CINDYTALK – HOLD EVERYTHING DEAR (CD by Editions Mego) *
GREAT WAITRESS – LUCID (CD by Split Records) *
THE SONS OF GOD & MATS GUSTAFSSON – RECEPTION (CD by Firework Edition Records) *
MAAAA/K2 – SPLIT (CD by triangle.records)
SCANNER & DAVID ROTHENBERG – YOU CAN’T GET THERE FROM HERE (CD by Monotype Records) *
KIM CASCONE – THE KNOTTED CONSTELLATION (FOURTEEN ROTTED COORDINATES) (CD by Monotype Records) *
EUGENE S. ROBINSON & PHILIPPE PETIT – THE CRYING OF LOT 69 (CD by Monotype Records) *
TROPHIES – BECOME OBJECTS OF DALY USE (CD by Monotype Records) *
DISSECTING TABLE ADVENTITIOUS AFFLICTIONS (2CD + 2 3″CD by Verato
Project)
LIM – WITH MARC DUCRET (CD by Kopasetic Production)
THEEANNOYING – COMPOSITION 1 (CD by Edgetone Records)
CHEEZFACE – CIRCUMSTANTIAL PESTILENCE (CD by Mind Flare Media)
KASSEL JAEGER – ALGAE (CD by Senufo Editions) *
BELLOWS – HANDCUT (CD by Senufo Editions) *
JENNIFER VEILLEROBE – ZWEIFARBIGE GESTEN (CD by Senufo Editions) *
SPYWEIRDOS – TWO ANTS WERE CALLED (cassette by Senufo Editions)
OLEKRANON – {ABADINA} (CDR by Inam Records) *
CARLOS VILLENA – SENSACIONS DESPLACADES (CDR by Mystery Sea) *
FRANCISCO MEIRINO & JASON KAHN – MUSIC FOR AN EMPTY CINEMA (CDR by Authorized Version) *
ANDREAS BRANDAL – DISTURBING THE DUST (CDR by Kendra Steiner Editions) *
BRENT FARISS – FOUR ENVIRONMENTS… COLLAPSING (CDR by Kendra Steiner Editions) *
MATAMORS – FIVE-TONED ROWS (3″CDR by Kendra Steiner Editions) *
ALFRED 23 HARTH – MICRO-SAXO-PHONE. EDITION III (CDR by Kendra Steiner Editions)
IN THE LAND OF ARCHERS THOSE WHO SURVIVED TURNED THEMSELVES INTO CROWS (CDR by Unlimited drift recordings)
IN THE LAND OF ARCHERS DUST AND SPARKS THE GIANT ROCK (CDR by Unlimited drift recordings)
TUSK/SKARABEE – SPLIT (cassette by ?)
JACQUES SODDELL – FROZEN MOMENT (3″CDR by Kaon) *
OPIUM – A (cassette by Collezione Del Silenzio)
UR – J (cassette by Collezione Del Silenzio)
NIMH – V (cassette by Collezione Del Silenzio)
THE SOMNABULIST REMIXES (cassette by Automation Records)
TELECULT POWERS – STARS ARE THE EYES OF GOD (cassette by Draft)
GREG DAVIS – STATES (3) (cassette by Draft)
ALEX BARNETT – PUSH (cassette by Draft)
MP3 announcement
CINDYTALK – HOLD EVERYTHING DEAR (CD by Editions Mego)
By now it couldn’t have escaped you that Cindytalk is back. They entered a third phase in their career, the computerized version, and ‘Hold Everything Dear’ is their third CD so far, following ‘The Crackle Of My Soul’ (see Vital Weekly 702) and ‘Up Here In The Clouds’ (see Vital Weekly 745). Bits of field recordings, drones, crackles, microsound, all the usual ingredients to make a good 12K release are part of this. Yet so far I have a somewhat strange feeling about these releases. While they are not bad, even a bit raw at times, I was wondering if this was made by somebody unknown, and not Gordon Sharpe/Cindytalk, would it find its way to a label like Editions Mego? And now I can add another question: what will be the development? I am happy to report there is development indeed. In these twelve tracks, Cindytalk leaves the pure computerized work a bit behind, and go for something that can be called ‘ambient with a twist’, to avoid ‘ambient industrial’. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Cindytalk is a duo here, Gordon Sharpe and Matt Kinnison, or perhaps that they are also operating as a live band, but this textured music harks back to the late 80s when industrial music softened, letting in ambient textures, think Illusion Of Safety of those days. Quite a nice release actually, but still I’m not entirely convinced that it would actually be on Mego had it not been for the name Cindytalk. Also I think some of these pieces are too long and that the whole album is too long: it doesn’t seem to offer enough variation as such. Maybe a more restrictive selection next time? Nice enough even when not the most original release. (FdW)
Address: http://www.editionsmego.com
GREAT WAITRESS – LUCID (CD by Split Records)
An off-shoot of the Splinter Orchestra, Laura Altman and Monika Brooks started to play together with their clarinet and accordion, while in 2009 they played as a trio with Berlin based pianist Magda Mayas in concert in Sydney. That was favored by all involved so now they are a trio, working as Lucid. In 2011 they played more concerts and recorded this CD. I played this CD, for whatever reason, a few times in a row and every time I did it started to grow more and more. This is some very intense music verging on the audible and the loudness. Stretched out playing of the accordion and the clarinet, carefully examining the instruments, shimmering piano tones, all three instruments used as objects and as instruments, providing with some great, highly skilled improvised music. A whole journey through the musical spectrum, requiring your full attention. It left me breathless, and I’m sure you will to. Excellent stuff. (FdW)
