FRODE HALTLI – AVANT FOLK (CD by Hubro) *
NONTURN – TERRITORY (CD by Audiobulb Records) *
TOC – WILL NEVER PLAY THESE SONGS AGAIN (CD by Circum Disc)
KAZE – ATODY MAN (CD by Circum Disc)
VINCENT GLANZMANN – Z/RZW-SHIIIIIII (CD by Through States of Matter)
LA STPO – LES EXPLOSITIONNISTES (CD by Exklageto)
EMMELUTH’S AMOEBA – POLYP (CD by Orafonogram)
LOUIS BEAUDOIN DE LA SABLONNIERE & LOUIS-VINCENT HAMEL & ERIC NORMAND – BRÛLEZ LES
MEUBLES (CD by Tour de Bras)
SKYDIVE TRIO – SUN SPARKLE (CD by Hubro Music)
JULIAN SKAR – EXHAUST/RENEW (CD by Aurora )
TOM HALL – SPECTRA (CD by Elli Records) *
CARL LUDWIG HÜBSCH & PHIL MINTON – METAL BREATH (CD by Inexhaustible Editions) *
MICK SUSSMAN – THE ROSENBERG ALGORITHMIC MUSIC GENERATOR: SELECTED WORKS, VOL. 1
(CD by The Sublunar Society) *
DAVID WELLS – 4 (CDR, private) *
MORGAN EVANS-WEILER – ITERATIONS & ENVIRONMENTS (CDR by Rhizome-s) *
AFFINITÉS SÉLECTIVES VOLUME 1 (CDR by Rhizome-s)
JLIAT – DEVIANT (CDR plus book by Jliat/Noise Qua Noise) *
DRVG CVLTVRE – SELECTED AMBIVALENT WORKS VOLUME II (CDR by Degenerate Trifecta) *
XENTONE – JUNK SCIENCE JUNKYARD (cassette by by Degenerate Trifecta)
MRS DINK/FUGUE STATE (cassette by by Degenerate Trifecta)
FRODE HALTLI – AVANT FOLK (CD by Hubro)
It is never easy that if one returns after a few days to the desk to find a bundle of releases. Where to
start? Usually I try to make a quick selection; see what can be moved to our reviewers of noise and
improvisation or all things dark. I started with Frode Haltli, thinking our improvisation reviewer might
be interested but I stuck with it. There is surely something about this music that is an alien world for
me, an element of jazz in the way the drums are handled, shuffling but it’s the overall approach towards
a folk music that I found particular fascinating. Haltli himself plays the accordion and has musicians on
Hardanger fiddles, violin, saxophone, trumpet, goat horn, vocals, harmonium, synthesizers, guitars,
double bass and drums; some of these names one knows from other releases on Hubro, such as Erlend
Apneseth. The folk influences Haltli took from all around the world, Africa, gypsies, Armenia and the
Nordic countries. But as the title already indicates this is Avant folk music, so it’s never a traditional
approach but a slightly more adventurous, new approach to some great melodies played by this
somewhat bigger band, because no matter the Avant character of the music it is all remains very
melodic and simply beautiful, culminating in the longest piece, ‘Neid’, with its slow shuffling beat and
the accordion from Haltli playing a beautiful, somewhat melancholic tune, which is then taking over
by the other instruments, like a fine jazz orchestra and yes, it ultimately sounds very jazz like, but in
an odd way, as far as I can judge of course, with my limited knowledge of such things. Sometimes very
laidback music but in the opening piece, ‘Hug’, also quite cheerful. This is simply lovely stuff, and quite
a surprise, I think. (FdW)
––– Address: http://hubromusic.com
NONTURN – TERRITORY (CD by Audiobulb Records)
Nozom Yoneda is the man behind Nonturn and is from Tokyo. Following an extensive study of classical
music, blues, jazz, club music and experimental music he started in drum ‘n bass in 2004, while
starting also to play drone music with someone called mullr as Mooor. These days he works under his
own name on composing soundtracks for video and TV commercials and as Nonturn he “collects
environmental sounds and makes rhythmic and cinematic music using his harvested audio”. Audiobulb
didn’t spare on the cover, a nice fold out of street images in Tokyo (sadly a bit too tight in the slipcase; I
had some problems getting the package out), say the world in which the sources for this music were
taped and perhaps also as an inspiration for further treatments. In his sampling methods there is a
love for the shorter cut-ups and computer processing, the world of Oval and Fennesz perhaps, and I
would think it is a reflection of the buzzy, humming and thrilling electricity of a world city like Tokyo.
