LOREN CONNORS & JIM O’ROURKE – TWO NICE CATHOLIC BOYS (CD by Family Vineyard) *
RACHEL SHEARER – FAKERIE (DVD by Family Vineyard)
ULNA – FRCTURE (CD by Karl Records) *
REVENANT – TOPOLO (CD by Prele Records)
TEKNOIST – … LIKE A HURRICANE MADE OF ZOMBIES (Cd by Ad Noiseam)
SICKBOY – TIME TO PLAY (Cd by Ad Noiseam)
VROMB – LE PECHEUR DE NOYES (CD by Nautilus)
WERNER DAFELDECKER – LONG DEAD MACHINES – I-IX (CD by Presto!?) *
MONOTON – EIGHT LOST TRACKS (CD by Oral) *
THE KILIMANJARO DARKJAZZ ENSEMBLE – MUTATIONS EP (CD by Ad Noiseam)
PHROQ – CONNECTIONS, OPPURTUNITIES FOR MISTAKES (CD by Shiver Sounds) *
STORMHAT – ADDICTED TO DISASTER (CD by Diophantine Discs) *
THE ORATORY OF DIVINE LOVE – MEDITATIO (CD by Diophantine Discs)
LOCRIAN – GREYFIELD SHRINES (LP by Diophantine Discs)
ULTRE – THE NEST AND THE SKULL (CD by Audiobulb) *
THE HATERS – FURTHER (CD by Transparancy)
EMERALDS – WHAT HAPPENED (CD by No Fun Productions)
BLACK CARGOES – GLASS (CD by Saiko Records)
HILARY PEACH – SUITCASE LOCAL (CD, private)
CLINKER – ON THE OTHER SIDE… (FOR L. COHEN) (CDR by Dragon’s Eye Recordings) *
ANDREA ROMEO & ICS & ALESSANDRO BUZZI – LONIUS (CDR by Setola Di Maiale) *
TIMER – YET HERE WE STAND (CDR by Counsouling Sounds)
PAUL MAY & PLATFORM – BROKEN HULK DISPLAY (CDR by Minimal Resource Manipulation) *
MIXTURIZER/FLAT AFFECT (CDR by Smell the Stench)
EGO DEATH/MIXTURIZER (CDR by Sewer Records)
KENJI SIRATORI – BLOODY BRAIN (CDR by r.o.n.f. Records)
KATCHMARE – GROOM LAKE (CDR by Scissor Death) *
NAPALMED – NOISAX JAZZOSTRIAL FRACTAMENTAL (CDR by Guerilla Records)
PARANOIA BIRTHDAY – IL NE RESTERA (CDR by FFHHH)
DEMETAN MESLIER – PROPRIETAIRE (CDR by FFHHH)
XAVIER DUBOIS & NOIR (CDR by FFHHH) *
JLIAT – NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL NOISE VOLUME 20 (CDR by Larks Council England)
JLIAT – NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL NOISE VOLUME 21 (CDR by Larks Council England)
JLIAT – ARE WE LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? (CDR by Larks Council England)
LOREN CONNORS & JIM O’ROURKE – TWO NICE CATHOLIC BOYS (CD by Family Vineyard)
RACHEL SHEARER – FAKERIE (DVD by Family Vineyard)
Following last week’s ‘Sacral Symphony’ compilation, now it’s time for ‘Two Nice Catholic Boys’, and the boys being Loren Connors and Jim O’Rourke. I am not sure if they are still catholic, but I sure like to believe they are nice. While Connors was never ‘gone’, Jim O’Rourke had a break from music for a while, following his departure from Sonic Youth and settling in Tokyo. The good news is that he’s back, even when this CD contains recordings made in 1997 when the two nice boys toured Europe. Both armed with an electric guitar, an amplifier, and seemingly no sound effects. Three pieces, but something here says it was recorded on more nights and then spliced together. It doesn’t matter of course, but the end result is what matters. A strange affair of howling guitars, on the point of feedback, on the point of pain, on the verge of collapse. But also at ease, quiet, introspective, a melody, a few notes being strummed, silence. Blues? Yes, blues music, but then away from the usual schematics and into the hearth-broken world of loneliness. Great desolate music. Didn’t loose one bit or byte after a decade.
