BIONULOR – ERIK (CD by Requiem Records) *
JONAS KOCHER & GAUDENZ BADRUTT – STRATEGY OF BEHAVIOUR IN UNEXPECTED SITUATIONS (CD by Insubordinations) *
TRIO MOSKUS – SALMESYKKEL (CD by Hubro)
ANDREAS WILLERS & MEINRAD KNEER & CHRISTIAN MARIEN – NULLI SECUNDUS (CD by Creative Sources Recordings) *
LEAN LEFT – LIVE AT CAFE OTO (CD by Unsounds) *
FRANCISCO MEIRINO – UNTITLED PHENOMENAS IN CONCRETE (CD by Cave 12) *
RADIOMENTALE – I-LAND (CD by F4T Music) *
IO – FLAMENCO ABSTRACTIONS (CD by Elegua Records) *
RETURN TO L.A.Y.L.A.H. – TRIBUTE TO ZERO KAMA (CD compilation by Buh Records)
LIQUIDARLO CELULOIDE – DISTURBIA INGRAVIDA (CDR by Buh Records) *
TINKU – DOUBLE EXCELLENCE (CDR by Buh Records) *
URKUMA AND THE URKUMAS – CHAPTER ZERO (CDR by Mik Musik)
PABLO MONTAGNE – CORDALE (CDR by Setola Di Maiale)
LUCA NASCIUTI – VANISHING POINT (CDR by Somehow Recordings)
THE HOGWEED AND THE ADERYN (CDR by Wounded Wolf Press)
PELAYO F.ARRIZABALAGA & AGUSTI MARTINEZ – DUO DE SAXOS (CDR by Hazard Records)
ORQUESTRA ANTIMANIERISTA – SATURACTION (CD by Hazard Records)
SALT SUPPLY – A LIGHTER WEIGHT, A STRONGER BACK (CDR by EscRec)
MIGUEL A. GARCIA & ALICIA GRUESCO & COCO MAYO & ARTUR VIDAL – GROC (CDR/book by Sonoridad Amarilla) *
DESTRUCTION DES ANIMAUX NUISIBLES – #1 (cassette by Alteracien)
MUBLES/GRASSA DATO (cassette by Truco Esparrago)
BIONULOR – ERIK (CD by Requiem Records)
The ‘Erik’ mentioned in the title is Erik Satie, French composer in the late nineteenth century, early twentieth, and enfant terrible to the official musical world. Always good to say you are a big fan of his music. A while ago, someone lived downstairs from me and he played the piano. I’d usually turn up my volume when he rehearsed, except when he played Satie: then I’d turn off all music and just listened to the piano, far away, through walls. It created an odd listening experience, this great, soft, melodic music, from a far. Bionulor is also a Satie fan and is modus operandi is ‘100% sound recycling’. I have no idea if he played Satie himself on the piano, before treating the sound in anyway. It would be nice if he did, but somehow I doubt that. I couldn’t figure out if this Ciccolini or De Leeuw playing, or perhaps John White (one of the players I have on CD, also known from his LP for Obscure Records). The soft, dreamy music of the original piano pieces are translated well into soft, dreamy, glitch music. It reminds me of ‘Wurmloch Variationen’ by Stephan Mathieu from more than a decade back. The piano can be recognized as such but it loops, it bumps, it hisses and whatever else piano’s do inside computers, to create a warm piece of music. In the fifteen tracks, Bionulor not always shows a lot of variety in his methods of working, so after a while these pieces may sound a bit too similar, but it’s perhaps the longitude of these pieces that make it interesting – think a ‘Vexation’ for computer treated piano sounds. Sketch like, these pieces reflect the music of Satie quite well. Overall, a very fine album. (FdW)
Address: http://www.requiem.serpent.pl/
JONAS KOCHER & GAUDENZ BADRUTT – STRATEGY OF BEHAVIOUR IN UNEXPECTED SITUATIONS (CD by Insubordinations)
As noted last week, Jonas Kocher, accordion player from Switzerland did a CD, ‘Duos’, with other people but only one was a regular collaborator, Gaudenz Badrutt. Here we have a live recording from little over a year ago, in Berlin. A thirty-three minute of carefully placed sounds and well chosen silence, I’d say. This is one of those works were you hear something, short, and then nothing, a bit longer. Action and interaction music. Its not always easy to say who starts the action, but perhaps they alternate between each other, and perhaps they both start every now and then, while at other times they both stop. But on a few occasions they collide mid air and when they bump they go on collision course which actually may take some time. This only happens maybe three of four times here. It’s here that they sustain their sounds for a while and deliver more tension to the music, even more than to the other parts. It’s full on, intense listening and playing going on that requires your full attention. You can’t play this while doing something else (I tried and failed). Stay focussed. The musicians, so why shouldn’t you? (FdW)