Address: http://www.splitrec.com
THE SONS OF GOD & MATS GUSTAFSSON – RECEPTION (CD by Firework Edition Records)
Work by The Sons Of God is somewhere in between composition, performance and installation. Lots of their released output relates to performances and installations and ‘Reception’ is no different. This particular work involves no less than thirty-two amplified iron plates set up at Fargfabriken, Stockholm in 2006 and on the night of March 5th 2006 a concert was held with Mats Gustafsson providing live electronics. An almost fifty-four minute work of loud noise. One vague rumble of… what exactly? Thirty-two iron plates you might say, which sound like crashing, cascading storm and on top we have Gustafsson’s electronics wailing more about. Think Merzbow, but then without any development or change, save for a slow building up, to an orgasmic height and then quickly taking matters to a logical conclusion. Almost like a very noisy storm, almost like ambient music taken to a very (il)logical conclusion. To confuse matters even more there is a whole text about a 18th century writer Emanuel Swedenborg about heaven and hell, and how that influenced the work of The Sons Of God. You can read that and contemplate about it when listening to the music, although I am sure it will not shed a brighter light on one or the other. I thought of the whole package as quite fascinating, but then I always admire such consistent conceptual ideas. (FdW)
Address: http://www.fireworkeditionrecords.com
MAAAA/K2 – SPLIT (CD by triangle.records)
MAAAA are a couple from Warsaw , K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth….With a peak elevation of 8,611 m (28,251 feet), K2 is part of the Karakoram Range, and is located on the border between Baltistan, in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang, China…. (See elsewhere for the up and downside of Wiki.)… Metal noise and vintage synth and or a soft version of it for Nintendo DS (ibid below) often completely split across the stereo field… joking aside I think its (also) important in a feeble attempt at authenticity to both avoid reason and eschew contradiction so despite what I say elsewhere as much as I think noise has no denominator – common or otherwise – this is one hell of a release. Remarkable noise and remarkable in it making any assertion regarding noise hypocritical. Enough said? Well hell no – three tracks by K2 and 5 from MAAAA as well as a booklet of abstract images… the thing about harsh noise – as this is – is it is as like the event – from a univocity of folk musics which jazz self synthesized itself and transcended the most refined totalities of the “western traditions” in a kind of Nietzschean overcoming, a great noontide affirmation – and eternal return of Deleuzean violence and extravagant creativity from the infinite plane of virtuality, James Joyce at Butlins, and Doris Day at Diego Garcia … da da da … (jliat)
Address: http://trianglerecords.blogspot.com/
SCANNER & DAVID ROTHENBERG – YOU CAN’T GET THERE FROM HERE (CD by Monotype Records)
KIM CASCONE – THE KNOTTED CONSTELLATION (FOURTEEN ROTTED COORDINATES) (CD by Monotype Records)
EUGENE S. ROBINSON & PHILIPPE PETIT – THE CRYING OF LOT 69 (CD by Monotype Records)
TROPHIES – BECOME OBJECTS OF DALY USE (CD by Monotype Records)
Although music by Scanner is not reviewed a lot in these days (for reasons I am not sure of, maybe he just doesn’t release that much these days?) I should think he needs no introduction. He works here with David Rothenberg, who is a philosopher and clarinet player, writing about such things as making music with whales. He had a CD on ECM Records with pianist Marilyn Crispell as well as nine solo albums. He gets credit for playing bass clarinet, clarinet and laptop, while Robin Rimbaud plays laptop and electronics. The pieces on this release were recorded from 2008 to 2010, with the exception of two live pieces from 2007. I don’t think there is any other goal than creating nice music together, which I guess is quite a legitimate goal. I don’t think they set out to create something entirely new. Eleven pieces here, in which not too fast rhythms play a prominent role (courtesy of Scanner no doubt) and in which Rothenberg’s clarinet performs a jazzy role. Obviously there is a bit of voice material – its Scanner anyway – and throughout the whole thing is pleasant – but nothing more than that. Quite improvised, and as such I think it could have benefitted from a bit more variation, as quite a lot of pieces sound the same. Rothenberg’s playing is quite traditional and start to work a bit on my nerves after a while; I wished there was a bit more variation in there too. Partly I thought this was alright, but not all at once.