Light flash everywhere, there is sound everywhere (and yes, I know, there are parts of Tokyo which are
really quiet) and it is very crowded. On almost every level of the music there seems to be something
happening, but in each of the nine pieces rhythm of some kind is a constant factor. Not necessarily
these are beats to dance to, not at all actually, but sometimes a sense of über-rhythm is surely present.
It is more alike the soundtrack for a busy and noisy environment and it would be a bit much to say this
is industrial music, but it certainly leans towards that world at times; a somewhat heavier set of techno
music, for instance in ‘Appreciate’, one of the more conventional pieces, along with ‘Significant’, which
is rather simple in approach, I thought. The album moves back and forth between these more regular
approaches and more abstract pieces and the level of field recordings being abstracted or played
throughout also changes, so altogether it makes up quite a nicely varied disc. (FdW)
––– Address: http://www.audiobulb.com
TOC – WILL NEVER PLAY THESE SONGS AGAIN (CD by Circum Disc)
KAZE – ATODY MAN (LP by Circum Disc)
Toc and Kaze are two stabile and important units from the Circum Disc-scene based in Lille, France.
Kaze is Satoko Fujii (piano), Natsuki Tamura & Christian Pruvost (trumpet) and Peter Orins (drums).
Fuij and Natsuki is a married couple that are both engaged in to many projects to mention. Amidst of
all this activity Kaze, initiated by Orins, is a stable force since for about eight years now. Incidentally
Kaze operates in an extended line-up as Trouble Kaze, with pianist Sophie Agnel and drummer Didier
Lasserre. ‘Atody Man’ is Kaze’s fifth album. Their music originates from open composed frameworks
delivered by all members. They merely serve as a point of departure for their communicative
improvisations. Over the years they know one other quite well and know what game they are into. Not
only by the unusual line up this quartet has its own face. The musicians have a rich vocabulary to their
disposal and make use of extended techniques. Sometimes melodic and conventional passages occur in
their abstract and unsual improvisations, like in the opening ‘Hypnotique Sympathique’. But they keep
far from clichés. Their improvisations are unpredictable, combining passages that are more into sound
and space, with ones that have melody and harmony in the forefront.
Toc is a trio of Jérémie Ternoy (Fender Rhodes), Ivann Cruz (guitar) and Peter Orins (drums). They
exist about six years now, and with ‘Will Never Play These Songs Again’ they present their sixth album
and again an impressive statement. The LP consists of two long excursions: ‘The Last Hit’ and ‘Ultimate
Earworms’. On Bandcamp a bonus track is offered (‘Lichen’). I felt immediately entrapped in their
rhythmic complex textures. They construct hypnotizing and endless continuums, evoking memories of
early krautrock, post rock, The Necks, etc. Length is an important feature of their improvisations.
Something Ternoy is familiar with as a part of the Magma-crew. On the hand they give you time to get
accustomed to their intriguing constructions but at the same time they make it difficult to anticipate on
the next move. The music circles around a strong nucleus, but it is difficult to say what they are hitting
at. This is absolutely part of the magic of this great tight trio; a fascinating and totally convincing
work. (DM)
––– Address: https://www.circum-disc.com/
VINCENT GLANZMANN – Z/RZW-SHIIIIIII (CD by Through States of Matter)
Glanzmann is a percussionist from Zürich, Switzerland, operating within pop, jazz and improvisation
contexts. Member of Sekhmet and A Difficult Tree. He has a special interest in working with other
percussionists as is exemplified in his project ‘Composition O’, in collaboration with Gerry Hemingway.