Address: http://www.insubordinations.net
TRIO MOSKUS – SALMESYKKEL (CD by Hubro)
A very curious CD. It sounds so ‘old’. But it is a recent cd from young musicians from Sweden. A trio of Anja Lauvdal (piano), Fredrik Luhr Dietrichson (bass) and Hulbækmo (drums). All three come from the Jazz Department of the Trondheim Conservatory of Music. ‘Salmesykkel’ is their debut recording. A collection of ten works composed by the trio. The music is close to easy listening and has touches of camp. Disturbing because it is so normal, although the musicians probably have different opinion on that. Everything was recorded in january 2012 at one of the oldest studios in Stockholm. The musicians are all in their early twenties, which is hard to believe listening to these pastoral and introspective pieces. Virtuosity is not their thing, which is specially demonstrated by the piano player who has or uses a limited range of technique. At other moments it is however clear that they are highly accomplished players. I have difficulties with the timbre and expression of the piano player. It is simply not my taste. Whereas the drummer introduces funny elements that – a last – offer something to laugh about. But I wished there were more contrasts on this one. From beginning to end we dwell in the same serene atmosphere. I’m left very ambiguous about this one. (DM)
Address: http://www.hubromusic.com
ANDREAS WILLERS & MEINRAD KNEER & CHRISTIAN MARIEN – NULLI SECUNDUS (CD by Creative Sources Recordings)
LEAN LEFT – LIVE AT CAFE OTO (CD by Unsounds)
Releases by Creative Sources indeed hardly land on our desk, despite their extensive catalogue. They are up to catalogue number 222 with this new release, and like we should know from the ones we reviewed in their earlier days, all of their music is from the field of improvisation. Here we have a trio of Andreas Willers on electric and acoustic guitars, Christian Marien on drums and percussion and Meinrad Kneer on double bass. The music was recorded in February of this year at Ausland, one of Berlin’s finer places for such music and then mixed a month later, so perhaps taped to multi-track and then mixed, or perhaps it’s edited down. Either way is fine. THese players aren’t well-known to me, even when Kneer every now and then mails releases on his Evil Rabbit label. These nine pieces, totaling some forty six minutes, show a few things: excellent improvising skills obviously, with a fine love of playing their instruments kind of ‘as intended’ by them who build such instruments and not like resonant sound boards. But that can result in a fine bit of mean noise, such as in ‘Ubersturz’. Stylistically these three men aren’t confined to one style. That ‘Ubersturz’ piece is noise, and rock like, but then they might play as easily something that is much more acoustic jazz like, of course always in a total free mode. This gives the release quite a varied impression, which works pretty well here, and could appeal to a wider audience than those hardcore improvisation/free jazz lovers, but to anyone with an open mind towards free rock, free noise and free jazz. All you need is an open mind, but then this music has a lot to give.