Kim Cascone is one of the main propagators of music made with computers, with a long history in that field. According to Monotype “The Knotted Constellation is a cinematic sound narrative that moves the listener through a series of auditory fields. Each field is separated with ‘digital black’ thereby framing or bracketing the ‘rotted coordinates’ – each one a point on a decayed map of a dystopian sound-scape” and to that end he uses field recordings – all documented on the cover, which he treats with his software: Ardour, Baudline, Pd-extended, Jack, ALSAModularSynth, Audacity, JAMin, LinuxDSP GR-EQ2, while receiving sound help from people like C. Spencer Yeh, Darius Ciuta, Christopher Cascone, Mike Rooke, Guido Hennebohl and Cage Cascone. All of this in fourteen – although I didn’t count – pieces than span just over thirty-two minutes. I am not sure what to make of this. The whole thing has a rather sketch like character and not the sense of a composition as a whole. Some of these sketches are merely some loops of bell sounds, a bit of processing and that’s it. Maybe it would have been an idea if Cascone would have blended all of these sounds together into a more unified whole and made a more intense, worked out composition. Now its interesting but perhaps not more than that – unless you’d like to see this as something you can rework yourself.
Eugene S. Robinson is the founder and frontman of Oxbow, but also a writer. He also worked with “Lydia Lunch, DJ Rupture, Xiu Xiu, Zu, Black Sun, Old Man Gloom, Barry Adamson, Marianne Faithfull, Klaus Flouride, Allen Ginsberg, Bevin Kelley from Blevin from Blechtdom, Todd, Capricorns, Jarboe and many many more” and here works with Philippe Petit, himself also an avid collaborator, Lydia Lunch among others. On this CD they also receive musical contributions from Rhys Chatham (trumpet), Helena Espvall (cello) and Herve Vincent (acoustic guitar and synth). This is a narrative heavy release, with Robinson providing the words and recitation, and Petit playing around processed acoustic/field recordings, electronics, turntables, inflatable balloons and prepared guitar. I am never particular fond of CDs with story telling, partly because I happen to like music more than talking. How often will you play a CD like this? The voice of Robinson is very much on top of the music, rather than part of it, which didn’t exactly help enjoying it more. Petit provides with quite an industrial, loud soundscape, very layered with electronics and acoustic sounds, but somehow gets a bit lost in the details, distracted as I was by the voice. Nice for a while, but not for its entirety.
Trophies is a trio of Alessandro Bosetti (voice, electronics), Kenta Nagai (fretless guitar) and Tony Buck (drums). Bosetti doesn’t exactly sing, but rather recites his texts quickly and its hard to understand what his texts are about. I saw Trophies live last year (I think, perhaps early this year) and I was about the only one in the audience who didn’t like it. So I thought I would need a second chance by listening to this CD. Nagai and Buck play improvised tunes, hectic, nervous, free jazz like and then there is, still, the fast delivery of spoken word. As much as I wanted to, and as much as I like Bosetti’s solo work, Buck’s drumming on other records (Nagai I don’t know that well), I absolutely don’t like this musical direction from them. Sorry. (FdW)
Address: http://www.monotyperecords.com
DISSECTING TABLE ADVENTITIOUS AFFLICTIONS (2CD + 2 3″CD by Verato
Project)
I would be foolish, but I have been before, to argue for a conspiracy of forces attempting to turn noise into doxa. Those powers that be in effect have already done so – a priori. It is not that they particularly see anything musical, but there is certainly an image at work. An image which creates through a succession of disks, 4 here, a succession of images, though like the artwork maybe obscure, but not incoherent, thematic alternative languages of texture, color, pitch , depth. Texture as in the clear repetitive pseudo-musical ‘objects’, color as in a broad spectrum of ‘sounds’, pitch, as in a bandwidth, depth as in the processing of a glaze – a chiaroscuro… But back to my original point, the wonder of noise is in its
inability to not only form an image (of thought – be it good or bad) but its inability to do anything- thus avoiding the pitfalls of conceptualism or the aesthetics of the object qua object – i.e. a kind of minimalism. Any powers that be must rely on musical/politico – etc usurpation of noise – which turns it into something else, musical, movie for your ears (i.e.) – social comment or personal catharsis etc. At its best then never advertising itself as made with or without such and such, never having a patina, its recourse perhaps to a kind of Satanism if you like as a Blakean critique, I’ll allow it that, and other than that provide it with enough incoherent nonsense – criticism as I can forge to keep it either alive or dead, its state doesn’t matter. But finally as this massive release perhaps deserves some more specifics, I cant help being reminded of the paintings of Ged Quinn I seem to keep seeing, kind of attractive but then maybe not – maybe creepy- maybe not…(jliat)
Address: http://www.verato-project.de/shop/home.html
LIM – WITH MARC DUCRET (CD by Kopasetic Production)