Music from New Zealand is always lo-fi drone music? Wrong assumption of course, although perhaps an easy mistake. Rachel Shearer worked as Lovely Midget, with releases on Siltbreeze, Xpressway, Flying Nun, Corpus Hermeticum and Ecstatic Peace, both as her solo moniker and with bands as Queen Meanie Puss and Angelhead. I have that Corpus Hermeticum release somewhere, but its covered with dust – such is the tragedy of reviewing music – but once I am done with this DVD I will dig that out and check it again, as ‘Fakerie’ is true beauty. A single twenty-two minute piece of music and visuals. The image part consists of five white lights flashing on and off, like stars. In the beginning in sync with the music but as the music progresses, this seems no longer be the case. There is no mentioning of an instruments, so we have to guess here. At the start I thought it was a small ensemble playing, percussion, guitar, playing a small cluster of sound and then letting them die out into sustain, not entirely and then returning with another bang. Then slowly the piece transforms into a more abstract, micro glitch territory. It goes almost unnoticed, until its transformation is complete and it seems like a totally new piece. An excellent piece of true beauty, that works well with but also without the film. A pity I don’t have a home cinema with a big screen, as this would be perfect to watch at night in complete darkness. The year is young, highlight number one is noted down. (FdW)
Address: http://www.family-vineyard.com
ULNA – FRCTURE (CD by Karl Records)
It must have been years and years ago since I last heard from Valerio Zucca Paul, whom I used to know as Abstract Q in a different setting. I do remember it was nice electronic music, perhaps not the best around, but nice enough (I should dig out his Bake Records release which should be somewhere). Then, following lots of silence, he returns as Ulna, together with Andrea Ferraris, who is mainly a writer for such as sites as Chain DLK, Sands-zine and Sodapop and worked with a whole bunch of other Italian musicians on music, such as Maurizio Bianchi, Claudio Parodi, Cria Cuervos, Andrea Marutti. As Ulna they explore the world of rhythm, and in Paul’s case more than he did as Abstract Q (what I can remember). The CD starts pretty strong with three loud banging pieces which reminded me of an old Japanese band Sympathy Nervous or some latter day Esplendor Geometrico or Dive. Like a steam engine this music marches on. Unfortunately this doesn’t hold up for the entire CD. The long intro of ‘Smll Prts Recollected’ takes a bit too much time. ‘Lndn LVS N’ is a just a big too digital (read: too much Ableton Live), but I must say that throughout I thought this was a very nice disc. Entertaining rhythmic music, at times a bit danceable (tapping feet here), at times a bit dark, a bit techno inspired, with some particular strong brothers that drag along some weaker. A strong come-back disc. (FdW)
Address: http://www.karlrecords.net
REVENANT – TOPOLO (CD by Prele Records)
On the back cover of this release we read: “‘Revenant’ is an ongoing project with open membership that focuses on site-specific acoustic actions, or activated environments. Each action is a document of a specific moment in time in a specific location.” For an action held in 2006 in Topolo, near the Slovenien border, present were Yannick Dauby, Olivier Feraud, John Grzinich, Hitoshi Kojo and Patrick McGinley. The five of them went out into the forest and ‘all sounds […] originated from materials found in-situ, or from the space itself. No overdubbing or editing was done in order to document this specific action and location in time’. There is an interesting booklet that goes with this with interesting texts, also with photos of the five artists in the forest. It is not told how this was recorded but we hear lots of trees, branches, leaves being rubbed, cracked, hit and touched upon. Maybe this was recorded by each individual player and then pieced together, or perhaps a great microphone was set up and then it was recorded. If ever did a walk in the forest, then the sounds used by Revenant may sound familiar (and if you didn’t, I suggest you go out do a forest trip right away), but in the opening piece it also sounds like a violin, or two, being scraped. I can’t imagine that was in-situ, but perhaps some rubbing of leaves could be similar. I thought this was quite a fascinating release of familiar sounds, but oddly enough also the absence of sounds, such a birds. A fine work of field recordings mixed with acoustic action, or rather an action outside using natural elements. A work that by passes the usual routine of both field recordings and electro-acoustic music, and such opens new roads. (FdW)
Address: http://www.prelerecords.net
TEKNOIST – … LIKE A HURRICANE MADE OF ZOMBIES (Cd by Ad Noiseam)
SICKBOY – TIME TO PLAY (Cd by Ad Noiseam)
A poster from Lucio Fulci’s legendary gore-flick “Zombie” decorates the myspace-site of British composer and producer Teknoist – one of the most hyped breakcore-acts from the present underground. Just like Lucio Fulci was the director of some of the most brutal and extreme zombie-flicks in the heydays of the 1980’s, Teknoist composes some of the most aggressive breakcore released for a while. For the same reason, the title of his debut-album, “… like a hurricane made of zombies” is the perfect for this work. The brain behind Teknoist, is the Manchunian based artist Mike Hayward, who already has a number of 12″ and other minor releases on labels such as Deathchant, Planet Mu and Cock Rock Disco. On his debut Teknoist only gives the listener a few seconds of preparation with a gentle opening of industrial ambient before hell breaks loose with an hour long journey into hostile grounds of infernal breakcore. Teknoist combines hyperfast breakbeat textures with deep buzzing basslines of techstep/darkside, furious thrash metal-based guitar-riffs and samples from horror flicks i.e. George Romero’s “Day of the dead”. Despite the infernal