And then right after this CD, I happened to stick on the one by Lean Left, partly because I assumed it would be along similar lines, and partly because it was the next one on the pile ‘to be heard’. Lean Left is a quartet of Terrie Ex on ‘left’ guitar, and Andy Moor on ‘right’ guitar. Both are members of The Ex – Terrie Ex even the founding member – a Dutch punk band, if you still may call them like that, who have broadened their horizons considerably. Here, as Lean Left, they team up for sixty seven minutes with Ken Vandermark on tenor saxophone and B clarinet and Paal Nilssen-Love. Now, normally the way Vandermark plays would not be my cup of tea, but I am more than happy to make exceptions. For the better part of these sixty-seven minutes I was concentrated on doing some boring manual work on a website, copying and checking links and such like. And all of this time the music from Lean Left was blearing away in the background. Sixty seven minutes of unrelentless free improvised music with a strong free jazz tag attached to it. It’s not always full on craziness with these four men, but most of the time it actually is. I was thinking that while doing all this silly work, I preferred the loud, ongoing noisy bits of of this CD, but when I was listening more closely, even concentrating, than it seemed to me that I actually was more attracted by the more introspective moments, and less by its all out free jazz playing. Not something I would play everybody, working or otherwise, but one that I seemed to enjoy quite a bit. (FdW)
Address: http://www.creativessourcesrec.com
Address: http://www.unsounds.com
FRANCISCO MEIRINO – UNTITLED PHENOMENAS IN CONCRETE (CD by Cave 12)
Now here’s someone whose work I find more and more interesting. When he was still active as Phroq it was alright, I guess, but not as outstanding. Since he worked under his own name his work is very good. I am not sure why that is, but I guess it is what it is. His latest piece was recorded over a period of four years and uses 85 HighC/UPIC sessions and 18 external sounds, such as snow falling, bones cracking, magnetic fields and insects. The UPIC is ‘a computerised musical composition tool, devised by the composer Iannis Xenakis. It consists of a digitising tablet linked to a computer which has a vector display’. Meirino spend four years of drawing and composing, ultimately putting this stuff down to a reel-to-reel tape to get some more warmth out of the music. This pieces lasts thirty six minutes, divided in various parts, all of it of an extreme musical nature. This is music that is quite ‘loud’ most of the times, but surely ‘loud’ but not without a thought behind it, nor without sense of a fine composition. Things that I find usually lacking in the world of power electronics and harsh noise. Meirino proofs you can have extreme music that is still detailed, very dynamic (which doesn’t equal ‘loud’, mind you), in which something always seems to be on the move somewhere. Also there seems to be some instruments being used, percussive ones, around the four minute break, which I though added a nice extra layer to this heavy electronic music. It’s something which I thought Meirino should explore more too in the future. It makes that I think this is one of his most accomplished works to date. An excellent manifestation of intelligent noise. (FdW)
Address: http://label.cave12.org
RADIOMENTALE – I-LAND (CD by F4T Music)
Already their debut was in 1992, Jean-Yves Leloup and Eric Pajot, working as Radiomentale, but I don’t think I ever heard from them in these last twenty years. But perhaps I am mistaken. Apparently they started out in techno/rave music, but none is evident here on ‘I-Land’, which is their first official release. But I gather from the information that ‘I-Land’ might be something out of the ordinary self. Here we deal with something that is much more ambient in approach, through the use of synthesizers, field recordings, acoustic sounds, sound effects, and in ‘Sinking’ a fair amount of voices of calm and dark nature. While not exactly ‘drone’ or ‘ambient’, much of what I hear here, and perhaps I am guided by that techno/rave thing, of ambient house. This is more alike The KLF’s ‘Chill Out’ than Aphex Twin’s ‘Selected Ambient Works’; I know, the differences are quite small here, but they are there. Highly atmospherical music, even for instance the music of ‘Smooth Operator’ is inspired by the movie ‘Carre Blanc’, a dystopian science fiction. All three pieces, all around twenty minutes, have this great soundtrack like quality. Like listening to a movie, rather than watching one. Maybe it’s because I have been watching all nine ‘Children Of The Corn’ movies in about one week time, of which some deal heavily with the soundtrack, including whispering voices, that I’m more suggested towards the notion of film soundtracks, but the music from Radiomentale could easily be used as such one day for any movie, scary or otherwise. Among all the improvised music which landed on this desk in the past week, this is one that is not only different, but also one that was on repeat play for an afternoon. (FdW)
Address: http://www.f4tmusic.com