His latest solo work is released in a 3-cd box in a limited edition of 100 copies and is comprised of three
audio artworks that deal with “three personal non-musical themes”. With this work Glanzmann leads
us into very experimental avant-garde territories. The work was premiered at Moods in Zürich on
December 8th, 2016 and performed by four musicians. For this release Glanzmann played everything
himself. ‘Z’ is the longest work, lasting some 17 minutes, built from percussive sounds. The construction
gives the impression of a progressing cyclic process. Glanzmann explores and evocates what could be
called mental growth. ‘Rzw-Shiiiiii’ is a choral piece where each note is sung with a specific intention,
and explores how ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ as two aspects of the human being, can be conveyed through the
voice, to paraphrase Glanzmann’s. It is a multi-layered work of long extended notes with changes in
dynamics. The third piece ‘—thehidden’ is a homage to the composition ‘Concrete PH’ by Xenakis, and
“delves into how sounds can co-exist in a very narrow and high frequency range”. We hear a diversity
a high-pitched sounds as if listening in into the world of insects. From this description it may be
evident that Glanzmann is far more than just a percussionist. His abstract and experimental creations
go far beyond what we normally get from percussionists. He is into electro-acoustical music focused
on combining musical and non-musical themes. These non-musical inspirations are important for
Glanzmann in his creative process. But for me as a listener, a work like ‘Z’ stands on its own feet and
produces its own imaginative influence on me. With this solo work Glanzmann proves to be an
important force within the Swiss new music scene. It is the first release of the Through States of Matter
(TSOM)- label, established by Tobias Meier as an outlet for work by him and related artists. (DM)
––– Address: http://www.throughstatesofmatter.org/
LA STPO – LES EXPLOSITIONNISTES (CD by Exklageto)
The ‘Shy peoples society at the parade of the birds’ (STPO) have been around since 1984 and I have
had the pleasure to write about their intriguing music previously. It has been a while though, as La
STPO’s last album ‘Les Liquidateurs’ was released three years ago. This album, ‘Les Explositionnistes’,
note a trend in titles, was in fact recorded between 1993 and 1995 and first released in 1995. This
new release is a re-mastered version of the 1995 edition. Unfortunately I cannot compare the sound to
the original version, but the new version on Exklageto sounds clear and direct. The shy people number
(around) six and to me have always formed an intriguing link between say the archaic beauty of Déficit
Des Annees Anterieures (with whom they share a home country, in this instance France, as well as a
love of four letter abbreviations – DDAA) and Magma (who also hail from France – let’s face it; where
else would you find a big band playing prog-jazz mixed with avant-garde?). This album adds to their
catalogue of unpredictable, eclectic, high-energy music. ‘Les Explositionnistes’ listens like an art
manifesto; several tracks are dedicated to/inspired by artists such as Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso, Barnett
Newman, Asger Jorn and Lyonel Feiniger. The last name was a new one to me; Feiniger being a turn-of-
the-century (we’re talking 1900 here) representative of Expressionism, which makes perfect sense in
the world of les explositionnistes. The cover is clear on the subject; depicted are a number of people
(shy people?) who have just attached a bomb to a painting, ready to blow up the art world – ‘les
explositionnistes’ indeed! Blowing up the art world is one thing, in fact the artists mentioned earlier
certainly did, but what about blowing up the music world? Is La STPO the musical ‘explositionnistes’?
