============
VITAL WEEKLY
============
number 513
---------------------
week 7
---------------------
Vital Weekly, the webcast: as an experiment
for the time being, we offering a weekly webcast, freely to download.
This can be regarded as the audio-supplement to Vital Weekly.
Presented as a radioprogramm with excerpts of just some of the
CDs (no vinyl or MP3) reviewed. It will remain on the site for
a limited period (most likely 2-4 weeks). Download the file
to your MP3 player and enjoy!
http://www.vitalweekly.net
you can subscribe to the weekly broadcast using the following
rss feed:
http://www.harmlog.nl/vitalfeed.asp
New broadcasts will be sent directly when uploaded. For more information
on
podcasts go here: http://ipodder.sourceforge.net/
* noted are in this week's podcast
ERNESTO DIAZ-INFANTE & ROBERT MONTOYA
& RENT ROMUS & MARCOS FERNANDES - REVERBERATIONS FROM
THE PAST (CD by PAX) *
ET RET - GASWORKS (CD by Western Vinyl) *
THE UNINVITED GUESTS - LIVE RECORDINGS 01 (CD by High Mayhem)
THIGHPAULSANDRA - CHAMBER MUSIC (CD by Lumberton Trading Company)
RAFAEL FLORES - NUBES RUMORES/COMETAS Y ORUGAS (CD by Monochrome
Vision) *
MIGUEL A. RUIZ - GROSOR (CD by Monochrome Vision)
H.H.T.P. & PORTABLEPALACE - [CAVITATION] (CD by Monochrome
Vision)
LIONEL MARCHETTI - RED DUST (3x3"CD by Crouton Records)
FEAR FALLS BURNING - THE CARNIVAL OF OURSELVES (LP by Tonefloat/C)
TAMING POWER - THREE PIECES (10" by Early Morning Records)
INCH-TIME - ICICLES AND SNOWFLAKES (7" by Static Caravan)
THE STRANGE SOUNDS ORCHESTRA - STRANGE SENSE OF LIBERTY/COME ON
DULCIMER PEOPLE/THE ALGORITHM (7" by Static Caravan)
FORT DAX - HORIZON SEVEN-SEVEN/A BEVERLEY MYTHIC (CD single by
Static Caravan)
FERRAN FAGES & WILL GUTHRIE - CINABRI (CDR by Absurd) *
KALORIFEUR - WITHIN THE HERMITAGE (CDR by Absurd)
LO-FI CONFESSIONAL #7 (CDR by Grand Deceiver Records)
VOLLEVOX (2CDR by Komplot)
E/I 6 (magazine)
SIGNALS - HEADPHONE MUSIC #1 (CDR by Authorized Version) *
SSHE RETINA STIMULANTS - GNOSTICK ± AKTIONABLE (CDR by
Diophantine Discs) *
CHEFKIRK & CARL KRUGER - THE PLAIN PEOPLE (CDR by Retinascan)
JOSHUA DIPPOLD/TOKTELA - SPLIT (CDR by Cohort Records)
SPIRACLE - ANANTA (MYSTERY SEA MIX) (CDR by Mystery Sea) *
GINGER LEIGH - A TRUE LIFE STORY (CDR, private)
GINGER LEIGH - SPARROW WINGS (CDR by Red River) *
ALKALOID DESPERADO - INDUSTRIAL AMBIENT SESSIONS VOL. 2 (CDR by
Hidden)
NO - CAN'T THINK 2 (CDR by Hidden) *
STILLSTAND - SCHAUER (CDR by Tosom)
FLUCHTWACHT - SILENT SALVATION (CDR by Tosom)
HERMIT - ICE-FISHING TALES OF OVER YONDER (CDR by Tosom)
VIVIAN GABIN - NO LOVE, NO STRUCTURE, NO HOPE FOR ALL (CDR by
Tosom)
SEPPUKU BOOGIE - SIX SIX SIX SURFIN'S SONGS/PNEUMATIC HELLKITCHEN
(2CDR by Tosom) *
[-HYPH-] - IRRELEVANCE.AIF (STEP 2) (3"CDR by Anti Information
Conspiracy)
SONATA REC (3"CDR by Anti Information Conspiracy)
SISPRUM VISH - GOWNED MAJESTY (3"CDR by Audiobot)
GLAMOROUS PAT - STARER (CDR by Chocolate Monk)
STIFF RIVER (3"CDR, private)
ALIEN ZONER ENSEMBLE - A NEW DAY - A NEW SMOKE (CDR by Weed)
MACHINEFABRIEK - CHINESE UNPOPULAR SONG (businesscard CDR by Machinefabriek)
CADUCEUS - INFLUENCE VOLUME FIVE (MP3 by Caduceus Music)
ASHER - THREE UNTITLED COMPOSITIONS (MP3 by Earlabs)
ERNESTO DIAZ-INFANTE & ROBERT MONTOYA
& RENT ROMUS & MARCOS FERNANDES - REVERBERATIONS FROM
THE PAST (CD by PAX)
Listening to this CD I had the idea we have at work here four
totally different musicians who try to make some music together.
And yes, they come from very different corners from the Californian
underground scene. Saxplayer Rent Romus comes from the jazz and
improvised music scene and runs Edgetone Records. Marcos Fernandez
(percussion, phonographies) performs as a solo-improvisor and
as a member of various ensembles. Just as Montoya he is already
for some decades active in the scene of San Diego and founding
member of the Trummerflora collective of musicians. Robert Montoya
(electronics) specialized himself in sample-based electronics.
Ernesto Diaz-Infante may be known from many releases on Pax Recordings
(the label he founded) with experimental songs, noise, field recordings
and lo-fi manipulations. The Spring Reverb Festival 2004 brought
them together on stage and in the studio. The question is did
they really meet? All four of them have their own distinctive
voice. For example the esthetics of jazz-player Romus is totally
different from the musical coordinates non-player Diaz- Infante
uses. In track one this results in a jazzy solo by Romus over
an absolutely non-jazz background that has Diaz-Infante endlessly
playing the same chord. He is not making it happen if you ask
me. He is specialist in monotonous riffs on this CD. I couldn't
discover what fantasies Diaz-Infante inspire here... The second
piece starts with a long intro of electronics by Montoya completed
with acoustic playing and noises by percussionist and guitarist.
