NUTIMBRE – CYCLES (CD by Den)
STEFANO FERRIAN & SIMONE QUATRANA – A–S E P T i C (CD by Den)
LUCA PISSAVINI & DALILA KAIROS– A SPECTRAL WORK (CD by Bunch Records)
GUSTAVO COSTA & STEFANO FERRIAN – KINEMATICS (CD by Bunch Records)
ARTIFICIAL MEMORY TRACE – ORGANFISH (CD by and/Oar) *
FREDERIC NOGRAY & YANNICK DAUBY – PANOTTI AURICULARIS (CD by Universinternational) *
PHILIPPE PETITGENET & FRANCOIS MARTIG – P.A.S. (3″CDR by Universinternational) *
NICKOLAS MOHANNA – PHASE LINE (CD by Run/Off) *
MASSIMO MAGEE – POUSSEZ (CD by Copy For Your Records) *
OTHER VULTURES – INTENSIFY YOUR INTERESTS (cassette by Copy For Your Records)
ANDREW CHALK – THE CIRCLE OF DAYS (LP by Faraway Press)
ELODIE – MINIATURES PERSANES (LP by La Scie Dorée)
REGLER – REGEL #1/REGEL #2 (LP by 8mm Records)
KOSTIS KILYMIS – CRYSTAL DROPS/GROUND LOOPS (7″ by Dischi Del Barone)
LEA BERTUCCI – LIGHT SILENCE, DARK SPEECH (7″ by Dischi Del Barone)
AREK GULBENKOGLU – THE REOCCURRENCE (CDR, private) *
THE DANGEREUX FAMILY – RAVE DAYS ARE OVER (CDR, private) *
ARCANE DEVICE – NOISE MATRIX MANTRAS/MODULAR WAVES (2CDR by Pulsewidth) *
STAR TURBINE – SANDWICH MUSIC (CDR by Attenuation Circuit) *
MARTIN KREJCI & SEBASTIAN GIUSSANI & KEIKO UENISHI – COUNTING SHEEP WON’T CAUSE TO ENCOUNTER A DREAM OF STRAY DOG (OR WILL IT?) (CDR by Attenuation Circuit) *
COMPEST – DANACH (CDR by Attenuation Circuit) *
FAKE ART I.D. ZINE (CDR and magazine)
NUTIMBRE – CYCLES (CD by Den)
STEFANO FERRIAN & SIMONE QUATRANA – A–S E P T i C (CD by Den)
Stefano Ferrian is an Italian musician, composer and improviser from northwest part of Italy. He plays since a young age, and played in many experimental projects and groups, in a diversity of musical styles. For example he was member of the avant-core band Psychofagist. More and more he turned to improvisation as saxophonist and guitarist. Many of these projects are released by Den Records, a label he established as an outlet for his music. Nutimbre is one of his ensembles. The ensemble debuted in 2012 with the album ‘Risk’. ‘Cycles’ is the next step and has the following line up: Simone Quatrana (electro-acoustic piano), Vito Emanuele Galante (trumpet), Luca Passivini (electric double bass), Fabrizio Carriero (drums), plus Stefano Ferrian (alto sax and composition). The fact that Ferrian dabbed into many musical styles in the past is still traceable, as we hear many influences and genres pass by. Happily in strong and well-thought compositions by Ferrian. The cyclic aspect is worked out differently in each composition. In one composition this is evident in the rhythmic structure (‘Closed Walk’), in others we find it in melodic aspects. Very playful works moving between avant rock and avant jazz. I enjoyed especially the playing by pianist Quatrana, because of his humour and wit he adds to the music. But also Galante and the other players surprised me in their solos and contributions. Great work by a promising ensemble! ‘A-Septic’ is a duo work by Quatrana and Ferrian. Besides Nutimbre, both are also member of Rara Avis that has Ken Vandermark a.o. as crew member. So both musicians know each other very well I guess. ‘A Septic’ is their first duo recording. In contrast with the duet with Costa, Ferrian is much more lyrical and extravert in his playing here. Quatrana plays interesting dissonant clusters and patterns. And often they engage in passionate dialogues and interaction with both Quatrana and Ferrian taking the lead equally in their improvisations that are beyond category. The playing is very spirited and engaging. Both have a considerable vocabulary to their disposal, which makes their music full of surprising twists. All in all they offer some very relevant improvised chamber music. A joy! (DM)
Address: http://www.denrecords.eu
LUCA PISSAVINI & DALILA KAIROS– A SPECTRAL WORK (CD by Bunch Records)
GUSTAVO COSTA & STEFANO FERRIAN – KINEMATICS (CD by Bunch Records)