You could argue that La STPO plays expressionistic music: it bounces all over the place, energetic and
devoid of basic musical ‘rules’ such as ‘try to keep one tempo per song’ or ‘do not create any complex
breaks’. Good. Their songs are played on traditional instruments, such as guitar, bass, drums,
woodwind etcetera. There are no soundscapes or drones to be found, which in a sense is refreshing. As
said, the music, especially when the tempo slows down, reminds me of DDAA, a group of artists I dearly
love and on whose label, Illusion Production, La STPO released an EP in the 80s. But to be honest, La
STPO (which my auto correct annoyingly keeps auto changing to STOP) rarely slow down. The music
keeps a nervous, jumpy and unnerving edge throughout its ten songs. It reminds me at times of the
organized chaos of say The Mothers of Invention. Les Explositionnistes is exactly that: an explosive mix
of instruments, structure and sound, aurally exhausting (to me), but rewarding – blowing up the
world of music is something La STPO is more than capable of. (FK)
––– Address: < psychkg@online.de>
EMMELUTH’S AMOEBA – POLYP (CD by Orafonogram)
Emmeluth’s Amoeba is a Danish-Norwegian quartet presenting their first album. It is an outstanding
effort by the ensemble that is led by Signe Emmeluth, a young saxophonist from Danmark and a strong
upcoming force in the Nordic scene of improvised music. She runs her own band Konge, as well as a
duo with Karl Bjora, called Owl. Besides she played with Pall Nilssen-Love, Pascal Niggenkemper, John
Edwards, a.o. With ‘Polyp’ she presents her new Amoeba quartet that is comprised of Christian Balvig
(piano), Ole Mofjell (drums), Karl Bjorå (guitar) and Emmeluth on sax. Also she is responsible for the
compositions that leave plenty of room for improvisation. She takes inspiration from the jazz tradition
as well as from modern composed music. In ten compositions or improvisations she takes very different
angles resulting in ten pronounced works that all have their own face. The players are really capable
and innovative improvisers. All have a wide range of (extended) techniques to their disposal, and
above all they really make a team where the players take different roles and positions during their
improvisations. This is a very varied album, playing with dynamics, colour, rhythm, structure, and
harmony; intelligent and imaginative music that has a lot to offer. Not just a mixture of influences. But
music that comes from a strong and clear vision. The music is full of unusual twists and gestures that
really work and add drama to the music. So it really is a daring exercise! Released by Øra Fonogram,
the publishing label of Øra Studio in Trondheim where this one was recorded. (DM)
––– Address: https://www.orafonogram.no/
LOUIS BEAUDOIN DE LA SABLONNIERE & LOUIS-VINCENT HAMEL & ERIC NORMAND – BRÛLEZ LES
MEUBLES (CD by Tour de Bras)
Behind this name – ‘burn the furniture’ – Canadian-France collaboration hides of three musicians: Éric
Normand (bass), Louis Beaudoin-de-la-Sablonnière (guitar), Louis-Vincent Hamel (drums). Only the
name of Normand did ring a bell. Hamel is a young drummer from the Quebec jazz scene. Guitarist
Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonnière studied at the Université of Sherbrooke., and is part of the jazz/rock
group Gisèle. Eric Normand is the veteran of the three. Also he is director of the Tour de Bras label that
is devoted to improvised music. He prefers to work in duo and trio formats with for example Xavier
Charles, Philippe Lauzier, Jim Denley, Pierre-Yves Martel, Martin Tétreault. His trio with Hamel and
Beaudoin de la Sablonnière debuted in 2016 and present now their follow up. We are speaking of
improvised music wit h a prominent role for the electric guitar. Jim Hall, Sonny Sharrock and Bill
Frisell are points of reference, without repeating them. Melody and harmony are important aspects
of their music. The music develops and progresses in an unfamiliar way. Their constructions and
movements don’t follow predictable schemes, and are surprising and engaging. Although the guitar is
prominent, drummer and bassist also have a lot to offer. Very enjoying and impressive is the way the
drummer interacts and contributes. He operates very communicative and playful in an outspoken and
personal style. A joy. (DM)
––– Address: http://tourdebras.com/
SKYDIVE TRIO – SUN SPARKLE (CD by Hubro Music)
After a three-year pause the Skydive Trio presents their second album. In 2015 they debuted with
‘Sun Moee’ in a line up that is identical with the one on their new release: Thomas T.Dahl (guitar), Mats
Eilertsen (upright and electric bass) and Olavi Louhivuori (drums). Dahl studied at the Trondheim
Musikkonservatorium and works mainly in the field of music education. He is the main soloist on the
album. Mats Eilertsen is a reputed bass player in the Norwegian and European scene, and member of
the influential group Food with Arve Henriksen a.o. Olavi Louhivuori studied at the Sibelius Academy
and made name in Finland as member of Joona Toivanen Trio, the Ilmiliekki Quartet and the Sun Trio.