Kopasetic Productions is a record label focusing on jazz and improvised music. It’s based in the south of Sweden. This is also where Lim comes from (Malm–). This trio consists of Henrik Frisk (saxophones, electronics), David Carlsson (bass, guitar) and Peter Nilsson (drums, percussion), specialized in improvised music. In 2002 their first statement was released on cd. For their newest release they are joined by swiss guitar player Marc Ducret, who is most known for his work with Tim Berne. Their collaboration started in 2006 at a festival organized by Kopasetic Production. The cd contains music recorded live in front of an audience in Malm– on two evenings in november 2010. All compositions are by Henrik Frisk. Their jazz music is very organic and dynamic. But I constantly asked myself what I was missing. No doubt fine musicians who understand their craft. But on this one it never ‘happens’ in my perception and the compositions are not very appealing or original in my ears. The music is laid back and not a very challenging listening experience. Themes and motives didn’t surprise me. Nor did the saxplaying by Frisk grab me. The guitar solos by Ducret makes this one worthwhile for me, like in ‘The tranebird’. Fantastic. (DM)
Address: http://www.kopasetic.se
THEEANNOYING – COMPOSITION 1 (CD by Edgetone Records)
The cover of the debut CD of TheeAnnoying has a very nice layout. Straight forms and with minimal information. Composition 1 contains movement I – XI. And that is something completely different than the music itself. And than is great fun! The compositions reminds to punk of the seventies, but it is not a easy copy of these intense with ongoing drums, four chord songs etcetera. The album is well composed shows the variety of this so-called experimental post-punk band. The band is formed in early 2010 and consists of Ten Ticklish Ants on noisy guitar walls and vocals, M. Mersereau on bass, vocals and samples and D.A. Leech on percussion. The trio has also played in bands like 15 Degrees Below Zero and the pop-punk band The Feldmans. The album is meant as a artistic statement of nowadays zeitgeist. And they paraphrase philosopher Baudrillard: “power in the future will be for those who know they have no nation, no home.” Anyway – these album is a radical state of music, the combination of experimental punk/rock music with a extract of an early flute composition of Philip Glass and some beautiful edited samples of some voices and political statements. Of course, nothing is new, for example Crass combines their militant punk-music with recordings of speeches, but TheeAnnoying treats the listener a fresh new world with respect for the past. I hope more Composition will follow? (JKH)
Address: http://www.edgetonerecords.com
CHEEZFACE – CIRCUMSTANTIAL PESTILENCE (CD by Mind Flare Media)
Mind Flare Media is an independent label from Charlottesville, U.S.A. Cheezface is responsible for the fifth release of this label. Cheezface was started in 2005 by Bryan Stancil and he starts to create music which is hard to categorize. He combines many styles in his programming, but one thing is a continuous element in the compositions: the manic beats and abrupt breaks. The music for Circumstantial Pestilence was built on samples derived from bathrooms and truck stops across the eastern part of his home state of North Carolina. He combines these hundreds of samples in combination of live and mechanical drums, guitars, bass, synthesizers and vocal modulation. The result a fucked up mix of drum ‘n bass, metal, jazz, seventies disco, ambient, field-recordings and noise. I do not know how Cheezface is all making this come true, but it fits really in the noise-tradition with so called members like Seamus Anus on voice, drum programming, sounds and diarrhea, The Great Went on cummings and goings and Fuck Norris on oral support. Anyway the album is an effective medicine against passivity and awaken all sleepy braincells. (JKH)
Address: http://mindflaremedia.com
KASSEL JAEGER – ALGAE (CD by Senufo Editions)
BELLOWS – HANDCUT (CD by Senufo Editions)
JENNIFER VEILLEROBE – ZWEIFARBIGE GESTEN (CD by Senufo Editions)
SPYWEIRDOS – TWO ANTS WERE CALLED (cassette by Senufo Editions)
More music by Kassel Jaeger on Giuseppe Ielasi’s Senufo Editions, a follow up to ‘Aerae’ (see Vital Weekly 757). Jaeger is from Paris and works at GRM where he works with improvisation on ‘real’ instruments and processing of these recordings with computers. He has strong interest in the use of microphones to pick up the sounds he produces on ‘positive organ, marxophone, tremoloa, turkish crescent, nfir and synthi AKS’ (I am quoting from the cover here, as you might have guessed). Three pieces here, in total thirty-five minutes. The CD is mastered by Robert Hampson of Main fame, who lives in Paris these days, so I assume Jaeger knows his work. While its not entirely the same, I think Hampson is of some influence on him. It doesn’t have that collage styled cut-up method, swift changes and abrupt moves, but it has a similar sonical depth. Jaeger’s music is more straight forward, drone like if you, using many layers of sonic activity of clustered tones, and at the same time many layers of instrumental playing, scraping, mechanics playing strings, plucking of strings etc. That adds a nice improvised character to the music, but at the same time, with all the rest happening, it all sounds highly composed. This is an excellent CD, perhaps the best so far I heard of Jaeger.