Gradually guitarist and percussion come into the forefront, plus
sax. Like most pieces on this CD they create a very unusual and
weird blend of musical styles, etc., but fail to create a musical
unity of some strength. But they tried and at some moments it
really works like in "Who created the canon?" It has
nice intimate playing by Romus in an environment of bubbling electronics,
with inventive percussion and very linear guitar playing by Diaz-Infante.
A courageous effort from these veterans from California, but musically
not the most satisfying one. (DM)
Address: http://www.paxrecordings.com/
ET RET - GASWORKS (CD by Western Vinyl)
So, yes, I do like a bit of mellow, atmospherical music, and Et
Ret (who he?) comes close. He plays guitar, violin, a bit of organ,
a bit of drums and a bit of electronics. Very much along the lines
of some other post-rock droners, such as Windy & Carl, Stars
Of The Lid or even a reduced version of Godspeed You Black Emperor
(because of the various violin and cello parts of this CD). Why
is it that after a while, I am slightly annoyed by the album?
It can't be the sweetness of the songs, the warmth and the intimacy
of the recording, which are all very nice. Perhaps it is in the
fact that after a while the compositions are so similar to each-other,
that in the end it seems that all eight tracks are alike, despite
minor differences. That is a pity. The homogeneity of this album
is a bit too much, even when each track by itself is quite nice.
A small dose of say four or five tracks is even quite enjoyable,
but after that it is enough. Maybe a bit more variation in the
future wouldn't be a bad idea. (FdW)
Address: http://www.westernvinyl.com
THE UNINVITED GUESTS - LIVE RECORDINGS 01
(CD by High Mayhem)
In the last few weeks we reviewed several CDs from the High Mayhem
label. High Mayhem is a not-for-profit emerging arts facility,
record label and multimedia production collective based in Santa
Fe, New Mexico. Carlos Santistevan is one of the driving forces
behind this festival. The Uninvited Guests is his own musical
project of live improvisation. Originally it started as a trio,
but it developed into an improv ensemble with changing members.
Like the title of this cd indicates it is a kind of document that
contains 5 live recordings made between 2002 and 2005. Each piece
has a different line up. But it didn't gave me the feeling of
listening to five totally different groups. Not because Santistevan
is at the center in all improvisations. Not at all. But maybe
because Santistevan defined the underlying concept or the sort
of interplay he wants to realize with his invited guests. In the
first two out-takes Santistevan plays acoustic doublebass. In
the other tracks he plays upright electric bass. In the first
track Tom Brejcha takes the lead on trumpet that he changes halfway
for a saxophone. Although it seems that drummer Al Faaet and Santistevan
fulfill a minor role it is specially drummer Faaet who brings
in a lot of action in this exercise. In the second piece we hear
again Faaet on drums accompanied with Chris Jonas on sax and J.A.Deane
doing live sampling. They share some nice cacaphonic moments.
The other pieces include ultraviolet (turntables), Jeremy Bleich
(electric bass), Milton Villarubbia (drums), Joshua Smith (sax,
electronics, melodica), Yozo Suzuki (guitar) and Davy Wayne (drums).
The last track that has Santistevan playing with Jonas, Faaet
and Suzuki worked out the best for my ears. All musicians operate
on the same level of intensity and the interact continuously.
Here the improvisations are really cooking.
Improvisation can mean a lot. The music of the Unvited Guests
surely is a kind of jazz-improvisation. In the last track Ornette
Coleman is not far away, but this may be totally different in
a next line up of Uninvited Guests. We'll see. (DM)
Address: http://www.highmayhem.org/
THIGHPAULSANDRA - CHAMBER MUSIC (CD by Lumberton
Trading Company)
Last year I confessed not being the biggest fan of Coil, when
I first reviewed music of Thighpaulsandra, so I am all to aware
of his musical output with Coil, with Julian Cope (but still to
my surprise the release by Anal, 'Zero Beats Per Minute') or his
solo work. 'Double Vulgar 2' (see Vital Weekly 467) was a pretty
long affair altogether, with an overload of guitar solos, too
many drums and all that, and in that respect 'Chamber Music' is
easier to grasp. Only four tracks, spanning just under fifty minutes.
Thighpaulsandra plays the majority of instruments on each track,
mainly all sorts of things with keys. Various other people play
guitars, laptops, piano, violin and vocals. I must admit that
even when I enjoyed this record better than the previous release,
I still have to get used to the music of Thighpaulsandra. It's
all a very crowded bunch, with stuff happening on many levels.
On the side of instruments, but also computer treatments and in
the form of post-production. The semi modern classical approach
is no doubt a big influence on Thighpaulsandra, and that's the
nicest thing here. Pieces move back and forth, sounds drop in
and out, but there is always ear for the structure of the piece.
Unlike 'Vulgar Music 2' things don't seem to be getting out of
control or lost in too long space jams. 'A Blizzard Of Altars'
is the best piece of this lot, with it's highly concentrated playing
and of a great intensity and soundtrack like character. If the
recent stuff is more of this, I am surely willing to hear more.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.lumbertontrading.com
RAFAEL FLORES - NUBES RUMORES/COMETAS Y
ORUGAS (CD by Monochrome Vision)
MIGUEL A. RUIZ - GROSOR (CD by Monochrome Vision)
H.H.T.P. & PORTABLEPALACE - [CAVITATION] (CD by Monochrome
Vision)
Russia's Monochrome Vision is a label 'devoted to electronic music
of XX century. Our contribution to the past days history, the
last opportunity to see with your own eyes all that was dissembled
by mass culture industry'. They do this by releasing works of
forgotten masters of the eighties, people like Rafael Flores and
Miguel A. Ruiz. Rafael Flores first came to my attention in 1984
or 1985 when he worked as Comando Bruno, and was featured on many
cassette compilations around the world. I even released a cassette
of his, I think in 1986. Despite me xeroxing the cover, it had
all sorts of stamps made by Comando Bruno, as he was also heavily
into mailart. But my contact with Flores was rather small, and
in the later half of the eighties we were no longer in contact
and when people started to release LPs and CDs, he seemed to have
disappeared. His cassette was re-issued on CDR (and sold really
few copies, not that I was surprised), and suddenly Flores knocked
on my door asking for a few copies. Since then we are not in contact,
but it's good to know he's back. From the lost years, 1994-2004
he now releases a CD - his first in twenty-five years. It's great
to hear this music without the hiss and static of a cassette.
