifteen tracks in twelve minutes, could have been as easily made with some feedback resulting from scratching the microphone on the carpet. I mean: why go through all the trouble of making those chimes whereas the only thing you want is big time noise? Some of the things in life which I don’t understand, I guess. Harsh, loud noise, totally over the top, in a good Merzbow tradition, but then chopped into fifteen tiny bits, almost like a punk rock thing, and that’s something I like about this one: not a single second too long. (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/pleko
MICROPHONE STAND (MP3)
Unless you want to download this from the Microphone Stand website, there is no reason to go there, as there is no information at all. Music wise behind the microstand there is a singer, a drum machine, a guitar, a keyboard. He sings songs. A bit traditional, but here and there with some elements thrown in, but not enough to make it ‘experimental’. I must admit I don’t like the singing very much, didn’t quite get the lyrics and the musical backing is a bit naff also. Not really my thing then. On the website there are some extra, under which, bizarre and curious as it seems, a Jos Smolders remix. (FdW)
Address: http://www.microphonestan.co.uk