Internationally he came into the picture with his collaboration with Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko,
and his work with Anthony Braxton, Marilyn Crispell, a.o. He composed five of the songs on this new
album by the Skydive Trio. Eilertsen composed four of them and Dahl one. In a bigger line up all three
participated on Eilertsen’s solo album ‘Sky Dive’ from 2011, what may have been the birthplace of this
trio. On ‘Sun Sparkle’ they excel in ten compositions that differ in mood, style, tempo, etc. The focused
playing of these excellent musicians who know how to sound and which identity they want to produce
unites them. Despite the contrasts between the instrumentals, as a whole the album makes the
impression of a jazz trio with a strong sense for melody and harmony, and a preference for melancholic
and laid back atmospheres. (DM)
––– Address: http://hubromusic.com/
JULIAN SKAR – EXHAUST/RENEW (CD by Aurora)
Julian Skar, is a new name for me. He studied at The Norwegian Academy of Music and Universität der
Künste in Berlin. So far he produced several operas, musicals as well as other projects situated within
pop as well as contemporary music. In 2008 he founded together with Jan Martin Smordal the ensemble
neoN, specialized in performing modern classical music. In 2016 the ensemble released their first album
that was awarded by the Norwegian Grammy in the category of Contemporary Music. With
‘Exhaust/renew’ Skar makes his debut as a composer in collaboration with Ensemble Ernst, led by
Thomas Rimul, and pianist Ingrid Andsnes as performers. The cd consists of four works: Exhaust/
Renew I’ up to ‘Exhaust/Renew IV’. The first one is for piano solo, the second one for piano trio, followed
by a work for piano septet. The fourth composition is for piano and sinfonietta. It is only in this closing
work that we hear the complete ensemble. Members of the ensemble contribute to the second and
third composition. In all four compositions Skar works with the same thematic material. ‘Exhaust/
Renew II – for piano trio’ has moments of baffling beauty. The music has a very subtle and detailed
sound spectrum, and is built from small, well-chosen gestures and movements. The computer is an
important tool for Skar in developing these details. This way Skar creates sequences that are really
amazing. The music is very refined and poetic. Hold together be a strong drive and clear vision. The
performance by the Ensemble Ernst, under the leadership of Thomas Rimul, is sublime. Very
disciplined and inspired they bring the music into life. (DM)
––– Address: https://www.grappa.no/no/label/aurora/
TOM HALL – SPECTRA (CD by Elli Records)
If I am not mistaken I never heard of Tom Hall before, but he has a couple of previous releases on Elli
Records, including one with Lawrence English, and they also released his new one ‘Spectra’. Hall is
“an audio/visual artist residing in Los Angeles”, and judging by the various photographs I saw of him
online, I would think he is occupied with playing modular synthesizers, although it sometimes may
sound like computer processing. However I think that’s not the case here and its all just modular units
at work. The modus operandi is of course not really of big interest as with a modular synthesizer one
could do a lot of different things. In that respect there is surely not much difference than picking up a
guitar and playing hard rock or tabletop improvisations; the sky is the limit. Like various others do in
this field the music from Tom Hall is rather musical, using small melodies, crazy sounds and it is not
without melancholy. Throughout it is not very abstract or alien as I would think that his interest lies
within creating something that harmonic, spacious, melodic yet also with a sharper edge or a firm bite,
such as the drones of ‘Ebb’, of the bouncing Mark Fell like rhythms of ‘Remains’. In ‘Flow’ and the long
closing piece ‘Last Retreat’ Hall stays firmly on melodic ground with majestic, dark cosmic chords,
owing to the seventies traditions. Whatever way Hall approaches his system, a more traditional
musical outcome seems to be the goal and he succeeds wonderfully well. None of these pieces are
necessarily stand out pieces and none of these are particular weak, even when I am not entirely
blown away by ‘One Fell Swoop’, the nervous opening piece (also Mark Fell like, and it sets off the
listener in the wrong way, which is perhaps a fine thing). This is a most solid work. (FdW)
––– Address: http://elli.media