expression of sonic extremity the album has quite a few moments of grandiose atmospheres based on ethereal soundscapes and acoustic samples of among others a piano. Stylishly Teknoist reminds of label-mate Enduser in his ability of keeping the balance between sonic terror and atmospheric beauty. Excellent debut. Next album comes from another sicko of the present breakbeat-scene. In contrary to aforementioned Teknoist, Sickboy has a number of releases in his back catalogue ever since he began his journey into the breakcore-scene back in 2002. Present album titled “Time to play” is the first album on the Ad Noiseam-label from the Belgian composer Jurgen Desmet a.k.a. Sickboy. Despite its almost explosive amount of energy, the album is a more club-friendly work compared to the far more aggressive shot from Teknoist. Sickboy combines furious breakbeats with elements of old school rave and other clubbish elements, among others minimal house-techno. The result is a humorous mash-up work with among others a jolly interpretation of A-HA’s monsterhit of the 80’s “Take on me”. Two hyper-explosive albums, proving that Ad Noiseam is a major label for everyone searching for contemporary breakcore. (NM)
Address: http://www.adnoiseam.net
VROMB – LE PECHEUR DE NOYES (CD by Nautilus)
If you’re looking for hypnotic sound sculptures, you have come to the right spot. Since the birth of his project Vromb, Canadian composer Hugo Girard has brought the listeners into icy landscapes of trance-inducing electronics with his exclusive utilisation of analogue synthesizers. My personal meeting with the world of Vromb was with his second shot from 1996, the album titled “Le facteur humain” released on Ant-Zen Recordings, an album where the electronic icescapes were combined with the French spoken voice of Hugo Girard himself in a very interesting combination. The voice of the composer has been part of the musical ground throughout the main part of the albums released since the beginning of Vromb, 15 years ago. On this latest album titled “Le pecheur de noyes”, the voice-part has been excluded giving more space to the psychedelic electronics of Vromb. The album is released on a sub-label to Belgium label Spectre. The sublabel Nautilus release sound works that focus on nautical and aquatic themes, and this is also the case with this 10th shot from Nautilus. Being an ode to his father Roger Girard, the album is probably the most personal release from Hugo Girard. The English translation of the title is “The fisher of drowned ones”, and the title neatly presents the work of father Girard, who as a scuba-diver searched for drowned people. Thus the Canadian sound artist delivers an intense work describing the world underneath the watery surface. Expressively the work includes the hypnotic drones of Vromb this time combined with water bubbles as they come from oxygen masks and a human cry for help that sadly enough wasn’t heard in time for survival. In all aspects a deep work from the interesting Canadian composer. (NM)
Address: http://www.spectre.be/
WERNER DAFELDECKER – LONG DEAD MACHINES – I-IX (CD by Presto!?)
This CD may last just under twenty-nine minutes, it something to play a few times in a row. Werner Dafeldecker’s music is not easy, and requires a few repeated listening before it gives away its beauty. You may know as an improvising music, the owner of Durian but here he plays solo. His first solo double bass release. No electronic processing, just the sound of the double bass. He plays it not in a very regular way, but as a large resonating box, which happens to have strings on it. He fits it, strum it, plucks it and all in a rhythmical but highly minimal way. The longest piece here is a simple, repeated bang to the instrument, which shows a slow development, and that’s it. Sometimes I had the idea that Dafeldecker uses multi layers of sound, but then it might very well be not the case. A deceivingly ‘simple’ release, but I don’t think that justifies the music. What Dafeldecker does, requires a lot of concentration from both the listener and the player. Every time you play it something new seems to be happening and in all its stillness a lot of small beauty is kept. A refined work of improvisation. (FdW)
Address: http://www.prestorecords.com
MONOTON – EIGHT LOST TRACKS (CD by Oral)
Canada’s Oral label can be quite proud: they dug up all the works by Austria’s Monoton, the baby of Konrad Becker and released them before on CD. Monoton’s music was its time ahead: minimalist pulses based on analogue synthesizers, thus predating techno, glitch, clicks & cuts, and what’s better: it still sounds good. The two previous releases were officially released back then, but the eight pieces were never released, save for two on an EP and a compilation. The pieces were recorded between 1981 and 1983 and are easily trademark Monoton pieces. A simple sequence is set forward, some synths hum along and sometimes there is the monotonos voice of Becker. Like I said when I reviewed ‘Blau – Monotonprodukt 02’ (Vital Weekly 534), I still like the sequencer based pieces over the rhythm machine, but they are all great. A lot of things come together in this music: minimal electronic music, Neue Deutsche Welle, techno, clicks & cuts. Think D.A.F. meeting Pan Sonic (now that would be a great idea too, come to think of it). With all the interest in everything ‘old’ – and in a lot of cases, not very relevant – Monoton still stands the test of time. Eight no longer lost pieces of great electronic music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.oral.qc.ca
THE KILIMANJARO DARKJAZZ ENSEMBLE – MUTATIONS EP (CD by Ad Noiseam)