Labelboss Ielasi has his own project with Nicola Ratti, whose solo work has been reviewed a lot in Vital Weekly, and their ‘Bellows’ release (see Vital Weekly 591) was a start of what became the project Bellows. They released a LP on Alga Marghen which I didn’t hear, and basically ‘Handcut is a re-issue if that along with twenty-three minutes of bonus material, recorded a year later. ‘Handcut’ is something we should take literally: they cut into vinyl records, shellac 78rpms, and pick up the sounds with contact microphones on a revox machine, and then create long loops out of that. They also use a memory man and sine waves. Quite a different release than the previous one I did hear, on Kning Disk. This is all quite experimental stuff, moody also, with these long loops slowly spitting out the same sounds again. A conceptual work also and that might be perhaps the only downside to it. Not that’s conceptual, but the fact that its one idea, repeated in thirteen different tracks, in just under fifty-four minutes, which in the end may sound like a repeated idea. There is not a hell of difference between the old and the bonus material, but the idea is executed with great care, so in the end I’m quite positive about this.
I don’t think I heard of Jennifer Veillerobe, who is a French/German musician, one half of ‘Eselsohr’ and co-curator of this label. This is her first CD, and the title translates as ‘two-color gestures’. She uses a modular synthesizer and ‘simple acoustic gestures’, so these are the two colors, I assume. No processing or overdubbing, just editing of the material. Its all cut down into one piece, of about thirty-one minutes. Blocks of modular synth sounds are intercepted with ‘events’, though hard to say what kind ‘events’ these are. I thought I heard the sound of man sleeping. Its all rather simply and dry, but as such I must admit I also thought
On cassette we find music by Spyros Polychronopoulos from Greece, who works as Spyweirdos with twenty minutes of music, ten per side. Very dark stuff, with everything pitched down. Spyweirdos might be playing organ or perhaps an analogue synth of some kind. Maybe its a processed sine wave. I have no idea. It moves very slowly, but it definitely moves – a bit. The b-side is more complex with bell like percussive sounds and some kind of treatment thereof (perhaps) and is actually the better piece of the two (I would have switched sides when releasing this). Nothing new, not particularly great, but executed with great care: exactly the kind of music which people should release on a cassette. Black cover with silver inkt, edition of 100 copies. (FdW)
Address: http://www.senufoeditions.com
OLEKRANON – {ABADINA} (CDR by Inam Records)
By now I must admit I forgot what the deal was with Olekranon. Did the project of Ryan Huber stop or was it in hibernation? The previous was reviewed back in Vital Weekly 760, so me thinks not very long ago. ‘{Abadina}’ just goes on where we left him before. Lots of guitars and drum machines again, but like with ‘{Bilal}’ he also seems to have softened a bit, and that too goes on here, in these six new pieces. He has Sujo for his more noise/drone end, so its good to diversify into something more ‘softer’. ‘{Abadina}’ continues to explore that route and even in its more heavier moments, such as in ‘Red Clover’, he still aims for that bit of melody, deriving from a wall of feedback approach. Lots of fuzz is used, so we might be able to say that the biggest influence is shoegazing here. In hibernation or not, this one is actually quite nice again. The next step would be expansion: more song like structures, a singer perhaps, or real drums. (FdW)
Address: <inamrecs@yahoo.com>
CARLOS VILLENA – SENSACIONS DESPLACADES (CDR by Mystery Sea)
Best known for his work with his own label Mantricum, Carlos Villena also composes his own music, using field recordings and shortwave sounds. For his ‘Sensacions Desplacades’ he sticks his microphone outside but not really in the water, as we should think is somewhat required with this label. Its a work that has a flow however, perhaps alike water, but it seems less based on composition principles and more about going with the flow of the recording that is the background drop of it. I have no idea what that is, but it may seem that it is a recording of a motorway, to which he adds a bunch of other field recordings and mainly uses the equalization to transform it during its fifty-one minute course. This is a true sound-scape, without too much care for detail or dramatic courses, but that is perhaps not always necessary. Not the best work around, but all in all quite alright. (FdW)
Address: http://www.mysterysea.net
FRANCISCO MEIRINO & JASON KAHN – MUSIC FOR AN EMPTY CINEMA (CDR by Authorized Version)
It was quiet for Jason Kahn recently, but here he is again, on the revived Authorized Version label with a great live recording with Francisco Meirino. They are credited with computer, magnetic field detectors, analog synthesizer and short wave radio. Maybe, looking at the title, it was a recording made without the presence of any audience, or perhaps not many, but then surely people missed out on an excellent thirty minute excursion in the world of magnetic, static and moving waves. Static it seems, but that’s only when heard superficially. If you listen closer, you’ll find that this actually moves all the time. Hissy, high pitched, with occasionally a deeper end, crackling with radio waves and all such like. There are even bits of percussive sounds in there, courtesy perhaps of Kahn (perhaps) which adds also the vibrancy of the whole thing. A refined work by these masters of the finest drone around. (FdW)
Address: http://www.a-version.co.uk
ANDREAS BRANDAL – DISTURBING THE DUST (CDR by Kendra Steiner Editions)
BRENT FARISS – FOUR ENVIRONMENTS… COLLAPSING (CDR by Kendra Steiner Editions)
MATAMORS – FIVE-TONED ROWS (3″CDR by Kendra Steiner Editions)
ALFRED 23 HARTH – MICRO-SAXO-PHONE. EDITION III (CDR by Kendra Steiner Editions)
About Anders Brandal I always have mixed feelings. Sometimes I like what he does, sometimes it annoys me a bit. Too unfocused, too easy and/or too noisy, and sometimes any of that goes well, and I think, well, alright why not. I guess it depends on the mood I’m in. This work is apparently influenced by T.S. Eliot’s ‘Four Quartets’, which I didn’t read of course, and Brandal uses for his omni present, slightly distorted drone work, guitar, violin, keyboards and loops. About this work I have mixed feelings too. I like the beginning and the end, especially the last track, ‘Arriving Where We Started’, with their open feel to it. In between we have a couple of more muddy tracks of distorted sound, dragging on and on. Not bad at times, not great at others.