CARL LUDWIG HÜBSCH & PHIL MINTON – METAL BREATH (CD by Inexhaustible Editions)
The work of both gentlemen can be mainly found on stage and not always on sound carriers, so you
don’t see them a lot in Vital Weekly. Of note however is that Carl Ludwig Hübsch, player of the tuba,
was reviewed before when he had a couple of releases with Dutch voice artist Jaap Blonk. Here Hübsch
teams up also with a voice artist, the legendary Phil Minton. It is a live recording made in June 2016 in
Germany. The music was later on mixed but I am not sure what that means in cases like this, as this
seems to me a pretty straightforward live recording. Maybe there has been some editing? It doesn’t
sound like it, and some microphones picked up all that was happening on stage. This is some hard-
core improvisation, musically speaking. Obviously, I should add, as this is the territory since for these
gentlemen. They do what they do best, and that is getting into a dialogue with sounds. Sounds they
produce with their mouths; pure in the case of Minton or out of series of tubes, but the way Hübsch
plays the tuba isn’t always what one thinks of the sound of tuba. And yes, sometimes it very much
does actually. He blows, drums, plucks the instrument, and Minton has a wide area of techniques to
add to this. Moaning, screaming, whistling, whispering, sighing and who knows what else. Sometimes
Minton leads Hübsch, and sometimes it is vice versa. There seems to me a perfect balance the two
players, going from short, hectic passages to lengthy excursions of quiet contemplation; sometimes
they oppose each other and dare each other in their playing. At sixty-one minutes this is lengthy yet
most rewarding journey. (FdW)
––– Address: https://inexhaustibleeditions.bandcamp.com/
MICK SUSSMAN – THE ROSENBERG ALGORITHMIC MUSIC GENERATOR: SELECTED WORKS, VOL. 1
(CD by The Sublunar Society)
The music on this disc was created by ‘The Rosenberg Algorithmic Music Generator’, “a software
program created by Mick Sussman, which composes an unique piece of music, making thousands of
decisions based on a sequence of randomized processes”. “The art project was launched on June 7,
2016 on Sublunar. It implies the release of 365 singles during a year”. In the booklet Sussman
describes how it all works, and what the finer differences are and I would like to think one could
hear it all in this nineteen-track selection of pieces so far. Somewhere online one can hear all the
pieces so far. I am not entirely convinced by this music. It is all very chaotic, nervous and surely very
random in how these electronic sounds are organized, and perhaps the robotic aspect, one push on a
button and there’s a new piece, change some parameters and a new piece can be made, is something
that puts me off. After a few pieces, say five or so, I had grasped the idea of randomized automated
music and while I could detect some of the different approach (fast, slow, chaos, organisation), it also
left me a bit indifferent to its outcome. So, I get the idea and it would be nice to play around with the
software, but this set didn’t quite cut it for me. (FdW)
––– Address: http://micksussman.sublunarsociety.net
DAVID WELLS – 4 (CDR, private)
It surely has been a long time since I last heard music by David Wells, which was back in Vital Weekly
750 when I reviewed a release Wells did with Juan Jose Calarco, but looking at his listed output on
Discogs it’s not a lot he released so far. He released most work between 2004 and 2009, mainly on
CDR. Somewhere in the back of my mind I linked Wells to the drone posse of Paul Bradley, Ora, Colin
Potter and Jonathan Coleclough (et al), using computer treatments of field recordings to generate
drone music. Maybe I was mistaken, or maybe ‘4’ was a bit of an oddball. This twenty-two minute
piece was composed between 2000 and 2004, remixed in 2008 and uses field recordings from ‘the
highlands and lowlands of Scotland 1997-2004′, and judging by the piece is mainly field recordings
and perhaps not a lot of field recordings, although I might be wrong. It is a collage of wind recordings
made on hilltops, rain and thunderstorm in a wooden shed and bird sounds going about (although I
sometimes may confuse this for what is happening outside my own house of course). None of the
sounds Wells uses in his piece take up an awfully of time, yet it never sounds rushed either. His cross-
fades are gentle in approach, while some of his sounds are quite forceful and perhaps even a bit loud.