Flores plays industrial music, but one that strictly along the
'old' rules. He takes he sounds from rather primitive sources
(such as the radio depicted on the cover), feeding them through
electronics, chopping them into small rhythm particles (such as
in 'Boucher 2' which sounds alike Esplendor Geometrico), but never
the material dissolves into a mass of noise sound. Crisp clear,
layers of electronic sounds, processed field recordings (in 'Para'),
this is music that reminded me of the late eighties Asmus Tietchens.
Forceful, yet intelligent industrial music. A major step forward
and hopefully much more to come.
No such lengthy recollections about Miguel A. Ruiz, but he's like
Rafael Flores active since the early eighties in electronic music.
His work was mainly released on Spanish cassette labels in the
eighties and in 1991 he released a LP on Hamburger Musikgesellschaft,
a short lived label by Asmus Tietchens. Unlike Flores he never
was really away, and these days he releases his own stuff on his
Batan Bruits label. The music on 'Grosor' is from the years 1989-1990,
included four tracks of his LP for Asmus Tietchens. Ruiz' music
is much more cosmic in nature than the industrial carpets of Flores.
On his beloved Korg MS-20 he plays stretched melodies, that slowly
alter in sound color, creating a floating sense. Sometimes he
uses other sounds, such as the choir like sound in 'Sin Apenas
Coxis' (which sadly is a bit short) or environmental sounds. Ruiz
likes to create dark atmospheres, with a true love for the German
music of the seventies, but not as lighthearted as some of Tangerine
Dream material. It makes his music, how nice it is, how well is
played and recorded, also a bit dated, and perhaps it was already
dated in the late eighties. Having said that, it doesn't mean
it shouldn't be heard. Those who love Conrad Schnitzler or Asmus
Tietchens could certainly find this to be great, and me... well
for me, it's listening to a time machine, music of years ago,
which I still happen to like.
The last release is by three guys I never heard of: Dmitry Gelfand
(aka Portablepalace, although I believe it's a bigger group of
people) and Andrey Savitsky and Kirill Domnich (aka H.H.T.P.).
These are not so much eighties, but rather 'new': this work was
recorded in 2002. Gelfand plays prepared piano, Savitsky electronic
sound and Domnitch special effects, whatever that may, but it's
the latter who composed the whole work. I assume the others send
it their work through (e-) mail. Three long pieces, in which again
the cosmic music sound is alive, but on a slightly different level.
Sounds are played rather staccato (as opposed to long and sustained)
but due to the constant feeding through reverb and delay, an artificial
space is created, that unfortunately by the third piece wears
out. It has become a gimmick, and one that we know by now. Three
long pieces of this highly moody music, that certainly in the
third piece ('Session 03') has an improvised feel. Maybe two pieces
would have suited me as-well. (FdW)
Address: http://www.monochromevision.ru
LIONEL MARCHETTI - RED DUST (3x3"CD
by Crouton Records)
There is a strong love for the 3" format with Lionel Marchetti,
as many of his works are released on this format. I am not sure
why this is, really. The length of these three 3" CDs could
easily fit on one full length CD... There is a strong difference
between the live and studio works of Marchetti. Live, when Marchetti
plays with Jerome Noetinger, he uses microphones, loudspeakers,
prepared CDs, motors and radios, things are pretty noisy, but
in the studio he crafts quite poetic music. 'Red Dust' was made
partly with Yoko Higashi, who uses the voice. One CD is entirely
by the two and that is the least collage like work: ongoing crackles,
rhythm particles, a guitar and percussive sounds make up an intense
atmospheric piece of music. The two other discs are more collage
like works, using sounds submitted by others (such as percussion
player Jon Mueller), put together in likewise intense collages
of sound. Marchetti however stays away from the strict rules of
acousmatic music, and does whatever is necessary to play the right
piece, careless if he does things that are not 'allowed'. Ultimately
for him the result is more important than the rules to achieve
that. The whole thing has a strong poetic character: it's not
a work to think about a lot, but a work to go through. Lie back
and enjoy. It's a pity that you have to get up every twenty minutes
to change the disc... (FdW)
Address: http://www.croutonmusic.com
FEAR FALLS BURNING - THE CARNIVAL OF OURSELVES
(LP by Tonefloat/C)
Vidna Obmana is dead, long live Fear Falls Burning - or some such.