Two duo efforts released by Bunch Records, a label started by Luca Pissavini as an outlet for his projects. His duo record with Dalila Kayros has him playing viola, cello, double bass, daxophone, zither, whamola, live electronics, and percussions. Also he signed for the composition. Dalila Kayros contributes with her extreme vocals. She is a singer, composer from Sardinia who explores and extends the vocal possibilities in a radical way, preferably in combination with experimental music and sound art. In 2013 Kayros released her solo album ‘Nukh’ for Den records. ‘A Spectral Work’ sounds like field recordings from hell. Dark and sinister layers of sound, noisy and very uncomfortable. It is one long extended torture of 43 minutes. The piece unfolds like a constant stream of percussive and other noises, with Kayros vocal exercises on top of it. A thick multilayered ensemble of mainly acoustical instruments that cannot be unravelled. During this linear moving journey the music changes. In the middle section the music has it is most uncomplicated and peaceful form. The result is a very evocative nightmare, an extraordinary composition that reveals it is own view on beauty. ‘Kinematics’ is also a duo work, albeit of a totally different kind. Ferrian and Costa present eight free improvisations for sax and percussion. Stefano Ferrian is an well-known Italian musician, composer and improviser. Gustavo Costa is a drummer from Porto, Portugal and has a background in trash metal, and his musical studies mainly in Portugal and Holland. Operating in the context of improvisation, electro acoustic music, punk and jazz. In their exercises Ferrian is often in the lead and proves the most capable musician of the two. But they develop for improvisations where both can make their mark. In ‘Translation’ Costa opens with a long solo before Ferrian discreetly enters the scene. All improvisations are of a restrained and controlled nature, and are enjoyable mainly for Ferrrian’s elegant and expressive playing. (DM)
Address: http://www.lucapissavini.com/bunch-records/
ARTIFICIAL MEMORY TRACE – ORGANFISH (CD by and/Oar)
More music from Artificial Memory Trace, also known as Slavek Kwi and once again he delves recordings made at the Mamori lake in Brazil, just like he did with his release ‘Anouran Love Songs’ (see Vital Weekly 962). That was about 240 minutes of music; here it’s another 80. That is a lot of music. For ‘Organfish’ Kwi uses ‘unidentified subaquatic creatures (i.e. Gymnotiform electric fish, other types of fish, insects, crustaceans, etc.) and vegetation’, unlike the recordings of frogs in ‘Anouran Love Songs’. You may expect this to be a recording of pure field recordings and it is, but it sounds all very electrical, as noted on the cover: ‘omnipresent tonal and electronic-like wave sounds triggered by active electromagnetic fields of Gymnotiform electric fish. Signals were detected underneath floating grass (or ‘capi’) seldomly in open water’. This makes that this is quite a different release than ‘Anouran Love Songs’. It sounds all very electronic, and while divided in eleven parts, it sounds like an organic, one piece. Lots of drone-like sounds, like modular synthesizers beeping away, oscillating tonal structures and a bit of water sound. It all sounds highly captivating. The cut ‘n paste element that we sometimes find in the work of Artificial Memory Trace seems to be less present in this release. Things buzz like hell around here, like there is a loose electrical connection, sparkling like electric static charges and somebody holding down two keys on a keyboard. Sometimes even piercing, noise-like (when will he do a harsh noise wall release based on nature recordings I wonder) and it’s another wonderful addition to an expanding universe of its own. It’s not more of the same but an excellent other side of the coin. (FdW)
Address: http://www.and-oar.org
FREDERIC NOGRAY & YANNICK DAUBY – PANOTTI AURICULARIS (CD by Universinternational)
PHILIPPE PETITGENET & FRANCOIS MARTIG – P.A.S. (3″CDR by Universinternational)
