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VITAL WEEKLY
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number 536
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week 30
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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!
complete tracklist here: http://www.vitalweekly.net/podcast.html
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
GABRIEL PAIUK & JASON KAHN - BREATHINGS
(CD by Cut) *
SETH NEHIL/JGRZINICH - GYRE (CD by Cut)
AARON SIEGEL - THE CABINET (CD by Longbox Recordings) *
CIVIL WAR - THE BRUTALITY OF FACT (CDR by Longbox Recordings)
BONG-RA - STEREOHYPE HEROIN HOOKER (CD by Ad Noiseam)
ENDUSER - FORM WITHOUT FUNCTION (CD by Hymen Records)
EDOARDO RICCI & THOLLEM MCDONAS - SONO CONTENTO DI STARE QUA
(CD by EDGETONE)
LUKAS SIMONIS - STOTS - (CD by Z6) *
COOLHAVEN -STROMBLOQUE - (CD by Taple Biz) *
MOCTAN - SUSPECT (CD by Ant-Zen)
MICHEAL PRIME/MAX EASTLEY - HYDROPHONY FOR DAGON (CD by Absurd)
*
YASUSHI YOSHIDA - SECRET FIGURE (CD by Noble Records) *
THE CONDITION OF MUZAK 2 (CD by Expanding Records)
ANTONIO DELLA MARINA - FADES (CD by I Dischi Di Angelica) *
FE-MAIL - BLIXTER TOAD (2CD by Asphodel)
FLUTWACHT - CRETA (CD by Apocalyptic Radio) *
NOUS SOMMES LES MORTS (CD by Apocalyptic Radio)
FREIBAND - LEISE (CD by Cronica Electronica) *
REIKO KUDO - HITO/KUSA (2CD by Hyotan)
DAVID LACEY & PAUL VOGEL & MARK WASTELL (CDR by Confront
Performance Series)
KEITH ROWE & MARK WASTELL (CDR by Confront Performance Series)
*
THE DOMESTIC FRONT - CONSTRICTOR (CDR by Tib Prod)
COMPEST - AUFESTEHUNG (3"CDR by Tib Prod)
HOH - ANDERS HANA REMIXZ (CDR by Tib Prod)
OZKA - GLACIERS (CDR by Tib Prod) *
MONO-DRONE - AUTUMN LEAVES (CDR by Tib Prod)
.AT/ON - PROSTIR (CDR by Minus N) *
MOVIN ON (CDR compilation by Minus N)
OBITUARY:
Geert Feytons (27-12-1967 - 22-07-2006)
GABRIEL PAIUK & JASON KAHN - BREATHINGS
(CD by Cut)
SETH NEHIL/JGRZINICH - GYRE (CD by Cut)
About half the releases on Cut Records involve the work of label
owner Jason Kahn and the other half are by people he simply likes.
This is no different with the two latest releases. Kahn, a known
improviser of percussive sounds, computer and analogue synth,
teams up with Gabriel Paiuk, of whom we recently reviewed his
'Rex Extensa' (see Vital Weekly 524). Paiuk is a composer, improviser
and pianist from Buenos Aires. 'Breathings' was recorded in Paiuk's
house 'one afternoon', November 30, 2004. Over the course of about
forty minutes, the breathings pass by. Like in- and exhaling,
each sound seems a 'person' breathing. The sustained sounds from
whatever source, the insect like chirping, the piano playing one
note, or the sound of the inside of the piano. Indexed at various
points, I think it's just one long piece. The 'one afternoon'
suggest a certain laidback atmosphere during the recording, but
perhaps its just an idea I have, but it seems to me that there
is a tropical heat like laidback pattern in this recording. Acoustic
and digital sounds float about, into the air, and fall on the
ground again, with simple pace and grace. Very nice work.
For more than a decade Seth Nehil and John Grzinich work together,
playing highly processed acoustic recordings of them playing together.