After twenty or so years Dirk Serries, the man behind Vidna Obmana,
want to break away from the strict confinement of Vidna Obmana
and the ambient world it was part of, and return to simplicity
of making live music. I assume he already had much of the gear
he now uses, guitar and sound effects, but he now just plays his
things live. Tinkling on the guitar, feeding it through his bunch
of sound effects and record it all. That simple? Yes indeed, that
simple. That is what Dirk Serries now does as Fear Falls Burning,
and so far he produced a CD, a double CD and now a highly limited
LP on a new imprint of the Dutch Tonefloat label. The music of
Fear Falls Burning has connections to the world of post-rock,
a particular area of post-rock, that of slowly moving sounds -
no drums (although that would be an interesting thing to investigate
for Fear Falls Burning). A highly ambient form of post-rock. Both
sides have just one long piece. The one on side A starts out with
mere tinkling, and over the course piece slightly atonal resonances
are dropped in, which work their bit on the background, and once
all the elements are in place things slowly built in power and
crescendo. Maybe the quick fade out at the end is a pity. The
piece on the other side is more on one level. All the elements
are in place from the beginning and modulations take place in
the various sounds, sometimes fading in a bit more of one or the
other, but it's throughout a solemn piece of music. This is the
better piece of the two. Slowly meandering about, like a walk
in a rain covered forest on a cloudy autumn day. So far the best
thing I heard from Fear Falls Burning! (FdW)
Address: <tonefloat@crazy-diamond.nl
TAMING POWER - THREE PIECES (10" by
Early Morning Records)
A while ago, between Vital Weekly 365 and Vital Weekly 433 we
reviewed a great of music by Taming Power, of self-released on
his Early Morning Records label, in various formats, although
the 10" was a popular one. Since then things have been quiet
for this man from Norway. I am not sure why this long period of
quietness happened, but let's make an assumption here: I think
Askild Haugland invested in getting different equipment, maybe
even a computer, even when it's not mentioned on the otherwise
detailed cover. Apparently he uses a drilbu (whatever that is),
singing bowl, voice, tape-recorders, cassette recorders, keys,
electric guitar and field recordings, but the overall sound of
these three pieces is less muddy than much of his older work.
In all three pieces drone music plays the leading role. Big cascading
waves of sound, in which all of the elements to produce sounds
are used, but nothing as such can easily be recognized. But still
all three pieces sound nicely produced (hence me thinking about
the use of a computer in the final stages of mixing this record)
and the sound is not at all muddy or blurry. After such a long
pause, this is a great come-back record, re-defining his old music
and ready to walk new paths. (FdW)
Address: <earlymrecords@yahoo.no>
INCH-TIME - ICICLES AND SNOWFLAKES (7"
by Static Caravan)
THE STRANGE SOUNDS ORCHESTRA - STRANGE SENSE OF LIBERTY/COME ON
DULCIMER PEOPLE/THE ALGORITHM (7" by Static Caravan)
FORT DAX - HORIZON SEVEN-SEVEN/A BEVERLEY MYTHIC (CD single by
Static Caravan)
Although name-checked a lot in Vital Weekly, the releases of Static
Caravan aren't found very often in these pages. Here are three
new ones, two of which are on Static Caravan's favorite format:
the 7". Inchtime is one Stefan Panczak and his 'Icicles And
Snowflakes' is a nicely wintertune. A pretty straightforward,
but not all to present beat forms the backbone over-which a piano
nicely tinkles away. More melancholy is to be found on the b-side,
where we find 'Almond Eyes'. Again a straight forward techno inspired
rhythm, but with a deeper bass-line and some dub like influences.
The keyboard lines are soaked with melancholy. Two very nice tracks.
The Strange Sounds Orchestra 'was formed in September 2004 to
write and record a musical soundtrack for the book, Strange Sounds',
we read on the cover of the 7". The usual suspects from popmusic
(guitars, drums and keyboards) are replaced by test oscillators,
dulcimers, melodicas, theremins and others - the complete list
is found on the cover. Does that mean the music is difficult?
Hell no, it's still popmusic, and one of a highly quirky nature,
especially the a-side. The b-side is a bit more downtempo, with
a jew harp backing and a dulcimer playing the solo parts.
The catalogue number of the Fort Dax CD single is 'christmas van
84', so let us assume we have a belated christmas release (and
for the ease of mailing on CD, rather than a 7"?). Not that
I recognized much christmas feel in these pieces. 'Horizon Seven-seven'
is almost like a progressive rock piece, hammering it's way with
guitars and loud drums. Also vague traces of the same kind of
music can be found on the more melodic 'A Beverley Mythic', presumably
also with dulcimers. Symphonica and the intelligent dance music
merging together? Perhaps on this, as an one-off? I don't know.
The second piece was alright, but the first was a bit too much
pathos for me. Maybe it's just an uneasy marriage. (FdW)
Address: http://www.staticcaravan.org
FERRAN FAGES & WILL GUTHRIE - CINABRI
(CDR by Absurd)
KALORIFEUR - WITHIN THE HERMITAGE (CDR by Absurd)
More Ferran Fages and again an on Greek label. Only two weeks
ago, we discussed his Fagus release, which he recorded with Pascal
Battus. Also from France (at least these days, since he is originally
from a land downunder) is Will Guthrie and he and Fages recorded
in 2004 in Paris and Barcelona. Fages is still on his acoustic
turntable and Guthrie is on amplified percussion - that is a guarantee
for some mayhem, I would think. The four pieces here display a
strong love of electro-acoustic noise improvisation music. It
has the power and aggression of noise music, but it appears here
in a collated form, with sounds bouncing all over the place, most
of the time loud and forceful, the quieter moments are less present
(of course, I hasten to say), but they form important counterpoints
in the total work. With it's twenty-eight minutes not a minute
too short or too long, and it's a pretty strong affair of solid
improvised music.
"The story begins in 1999 when the river of Pinios threw
out of the water on its muddy bank, a Kalorifeur in a state of
progressed oxidation {which had} the engraved ancient worship
symbols and the astronomical maps reflecting the sky as it was
14.000 years ago" - a somewhat shorter text than what we
can read on the cover, but whoever are in the band Kalorifeur
is not said. The material on this CDR was recorded from 1999-2002
in Larissa, Greece. For reasons that I myself am not sure of,
I think Kalorifeur is an one-person group, who plays rather lo-fi
music on keyboards, percussion and in the second track the background
drone is provided by a vacuum cleaner. The recording quality is
rather lo-fi too, sort of direct with a simple microphone laid
to tape. Given that some of these tracks are too long for the
little amount of ideas it has to transport, I am not sure what
this vaguely ritualistic music is about. Maybe something is celebrated,
but it remains quite unclear what it is. In the eighties this
would have a strange, limited cassette but in this millennium
it's hard to see who is waiting for this. (FdW)
Address: http://www.anet.gr/absurd
LO-FI CONFESSIONAL #7 (CDR by Grand Deceiver
Records)
VOLLEVOX (2CDR by Komplot)
E/I 6 (magazine)
A magazine about music is of course nice, but it's hard to know
what it writes about if you don't hear the music (hence the reason
why Vital Weekly has podcasts). In the eighties various attempts
were made to create magazines on cassettes, but it's hard to skip
what you want to hear (unlike a magazine where you can flip the
pages you don't want to read). Now with the advent of podcasting,
the magazine on CDR is of course a bit outdated. But 'Lo-Fi Confessional'
is a magazine on CDR which can also be downloaded as a MP3. Easier
to skip the tracks you don't like, but I strongly recommend to
hear all tracks on the seventh issue of 'Lo-Fi Confessional'.