IO – FLAMENCO ABSTRACTIONS (CD by Elegua Records)
In a nice but perhaps not so informative box we find a CD of David Font, computer musician and Jose Luis Rodriguez which is a merging of flamenco guitar playing and computer treatments. I don’t think I heard of both before, but, again, I might be wrong. The music here was all realized in real time, without any overdubs. We recognize indeed the guitar and occasionally the flamenco playing, which are fed through the computer which adds delay, reverb, pitch transpositions and all such like. Nine pieces in total, of all rather ‘pop’ length in nature. According to the press blurb this is recommended for the fans of Brian Eno, Jon Hassel and Aphex Twin, circa his ambient works. I may actually agree with all three, although perhaps more so with the first two. I am not sure what to make of this. I think it’s all quite sympathetic to a certain level, and after that it started to irritate me. The level of processing seemed to remain the same throughout these pieces. Lots of delay, way too much actually. It sounds alright maybe for a few pieces, but then, the entire nine is a way too much. Never ever do we get to hear the dry sound of the flamenco guitar, which would perhaps make a nice change every now and then. That doesn’t happen. It means that in the end I didn’t like this CD very much. And perhaps that’s why I was reminded of some of the more recent Brian Eno releases: it seems to quickly made, too easily, like a well spend afternoon. (FdW)
Address: http://eleguarecords.com
RETURN TO L.A.Y.L.A.H. – TRIBUTE TO ZERO KAMA (CD compilation by Buh Records)
LIQUIDARLO CELULOIDE – DISTURBIA INGRAVIDA (CDR by Buh Records)
TINKU – DOUBLE EXCELLENCE (CDR by Buh Records)
One of the four releases (yes, I know, reading submission review guidelines, sometimes wrongly noted as ‘fine print’, remains a difficult task)from Lima, Peru, I had to leave with Jliat, so look for that in the next few weeks. The first one you may be surprised that I review it, but as it happens I saw Zero Kama play back in september 14th 1985 (it was released on a CDR as Discogs points out – I’d love to hear again), and I thought it was very funny. A bunch of half naked boys and girls on stage, throwing pigs blood and playing drums. That was the main disappointment of the evening as it was promised that Zero Kama would be playing on human bones and skulls. Their cassette on Nekrophile Records sounded alright, but perhaps I didn’t hear the classic album others made out of it. A quick search learned that others indeed thought so. It’s perhaps one of those mysterious names from the past, that are simply a mystery because not many recordings are known, just like Metgumbnerbone. Before playing the current tribute album, I played the original ‘Secret Eye Of L.A.Y.L.A.H.’ again and thought it was still a funny records of pseudo ethnic tribalesq drumming and wordless chanting along with flutes, on bones and skulls perhaps. I can also see why it still influences many of our magickal/ritualisk friends around the world, so perhaps a tribute album is in place indeed. It’s music that offers enough ideas for others, certainly if magick and rituals are involved. Lots of new names in here, besides the few ones I recognize such as Burial Hex, Hybryds, Spectre and Z’EV, we also have here Jgruu, Drugs For Drunks, Molusco Estroboscopico, Mushy, Cultus Sabbati and Magdalena Solis. Sixteen artists in total. Everybody plays around with those notions, which were expanded over the years into the wider genre of ‘dark ambient’, perhaps due to the arrival of easy to equipment, micro-verb and such like. There is a fair amount of drumming, chanting, while flutes seem absent or replaced by something else that creates they nocturnal, shimmering melodies. I am probably too down to earth to notice any magick in here, but I must admit I also enjoyed the music to some extent. Partly of course, this afternoon was a nostalgia trip, reminding of that night in Arnhem, but also of this somewhat outdated electronic music, which simply sounded nice enough. No one has updated the Zero Kama to some tribal house music, or indeed go in any other direction, but that’s alright. It all stays close to home.
Following this ‘real’ CD we have a bunch of CDR releases. Liquidarlo Celuloide is a trio of Juan Diego Capurro on keyboards and electronic processes, Javier Manrqieu Corzo on electric guitars and Alfonso Vargas on drums. They have seven tracks of improvised psychedelic music, not recorded that well, unless the distortion at the edge is what they wanted. Three of the seven pieces are rather short, the other four a longer, perhaps like we would expect from psychedelic jam sessions. It’s hard to say wether I like this or not: it’s all a bit too distant from what I usually review or listen privately. It made me think that this kind of music is always great to play as you can space out as much as you want, and that perhaps with the right amount of stimuli it’s interesting to hear it played on a stage. But necessarily to be released? Perhaps if you were a member of the band, or a witness of the concert, but an unassuming reviewer at the other end of the world?