French label Universalinternational was known for some limited mini CDR releases, but on at least one of these they expand further (I did read somewhere that CDs are the next hippest thing, which I regard as great news). Both of these new releases are collaborations. On the first we find a collaboration of bird recordings (from Taiwan, France, Honduras) ‘in conversation with an analog filter in feedback and a modular synthesizer’, byt Frederic Nogray and Yannick Dauby – and I assume the first is responsible for the electronics and the second for the field recordings; but of course I might be wrong. There are three long pieces that make this conversation. In the first piece, ‘Panotii Auricularis’, there is some very busy buzzing, like the chatter of many voices (organic and synthetic), which works well, but might be a bit too long overall. ‘Auroa Pendulum Elasticata’, the second and shortest piece here (just under fifteen minutes) is a beautiful piece of music: very drone like on one hand, but also sounding like a piece of modern electronic music (sixties style). Birds fly in and out of the mix, and so do the electronic sounds, while some of these, both, stay in the same place. A great piece. The final piece, ‘Panotii Garrulax Forticeps’ is for me the second best; it doesn’t have the same density as ‘Auroa Pendulum Elasticata’, but also not the chaos of ‘Panotii Auricularis’; it’s a rather simple piece with a simple thump/rhythm and repeating electronic sounds and others that fly about. The development is rather minimal and here too one could think it’s a bit long, but somehow most of this piece works well. It has a strange ethnic feeling to it, liked a plucked koto processed by a synthesizer.
On a smaller scale we find the phonography of the harbor area of Rhine in Strasbourg as recorded by Philippe Petitgenet and Francois Martig, both of whom I never heard. Apparently this is a place in Strasbourg with industrial activities, waste space and empty spots – I think we all could imagine such a harbor; think of any police series, especially those depicting a harbor at night. Maybe this could have been any harbor, anywhere in the world. We hear the drones of machines, the far voices of traffic controllers and their walkie-talkies, and somehow, oddly enough, a curious bump (in the night), especially in the first half, which gives this a most curious musical feel; something you don’t hear on your average phonography release. The piece has two distinct sections; the first is the more ‘melodic’ section, while the section represents the more pure ‘phonography’ of ships in the harbor, bouncing against the wall; ropes in the wind; some birds; those sort of images belong more to the second part. Quite a nice piece of a desolate space, yet vibrating with activities, far away. Some fine recording too. Quite a nice piece, altogether. Very imaginative. (FdW)
Address: http://ui.universinternational.org
NICKOLAS MOHANNA – PHASE LINE (CD by Run/Off)
Following another lengthy gap, here’s a new work by Nickolas Mohanna. The previous work we’d reviewed was ‘Parallax View’ (see Vital Weekly 873) and looking at his discography there was only a cassette in between that release and this new one. His CV shows continuous activity, mainly in galleries in Japan, France, UK and the USA. The two pieces here were commissioned for the sound exhibition ‘Foam’ and ‘this piece oscillates through a variety of media saturated sources. From electronic billboards, kiosk stations and traffic control devices, these sharp reductions are knotted into sculptural arpeggiation, to stretch the mood and spatial impressions’. There’s more text, which I won’t quote in full, but it seems to me that much of this was recorded using Mohanna’s modular synthesizer set-up, but unlike ‘Parallax View’ the two pieces here, total length just under thirty-four minutes, seem to be less cosmic/krauty/space-like, but perhaps all a bit more experimental and less easy to access. The other day I was playing a whole bunch of old Conrad Schnitzler records and I recognize his ‘non-keyboard synthesizer’ work in the two pieces by Mohanna. Lots of knob fiddling in order to create dense patterns of synthesizer sounds. I am not sure if these synthesizer sounds are being triggered by any kind of external sources, but me thinks it is. Maybe (or perhaps most likely?) the busy sounds of the big city? It’s hard to say what it is actually, but it’s perhaps not really necessary to know either; it’s a great work of busy electronic systems, buzzing around like bees. Like big city traffic. (FdW)
Address: http://runoffeditions.com
MASSIMO MAGEE – POUSSEZ (CD by Copy For Your Records)