It features artists I never heard of, such Don Limpio (who has
the main feature here, playing his casio's, 8 bit samples and
gameboys in strong electro-punk fashion), a spotlight on The Square
Root Of Evil, who gets interviewed about her work, and some samples
of her like-wise manic gameboy music. Shorter introductions are
there to Cutup Corner (voice cut-ups), Phongraffiti (recordings
from Thailand) and Yer Favorite Anecdote (eaves-dropping in home
situations) and curiously named section 'From The Vault', consisting
'The Strange Sounds Show' by Norman Scott, aged 9. A strange collection
of music and sound, but it works well as a magazine. Some you
like, some you don't, but you are glad to take notice of them
all.
Also a magazine and also with CDRs, two in this package in Vollevox
from Belgium. I am not sure how other issues work, but this issue
has the voice as the guiding theme. It's not so much 'just' a
magazine, but it's kinda of mixture of an art-catalogue and a
well documented CDR compilation and less of an informative magazine.
Each track is described in the booklet. Some pieces are pure sound-poetry,
that is reciting poetry such as Freek Lomme, Marcelline Delbecq
and Alain Geronnez, voice cut-ups from various media sources (such
as Madonna saying 'What The Fuck Are You Doing?' when you try
to download a track from her), installation music and some are
even real music. As such we find Dominique Petitgand (of whom
we didn't hear much lately, sad to say), Jacques Andre, the very
funny piece by Sophie Nys (who sings 'You don't need to be on
a tree to be an acorn') and the prizewinning opening of CD one,
Eva Goresse & Quentin Legrand doing a very nice, intimate
version of Cher's 'Bang Bang'. Some tracks are a bit too long
in what they are trying to tell, such as Nurse & Harrison,
but throughout a well varied work, which got a beautiful presentation.
The most traditional magazine is E/i, now up to issue six (in
what is E/i's second life). Nicely printed with stories on Vidna
Obmana vs Bass Communion, Kompakt, Philip Samartzis, Raz Mesinai,
Thom Brennan and shorter pieces on John Hudak, Giuseppe Ielasi,
John Wall and Klinik. And of course many pages of intelligent
reviews. Deeply into the more atmospheric parts of music, this
is well written magazine. (FdW)
Address: http://www.granddeceiver.com
Address: http://www.kmplt.be
Address: http://www.ei-mag.com
SIGNALS - HEADPHONE MUSIC #1 (CDR by Authorized
Version)
A new name, but with two old cats at the controls. Signals is
the new 'band' of Phil Julian, aka Cheapmachines and aka Authorized
Version, and Christopher Gowers, aka Karina ESP. Both have an
extensive list of releases at their hands, but here work together
for the first time, even when these recordings are from 2004.
It's a live in studio recording of the two, rehearsing for their
debut concert at the 2004 Placard Headphone festival. Perhaps
they recommend playing this headphones, but I didn't (I never
do, really). Julian plays oscillators, effects and electronics
and Gowers bowed guitar and electronics. Over the course of twenty
minutes they play a very nice piece of drone music, with lots
of sustaining sounds that go straight into subconsciousness mind.
Guitars, oscillators and all blend together perfectly to create
a vast dark landscape of music. Quite an enjoyable start. (FdW)
Address: http://www.a-version.co.uk
SSHE RETINA STIMULANTS - GNOSTICK ±
AKTIONABLE (CDR by Diophantine Discs)
The name of Sshe Retina Stimulants has been around since 1994,
and I am sure I heard some of his releases, but I could never
pin it down to what it is. Sshe Retina Stimulants is the solo
project of Paolo Bandera (or rather P.NG5361.B as he is called
on the cover) of Sigillum S. Maybe that's where my problem lies:
I was never a big fan of Sigillum S, so I missed out on many of
Sshe Retina Stimulants releases on labels as Bloodlust!, Old Europa
Cafe and Self Abuse or his collaborations with Aube, Bad Sector
and I Burn. So 'Gnostick ± Aktonable' can be regarded as
my first proper introduction and even when the label information
says he is moving in a new direction, that of 'experimental drones
of ambience and noise'. More noise than ambient I'd say, as the
four pieces here are loud. Certainly working from angles of drones
and ambient, but throughout this material is much louder than
anything else that would normally qualify as 'ambient' or 'drone'.
Violent drone music. However it's not entirely noise related in
the sense strict conservative noise manner, as the material maybe
loud but its not distorted or chaotic. It's pretty much ok stuff,
I gather. Not great, not bad, but throughout a pleasant hear.
(FdW)
Address: http://discs.diophantine.net
CHEFKIRK & CARL KRUGER - THE PLAIN PEOPLE
(CDR by Retinascan)
So I wonder if anyone who will get this release, reads the titles,
such as 'The Plain People', 'Jacob Amman', 'Menno Simons' or 'Dordrecht
Confession Of 1632', will understand that this is a release about
the Amish. The Amish live outside 'our' society and rely on nobody.