Behind Tinku we have Megan Moncrief and Efraín Rozas, who met in New York and were they started to play music together. Moncrief plays drums and percussion and Rozas plays electronics and field recordings. Judging by the sound of this release, I’d say this is a live recording of some kind, as sounds a bit rough here and there, but not as distorted as the release by Liquidarlo Celuloide. It’s not entirely clear to me what it is that these two musicians are after. I read something about ‘contemporary improvisation with latin percussion’, but it seems to me that this level of latin percussion is a bit pushed away in the mix, and it doesn’t have that swing. But who knows: maybe that’s part of the bigger plan in this music? It’s however quite nice, although I am not sure why, to be honest. Maybe it’s the fact that this is released in Peru? Maybe it has a vague exotic sense about it? Or perhaps it’s just ‘vague’ all around in a sort of compelling way? Here too it’s not easy to escape the idea that the concert might be better, but give these musicians some proper microphones and we’ll talk again. (FdW)
Address: http://buhrecords.blogspot.nl/
URKUMA AND THE URKUMAS – CHAPTER ZERO (CDR by Mik Musik)
In 2003 MIK MUSIK released the first album by Stefano de Santis aka Urkuma. Stefano de Santis lives and works in Italy. He started Urkuma in 1999. He has released music at several labels and did performances and installations it Poland, Italy, USA, Austria, Japan and some more countries. For now he recorded with his friends, ‘The Urkumas’, the new album ?Chapter Zero?and their compositions are based on improvisation. The Urkumas consists of Tiziano Serra, Rosa Balistreri, Andrea Malandrino and David Della Rossa. The album is released in a small cardboard box with laurel leafs inside and pink paint and photography outside. Some are atmospheric and ambient-based created by electronics, subtile sound-movements and minimal changes characterize the these tracks. One track is a Sicilian traditional folk song guided by some electronic abstract sounds. Very nice played, but it sounds strange to me in these electronic and abstract musical setting. Other tracks are more noise related with distorted voice and synthesizer sounds. Despite of the beautiful folk song is Chapter Zero a beautiful beginning of lots of more chapters of these adventurous Italian musicians. (JKH)
Address: http://www.mikmusik.org
PABLO MONTAGNE – CORDALE (CDR by Setola Di Maiale)
From Italy hails a guitarist of whom I never heard, Pablo Montagne, who has a seventeen track release, of which the first ten tracks are for classical guitar and then the rest for acoustic guitar. The difference is in the strings, my friend. His main interest is in creating microtonal variations, through ‘self generating lines, shifting rhythms, shifting melodies using poli-rhythmic techniques’ on the guitars, in which are six strings are tuned equal. Montagne doesn’t necessarily plays chord structures as well as short repeating phrases. That’s about it. This release lasts close to eighty minutes, whereas Montage proofs his ‘point’ easily within thirty minutes. Maybe he believes ‘more is better’, but I am not convinced about that. I’d rather have five of each, say forty-five minutes in total and I think this would have been a great album. Now it’s almost twice as long, but not twice as good. You can easily find ten great pieces here, that’s hardly a problem. But I can’t imagine that one can keep up the same level of interest throughout the entire release: at such the variation just isn’t enough. (FdW)
Address: http://www.setoladimaiale.net
LUCA NASCIUTI – VANISHING POINT (CDR by Somehow Recordings)
From London is one Luca Nasciuti of whom I never heard, who is a composer, musician, and visual artist with an interest in aural and visual fields, based on electro-acoustic sound, acousmatic listening and soundscape composition. I am not sure, but this might be his first physical release and has two pieces, ‘Ark’ and ‘Mirror’, together about twenty minutes. In the first he treats the piano playing of his five year old son, while in ‘Mirror’ we don’t know what kind of sounds he uses. Likewise I have no idea what kind of computer processing he applies in his music but it sounds like the usual granular synthesis of whatever kind that creates the usual warm glitch like computer music with gliding scales in a quiet, slowly, evolving manner. Easy music perhaps, but it sounds all pretty much alright. It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t stand out from the pack, and throughout it’s quite alright. It’s not the best next thing around, but it’s surely made with fine imagination and a fine ear for detail. Maybe I needed to hear more to get a full on opinion. (FdW)
