CLOP NEPLAT (CD by Demonosound)
To be frank: I never like those instructions on CD’s that read like:
‘Maximum Volume Gives Maximum Results’ or something alike. I tried this CD
like that (maybe for once the instructions are good?), but nope. Trying
this at a rather medium to low volume, makes it much more interesting. The
people behind this won’t like it, I guess, but I dare say it: the droning
of synth washes come off much better, and have a certain ambient industrial
character to it. The sort of stuff we recently have from bands like Caul or
Yen Pox will match this also. Dark, rumbling at your speakers, and that
work best in the second track, the longest of the three presented here.
This is the sort of the music that needs to develop and that takes of
course some time. It’s like a spiral that goes down and takes you with it.
(FdW)
Address: <demono@sound.inet.fi>
DARREN BROWN – EL ASIENTO (7″ by Dolor Del Estamago)
Brown was once, together with Eric Lunde, the backbone of Boy Dirt Car, and
after that band splitted up, he made some CD’s with Impact Test. Now he
produces music under his own name. The title side suppodesly has voices,
basses, guitars and drums. But the voice comes in rather blurred and far
away. The somewhat psychedelic guitar playing is in the foreground. Towards
the end a piano comes in and shouting voices. To end in a lockgroove…
‘La Puerta De Entrada’ opens with bass and rhythm box laying the foundation
and repititous guitar playing. Beneath there is a motor sound (tractor?)
and drums fall over eachother.
Brown’s music takes the rock format in musique concrete territory in a much
different way then most of what is now in the record bins as ‘post-rock’.
His music is much heavier and noisy then these hippies for the 90s could
possibly imagine. It’s a pity that a 7″ is only so short…
Address: Apdo Postal 12-500 – 01634 Tamauupas – Mexico
SCORN – ZANDER (CD on KK Records KK152)
As all of you probably already know; Scorn is the solo project of the
ex-drummer of Napalm Death: Mick Harris. Scorn excists since 1991 (back
then
still with Nick Bullen and Justin Broadwick).
Rhythms are the most prominent element in the music of Scorn; dubrhythms
and breakbeats. The rhythms are slow and open, transparent, and for people
that are firmiliar with his music, these rhythms are recognizable as
typical Scorn. Through these rhythms you can hear overlapping floating
electronic sounds of a very technological origin. Really beautiful.
The sound of Scorn is very recognizable by now, he very much has developed
his own sound and I like it. Especialy the sounds inbetween and behind the
rhythms. This is a good solid CD that growed on me very quikly. (RM).
Address: <kknz@kkrecords.be>
CM VON HAUSWOLFF – AS QUIET AS A CAMPFIRE (LP by Ash International)
Hauswolff may, to some at least, connected through his work with The Hafler
Trio, but also his work with Phauss is quite known. A lot of the music
Hauswolff produces is based on a specific concept. And concpetual art finds
as much interest in actually thinking of the concept, as in the execution
of the concept. To some conceptual art should just be the concept, and not
the execution itself, but this discussion will not be repeated here. This
LP deals with two of the greatest composers of our century: John Cage and
Arnold Schonburg. But both composers are more to be remembered for what
they wanted to achieve then what they achieved themselves. Schonburg
predicted that one day people would whistle Schonburg tunes in the streets.
I never met such a person whistling a 12-tone tune… Cage’s notion of
music and silence had a greater impact on composers our time then his own
compositions (but, in the words on Schonburg, his teacher, he was an
inventor, not a composer).
The side of this record that is called ‘As Quiet As A Campfire – Analogue
Motoric And Electro-Magnetic Silence Disturbed by Intuitive Slumber’
contains audible hiss, that is indeed interrupted by some odd click of some
kind.