You don’t have to be a jazz freak to enjoy the company with latest album from The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble. Brains behind the project, is first of all the two artists Gideon Kiers (a.k.a. Telcosystems + curator of the Sonic Acts Festival) and Jason Köhnen, the latter also known for his hyperactive breakcore-project Bong-Ra. As Bong-Ra, Mr. Köhnen has explored a number of musical genres of the more abrasive kinds, counting extreme metal and noise, with great success considering among others his sessions in the legendary “John Peel Show” on BBC’s Radio 1. Mildly spoken, the style of Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble represents an extreme contrast to the style of aforementioned Bong-Ra. Present album is the second shot from the band after the selftitled debut on Planet Mu released approx. three years ago. In-between the two albums, Gideon Kiers and Jason Köhnen released an album under another alias, the stylistic close related project The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation in 2007. According to the press release, present album titled “Mutations ep” is meant as a bridge between the debut and the forthcoming album scheduled to be released later in 2009. Never the less the album presents eight tracks clocking 38 minutes with a musical quality in a height, that deserves to be considered as an independent work of art. Apart from Jason Köhnen and Gideon Kiers, the band consists of Hillary Jeffery, Eelco Bosman, Charlotte Cegarra and Nina Hitz. The sound spheres of the album is developed on the background of electronic equipments in close company with acoustic instruments counting drums, trombone, flute, xylophone, cello, bass and guitars. Compared to the aforementioned release from the side-project Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation that presented an alluring mixture of avant-garde jazz and dark drone ambient, “Mutations Ep” is a more musical accessible album. The combination of nocturnal jazz and drone-based ambient still plays an important role, but expressively the album has some remarkable directions towards the melodic parts of the postrock-scene not too far away from Tortoise and The For Carnation adding a tranquilizing touch upon the album, further intensified by the beautiful subtle vocals of Charlotte Cegarra. One of the best moments on the album is the work “Symmetry of 6’s” where grandiose electronic soundscapes swirls alongside atmospheric shoegaze-guitar passages drawing associations towards the collaboration between ambient-maestro Harold Budd and Robin Guthrie (of Cocteau Twins) on their masterful soundtrack to the dark coming-of-age flick “Mysterious skin”. “Mutations Ep” is a deep emotional work, demonstrating how the meeting of acoustic and electronic sounds in the best moments can end up in atmospheres of otherwordly beauty. (NM)
Address: http://www.adnoiseam.net
PHROQ – CONNECTIONS, OPPURTUNITIES FOR MISTAKES (CD by Shiver Sounds)
Francisco Meirino has been around for quite some time, as Phroq and has produced a bulk of releases on a variety of labels, such as Ground Fault, Banned, Even Stilte, Entr’acte, Solipsism, Gameboy, Carbon and others. Shiver Sounds is his own label. Failure is one of the things that interests him. Wether by accident – something breaks – or by his own fault, Meirino is interested in continuing the creative process. For ‘Connections, Oppurtunities For Mistakes’ he uses minidisc failures, the death of a PA system, electro-static background noises, broken cassette recorder and more. Phroq’s music is based on the recordings of these failures, which he then puts together as music. This he does here with some refined class, I must say. It would be too easy to say that Phroq uses the idiom of microsound and that he has put in some extra loud noise elements, but it comes down to just that. Electro magnetic charges running up and down, and then a loud bang of something breaking. Some of these sounds get looped around and further processed. Thus the failure becomes the basis of a creation. Every sound can be used in whatever way, and that’s exactly Phroq’s point. He does a great job here, with some highly intelligent music. Its dynamic range for one is a fine thing. Ranging from the superloud to the super quiet, makes this an intense and tense release. Clever compositions of electrical sounds made into electronic music. Music with a dramatic content. Of course there are others who worked in this field, Möslang/Guhl’s cracked everyday electronic comes to mind or Joe Colley, but Phroq seems, at least to me, to take things into the world of composition, and that’s a great thing. A very fine disc, the best thing I heard from him so far. (FdW)
Address: http://www.phroq.com
STORMHAT – ADDICTED TO DISASTER (CD by Diophantine Discs)
THE ORATORY OF DIVINE LOVE – MEDITATIO (CD by Diophantine Discs)
LOCRIAN – GREYFIELD SHRINES (LP by Diophantine Discs)
Somehow Niels Mark managed to slip in a review, Advance CDR it says, in Vital Weekly 626 which ended with the words, “the “Addicted to disaster”-album will be available on US-label Diophantine Discs soon”, which took almost 7 months. That’s not something we ought to be doing, I guess. Stormhat is the Danish word for one of the European continent’s most poisonous plants; a few grams consumption of the Stormhat-plant marks the end of a human life. Its also the name chosen by Peter Bach Nicolaisen to work around with sound and music that entirely is based on processed field recordings. That may sound like old news to anyone, but I must say that if you expect some microsound, ambient glitch than ‘Addicted To Disaster’ will be a small disappointment, and that’s exactly what I like it. No disappointment here for me. This is a pretty strong disc of multiple layered field recordings that never slip under the threshold of hearing, but owe much more to world of ‘noise’ and ‘industrial’, even when it has as such nothing to do with that world. This music is there, it’s present and a truly great pleasure to hear. Its hard to say what these field recordings originally were, except for the occasional thunder storm passing and some crackle of leaves, but otherwise things are too abstract to be recognized. This breaks away from the traditional field recordings cum microsound ground and moves into something different. That’s a great thing and Stormhat delivered a fine CD.