Address: http://www.somehowrecordings.co.uk/
THE HOGWEED AND THE ADERYN (CDR by Wounded Wolf Press)
The label Wounded Wolf releases with love and sensitivity experimental folk music with great attention to the artwork and mostly handmade. The label is run by the duo Atay İlgün and Gözde Omay from Turkey. The latest edition of Wounded Wolf is of the duo themselves under the name The Hogweed and The Aderyn. The CDR consists of four numbers and variety of instruments are used to achieve a surprisingly folkloric musical palette. The guitar and ukelule and various rhythm instruments are central and are complemented by the vocals of Gözde Omay and Chinese flute. A dreamy atmosphere is created through the subtle use of effect-devices as delays and repetitive chords. The duo uses musical traditions from the Western and Eastern music, creating a new and also a familiar sound. The power of music lies in the sensitivity to sound, rhythm and harmony and calls in a sense to a certain melancholy, without it being depressive or dark. As been said, unfortunately there are only four songs on this release, but it is a pleasant introduction to fusion of Western and Eastern traditions in a new recognizable way. Great album! (JKH)
Address: http://www.woundedwolfpress.co.uk/
PELAYO F.ARRIZABALAGA & AGUSTI MARTINEZ – DUO DE SAXOS (CDR by Hazard Records)
ORQUESTRA ANTIMANIERISTA – SATURACTION (CD by Hazard Records)
Two releases by the Barcelona-based label Hazard Records. The tile ‘Duo de Saxos’ describes what we can expect here. Duo improvisations for saxophone, played by two veterans of the Spanish scene: Pelayo F.Arrizabalaga and Agusti Martinez. The CDR contains nine improvisations. There are more close to chamber music then to jazz. Concentrated and communicative improvisations of players who understand their craft. Arrizabalaga started playing free jazz in the 70s. In the 80s he co-led avant-garde group Clonicos that received some recognition outside of Spain. Nowadays he lives and works in Switzerland, and took the opportunity to play and record with Agusti Martinez. A player from Barcelona, part of the Meeting Saxophone Quartet, Maal Ensemble, Pau Torres. Since the 90s he prefers to play solo. With ‘Duo de Saxos’ they deliver a personal document of their successful musical meeting, recorded live on October 10th, 2011 at TePeKaLeSound, Barcelona. Orquesta Antimanierista is an extension of Trio Anitimanierista made up by Antonia Funes, David Diaz and Victor Sequi. For this extended version they are joined by five other musicians. One of them is Juan Crek of Macromassa. The orchestra offers a bunch of radical improvisations, not coming from a jazz attitude and capability, but more from a do-it-yourself attitude. Some pieces are more dealing with ambient like sound sculptures, like the title track ‘Saturnation’ whereas other pieces are into free improvisation, noise, rock or otherwise loosely composed entities. They have plenty of ideas, and there is a definitely fine interaction between them. Absolutely a charming release of sympathetic anarchistic music, consisting of non-verbal singing by Crek, guitars, cellos, drums, turntables, clarinet and trumpet. (DM)
Address: http://www.hazardrecords.org
SALT SUPPLY – A LIGHTER WEIGHT, A STRONGER BACK (CDR by EscRec)
Eight years ago left the parents of Harm Kruistum on holiday to Australia. The living room was converted into a studio, instruments were carried in, a digital tape recorder was purchased, a mixer was borrowed and recording microphones were drawn. Salt Supply recorded many compositions with intent to release a CDR independently. The material remained on the shelf, it was like a cheese every so often reversed and after eight years the disc “A Lighter Weight, A Stronger Back,” finally ends on the counter of the small label EscRec from Deventer – the Netherlands. Fourteen adventurous catchy pop songs contains the CDR, where the association with dEUS, Stuurbaard Bakkebaard and Radiohead quickly has been made. The spheres of the songs are all over the place, from