OTHER VULTURES – INTENSIFY YOUR INTERESTS (cassette by Copy For Your Records)
The saxophone is not really the sort of instrument I like very much, especially when it plays jazz. My bad, I guess. So you know when you read a review which start like that, it probably is to say something nice about it (otherwise I would have left it with Dolf, who is more jazz minded). Here Massimo Magee (who might have been reviewed before, but I don’t think I know his solo work) presents a solo CD, in which the saxophone is present, but it’s a ‘vertical and horizontal alto saxophone’. Deconstructed, so we have a metal box, flat on the table, played with a contact microphone and close to the speaker, so we have a lot of feedback. That’s the first piece, ‘For King And Empire’, but also ‘Great Moments In Revisionism’, being a twenty-three minute tour de force, and La Victoire Ou La Mort’. In both of these pieces you don’t have the impression this is music recorded with a saxophone. Brutal feedback sounds being cut-up, in and out, in and out of the mix and scratches the surface, literally deep and loud. ‘Not Canon’, the fourth piece (the fifth piece is a very short piece, which one doesn’t notice very much), is with Tim Green on drums and Max Fowler-Roy on bass and it’s pure, hectic free jazz, but it’s a recording with glitches, so it cuts in and also, very brutally, making this free jazz meets musique concrete and noise. Great CD of excellent harsh noise, shattering any expectations (or reservations) one might have against saxophones.
It’s been a while, it seems, since I last heard music from Other Vultures, perhaps as long ago as Vital Weekly 785. They are a still a duo of Frederick Butler (taiko, snare, cymbals) and Arthur Sedgwick (bass, vocals, synthesizer) and still with the fine intent on playing some highly unusual rock music. Very noise based rock music that is, with some unusual rhythms, based by both members; if one could call it like that. They play shortish pieces on this cassette, at least most of the time. Music with an odd hook to it, and with some deep bass rumble from the synthesizer. Improvised no doubt. It’s not something to play on a daily basis I would think but you could wonder: what is? Other Vultures surely have their own sound as far as I’m concerned. (FdW)
Address: http://cfyre.co/rds
ANDREW CHALK – THE CIRCLE OF DAYS (LP by Faraway Press)
ELODIE – MINIATURES PERSANES (LP by La Scie Dorée)
Or, where quality meets content. The name Andrew Chalk, and indeed Faraway Press and La Scie Dorée, will be familiar to any attentive Vital Weekly reader. Chalk has been releasing music since the mid 80s and has worked with people like David Jackman, Darren Tate and Jonathan Coleclough. His best know collaboration is perhaps that with Christoph Heemann under the name Mirror, creating a series of albums that belong both musically as visually to the, in my humble opinion of course, to the best that the ‘ambient/soundscape’ genre has to offer. His new solo album The Circle Of Days has been made available in two editions: 325 copies in regular sleeve and 100 in a beautiful handmade portfolio sleeve, which, if you enjoy that sort of thing, is well worth hunting down. Working again with Daisuke Suzuki, headman of Siren records, Chalk has created what can only be described as yet another gorgeous and very fulfilling album. Even though the cover features several song titles on the back, the album itself is banded as one track per side, giving the impression of two suites, which is something I really like. Plus the record features a label that is slightly smaller in size than regular LP labels, which gives the album the look of an ancient 78 rpm record, which, again, I like very much. Full points for style and design therefore. The precise contribution of Suzuki is not always clear: even though some tracks mark his name, the almost hesitant playing of instruments like guitar, keyboards, piano (in gorgeous stereo), vibes could be either of the two. There are environmental sounds added to the slow tempo music; birds, children playing, the sound of a swing, it all adds to a beautiful musical painting of endless summer days. Nothing new, nothing shocking, simply an emotionally moving musical miniature.