John Gore, the man behind Cohort Records who presents us every now and then with a fine split release (see last week for instance) is also a musician and as such he works as Kirchenkampf and The Oratory Of Divine Love. There are differences between both projects but as far as I’m concerned they are too small to be noted. Both projects have had a couple of releases, mainly on limited CDR and vinyl, but also on CD. Maybe the difference in the projects lie in the fact that everything by The Oratory Of Divine Love is recorded in real time, ‘straight to DAT with no overdubs’ as it says here on the cover and which is the only information presented. Nothing about sound sources. And hearing the work, it’s not easy to guess either. Whatever is used, is being clouded by the use of sound effects, mainly a strong love of reverb. Perhaps there have been synthesizers used, or radio (which is one source he used in the past), but they are drowned out in reverb. Maybe not entirely electronically. But then maybe I’m thinking this up, by looking at the cover of the CD, which depicts a cathedral. Maybe the work is played inside a cathedral, and we are dealing here with natural reverb – however there are reverb units for sale that have a preset called ‘cathedral’. Difficult thing. Difficult because such an extensive use of reverb is also a cheap drug. Its quite easy to use a snippet of sound, feed to the reverb unit, freezing the sound and let it continue on end. Having said that I must say that this fifty minute is actually quite nice, despite my objections against the over-use of reverb. The piece is, like the title suggests, a meditation in sound. Flowing on end, chilling to the bone (a bit more bass end wouldn’t harm the piece), making one long ebb and flow of sound, in a very subtle way. Nice one indeed.
Jliat wasn’t too pleased with Locrian’s Bloodlust CD last week, so I keep this new piece of vinyl under my guard here. It was recorded in November 2007 at some radio station in Chicago. Locrian is a duo of A. Foisy and T. Hannum and at their controls are guitars and sound effects. What bothered Jliat doesn’t bother me, the gritty lo-fi textures of this music just fits the plan it seems to me. Not everything has to be ones and zeroes, and the cassette seems to be love object of this year, so why not the howling noise of guitars, feedback and effects pressed into grey vinyl? One side shows their filthy side and one side their introspective mood. I must say I like that side better. Perhaps I heard both sides done by others, sometimes better, so I have to go for a more subjective judgment of this record. What do I like, not thinking of what could be done in terms of being ‘new’? Then their soft side is more appreciated. There is a great tension lurking underneath the surface, like a giant outburst to come. Guitars tinkle like bells, while a great beast slumbers on the speakers. That is the way to go. The noise end is… is well, just the noise end of things. A bit too easy and simple for my taste. More drone ambient noise please. (FdW)
Address: http://www.discs.diophantine.net
ULTRE – THE NEST AND THE SKULL (CD by Audiobulb)
Finn McNicholas is the man behind Ultre, whom we met in Vital Weekly 550, when we reviewed his ‘All The Darkness Has Gone To Details’, which I believe was his debut as Ultre. Now he returns with ‘The Nest And The Skull’ and again he returns to the piano and the guitar to start his electronic songs in which beats play an all important role. Not as a dominant feature, banging away, but they are the cement that hold these pieces together. Broken up, torn down, but always rhythmic, in the way of IDM, of Expanding Records or Highpoint Lowlife, but what makes Ultre different and thus quite nice is what he does on top of those beats. His guitar playing is quite nice. Creating odd combinations, real time playing versus chopped up collage like sounds, such as exemplified in ‘Peace Corpse’ (at least I think that what it says on the cover). I think this album is quite a step forward from its predecessor, because its more balanced with the beats and the real time instruments. Apparently this was recorded mostly live with a ‘homemade’ microphone and wether that is true I don’t know, but the whole album indeed has a nice somewhat raw character. Maybe all thirteen tracks are a bit much and the lack of variation starts to notice, but at forty-three minutes it makes a nice pop length album. Fine one. (FdW)
Address: http://www.audiobulb.com
THE HATERS – FURTHER (CD by Transparancy)
Last saturday I witnessed some noise acts, and I was wondering about what they do. The performance element is still a strong focal point, but the sight of half naked men and women, vomiting over a microphone is hardly shocking, unless of course the history of performance art is a serious lack in your knowledge. Music wise there isn’t much new either under the sun. Feedback, shouting, toys and electronic toys. Sometimes I think the more effort is put into the performance, the less is done with the music, and vice versa. Mentally unstable youngsters for whom a bunch of noise is awesome, but what does it bring us then? Then on the same day I received a new CD by The Haters, and that exemplifies for me what noise should be, both in terms of music as well as performance art. One long piece of loud noise, and one shorter piece of loud noise. Loud indeed, but the musical aspect is never lost, nor the variation to make an interesting piece. Loops run around in circles, fading in and out, small variations in the frequencies make this a true delight to hear. There is lots of sonic detail, audio richness in this. Performance wise The Haters also do interesting piece, music on tape, and an action that is far beyond the usual spit and shit. That’s how these things should be done. I am not lost for the world of noise, but I do have strong reservations against repeated aktionist kunst under the pre-text of art and music. The Haters are one of those rare places where true and original noise can be heard. (FdW)