You can imagine them sitting together in the woods, in a cave
or on the top of a hill with a small array of wood, glass or metal,
and producing sounds with that. The natural acoustics also play
a role: the acoustic space or the wind or the rain. Recordings
of such pieces are combined together in the studio and formed
into lengthy pieces of drone music. 'Gyre' is their third release,
following 'Stria' (see Vital Weekly 360) and 'Confluence' (see
Vital Weekly 353), which were companion releases. On 'Gyre' we
find three of these pieces, in which the environment sinks into
the playing of the musicians, such as in 'Cast', which has the
rumbling of acoustic objects, gradually fading over into the sounds
of wind and rain. The drone music of Nehil and Jgrzinich may not
have changed since their first two releases, but it's quite still
a highly captivating journey and a strong, personal view of drone
music. That makes this most worthwhile. (FdW)
Address: http://cut.fm
AARON SIEGEL - THE CABINET (CD by Longbox
Recordings)
CIVIL WAR - THE BRUTALITY OF FACT (CDR by Longbox Recordings)
Releases by Longbox Recordings are usually heavily inside the
world of improvised and these two aren't different. Aaron Siegel
plays percussion, solo or sometimes with Anthony Braxton and is
also a composer and sound artist. 'The Cabinet' is his debut solo
CD and it has no less than twenty-one tracks, each lasting exactly
two minutes. It's hard to listen to this, perceiving it as twenty-one
different tracks. The first time I played it, I didn't notice
the CD player, or read the text and thought it was one long solo
of percussive sounds, played on a variety of instruments such
as snare drums, cymbals and some such (the cover depicts them
in pictures, rather than words). To understand the power behind
each track one should play them as separate tracks, isolated from
the rest, and that is of course something nobody does. So I rather
opt for the possibility of listening to this as one long track
and as such I must say that I am quite amazed by it's quality.
Most of the times it doesn't sound all too improvised, or even
percussive, but quiet and silent. But there is an intensity present
in this music, that is present in all of these tracks that makes
this a highly fine disc or a highly refined nature. Great work.
Labelboss Adam Sonderberg plays also percussion, in a trio called
Civil War, together with Amy Cimini on viola and Katherine Young
on Bassoon. 'The Brutality Of Fact' may sound, title wise that
is, a bit too harsh and industrial, but the brutality of facts
at work here are the fact that Civil War is an excellent trio
for improvised music. They made their recordings in an abandoned
grain silo, thus using the space as an extra instrument. Not that
it resonates all the time, but it means also that they play less
and less notes, letting the space 'breath' as it were. Towards
the end, it seems as if silence as taken over the music. Quite
an amazing effort this, reducing the music, adding the silence,
slowing cross fading. Wow. (FdW)
Address: http://www.longboxrecordings.com
BONG-RA - STEREOHYPE HEROIN HOOKER (CD by
Ad Noiseam)
Clash of the titans....? American breakcore artist Bong-Ra has
invited four well established and four up-comings from the flourishing
breakcore-scene to remix four new tracks from the high energetic
composer. The result is a very entertaining journey into the freakiest
territories of contemporary breakbeat. The four tracks of Bong-Ra
is also released on a 12", but unless the purchase is intended
for a playlist on a rave-club, you shouldn't cheat yourself for
the eight additional remixes on this cd-version since they definitely
add something new to the original four tracks. Divided into three
sections the opening section presents the original versions of
Bong-Ra. In the following sections the tracks are completely deconstructed,
broken and assembled into new pieces of aggression. In the second
section we have the remixes of the established artists (Duran
Duran Duran, Drop The Lime, Parasite, Enduser) and in the third
section the contributions from the new rave-talents (Cardopusher,
Dr. Bastardo, Ace Of Breaks, Cake Builder). As the four tracks
have been converted into totally new forms and shapes we practically
have twelve different tracks making the disc more appear as a
compilation rather than a remixed project. Even the four original
tracks have quite different approaches to breakbeat-style, though
all of them belong to the club-oriented category of the electronic
scene. The two opening tracks, "Coke Sniffah" and "The
rush (long time coming)", has a slightly more melodic approach
to the raving expressions thanks to their heavy use of sampled
vocals. Especially "The rush (long time coming)" with
its sweet built-in tune sung by up-speed high-pitch female vocals.
Things get darker and more abrasive with the penetration of third
track "Suicide speed machine girl" and fourth track
"Death to false metal". Apart from the very well constructed
breakbeats, "Suicide speed machine girl" is based on
a pretty cool and a very aggressive guitar-riff of pure thrash
metal fitting very well into the freaking hyperspeed rhythm-texture.