Hence Chefkirk and Carl Kruger saw a connection, as the 'noise'
community is also outside the standard of music society. A bit
far fetched if you ask me. Chefkirk more than Kruger has earned
some recognition in the world of noise, mainly due to his endless
stream of releases, of which not all were great. But here in his
collaboration with Carl Kruger, things work quite well. There
is of course feedback, heavy type digitally distorted rhythms
and vague rumbles of electro-acoustica, but throughout it's well
enjoyable. There is variation among the lot, among the tracks
and even inside the tracks. Perhaps one or two tracks are bit
too long, but otherwise: thumbs up! And of course, nice cover,
but that's hardly a surprise for this label: they are always nice!
(FdW)
Address: http://www.retinascan.de
JOSHUA DIPPOLD/TOKTELA - SPLIT (CDR by Cohort
Records)
If I'm not mistaken this is the fourth in a series of split releases
on Cohort Records, and each artist delivers a piece of, give or
take, thirty minutes. Here Cohort Records comes up with two artists
of whom I never heard before. Whoever is behind Toktela is a mystery,
there are no liner notes. His piece '... And Who Keeps Moving
The Moon' fits the loosely drone theme of the previous releases,
with a beautiful drone piece, sound slow, majestic sounds moving
in and out of the mix, with a dark undercurrent that is a constant
feature in this piece. Perhaps there is a slight addition of field
recordings, but they too are heavily processed in this highly
isolationist music. Joshua Dippold has 'Two Bit Argument (Rehearsals
I & II)', and that gives away a bit what it's about. To me
it seems that Dippold recorded a whole bunch of sounds from the
radio, at the lowest bit of 2K, which gives the whole thing a
raw touch. Perhaps he uses the low bit resolution samples of an
old casio keyboard.
From all these recordings he produces a piece of
collated sounds, that is quite dense, but in all it's lengthyness
is too long to keep the listener's full attention, who will reduce
it (pun intended) to background hiss. (FdW)
Address: http://cohortrecords.0catch.com
SPIRACLE - ANANTA (MYSTERY SEA MIX) (CDR
by Mystery Sea)
Hitoshi Kojo is the man behind Spiracle, although you may know
him as Kodama, his collaboration with MNortham, or his work with
John Grzinich and Loren Chasse. Or perhaps his label Octpia? To
me this is all new, but his work for Mystery Sea is quite nice.
It starts out with a forceful set of organ like sounds, and over
the course of this piece, which lasts over an hour, sea like sounds
wash in and out, whereas the organ sounds are pulled apart and
start to modulate. Maybe I have had the volume more cranked up
on this one, but it seemed to me a very 'present' release, unlike
some other releases on this label (or in the genre of drone music
as such), things don't drop back in a level of inaudibility. Having
said that, things aren't very noise either, just present throughout
this piece. One could wonder if things aren't say ten to fifteen
minutes too long, but otherwise this is a pretty strong release,
another one in the mighty Mystery Sea catalogue, and one that,
with all it's washy sounds, fits the label's concept very clear.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.mysterysea.net
GINGER LEIGH - A TRUE LIFE STORY (CDR, private)
GINGER LEIGH - SPARROW WINGS (CDR by Red River)
Quite some ago I reviewed 'If I Should Die Tomorrow' by one Ginger
Leigh (see Vital Weekly 443) and the two releases are from before
and after 'If I Should Die Tomorrow'. 'A True Life Story' is from
2003, currently sold out, but will be in print again soon. Both
releases are again strong statements of bombastic music. Sampling
the hell out of classical music, re-organizing them into rhythmic
loops and attacking them with electronics of sometimes a rather
piercing nature, this reminded me of the old In Slaughter Natives
sound, but less the vocals. Sometimes he throws in a bit of eastern
rhythms or quite moments. To compare the old and the new, I'd
say that 'A True Life Story' is a bit more meaner and more aggressive
than 'Sparrow Wings', which sounds throughout a bit more musical,
with samples from other places than just classical music. Also
'Sparrow Wings' sounds bit less aggressive and a has bit more
humor. Playing both of these releases in a row gives the listener
not just an idea of the development of the composer Ginger Leigh,
but it is also a highly varied bunch of musics, that from a single
idea is worked out in many ways. I think it's about time that
someone offered Ginger Leigh a real CD deal, and make his work
more widely known. (FdW)
Address: http://www.gingerleigh.com
ALKALOID DESPERADO - INDUSTRIAL AMBIENT
SESSIONS VOL. 2 (CDR by Hidden)
NO - CAN'T THINK 2 (CDR by Hidden)
Only recently we reviewed Alkaloid Desperado's 'Industrial Ambient
Sessions Vol. 1' (see Vital Weekly 501) and here is already volume
2. Stylistically they are still on the same space voyage: five
long cuts of cosmic synthesizer sound. Sounds are fed through
a bunch of synthesizers, looped and treated with the same amount
of delay and reverb as before. Hardly ambient in some parts, for
the ear-piercing frequencies they sometimes visit, is hardly to
be called mellow, but on the other hand, industrial is also a
term that hardly fits the score. As said, best to regard this
cosmic music, music that can serve as a soundtrack for your home
made science fiction movies (or perhaps while reading a novel
on the subject).
I believe No are from the UK, but that merely guessing. This is
their second release for Hidden, but I didn't get the first one.
Firstly I thought No was along the lines of Alkaloid Desperado,
certainly in the first few tracks, but it turned out to be a slightly
more complicated affair, with various musics. The cosmic synth
like pieces are one, although a bit tighter in structure than
Alkaloid Desperado, but also techno inspired rhythms dropping
by, as-well as some pieces in which the melancholic side of electronic
music peep around the corner. In general way too experimental
to fit on such labels as Expanding Records or Highpoint Lowlife,
but it's a highly varied disc of electronic music tunes, and even
when it goes into various directions, this is altogether a pretty
homogenous disc. Daring music for daring listeners, who want to
broaden their horizon. (FdW)
Address: http://www.hidden.be
STILLSTAND - SCHAUER (CDR by Tosom)
FLUCHTWACHT - SILENT SALVATION (CDR by Tosom)
HERMIT - ICE-FISHING TALES OF OVER YONDER (CDR by Tosom)
VIVIAN GABIN - NO LOVE, NO STRUCTURE, NO HOPE FOR ALL (CDR by
Tosom)
SEPPUKU BOOGIE - SIX SIX SIX SURFIN'S SONGS/PNEUMATIC HELLKITCHEN
(2CDR by Tosom)
On the now more than active label Tosom, no less than six new
releases, all with great packages. The Stillstand release, in
a DVD box with five photo's as inserts, is a conceptual release.