Elodie’s Miniatures Persanes (‘Persian miniature’ I would venture) is the fifth album of Chalk’s collaboration with Timo van Luyk and released on Van Luyk’s private label La Scie Dorée. Available on both vinyl and in one of those beautiful handmade portfolio/slipcase covers that are also produced for Faraway Press albums, this record features two side long tracks that indeed conjure up images of Persia. The instrumentation and feel of Miniatures Persanes is not unlike that of The Circle Of Days, but there are differences that set it apart. The first side long track, Le Doigt d’Etonnement (The Surprising Finger?), is a slow drone-like piece, filled with reverbed instruments, backwards tapes and what sounds like wind (electronic or real), giving it a thick rotating sound. Despite the lack of some breathing space and, indeed, surprise in the track itself, this is a fine musical piece. The second side, Illuminations, fares even better with more pensive and transparent playing, that much-needed breath of air and even a hint of melody. With more variety in its structure and playing, I prefer this over the first side. Miniatures Persanes is a beautiful and reflective record, that works very well on a quiet winter evening. (FK)
Address: http://www.farawaypress.info
Address: http://www.lasciedoree.be
REGLER – REGEL #1/REGEL #2 (LP by 8mm Records)
Having already reviewed ‘Regel #3’ by Regler, it’s now (belated) time for ‘Regel #1’ and ‘Regel #2’, each spanning an entire side of this LP. For both pieces the cover shows a flow chart. In ‘Regel #1’ drums and guitar go into the schematic, and we find attack, speed and power + time and the out come is ‘dbeat’, whereas for the other side there is just drums and guitar + time resulting in ‘dub’. Curious it is. I assume Regler here is a duo of Mattin on guitar and Anders Bryngelsson on drums, as there is no other information on this record. ‘Regel #1’ is a continuous bang of guitar and drums, trying and failing to keep a constant time measure. Now I like that very much: it adds a very human touch to the proceedings. It’s very loud; it’s very noisy and sadly under-produced. No doubt captured live in a garage, but imagine this being well recorded: it would be an immense wall of sound – not unlike Alien’s ‘Celebrating Your Victory’ or much of Skullflower’s output, but even more minimal in approach. But even in its lo-fi guise, I think this is a great record of free improvised noise trying to keep time. By removing ‘attack, speed and power’ from ‘Regel #2’ we something that is very empty. Lots of silence and an occasional bang, lasting about twenty minutes. It’s highly annoying if you are not listening that closely – that happens sometimes – or if you are fed up with silence (thanks, Cage), but if you listen closely you may enjoy this silent approach, the occasional bang on the kit, and someone putting his finger on the strings. It’s a bit too conceptual for me, and I was also thinking: if we hire Regler for a concert, which approach do we get served? I’d hope something along the lines of ‘Regel #1’ or ‘Regel #3’, and I sit front row. (FdW)
Address: http://www.8mmrecs.com/
KOSTIS KILYMIS – CRYSTAL DROPS/GROUND LOOPS (7″ by Dischi Del Barone)
LEA BERTUCCI – LIGHT SILENCE, DARK SPEECH (7″ by Dischi Del Barone)
Two more releases on Dischi Del Barone, a new Swedish label. You have to check the website to see what RPM this is. First we have Kostis Kilymis, who had cassettes on Mazurka Editions and Hideous Replica, the latter reviewed in Vital Weekly 942. He takes more conceptual approaches when composing music. The first side is ‘arranged on a Korg Electribe ER-1’ and the other side ‘is recorded at Mile End Park, London’. ‘Crystal Drops’, the a-side, start with a pulsating rhythm (Pan Sonic/Goem like) and it’s a lock down, trapped in myriad of sound effects, which adds a surprising musical edge to it. It builds in a rather linear way towards a mighty crescendo. Nice. The b-side is stranger. It’s hard to say what it is that he does. Maybe he’s sitting outside with some battery powered synth device; we hear that, people speaking, field recordings (wind, an airplane overhead) and such like and it all makes a much more abstract piece of music. It’s a strange piece, but quite captivating; almost like a small radio play.