Where "Suicide speed machine girl" was a harsh piece
of work, "Death to false metal" is the moment where
hell breaks loose. A short but very effective track of wrath,
opening with an evil darkside drone of subtle noise, the track
soon after leads us into an orgy of furious breakbeats based on
ultra-fast rhythm grindcore patterns (reminiscent of the patterns
from legendary fast-drummer of Morbid Angel, Pete Sandoval). In
the remix-sections, especially Ace Of breaks impresses with his
utterly bizarre deconstruction of "Suicide speed machine
girl" experimenting with the alluring contrast between silent
and noisy expression. Also Enduser does an excellent job with
his atmospheric ambient-inspired version of "Death of false
metal". Listeners of breakcore shouldn't miss this magnificent
piece of full throttle energy. (NMP)
Address: http://www.adnoiseam.net
ENDUSER - FORM WITHOUT FUNCTION (CD by Hymen
Records)
This is great! Breakcore-specialist Enduser impressed me a lot
with his mini-cd "Bollywood breaks" out on Ad Noiseam
in 2005, but this latest release by the very productive American
is even better! With a comprehensive discography counting a number
of releases on labels like Ad Noiseam, Mirex, Sublight and Ant-Zen
Recordings, the time has come for the first full-length release
on German technoid label Hymen Records. With inspiration in the
90's drum'n'bass-scene Lynn Standafer (a.k.a. Enduser) brings
a style first of all reminiscent of early Photek into aggressive
breakbeat territories based on the present drum'n'noise and breakcore-scene
of the 21st century. Thus the Middle Eastern club-style that first
of all saturated "Bollywood breaks" has faded and a
darker and more sinister expression has penetrated. It really
does work amazing when Enduser blends darkside/techstep expressions
with the hyper-fast and ultra-violent rhythm-textures on tracks
like "Hidden wrath", "Final judgement" and
"The plan". The additional use of deep buzzing noise
drones sounding like something indescribable frightening makes
the atmosphere of claustrophobia even worse. In-between these
sonic nightmares Enduser has included more down-to-earth moments
quite often based on processed acoustic instruments such as piano.
A few tracks use elements from the Grime-scene with the addition
of ragga vocals and hip hop-like breakbeats. Lynn Standafer uses
the phrase "Sonic terror" as part of his web-address
(www.sonicterror.net/enduser/). A suitable choice for a sonic
aggressor like Enduser. Excellent stuff! (NMP)
Address: http://www.hymen-records.com
EDOARDO RICCI & THOLLEM MCDONAS - SONO
CONTENTO DI STARE QUA (CD by EDGETONE)
I'm still puzzled by the latest release of McDonas ("Chasing
the sun/racing the sun") reviewed for Vital Weekly 526, where
McDonas wove two solorecordings into one intriguing (non) whole
with a minimal of manipulations. I like this cd it because it
undermines my musical expectations as a listener, but at the same
time it evokes an experience of great fascination and joy. So
you can imagine I,m really curious about his new one: what will
he be up to this time? McDonas is in the company here of the italian
reedplayer Edoardo Ricci. Ricci belongs to that extensive family
of first generation european jazz musicians that started seeking
their own voice in the end of 60s. He developed himself into one
of the founding fathers of the italian free music scene. I don't
know much about his musical whereabouts, but, as you can imagine,
with some 40 years of experience it is evident that we have to
deal here with an accomplished player. McDonas plays 'rickety
piano', an old and out of tune piano, but in the hands of McDonas
the piano turns out to be a perfectly 'prepared' tool for the
musical meeting with Ricci. He is not absorbed in dealing with
the limitations of the piano, but makes a fruitful use of the
possibilities of this particular piano. Both gentlemen make sure
that it is their intention to make the best within the given conditions
and possibilities of their meeting, that took place on a cold
december day in 2005 somewhere in Italy.
All improvisations on this CD proof this, as they dive with great
spontaneity into their playing, although both gentlemen hardly
knew each other. Throughout McDonas and Ricci are partners of
an equal level. It is only in some of the faster parts, that Ricci
seems not be able to keep up with McDonas. All his energy goes
into keeping up the tempo of McDonas not being able to tame McDonas.
But in the slower and more modest passages it becomes evident
that Ricci is a very fine and expressive player, like in the first
part of track 3. As is often the case with free improvised music,
it has its strong and its weaker moments. And as in any other
way of communicating degrees of togetherness vary during their
playing. There are many very intense and sensitive moments, where
an optimum musical celebration of the moment is reached. Besides
their are a few moments where they are more into seeking - with
unsatisfying result - then into finding each other. But in my
view this is part of the charm of improvised music. So all in
all this a very satisfying recording of improvised music. Free
improvised music is heavily dependent on the vocabulary of the
musicians involved. But with these two gentlemen this is not a
problem. Also it is often said that in free improvised music their
is no development. In general it sounds now the same as it sounded
in the 70s. Apart from the fact that here a problematic modernist
idea of development is in charge, I think this not what improvised
music is about. I think it is about having the courage and love
to be, to act, here and now. In that sense this album is of great
'actuality'. (DM)
Address: http://www.edgetonerecords.com/
LUKAS SIMONIS - STOTS - (CD by Z6)
COOLHAVEN -STROMBLOQUE - (CD by Taple Biz)
With his roots in industrial music and noise rock back in the
80s Simonis was a member of groups like Dull Schicksal, Trespassers
W and Morzelpronk. He choose for more experimental paths in the
90s using all kind of digital effects and found objects. Nowadays
he has several projects going on like AA Kismet (with Bob Drake),
Vril (with Drake & Cutler), with Pierre Bastien, Coolhaven,
etc. With "Stots" his first solo-album sees the light,
with the help of Nina Hitz only, playing cello on two tracks.