Brent Fariss is a contrabass player with The Gates Ensemble and Sirsit, and this might be the first time I hear his solo music. These pieces all use, to some extend or another, contrabass, electronics and field recordings. Four quite long pieces that all have a certain minimalist quality, even when say ‘hidden voices’ (such as in ‘Three Spirit Recordings’) provide with something that is not ongoing or sustaining. I thought this was a pretty fine release of shifting electronics, lo-fi textures, acoustic debris and other fine rumble. ‘Palestine’, with its fine humm from whatever source melted with electronics, is the best piece of the lot, I think, but the other pieces are equally good. A fine production that takes care of the various details in a very dynamic range. Great release.
Matamoros is duo of R. Lee Dockery (synth, upright bass, electronics) and Derek Rogers (synth, percussion, vocals, electronics) and they have played a couple of shows in their hometown Austin, Texas. Originally ‘Five Toned Rows’ lasted for two hours as part of an installation by Graham Hudson. It starts out with synthesizer, which sort of shimmer throughout the whole piece, then slowly percussive bangs are added, bits of vocal like sounds but as the piece evolves things smooth out, get softer and tranquil. Its all highly improvised, but it has actually a great atmospheric quality – loose but atmospheric.
Alfred Harth I know from the days he was working with Heiner Goebbels. Together they had a very fruitful collaboration in the 80s. But this is clearly history. No idea how things developed for Alfred 23 Harth over the years, I have to admit. His solo releases are very few from what I understand, which is a bit astonishing for a musician with such a long career. ‘Plan Eden’ was his first solo effort, and several others followed. And now we are dealing with his newest try. “Nearly all sounds have been created by using the saxophone, its body, springs and even bowing the body. Some tracks contain early informal recordings of mine from 1972, when I was 23 years old”, explains Harth. This work is part of a project Harth started in 2008, using sax, contact microphones for feeding devices as the Kaoss Pad, plus laptop. In this project Harth’s long time experience of using devices and effects culminates in a fantastic work. Yes, this is a great work. I’m totally flabbergasted at moments. Harth uses extended techniques only, so to speak. So his music is very far out, but at the same time it is very nearby. It is not losing itself in the world of technical possibilities, but Harth constructs musical buildings with a heart beating in it. Many, many musical ideas find their place in Harth’s imaginative compositions. Music that is very rich and with depth. Chapeau! (FdW) (DM)
Address: http://kendrasteinereditions.wordpress.com/
IN THE LAND OF ARCHERS THOSE WHO SURVIVED TURNED THEMSELVES INTO CROWS (CDR by Unlimited drift recordings)
IN THE LAND OF ARCHERS DUST AND SPARKS THE GIANT ROCK (CDR by Unlimited drift recordings)
“Another label and set of releases”- taking seriously ‘an other’, maybe, I’m reminded of a BBC TV Doc on Stephen Hawking’s public popularity and scientific irrelevance, as his paradox has been refuted as a result of a meeting at a pseudo science tricksters house, set to entertain and impress which started a war and another popular book. Only politicians and the police make any money. Why – I watched on I player having no TV, Ben Hur is something on a 2inch screen. It takes Hawking and his PhD student 18 months to get a handle on the refutation, most releases not just in noise are so narrow they slip through needles eyes with ease. Communication is in the main simplex these days, who wants a conversation, just the hope that obscurity brings money. Whatever happened to Dido. And I wont buy the Wire as they wont run my ads. Anyway some writer spends 5 years at Uni and still thinks Deleuze means Common sense when he says common sense. As such how can anyone approach a subject. I’ll rewrite that in case you think I’m just parsing words, its been said of me. A case in point is The Image of Thought is bad in D&R but good in WiP. No I mean “common sense is the norm of identity from the point of the pure Self..” As such how can anyone approach a subject.. But they all say they do. There is a lot of swearing. Shiszh- so it’s a case of anything- well no. Then what- tempted to use caps as an amusement – but you are not supposed to believe X has a handle on life- (X = replace with any/everything) but it does. Even a bad image, bad recording – even the tumult of unheard releases is the “clamor of Being” – see I can do Badiou too. So we ask? Are these releases any good, will they be like impressionist paintings, thought rubbish but now worth a bob or two? That’s for an economist, but they are a kind of mirror on the world- even in how they exist. Reviewing has become the impossible – of being outside when on the inside – is that Derrida. no wonder I don’t get invited. “Creepy, bizarre and utterly unhinged noise-scapes by this long standing Texas duo. Limited Edition of 25A shifting, churning, buzzing piece of abstract electronics loosely based around Russia’s mysterious Tunguska explosion. Minimalist and monolithic in equal measure. Limited Edition of 25.” I would like to spend more time on the “unhinged” bit – no seriously- I think “the event” unlike ‘the image of thought’ is un-hinged- did I get that? But if I did – I don’t and if I didn’t I did. Ugh? – only an individual who is full of ill will, who does not mange to think, effectively begins and effectively repeats. (jliat)
Address: http://unlimiteddrift.blogspot.com/
TUSK/SKARABEE – SPLIT (cassette by ?)