Martin Steinebach, the man behind Stillstand, recorded one hour
of rain pouring down (which in German is called a 'Shauer', which
can be translated as a shower - of rain). We hear human activity,
which stops as the rain approaches and when it is gone the activities
start again. It sounds like a tropical thing, with a short but
powerful rain, stopping human activity, but I'm not sure if that
is what it is. Steinebach adds a little bit of electronic manipulation
to the matter, partly obscuring the material, so that it sounds
like an echo from a far away distance. Something that has happened
once, somewhere, captured dust and is now presented again. A pretty
fine work, hovering the thin line between ambient and soundscaping.
Fluchtwacht is also German, and have had a couple of releases
before. They (or he/she?) operate in the realms of noise. Although
their first release were the all-out Merzbow like blasts, the
latter releases incorporated more rhythm and noise - in that order,
and that's still a route they explore on their latest release
'Silent Salvation'. Minimal tracks of machine like rhythms, sometimes
even a tribal, but with piercing sounds in the background. Less
disturbing than some of the previous releases, but quite alright.
You could wonder if eleven tracks, spanning just under seventy-five
minutes isn't a bit too much, but certainly half of it would make
up a pretty decent release - and it would be an idea to chop some
tracks in half too.
The name Hermit I associate with true noise, along the lines of
Bastard Noise, but I must admit I only heard a few of his works.
Eric Boros, the man behind Hermit, toured Europe in 2002 and played
various shows in conjunction with others, such as Fritz Welch
and Marylise Frecheville and some were solo shows. If you have
no visual connection to the shows, like me, than it's hard to
form an idea how it looks like. In the two collaborative pieces,
we are loosely played acoustic objects, like small metal plates,
glass or any others. Sounds fascinating; would have loved to see
that. In 'Cabaret Experimental' we hear laughter, Boros telling
a joke and some noise, but also moments of quietness. Then there
is a short remix of Gordon Lightfoot, which has a dense psychedelic
synth and rhythm and a longer remix made by Karl Mohr, whoever
he is, of likewise disco rhythms mixed with noise. These last
two pieces are a bit out of line with the rest, and for reasons
unclear to me included here. Otherwise a fine example of what
noise can also be, a bit along the lines of the old Schimpfluch
records.
I never heard of Vivian Gabin, who found her inspiration with
Georges Romero, of whom I never heard either. She (assuming it's
a she!) uses samples of a rather low resolution, feeding it through
a bunch of delays and reverb machines to create an ambient texture.
Pretty dark altogether and also fairly alienated music, like the
collapse of space shuttles in weightless space. Throughout these
pieces were fairly ok, but nothing spectacular. At eleven pieces,
which are all pretty long, another release that is too long for
the amount of ideas it is trying to get across.
Also a new name is Seppuku Boogie, an off-shoot of Tscheljabinski
65). On these two CDRs we find some fine ambient industrial meanderings.
Seppuku Boogie samples sounds and feeds them through a bunch of
sound effects. Perhaps one could say, a bit like Vivian Gabin,
but the material is much more engaging to hear. The samples don't
sound as low resolution as the Vivian Gabin stuff, and have throughout
a slightly rhythmic, as in pulsating, feel to it. Just like Gabin
the tracks are pretty long, but have much more structure to it,
and then length turns out to be no problem. Pieces evolve slowly
around a limited set of sounds, but are carefully built, adding
and stapling sound effects, creating dark atmospheric and intense
sounds. Maybe two CDRs are a bit too much (unless we regard disc
two, with it's one piece, spanning fifty-four minutes, as a bonus
disc), but it's certainly worthwhile throughout. (FdW)
Address: http://www.tosom.de
[-HYPH-] - IRRELEVANCE.AIF (STEP 2) (3"CDR
by Anti Information Conspiracy)
SONATA REC (3"CDR by Anti Information Conspiracy)
Overlooked last week, these two 3" CDRs by Anti Information
Conspiracy. Another release by labelboss Nicolas Wiese, aka [-Hyph-],
with a piece that was originally used for an installation. It
uses, I think, the sound of an accordion, which play drone like
sounds, but not of the continuos kind, but rather various blocks
that get repeated. Voices leak through, but we are not to understand
them. Where they are from we don't know, perhaps television. This
piece doesn't have the collage like form that was so present on
<Breathing Gadgets>, reviewed here last week, even when
'Irrelevance' has a collage form too. Somewhere half way through
the piece rhythms come in, but working in similar ways as the
accordion sounds. Quite a nice piece.
I have no idea what Sonata Rec. is about. It seems to be the project
of one Heidrun Schramm. The two pieces on this 3"CDR are
two entirely different things, but perhaps related. 'Past Futura',
the second track here is all about violin and cello sounds, which
are stapled together in such a way that the original is still
be recognized, but still quite a nice piece of real instrument
drone music. Which brings me to the first track, 'Herzmaschinenchor
(LEM version 1)'. Perhaps LEM from Brussels? Who does a remix
of the violin and cello playing, feeding it through a bunch of
plug ins, creating a lengthy affair of repeating tones, that far
away sound familiar to a violin. Maybe a bit too long this one.
All in all, quite nice. (FdW)
Address: http://www.0000.anti.info
SISPRUM VISH - GOWNED MAJESTY (3"CDR
by Audiobot)
GLAMOROUS PAT - STARER (CDR by Chocolate Monk)
STIFF RIVER (3"CDR, private)
ALIEN ZONER ENSEMBLE - A NEW DAY - A NEW SMOKE (CDR by Weed)
I got these four handed out on an evening a while back which had
a lot of noise, so I may not have understood correctly if these
were to review or just my private pleasure. 'Sisprum Vish was
Glamorous Pat' it says on the cover of the 3" 'Gowned Majesty',
which contains a mixture of live recordings from January 2006.