Wells crafted a fine sound picture of a rough landscape with some strong forces of nature. I have no
idea why Wells waited such a long time to release this, but I am surely glad it is available and let’s
hope it will mark a return for new works by him. (FdW)
––– Address: <dwl@gmx.com>
MORGAN EVANS-WEILER – ITERATIONS & ENVIRONMENTS (CDR by Rhizome-s)
AFFINITÉS SÉLECTIVES VOLUME 1 (CDR by Rhizome-s)
The only previous occasion I heard music by Morgan Evans-Weiler was back in Vital Weekly 1010,
which was a work for violin and sine waves, best enjoyed at a somewhat lower volume. Lower
volume is something that Evans-Weiler already implemented on ‘Iterations’, the first and longest
piece on his latest releases. Here he takes credit for ‘violins’ and I am not sure if this to be understood
as a multi-track recording of violins or one violin and a loop device, doubling the voices. The piece
has three distinct parts, separated by a bit of silence. I turned up the volume quite a bit. No doubt
there are all sorts of reasons for making it this quiet, but I would not have minded if all of this was a
bit louder. It sounds quite remote and far away, and that may be intentional, but I am also afraid I
am missing out on something. The music is carefully played by moving the bow(s) over the strings,
so that they barely touch the string, adding more sense of remoteness to the music. The third part is
the most intense one, with the most layers of sound. This one is quite a mysterious piece of music. On
‘Environments II’ Evans-Weiler plays electronics and Emilio Carlos Gonzales the piano. This is a much
louder piece and one has to cut back from the previous volume setting, and at a moderate setting one
can notice that this too is a very moody piece. Evans-Weiler’s electronics sound like heavily processed
hiss, while Gonzales plays sparsely distributed notes on top of this bed of white noise and dark
rumbles of what could be low-end sine waves. Of the two pieces I must say I very much enjoyed this
second piece. Also mysterious but maybe because of the audibility the one I found easier to access.
The other new release by Rhizome.s is a split disc of two pieces, one in four parts and one in one
long piece, of a trio and a quartet. As far as I can’t see there is no connection between the two, neither
with players nor locations. The trio piece is the one that is in four parts and has Gaudenz Badrutt on
acoustic sound sources and live sampling, Ilia Belourokov on alto saxophone, electronics, field
recordings and samples and Alexander Markvart on prepared acoustic guitar, guitar combo and
objects. They recorded their piece in 28 March 2016 in Biel, Switzerland. While I haven’t heard of
Markvart before, the other two players I know from their more intense improvised music, which
borders on the silent approach, but is also not shy of adding some finer, louder, noises or occasional
use of feedback. It is mostly quiet but in the third part there are also some excellent bursts of
uncontrolled noise. This is a fine example of how players create an excellent dialogue between loud
and silent music.
The quartet piece is by Quentin Conrate (percussion), Matthieu Lebrun (alto saxophone,
electronics), Anne-Laure Pudbut (tapes, electroacoustic devices) and Frédéric Tentelier (organ,
electroacoustic devices) and recorded in Roubaix, France (no date mentioned). It is quite interesting
to see that they have an entirely different approach. Whereas the trio is more interested in playing
something that is fragmented, quiet/loud and cut-up, the quartet opts for a more sustaining sound.
Organ and devices play longer tones, and the others wave their on-going sounds on top of that. Other
sounds, such as field recordings from tapes are scattered around here, fading in and out of the mix, in
constantly changing configurations, which adds to the vibrancy of the music. Two differences
approaches towards improvised music on this disc, and both with a highly satisfactory outcome. (FdW)
––– Address: https://rhizomes.bandcamp.com/
JLIAT – DEVIANT (CDR plus book by Jliat/Noise Qua Noise)
The subtitle is ‘Plots of Standard Deviation of PCM data’, and that is “a statistical method widely used
in science and data analysis” and PCM stands for “a method used to digitally represent sampled
analogue signals”. In the book we see visuals of “one second samples and finding the Standard
Deviation for each second, then plotting these in time – the X axis”. Jliat does that for a lot of classical
music and for a lot of harsh noise (wall) music and bit of pop music. There are differences, obviously,
to be noted in the various images provided. You could try your hand at the enclosed CDR, if you know
your way of course (I don’t), and there is some material to grab there, thirty-five minutes in total, or
listen to this while studying the images. The music here is very harsh noise, but (and I can easily admit
I played it at minus 30db) it is not without variation, should you really want to go all the way on this.