If you check out the MPC series esp. http://www.akaipro.com/mpc5000 and youtube you might get the conclusion without needing to read…(part of the point..) (another of which might be a free sampler for this reviewer courtesy of Mr Akai- unlike our wonderful police and politicians I’m still open to bribery) Before technology we were all in the same boat- though boats are technical, have you ever tried to paddle a coracle, initially technology provided all kinds of things I will summarize under the word “power” – see the opening of 2001 for more detail… but with it there was a requirement for skill, to master the machines, including abstract machines like logic and mathematics, through to steam trains and saxophones. Whilst folk music was played on spoons music technology developed along with all the others in increasing complexity and technical requirements- see the typical flight deck … up to a certain critical point where from needing to learn how to use it, technology suddenly opened itself to a lowest common denominator- look at the Apple iMac… or ABS brakes… which is all to say it both justifies ‘universally’ all – for those who want justice, democratizes for all those wanting democracy – empowers … desegregates …socializes (facebook not Fidel) enlightens (Wikis) etc etc. However it should be obvious that the post technical skills and abilities are like simulations, virtual or better put, fake. It’s cute- we half think we can be Guitar Heros (T.M.), (even) in noise mobs claim skill and awe at productions which require absolutely no skill or thought… however no matter how much these groups ape music stuff like this cassette epitomises the trash that noise can be at its best. – baby reich loop noise and trash.(jliat)
No address given
JACQUES SODDELL – FROZEN MOMENT (3″CDR by Kaon)
‘Wading through Cedric Peyronnet’s massive collection of sounds’ is what Jacques Soddell from Australia says on the cover of his 3″ CDR in the series that deal with exactly those river sounds. Ultimately he was drown to the ‘icy’ sounds, picked one and put that through ‘manipulation/processing them heavily in my usual fashion’, as he calls it. He was inspired by Tarkovsky’s ‘Solaris’, which may count for the somewhat dark and austere nature of the piece. Like more the recent releases in this series this deals with more computerized versions of the original sound material and less on the actual sounds itself, which I think is a good thing. Soddell crafted an excellent, intense piece, or perhaps ‘flow’ is a better word, from small events at the beginning, then a first wave, small sounds and then a major wave, resulting in small scale events at the end. Ice does make waves, dangerous waves at that, and Soddell tells the whole story. Quite a cinematic soundscape. (FdW)
Address: http://www.kaon.org
OPIUM – A (cassette by Collezione Del Silenzio)
UR – J (cassette by Collezione Del Silenzio)
NIMH – V (cassette by Collezione Del Silenzio)
The letter A is represented by Opium, who recently had a collaborative CD on Silentes before. Here its solo time, and things are rock-bottom deep here: no doubt the processed sounds of something or somebody. Its a spiral downwards: the opening sounds may remind you of something familiar in the world of ambient, a vague trace of a melody, but the rest of the first side is a dark drone. The b-side is a slightly more industrialized sound with repeating blocks of clustered sounds on the synth. Quite nice.
The release by UR continues in a musical field were we found them before: a bit noise like. Right from the feedback like opening, you know this is something different. This might easily be the loudest release in the ‘Collezione Del Silenzio’ series so far. I wasn’t particularly impressed by this release, I must admit. Not that I dislike noise music, but this version wasn’t done in best way, with the greatest creativity or imagination. Lots of nasty sounds, retro industrial synths and screamy vocals – although the latter not a lot. Thank god.