Address: http://www.jupitter-larsen.com
EMERALDS – WHAT HAPPENED (CD by No Fun Productions)
Back in Vital Weekly 633 I was pleasantly surprised by ‘Solar Bridge’, a CD by a trio named Emeralds. They have their background with CDR releases for noise labels, but what they play is hardly noise based. Armed with analogue synthesizers, guitars and sound effects they create music that owes more to cosmic music from the Germanic seventies than the 00’s noise of USA. More Hypnos perhaps than No Fun, but maybe that’s a bridge too far. Emeralds offer more tracks than on ‘Solar Bridge’, about an hour worth of music, and its totally in line with their previous CD. Cosmic synthesizer music, with lots of sound effects, a bit of guitar. There is also some vague notion of vocals (oooh’s and aaah’s) and somewhere there should be field recordings. Tangerine Dream without the arpeggio’s but with a rougher edge that the original lacks. Emeralds do most certainly not play very original music, but their cosmic synths with a small dose drone noise (especially in ‘Damaged Kids’) is certainly highly enjoyable. (FdW)
Address: http://www.nofunproductions.com
BLACK CARGOES – GLASS (CD by Saiko Records)
HILARY PEACH – SUITCASE LOCAL (CD, private)
Excellent cover here: silkscreened in black and white on a jewel case with some in reverse printing so it can be read on the inside. Clever work. Black Cargoes are a quartet, with voice, guitar, laptop, synthesizer, beats, noise, bass, drums. I think they are from Switzerland. They play music that is far, far away from the usual world of Vital, this is unVital music. Heavy rock music with occasional electronic influences. A bit like an even more leather version of Depeche Mode. Not bad at all, I must say. I quite enjoyed it for what it is, even when the voice of Frederic Oberholzer works on my nerves after some time, but that is my usual problem with any singer from almost any rock music background. Not bad at all, but just nothing for us to ponder about. One to play in the car, if only I had one.
Also nothing for Vital is the CD by Hilary Peach, who does spoken word accompanied by Alex Varty (on guitar) and Andreas Kahre (percussion). The stories about power plants and working as a welder. I guess its alright, the stories, the way the are told and the bluesy music, but its so far away from what we usually write about and what I could listen to privatly, that its really way way out, but the wrong way out, I guess.(FdW)
Address: http://www.saikorecords.com
Address: http://www.hilarypeach.com
CLINKER – ON THE OTHER SIDE… (FOR L. COHEN) (CDR by Dragon’s Eye Recordings)
Apparently there is such a thing as a Leonard Cohen International Festival in Edmonton for which this work was commissioned as a live cinema work. Behind Clinker is Gary james Joynes, ‘a dedicated audio and visual artist, composer/musician/vocalist, and sound designer’ and has done various visual works in combination with sound (or vice versa of course). On ‘On The Other Side… (for L. Cohen)’ he concentrates on the bass tone of Cohen’s voice, which he stretches out into a forty-two minute piece of music. I must admit I have no idea wether Cohen or his fans are really heavily into microsound, but this ambient work was no doubt an odd-ball at the festival. The stretched out, dark humming sounds pass with great majestical movements. I must also admit that if I hadn’t known the story behind the piece, I would have never guessed any connection with Leonard Cohen. I think I would have said that this is a fine work of ambient, drone and warm glitches, that makes a great late night listening. Spooky, haunting, dark. Also music that is nothing new under the ambient, drone and warm glitch sun, but Clinker produced a fine work. The two questions that remain: what did the visual side of things look like, and how was this work received? The audio part was received well here. (FdW)
Address: http://www.dragonseyerecordings.com
ANDREA ROMEO & ICS & ALESSANDRO BUZZI – LONIUS (CDR by Setola Di Maiale)
‘This is a live studio recording’ performed by Andrea Romeo (alto sax), Ics (contact microphones, cheap electronics, samples, cymbals, sticks) and Alessandro Buzzi (rimshot, cymbals, amplified marble table, sticks, brush, objects). Divided into six pieces, this is, as you might have guessed, a work of improvisation. The saxophone plays the important role, or so it seems, and the instrument is played in a rather ordinary fashion: it sounds like a saxophone, and I am not a lover for that per se. The electro-acoustic component of the other two players are a bit lost in the saxophone sounds, which is a great pity. I have the feeling there is a lot of interesting things going on there, which I would like to hear better than muffled away in the background. That is a bit of a pity. The overall quality of the recording is quite nice, but the balance between the three players seems to me a bit wrong. Too much sax, and not enough ‘the rest’. Here is one of those instances where you think more would have been possible, but it doesn’t show now. (FdW)
Address: http://www.setoladimaiale.net
TIMER – YET HERE WE STAND (CDR by Counsouling Sounds)