You may ask for the reason of all of this, and I can say, well, you know, its Jliat, who the fuck knows
what this is all about; I certainly can’t provide you with an answer. I must say I happily looked at
those images, read the short of texts in this book (200 some pages), didn’t understand much of what
these texts could possibly mean and realized that a long time ago the best answer to ‘why?’ is ‘why
not?’ (FdW)
––– Address: http://www.jliat.comhttp://noisequanoise,bandcamp.com
DRVG CVLTVRE – SELECTED AMBIVALENT WORKS VOLUME II (CDR by Degenerate Trifecta)
XENTONE – JUNK SCIENCE JUNKYARD (cassette by by Degenerate Trifecta)
MRS DINK/FUGUE STATE (cassette by by Degenerate Trifecta)
Apparently Drvg Cvltvre’s ‘Selected Ambivalent Works Volume II’ comes in a fancy package but
arrived in a white envelop on my desk, so I pretend I didn’t see that mentioned (read those
submission guidelines). These releases are on a new label called Degenerate Trifecta, who says,
“we love techno. Hard, banging, funky and psychedelic techno. We’ve started a label to release such
music. We also enjoy releasing our friends’ music, which stretches the limits of what we’d define as
techno. Deal with it”, which sounds like a good thing. Drvg Cvltvre is a Dutch one-man music project
from Vincent Koreman, once a member of punk band Travoltas and working as techno producer
RA-X, plus a lot of other projects. As Drvg Cvltvre he already has a lot of releases, mainly raw and
dance like, but on this one, which clearly is a nod (or not) to Aphex Twin’s ‘Selected Ambient Works
Volume II’, Koreman plays around with his notion of ambient music, a bit of rhythm, a bit lo-fi
sampling and many sound effects. That bit of rhythm doesn’t translate to ‘techno’ or ‘house’ as you
may know from some of Drvg Cvltvre’s other work. It is more a low end bass drum pattern here and
there, although in ‘Moment #8’, it ticks away quite firmly above the drones and in the closing
‘Moment #11’ he seems to be saying: “that’s all folks, I am returning to my usual styled noise ‘n
rhythm”. I have no idea if this intended to be a homage to Aphex Twin, but this is quite a lovely set
of noisy ambience, of heavily drenched reverb drones and conveyer belt (or conveyer bell?) sounds;
no doubt the impact of this won’t be the same as the Aphex Twin release, but if you like some solid
experiment and dark ambient, then this is the place to be.
The man behind Xenton is one Richie, a long-term friends of the label owner (whom we will meet
in an hour) and when the label was started the first port of call for a release. Richie handed in two
pieces of music, spanning over thirty minutes each (or three if you count the download). He’s a man,
so I would think, who has a drum machine and a synth or two, and while probably not original 303
machines, certainly fine emulations of these, courtesy of the firm of Korg, no doubt, producing some
very raw acid techno in the best Detroit tradition. Rather than playing a few shorter pieces, both
pieces are one continuous piece, like a DJ set but then with all music of his own making. On ‘Minimal
Trip Doseage’, on the first side, the music is harder edged and driven by the rhythm, whereas on the
other side we find ‘Desert Trance Set’, which takes a trippier approach to music. Rhythm is not absent
but it all seems a bit more synth heavy, spacier at times and somehow most of the times (yet not all)
less stomping around. This is more the psychedelic trip if you will. Of course it could have benefitted
from some editing here and there, but one has to love the raw quality of it also. There is already so
much smooth and well-produced dance music.
By which time we arrive at Mrs Dink, the proprietor of Degenerate Trifecta, also known as
Meagan Johnson. She has a split release with Fugue State, of whom I also never heard of. On both
sides they have a track each. The opening Mrs Dink piece is hard, stomping, rhythmical and a bit
industrial and it comes along with a somewhat slowed down voice sample. On the other side she
closes with a likewise lengthy heavy stomper, sans the voice sample, but forcefully and brutally
hammering away. Changes are minimal yet ringing out in this piece. The two Fugue State pieces
are about half the length and more like early 90s hard techno pieces, even leaning towards hard-
core, I’d say (and that comes with my very limited knowledge of such things). Unlike Xenton, the
overall production quality is very high and unlike Xenton this bursts out of your speakers. All four
acts from Degenerate Trifecta owe something to more or lesser extent to the world of dance music,
spacy, psychedelic or hard-core and this all is a most promising start for this label. (FdW)
––– Address: https://degeneratetrifecta.bandcamp.com/