Noise stuff, but quite nice. Short, intense and chopped up, but
it's not an over-the-top wall of noise thing. And as Glamorous
Pat he recorded 'Starer' between 2003-2005, taking things even
a bit further. Here too we find noise, but of a more alien kind.
Slowed down vinyl, water running, bits of feedback and digital
manipulations (or it seems) of voice stuff. Not the traditional
noise stuff, but certainly also not music for the light hearted.
Quite crazy stuff, quite raw and untamed too, but certainly all
enjoyable.
From the Netherlands is Stiff River, I believe a
duo from The Hague. Their 3"CDR has two long pieces of highly
tortured guitar sounds, that occasionally leap in the areas of
feedback, but don't stay there that long. A highly primitive version
of Skullflower without the drums on the first track, and with
drums on the second track. Play loud is not written on the cover,
but it could have been. I am sure in a live context this would
be great.
The strangest of the lot, is also the one I don't have an address
for, which is Alien Zoner Ensemble. 'A New Day - A New Smoke'
is a twenty-eight minute piece which starts out quite noise, but
leaps into noise related improvisation until they (he?) looses
their way in the piece and the thing collapses. I'd say be careful
with that new smoke... (FdW)
Address: <notactuallyglamorous@gmail.com>
Address: <stiffriver@gmail.com>
MACHINEFABRIEK - CHINESE UNPOPULAR SONG
(businesscard CDR by Machinefabriek)
Ah, businesscard CDRs: unfortunately we don't get them a lot,
but here's one, by our beloved Machinefabriek. Two tracks here,
a Chinese Popular Song, which is exactly what it is: a popular
song from China. Not my thing, but the remix Machinefabriek does,
under the banner of 'Chinese Unpopular Song' is nice. He takes
the original apart, and makes quite an intense piece of music
out of it. Working with near silence in a collage style, in an
almost Roel Meelkop like manner, he crafts a more than excellent
piece of music. After the noise of before, which was alright,
this marks certainly a new step for him and hopefully a new path
to explore. (FdW)
Address: http://www.machinefabriek.tk
CADUCEUS - INFLUENCE VOLUME FIVE (MP3 by
Caduceus Music)
Ok, so their influence doesn't have to be mine. The Black Light
District album 'A Thousand Lights In A Darkened Room' on Eskaton
went by me unnoticed, so it's a harder job for me to comment on
the five pieces created by Caduceus in their ongoing remixes of
influences. I must admit, they are nice pieces of organic music,
sampled together, with a slight touch of rhythm. The Coil influence
is never far away here. Dark and moody music, but always with
a bit of light shining through. But as said, as I don't know the
original it's hard for me to comment on that. But based on these
remixes, I think I should seek out the original, as they are quite
nice. (FdW)
Address: http://www.caduceusmusic.net
ASHER - THREE UNTITLED COMPOSITIONS (MP3
by Earlabs)
In a short time span already the third release by New York's Asher.
No conceptual theme as on '...And Invariably The Blue' or exploring
an instrument in a world of decay as on 'Graceful Degradation'.
No such thing here. In a fine Lopezian tradition, Asher calls
his three pieces 'Untitled', two with a date and one 'for f',
but nothing else. Three lengthy pieces also which take the listener
into the world of ambient glitch, the world of dark rumble and
the world of silence. The volume needs to go up quite a bit, to
hear what is going on. Utter mood music, which sounds nice, maybe
a bit uniform throughout, maybe a bit long, but, in my case, excellent
music to wake up by on a grey day. Sometimes things doesn't have
to be cutting edge. Being nice is sometimes also good enough.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.earlabs.org/label/lm/lm033.asp?titleID=1554
correction: Totstellen doesn't mean 'to
kill', but is 'a word used for areas without any radiosignals,
or numb areas of a living body, but it is also a verb "to
feign dead" or an imperative "feign dead!'. The text
that comes with the release isn't by Edgar Allen Poe 'but an excerpt
of an text about the urban myth ,which says that the face of most
common used cpr-dummy is the one of the the dead female found
in the seine at the turn of the century and which gathered a huge
posthumous fame as somekind of morbid souvenir'
Vital Weekly is published by Frans de Waard
and submitted for free to anybody
with an e-mail address. If you don't wish to receive this, then
let us
know. Any feedback is welcome <vital@vitalweekly.net>. Forward
to your allies.
Snail mail: Vital Weekly/Frans de Waard - Acaciastraat 11 - 6521
NE Nijmegen - The Netherlands
All written by Frans de Waard (FdW), The Square Root Of Sub (MP
<sub@xs4all.nl>), Dolf Mulder (DM) <dolf.mulder@hetnet.nl>,
Meelkop Roel (MR), Gerald
Schwartz (GS), Niels Mark Pedersen (NMP), Henry Schneider (SH),
Jeff
Surak (JS), TJ Norris (TJN), Gregg Kowlaksky (GK), Craig N (CN),
Boban Ristevski (BR), Maurice Woestenburg (MW), Toni Dimitrov
(TD <info@fakezine.tk>), Chris Jeely (CJ) and others on
a less regular basis.
This is copyright free publication, except where indicated, in
which
case permission has to be obtained from the respective author
before
reprinting any, or all of the desired text. The author has to
be
credited, and Vital Weekly has to be acknowledged at all times
if any
texts are used from it.
Announcements can be shortened by the editor. Please do NOT send
any
attachments/jpeg's, we will trash them without viewing.
There is no point in directing us to MP3 sites, as we will not
go there. Any MP3 release to be reviewed should be burned as an
audio CDR and send to the address above.
the complete archive of Vital Weekly (1-494) can be found at: http://staalplaat.com/vital/