Sludge metal is not exactly the daily news in Vital Weekly, though never the less this is the most precise stylistic description of the musical containment on this debut-release from Dutch quintet calling itself Timer. The band is quite young with an establishment in 2007 in Antwerpen. What makes this band interesting is the members’ different musical approaches resulting in an album that points in many directions though always with the starting point in mellow and dark metal/rock. The expression on the album titled “Yet here we stand” is brutal and harsh meanwhile also deeply emotional and sensitive especially thanks to some great guitarwork reminiscent of Australian band The Church meanwhile the excellent vocals from Matthijs Vanstaen varies from emotional to guttural screams. In the most brutal parts, the band stylishly approaches grindcore only to return back to the fragile moments of sorrow of a sometimes dreamlike character. “Yet here we stand” is a very promising debut album. Highly recommended to listeners of alternative rock in general. (NM)
Address: http://www.consouling.be/
PAUL MAY & PLATFORM – BROKEN HULK DISPLAY (CDR by Minimal Resource Manipulation)
Matthew Atkins, also known as Platform, has released a couple of CDRs in a relatively short time span, teams up here with a drummer, Paul May. May has half of Ladywoodsman, and has played on albums by Alexander Tucker, Duke Garwood, Carolyn Hume and Barkingside. He’s an improvisation drummer. They know eachother for fifteen years, but this is the first time they worked together. May has supplied a tape of his percussive work to Atkins who has transformed the material. Atkins stays close to original rhythm tapes, adding sparsely electronics, and occasionally creating loops of the drums. This all makes great sense as the four pieces on this CDR (lasting almost twenty-one minutes) have a great vibrant feeling. Electro-acoustic manipulation meets up with the improvised playing that has a slight jazzy touch to it. From all the discs I received from Platform in the past months, I think this is the best release. Playful, skilled manipulation of the material, reminding me of the Steven Hess/Robert Hampson (Main) collaboration. Maybe Platform should seek the collaboration more? (FdW)
Address: http://www.minimalresourcemanipulation.co.uk
MIXTURIZER/FLAT AFFECT (CDR by Smell the Stench)
EGO DEATH/MIXTURIZER (CDR by Sewer Records)
Mixturizer (=Manuel M. Cubas from the Canary Islands). First track is fairly
continuous harsh noise, followed by something a little more rhythmic, track three = more “live” feedback and IMO the most “upfront” of the three- Flat Affect (= Shaun Phelps of Panama City, FL) Noise ‘n’ industrial hum and across which has a sample of vinyl lp scratch- across this first and into the second track which begins with lo-fi industrial and merges into some girl talking about who knows what to be followed by lo-fi echo rumble and electronic twittering which continues into the last track where the vinylclick re-appears. Maybe FA is attempting something conceptual, maybe Mixturizer is attempting anti-conceptual noise based around live manipulation of feedback – as is also found on the three tracks on the second split, but once again like FA Ego Death (noise (maybe dark ambient, soundscape or soundtrack at times) one-man-project from Athens, Hellas (Greece)) lives up or down to the idea of “maybe”. Maybe there is nothing
wrong with eclecticism, but I cant help feel that two of the artists here are wandering around a little too much – maybe rather than listen to and consolidate, though a work in progress might be interesting to some- the vagueness “maybe” will not help move to the position of Mixturizer who I think is definitely in the process of forming a coherent musical or soundbased project, now others may not wish to do so, the outcome of Mixturizer’s development may well be something akin to (heaven forbid) art. (jliat)
Address: http://www.smellthestench.net
Address: http://www.myspace.com/sewer_records
KENJI SIRATORI – BLOODY BRAIN (CDR by r.o.n.f. Records)
“Deep Noise from the Japanese Noise creator Kenji Siratori. Dark, debarrier. (jliatpressive, static, deep from the mind and unspoken. Kenji Siratori presents a brain bleeding of experimental pure Harsh Noise attack.” I’m sorry to say if I had paid for this I would want my money back under the trade descriptions act, fairly quiet noise which in track two almost has some tubular bell sounds, its neither deep, harsh, or brain bleeding – actually brains can’t bleed as I think there is something called the blood brain barrier. (jliat)
Address: http://www.ronfrecords.com/
KATCHMARE – GROOM LAKE (CDR by Scissor Death)
Nick Hoffman is an active man. He has three labels under his belt, Pilgrim Talk, Ghost & Son and Scissor Death. I don’t know the difference between the three, but its on the latter that he releases the bulk of his own musical work under the name of Katchmare. Last year he received his BA in music, and I can’t say I heard that quality in this music, but I would let him graduate too, based on this work. Here he plays guitar and computer in twelve small compositions of what could best be described as ‘ambient’ music: gliding and sustaining tones which operate mostly, but not always, on the higher end of the musical spectrum, that however never works in terms of flat, worn out ambient music. Hoffman knows how to kick the material around and give it a somewhat more sharp edge, a rough angle. Still on the experimental side of things, but also ‘flowing’ enough to lull you into a pleasant nightmare. Very nice work, perhaps even his most refined work to date, and again it comes with a booklet with drawings. (FdW)
Address: http://www.scissordeath.com
NAPALMED – NOISAX JAZZOSTRIAL FRACTAMENTAL (CDR by Guerilla Records)