The other 7″ is by Lea Bertucci, of whom the label says that his LP ‘Resonance Shapes’ (see Vital Weekly 909) is an overlooked gem. I am not sure if it’s overlooked, but it’s surely one hell of a great record. On that LP she played clarinet, but on this 7″ it’s the ‘altered alto saxophone and tapes’ that she plays. It starts out with ‘An Unbroken Plane’, with multi-layered saxophone sounds but some lo-fi tapes come into the scene later on and it moves into a strange midway fashion of free improvised music and musique concrete. Nice! The other side is also nice, but here seems to revolve around the saxophone and there are no tapes used. It seems as if she plays her horn in a big, empty space, using the natural reverb a lot. More minimal, this solitaire piece, but oddly enough a bigger sound. Two fine pieces that fit the whole notion of a 7″ release rather well. (FdW)
Address: http://www.iddb.se/
AREK GULBENKOGLU – THE REOCCURRENCE (CDR, private)
A very private release indeed, this CDR in an edition of 77 copies (packed in a professionally printed digipack), of nine pieces (total length seventy-six minutes) recorded from May to August 2014 using ‘environments, oscillator, snare drum, interference. I have no idea who Arek Gulbenkoglu is, other than a musician/sound artist from Australia. Most of these pieces are recorded in real time. On the accompanying note the nine pieces are detailed, but not always make them clearer. For instance: ‘Part 2: A map is used as a score; topography translated as tones’ is all it says and we hear some feedback/sine wave like tones; but for ‘Part 3: A recording of an elevated point in the gardens where sounds coalesce. Some non-musical interventions are used’, and indeed it sounds a like a piece of field recordings. What those ‘non-musical interventions’ is perhaps less clear (and maybe raises the question: what is music for Gulbenkoglu?). These two ends – sine waves on the one end and field recordings on the other – show what his pieces are about. A more or less conceptual approach but it is worked out in various ways so that a most enjoyable album is what we get, but all of it with a highly experimental edge to it. Part 7, the longest piece, ‘the sound of the walkway, recording of the structure’ is very quiet and almost non-existent. Part 1, 2, 4, 8 and 9 are my favorite pieces: more ‘musical’ and the third and seventh part were, as far as I am concerned a bit too long for my taste. But overall I enjoyed the pieces and the consistency of the execution of this. I wasn’t blown away by the distorted feedback of Part 5, but the description was by far the best (why aren’t they on the cover?): “Two tones walk into a bar, one turns around to the other and says…”. (FdW)
Address: <gulbenkoglu@yahoo.dot.com>
THE DANGEREUX FAMILY – RAVE DAYS ARE OVER (CDR, private)
After a long hiatus (the rave days, perhaps), Guignol Dangereux returned in Vital Weekly 938 and now renamed themselves into The Dangereux Family with more domestic dance inspired music, rather than dance floor bits; underground dance floor bits of the very old days. The comeback from some time back saw them transforming the acoustic hand drum into techno oriented music, but on ‘Rave Days Are Over’ the piano plays an important role. I am not sure if we are talking about an upright piano, Steinway or such like, or something that comes out of Garageband or some Ipad App, along with the programmed rhythms and synthesizers that are also working their way around here, along with more sparsely used voices and ‘acoustic sounds’. The music sounds a bit ‘thin’: it could have used some additional mastering, me thinks. But the ten pieces on this release are certainly quite entertaining to hear. Nothing that will easily grab the listener and forces to be listened really close, but that is perhaps not always necessary; if things are more lightweight, pleasant to hear than it has surely a right to do so. Guignol Dangereux plays some nice 80s inspired electronic music, with the piano present in the first bunch of tracks and more electronics in the second half. Great charming naivety around here. Pleasantly entertaining in these darker days a more than welcome medicine. (FdW)