threatening to lighthearted, from upbeat to slow. The sound remains recognizable and lets hear the versatility of four musicians, Marc Fien on drums, Niels Keijzer on bass and multi-instrumentalists Jasper Cuckoo and Harm of Kruistum on guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, piano, organ, mandolin and vocals. Of course it is wonderful that after all these years the listener still can become acquainted with the versatile and adventurous music of Salt Supply, it is particularly unfortunate that this is the only thing we can get to have this quartet. But .. the album is a conclusion of a period and the musicians can be proud of these moments. (JKH)
Address: http://www.escrec.com
MIGUEL A. GARCIA & ALICIA GRUESCO & COCO MAYO & ARTUR VIDAL – GROC (CDR/book by Sonoridad Amarilla)
DESTRUCTION DES ANIMAUX NUISIBLES – #1 (cassette by Alteracien)
MUBLES/GRASSA DATO (cassette by Truco Esparrago)
Three releases which involve Miguel A. Garcia, erstwhile known as Xedh. Electronic music with a wide interest, improviser. The main portion here is a book, the libretto of ‘a scene and sound composition’. ‘Groc’ means yellow in Catalan and ‘offers instructions for the scene, and at the same time is a scenographic object. Its objective is not only to be performed but also to be projected into the viewer’s imagination’. You go through the book, listen to the music, listen to the pages, see the music. That’s the idea, and it starts with a text by Kandinsky. I am sure it’s all a bit vague, but perhaps that’s the whole idea? The book (about 100 pages) has images, poetry, instructions, stage settings, which may or may not relate to the music. Which may or may not relate to the book. It’s thirteen pieces, in just under twenty minutes, so it’s not exactly ‘Ring Des Nibulungen’ or Stockhausen’s ‘Licht’, this opera. If indeed it is an opera. There is indeed not a lot ‘clear’ about this project. The music are mere fragments, of found sound (people talking, a clock), maybe of music every now and then, but even then quite obscured in whatever form. While I was fascinated by the whole package, book and music, I also found it hard to make up my mind about it. I guess it’s more the overall product than the various parts that make this an interesting packaging.
Garcia as a new group with Marta Sainz (voice, effects) and Enqirue Zaccagnini (electronics and noise) and himself on electronics and noise, under the name of Destruction Des Animaux Nuisibles. They merge analogue and digital noise together and to that end there’s two pieces. Side B has a pure improvised piece of noise, while side A is the ‘reconstructed version by Garcia. The latter is quite nice piece, despite it’s somewhat overlong noise based introduction. Once that’s out of the way, the piece evolves along a collage of noisy and less noisy textures, speeding up tapes, slowing down drones and such like. Maybe as a composition not the most strongest effort from Garcia, but overall not bad. The other side, with the improvised piece, is then perhaps nothing more than a nice bonus. ‘So you can hear what Garcia used to generate his piece’, unless of course old school industrial music is still your cup of tea. Then you might like things as they are.
But then Garcia happens to be a member of Mubles, a free form group which also includes members of other groups such as Kakofunk, Valvula Antirretorno, Baba Llaga, Ravenofthybleakskyes and Loty Negarti, and I had the ‘pleasure’ to review some of their music before. I don’t get this. No doubt this is done with the best intentions and maybe it’s even conceptual/arty or such something like, but maybe there is something lost in translation. Or in the recording of the proceedings. Free form improvised noise music from some kind of brutal sort of action thing – or some such. Maybe seeing the action would be a better idea, I was thinking? As of yet I haven’t heard something by Mubles I actually liked. On the other side we find music by Grassa Data from Madrid. This is much more coherent music of noise based, read: industrial, historical background. Distorted sounds of feedback, reverb, hiss and other unidentified loops. When the noise hits the van, it hits hard. Not entirely my cup of tea, but much more enjoyable than Mubles. (FdW)
Address: http://operagroc.wordpress.com
Address: http://www.trucoesparrafo.blogspot.com
Address: http://wwww.alteracion-records.blogspot.com