“Profile: The band started in the mid `94. Planned to create “noise”, but play kind of noisy-noise-core w/ a drum section, two basses and voice. Stopped to use the instruments they started to play only/mainly many different materials, equipments, garbage, junks and things, people didn’t need (as like metals, woods, glass, plastics, papers), prepared electronix, various microphones, tape deck, pedal effectors, drum module, mini disc, samples, turntable, etc… ” Yep- I’d go along with this – only use the find and replace and give- Profile:The band started in the mid `94. Planned to create “noodling, strumming, inconsequential mix mash “, but play kind of noisy-noodling, strumming, inconsequential mix mash -core w/ a drum section, two basses and voice. Stopped to use the instruments they started to play only/mainly many different materials, equipments, garbage, junks and things, people didn’t need (as like metals, woods, glass, plastics, papers), prepared electronix, various microphones, tape deck, pedal effectors, drum module, mini disc, samples, turntable, etc…” Something that the dying acts of the fluxus movement might have produced, this is what could be summed up in the word “silly”- which might be OK? (jliat)
Address: http://www.napalmed.cz/
PARANOIA BIRTHDAY – IL NE RESTERA (CDR by FFHHH)
DEMETAN MESLIER – PROPRIETAIRE (CDR by FFHHH)
XAVIER DUBOIS & NOIR (CDR by FFHHH)
It’s probably the strength of CDR releases that one can do so many in such a short period. Belgium’s FFHHH label started in 2006 and the three releases I’m reviewing here have catalogue numbers 86, 88 and 90 (yes, Factory Records learned us not every catalogue number is a music release, but in this case it is). That’s a pretty vast catalogue in a short time span. Also, another strength of the CDR world, none of the names I ever heard before. ‘Paranoia Birthday is one of the solo project of the father of Young Girls Records’, it says as info for the release ‘Il Ne Restera’, which is a companion release to ‘Hesta’ (which I didn’t get). Two pieces, of which ‘Ni L’Amour’ is a drone piece which starts out nice, but over the course moves into violent, loud shape, and then gets broken down into a more refined piece. An organ in loop form. Nice, but perhaps a bit normal. The second piece is must shorter and starts out violently, but towards the end goes into lo-fi noise guitar & vocals, which seems like a left-over from the tape it was recorded on. Strange. Not bad, not great.
Gregory Duby is the man behind the label and also the musician behind Demetan Meslier. Armed with an acoustic guitar and some sound effects, he created ‘Proprietaire’, which is basically a disc of improvised music. The sound is fed through the effects, usually a sample/hold pedal and then on top Duby improvises a bit further. Again not bad, but maybe a bit too free form for me. Not in the sense of free improvisation, but rather in a way that it seems to be done without too much effort. I easily thought: “yeah, well, so what?”. What’s the point of this? Just a bit of guitar doodling, some electronic effects and that’s it. But it has its moment, such as in the final (of course untitled piece).
Xavier Dubois is the guitarist of Yermo and Ultraphallus and here he teams up with a band called Noir: Giel Bils (guitar, percussion, programming), Tim Marshall (synthesizer, noise) and Pol Vanlaer (percussion). Of the three releases this is the most interesting one. Also improvised, this lo-fi rock quartet reminded me of the many bands from down under New Zealand, Surface Of The Earth, K Group, A Handful Of Dust and such like. Shimmering guitar sounds, vague percussive bangs and rattling bass and noise lurking underneath. Recording quality is adapted to fit the lo-fi style. This is exactly how it could have sounded coming from New Zealand. It seems that FFHHH will branch out into releasing LPs as well, so I would like to suggest to get Dubois & Noir jamming same more of lo-fi rock noise and put that on LP, whilst the other two should safely develop some more on CDR. (FdW)
Address: http://www.ffhhh.be
JLIAT – NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL NOISE VOLUME 20 (CDR by Larks Council England)
JLIAT – NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL NOISE VOLUME 21 (CDR by Larks Council England)
JLIAT – ARE WE LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? (CDR by Larks Council England)
A confession has to be made. I did play all of Jliat’s ‘Now That’s What I Call Noise’ volumes in the past and did so with these two. Another sixteen tracks times four minutes. The confession is that I never them again. I feel there is no need for it, as there is always a new one coming. That I think is part of the whole release game Jliat plays. Perhaps they can interchanged with eachother, perhaps not. I must admit I very seldom play a Merzbow more than twice either, with a few exceptions. So Jliat is in good companion ship there. An unrelentness massive noise attack, like before and like they will come afterwards, no doubt. Noise is a conservative kind of music, with not much new happening, and Jliat proofs this once again and once more. Great to play loud on a pair of headphones though.
‘Are We Living In A Computer Simulation’ is an entirely different work, than the massive set of ‘That’s What I Call Noise’ – even when its not easy listening either. To read and understand the liner notes takes more time than listening to the audio content. Jliat goes back here to his previous where he investigates silence, the world of bits and bytes, zeroes and ones. ‘The PI and Prime tracks were mae by loading the numerical data saved in text into an audio editor which accepts data as text files. This data is used to plot the PCM audio waves’. Plus a lot more on the subject of numbers and data. On the music side of things we find five tracks, four of them being very short, static rumble and feedback, whilst the fifth is very long, close to twenty minutes, and is called ‘the First Ten Million Prime Numbers’. Highly food for thought this one. The perfect come down music and text following ‘That’s What I Like About Noise’. (FdW)
Address: http://www.jliat.com