Address: http://guignoldangereux.com
ARCANE DEVICE – NOISE MATRIX MANTRAS/MODULAR WAVES (2CDR by Pulsewidth)
The return of Arcane Device! What other, better way to start 2015? A new release, a double one at that and even concerts a few weeks back. Most likely for the first time in close to twenty-odd years. Back in Vital 36, the supplement (and yes, boys and girls, we are talking here the paper version, from July 1994!), David Lee Myers announced the end of Arcane Device because it ‘can no longer believe that the art we know is capable of leading toward greater knowledge, truth, or good, however one may define these terms’. There have been very few releases since then with his (real) name attached, but as far as I can remember not as Arcane Device. Which was a pity since I really loved his feedback music: a bunch of effects (delay, reverb) coupled together and playing this great, vibrant, electronic music. Later on Myers re-issued some of his older works and Monochrome Vision (obviously! the true archivists of the late 80s industrial scene) released a double CD, which spanned 1987 to 2007 – so perhaps Myers continued to create music (see Vital Weekly 616) as such. Here he has two CDRs; one contains pieces created with ‘the Noise Matrix’ and the other with ‘the Mini Modular with looper’. The latter has four long pieces and has overall a more ambient sound. Relatively simple, long sustaining sound waves intertwine each other and make some very nice yet intense electronic pieces of music. This is not the kind of ambient that is along the lines of say Brian Eno or something cosmic, but more the kind of forceful drone music that sticks right in the middle of your brain; providing of course you play this with a considerable volume, which I actually recommend. Perhaps only then the total immersive sound will be present. This is a great disc! The other one has fourteen pieces and lasts also seventy-two minutes (!) and is occasionally noisier and chaotic, but here too we have similar processed feedback music, like in the old days. Here Arcane Device sounds like his own old days, electronic, forceful, harsh drones and a bit of industrial, although perhaps a bit less than in the old days. The balance here is more considered: Myers works it out in various directions and considers how to make a varied album. A bit of rhythm here, a bit of noise there, a combination of both somewhere else. I agree: it’s a lot of music to digest at once, but it’s a great comeback album. Hopefully to stay for some time. (FdW)
Address: http://www.pulsewidth.com
STAR TURBINE – SANDWICH MUSIC (CDR by Attenuation Circuit)
MARTIN KREJCI & SEBASTIAN GIUSSANI & KEIKO UENISHI – COUNTING SHEEP WON’T CAUSE TO ENCOUNTER A DREAM OF STRAY DOG (OR WILL IT?) (CDR by Attenuation Circuit)
COMPEST – DANACH (CDR by Attenuation Circuit)
This trio of new releases on Attenuation Circuit kicks off with Star Turbine, the ongoing duo of Sindre Bjerga and Clous Poulsen (the latter also from Small Things On Sundays); as such they tour Europe infrequently and do releases on CDR. On the ‘Sandwich Music’ release they receive help from Martin Klapper playing toys and amplified objects in the middle of the third tracks. From both of their solo releases and perhaps their other collaborations as well, we know they love long stretched sounds, electronic hands-on manipulation of sounds, played in a improvised way, and somehow a bit lo-fi also. On this release we find three pieces of which the opening piece is the longest. All of their pieces are relatively long and take their time to develop a bit; or not, whatever they feel like doing. Sometimes the ‘no-development’ scheme is part of whatever it is that they are doing. Especially in the second piece – with Klapper – it seems to be an endless stream of sounds, rather than a deliberate composition. It works well, especially since they use lots of sound effects, which sort of smears it all together and suggests space and atmosphere, where it perhaps is not always there. For whatever they do, they do with some style and dark elegance.