Giuseppe Verticchio is the man behind Nimh and of him we reviewed a CD in Vital Weekly 777. Back then in the world of field recordings, here on ‘V’ it seems that he is only playing the guitar and a bunch of looping devices. He produces a kind of psychedelic mood music, that is too loud to be called ambient, and is more like Ash Ra Temple in a nasty mood, which I though was quite funny. Not the greatest release, but very consistent in approach, and throughout quite listenable. Best out of three. (FdW)
Address: http://www.silentes.it/tapestry
THE SOMNABULIST REMIXES (cassette by Automation Records)
The release by Golden Gardens called ‘Somnabulist’ was missed out when release in December 2010, but somehow they managed to lure Automation Records into doing a remix cassette of it. Golden Gardens are described as ‘dream-pop duo’. Remixes here are by Cex, Nonnon, Teras, Hair (formerly known as Hopen), Phantom Of The RIAA and two by the Golden Gardens themselves. Hard to say something about it, if you don’t know the original, I think. The two tracks by Golden Gardens don’t seem to give a clue as to what that dream pop is about. The other tracks surely deploy some sense of ambient music (Teras, nonnon, Hair) while there is also a bit of rhythm (Cex). Not particularly engaging stuff I thought. Not really bad either, but it all sounded a bit too ‘hobby’ like. What’s the whole point I thought, beyond self-indulgence? (FdW)
Address: http://automationrecords.com
TELECULT POWERS – STARS ARE THE EYES OF GOD (cassette by Draft)
GREG DAVIS – STATES (3) (cassette by Draft)
ALEX BARNETT – PUSH (cassette by Draft)
Telecult Powers are called an ‘occult synth duo’, with custom built synthesizers. They already had a bunch of releases on labels as Deception Island, Baked Tapes, Pizza Night and their own label Temple Of Pei. Two long tracks here, both with the help of others. First there is on side one, Lala Ryan, who sings and hums through a bunch of delay/reverb pedals, which is perhaps regarded by the label as ‘alchemical theatrics and kosmische music’, but it didn’t have that effect on me. I thought it was all pretty silly. When Telecult Powers join up with John Elliott (of Emerals fame, and also of Outer Space and Imaginary Softwoods) they are called Inner Spaced, and no humming of vocals here, luckily enough. The mood here is also rather textured, but rather ‘loud’ for cosmic music, which is actually a nice move. The buzzing and ringing of clustered drones has a great impact, I think. This is an excellent side, and should have come first!
Maybe its just my perception of things, but it seems a long time since I last heard from Greg Davis. Last summer he toured the west cost of the USA with his modular synth and processed voice, and as a result he released a whole bunch of things on labels as Agents Of Chaos, Ekhein, Goldtimers and Cassauna, which may seem (or not) to be live recordings of some or another. ‘States (3)’ is part of a series, and is more related to the world of serious avant-garde music than that of cosmic music. More ‘Planet Of The Apes’ than ‘Irrlicht’, if you know what I’m talking about. Davis uses smaller events as particles to create a larger wholeness. More composed than anything that goes with the flow of the arpeggio. A very fine tape, one that would probably gain a bit more from a CDR, with a clearer detail for sound. But surely excellent.
Also from the world of analogue synthesizers is Alex Barnett, of whom I reviewed ‘Section 3’ back in Vital Weekly 755. He too can play a fine tune of cosmic music, but he adds a rhythmmachine and sequencer, and more than many of his recent peers sound like a direct ascendent of Tangerine Dream, but then all just a bit darker. Great sequenced music, that is all very pleasant to hear. Where Telecult Powers is the dark side of the moon, Barnett’s (albeit way too short) tape is the bright sun, shining in full glory on a cloudless day. (FdW)
Address: http://draftrecords.com
MP3 announcement:
From: reductive <reductivemusic@gmail.com>
Reductive has a new section dedicated to digital editions for free download through their website.
These issues show live performance and installation works of renowned artists.
Currently available:
R # 1 Kevin Drumm – Live in Toronto (May 19, 2000)
Guitar and Analog Synthesizer. Live set recording, Toronto.
R # 2 Joe Gilmore – Object Permanence / amodalCompletion (2008)
Computer-generated sound. Installation, Leeds College of Art & Design, Leeds.
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R # 3 Yann Novak – Studio Window 17/07/2011 (2011)
Field recordings and computer. Studio work, Los Angeles.
These recordings have their respective copyrights. Have been published by reductive music.
Reference:
http://www.reductivemusic.com
From: jk@jasonkahn.net
Matt Earle // Jason Kahn // Adam Sussmann
“Concerts Melbourne + Sydney”
Avantwhatever is proud to present “Concerts Melbourne+Sydney” from Matt Earle, Jason Kahn and Adam Sussmann as the first in our series of documents of live performances. Recorded over two nights in Melbourne and Sydney in January 2011, the individual tracks together create a space that is distinct and yet fluid. Dense with frequencies and activity, the recordings nonetheless possess a remarkable stillness. The release is available for download from our online store for free as high quality 320kbps MP3 or FLAC files.
Track 1 // January 26, 2011 // Stutter, Melbourne // 27:29
Track 2 // January 27, 2011 // Now Now Festival, Sydney // 33:04
Mixed and recorded by Jason Kahn.
Matt Earle: electronics
Jason Kahn: analogue synthesizer
Adam Sussmann: electronics
Avantwhatever
http://www.avantwhatever.com/