The other side is called ‘Mingling or Dodekaphonic Drones Interfered By
Known And Unknown Digital Phenomena’ is thick swirling drone (let’s assume
12 on top of eachother). Both sides don’t seem to take off anywhere, nor is
there a dramatic change in there. But both carry a trancy effect, as time
is not really apparent and changes seem to be in there, well maybe
somewhere, and maybe I am just guessing wrongly. But a really nice executed
record of a nice concept, this surely is. (FdW)
Address: <ash@touch.demon.co.uk>
NURSE WITH WOUND – SPIRAL INSANA (CD by World Serpent)
With this re-issue one of the best Nurse With Wound records becomes
available again. Being released a decade ago on Torso Records (who went
bust a couple of years ago), it was the best selling NWW LP ever (or so I
was told). This is Steve Stapleton as his best: it has the known collage
style of sound, quick changes of atmosphere and funny banjo duddling.
However as a total ‘Spiral Insana is much more coherent then, say, ‘Sylvie
& Babs’, which is much more cut ‘n paste hit ‘n miss record. There is a lot
of feedback sounds that drone along and weird guitar playing. The bonus
track is a slowly building crescendo of bird calls and feedback, and quite
fits the two other collages. A true classic! (FdW)
ATOM HEART/EYEPHONE – MICROPOSSESSED (CD by Container)
The sleeve states “all sounds generated exclusively from acoustic feedback,
assembled and composed digitally” – well, if you say so lads. What we get
is four tracks of varying length and mood, all using the “Micro” prefix,
which is appropriate as this is a pleasingly restrained record. The disc
kicks off with the appropriately named “Microstart”. Gently shifting pulses
phase and morph to good effect while subsurface activity is (almost)
apparent. Tape delay feedback appears before a gentle swell of distant surf
noise. At a 30 minutes this track shifts its mood gently enough to lull the
listner into a false sence of security before the second piece,
“Microcore”, introduces tweeter-frazzling hi end frequencies over a bed of
bubbling sequenced tones. “Microcracks” picks up the pace a little as a
lo-fi electro/techno rhythm gradually forms. Here serious bass pulses are
accompanied by a whole array of bleeps, squeaks and belches. If I didn’t
know better I’d say a budget beat box was being put through its paced, but
we must trust the ever-prolific Uwe and Eyephone to have confined
themselves to feedbacks. The last track (“Microcycled”) employs rumbles and
buzzes to invoke submerged threat. A tiny rhythm finally appears, just in
time for the end. Overall, a most pleasing CD – low level stuff that ranges
between extremely quiet and quietly extreme. (RTH)
Address: <staal@euronet.nl>
SPOKE – LIVE IN NEVERS (CD by Noise Musuem)
Spoke are an occasional band made up of members of O Yuki Conjugate and The
Sons of Silence, whose point of departure is the use of the humble bicycle
as a sound source. Now, your author must confess to more then a passing
connection with the makers of this music, but these days the world’s a
village, so you’ve got to expect that sort of thing. What we get here is a
recording of their gig in Nevers, France last June, at the Ultimes Festival
devoted to industrial music. To begin with the bikes are tapped, bashed,
plucked, bowed and otherwise interfered with to create a rattling, almost
gamalean, wash of semi-metalic sounds. Lavatorial reverb and a variety of
huge delays are generously applied while the layers build and deepen to
hypnotic effect. But do the lads limit themselves to bikes? Do they
bollocks, for the familiar boudran drum loop from “Equator”-period OYC soon
makes a welcome appearance and what’s all this? Bass lines phatta than yer
mammas booty? Slammin’ dope beatz? – very Sons of Silence. One minute
saxophones squeal like a chorus of stick pigs, the next a gentle breeze of
harp glissando’s come to ease the pain. Towards the end jazz crooning is
shamelessly indulged in – what must the combat-clad TG fans have thought?
Who cares? Finally faux drum’n’bass morphs back into the bikes. My only
criticism of this excellent CD is that it could have taken a little more
time to unfold its many and varied sections, but then for live I suppose
they wanted the impact of sudden change. Anyway, find it and buy it, it
rules. (RTH)
Address: Noise Musuem – 19 Rue Colson – 21000 Dijon – France