More improvisation can be found on the trio disc by Krejci, Giussani and and Uenishi; all three are laptop artists and the first two have been working together since 2001, but in 2011 they recorded this work with New York/Viennese based artist Keiko Uenishi. Much like the disc by Star Turbine – improvised, electronic – but there are also differences. Less lo-fi for instance and thus (?) less heavy on the use of sound effects, blurring the entire music. Things are here much clearer and perhaps ‘lighter’, more defined; it’s however also highly atmospheric, especially in the more second half of the thirty-plus minute piece. In the first half it’s all a bit more bass-like, and heavy on the sample side, denser and more closed off; in the second half (or perhaps even the two-third of the disc), it’s much more interesting with sounds dropping in and out, held together with more sustaining tones. Quite a nice disc altogether and it’s good to such historical one-off concerts released.
It’s been a while since I last heard music by Martin Steinebach, also known as Compest (and also Monoid, Stillstand and Conscientia Peccati, and who also run/ran the Tosom label). Each of his projects has a distinct sound of it’s own and as Compest he sampled orchestral music and recreates these into his own orchestral music. At least that’s what I assume, and that he’s not some modern day Mike Oldfield, playing all of these instruments himself. So maybe it’s sampled together, maybe he uses something like Garageband. And as you know me: I don’t care that much what went into the pot if the dish is really good, and that’s what it is. Compest has these long sustaining string sounds, church organs, brass sections and just a little bit of electronics sometimes and occasionally a bit more. I must admit I don’t recall very well the previous Compest release (which was, I believe, reviewed in Vital Weekly 845), but this combination of old orchestral sounds and ‘new’ electronics works rather well. It has a sort of interesting cinematic quality to it: I can easily see bits of this used in a Hollywood blockbuster; sci-fi department perhaps, or fantasy, depending on the mood of the piece (and the director). Although, come to think of it: how would a release in an edition of 47 copies reach the big pictures? That’s perhaps something to think about. There is perhaps a ‘gothic’ element to this music, being ‘dramatic’ from time to time, but I must admit I enjoyed this very much. (FdW)
Address: http://www.attenuationcircuit.de
FAKE ART I.D. ZINE (CDR and magazine)
Some days I packed up a box of old fanzines and put in some of my own from the 80s. Perhaps the old sod I’m, I was thinking ‘they don’t make ‘m any more like this’, which perhaps was heard somewhere, earlier no doubt, when Wim van den Herik was working on Fake Art I.D. Zine. Years ago he published in Opscene and had his own Fake magazine, but those were ‘magazines’, this is a fanzine, hastily put together at the end of 2014, and Xeroxed, A5 size with a CDR compilation. There are interviews in Dutch with Jelle Buma (of Solbakken, Mercy Giants), Duivis, Lukas Simonis, Gone Bald, Arnold from Zea and The Ex, Milk & Morphine, Radboud Mens (who also wrote a bunch of reviews too; he may have learned that trade a long time ago when writing for Vital Weekly; why did ever stop?), The Outskirts and, as said, reviews. All of this on thirty-six A5 pages – my favorite size and length for fanzine with some of the great naive charm that belongs to the writing. Excellent. It makes me wanting to do this myself again. Fuck the Internet weekly; let’s go back to paper. There is also a seventy-minute CDR to go here with mostly rock oriented music of the bands reviewed and interviewed, but also Elvira Lin Group, Kunzysteem, Black Eleki, Capra Ibex Band, L.J. Katergoud, Messy, Keyvane, Lukas Simonis, Technoise (one of Radboud Mens’ old guises) and, perhaps most, surprising a piece by Attrition; which might be the only name you recognize – well, maybe not – and not something that is actually out of place. The second half of the CDR is more about electronic music in all its guises. It’s overall as eclectic as the fanzine itself. Only 150 copies were made, so act swiftly, I’d say. (FdW)
Address: <wvdherik@probiblio.nl