In 16 tracks, recorded in 2005-2006, Simonis moulds his fantasies
in the sound-material, resulting in very very weird songs. Maybe
it is not right to speak of 'Songs'. This Spike Jones of the avant
garde really tries pushing things a bit further. Often he balances
somewhere between song and collage. He seems to be very fond of
using all kinds of found noises and sounds. In most tracks he
is able to fit in these sounds into clear compact structures that
almost never last more then 3 minutes. Each piece circles around
a clear idea and brings forward its own atmosphere. A varied cd
by an inventive musician who does not eschew adventure.
Coolhaven is a different piece a cake. This trio of Peter Fengler,
Hajo Doorn and Lukas Simonis, operates since 1999. On Brombron
they recently released a cd with Felix Kubin (Vital Weekly 535).
For their newest one "Strombloque Phantasiën" they
sought the company of Mariska Simon who sings on several tracks.
Coolhaven remains within wellknown borders of the songformat,
how bizarre their songs may be. Their songs are prepared by a
strange cocktail of laptops, guitar and voices. Techno-like use
of computer laptop. The vocals sing along melodic lines. Other
parts are spoken, or something in between (sprechgesang). The
use of guitar (and ukekelele) and other noises are sparse but
complete their soundconcept. They don,t fear cliches, or bombastic
effects like in the final track. That's what they want to play
with. As a result their songs are far more accessible then the
ones on Simonis' solo-album. The whole sounds like a fake opera,
and breathes undeniably a Neue Deutsche Welle atmosphere. Also
the opera 'Einfach' of the belgian Simpletones is an inevitable
association. Nina Hagen (track 9), Falco, a.o. came also to my
mind. As is the case with their collaboration with Felix Kubin,
for appreciating this release, it is essential that you can share
their sense of humor. They are very conscious of what they are
doing, and are probably well aware of the risks . That's is part
of their undertaking, and do it with verve. (DM)
Address: http://www.taple.biz/
MOCTAN - SUSPECT (CD by Ant-Zen)
Say "Minimal techno" and most of us will memorize the
glory days of the early 90's Detroit scene. Thanks to a project
like Moctan the days still exist where the essence of expression
is "repetition". Take some militant EBM expressions
of Nitzer Ebb and blend it with a few doses of ultra-minimalist
Plastikman combined with the funkiness of Model 500 (aka Juan
Atkins). Combine this mixture with the Power Noise-spheres that
separates Ant-Zen Recordings from other labels, and you have it!
Andreas Glockner (the man behind Moctan) isn't a new face in the
Ant-Zen Camp. Having been active since 1994, he has been part
of projects like Ars Moriendi, Morgenstern and Monokrom. Even
though Moctan doesn't belong to the harshest spectre of the Power
Noise-scene, there is still plenty of rumbling noises drifting
in the sub-levels to keep listeners of extreme electronics well-entertained.
And in a few tracks like "Duracell" and "Hightech"
the rough expression hits the surface resulting in a very intense
mixture of Power Noise and loop-based minimal techno similar to
label-mate Asche (a.k.a. Andreas Schramm). In fact there is a
lot of similarity between these two projects, though Moctan is
more focused on repetitive expressions that results in an excellent
trippy style making it very suitable for experimental club-scenes.
A very pleasant thing about this project is the way that sounds
of aggression floats in funky sound spheres. Minimal Techno meets
Power Noise in a quite humorous way. Highly recommended, especially
for some freaky physical performance! (NMP)
Address: http://www.ant-zen.com
MICHEAL PRIME/MAX EASTLEY - HYDROPHONY FOR
DAGON (CD by Absurd)
Work by Max Eastley is rarely reviewed in Vital Weekly. Not because
we don't like it, but many of his works are sound installations.
Micheal Prime is also not very often reviewed, but that's mainly
because he doesn't release that much. Both artists use sounds
from our environment, but rather than a recording of the environment,
they use plants, water and such to generate sound, sometimes with
a bit of electronics. The recordings on 'Hydrophony For Dagon'
are already ten years old, but are certainly very worthwhile to
release, also because of the special nature of the recordings.
The sounds were produced under water, using a Hydroarc, tubing,
fans, tapes, bubble machine, objects and motors and recorded with
hydrophones. Unlike many of the releases on the Belgium Mystery
Sea, which all play with the idea of sub aquatic sounds, this
is of course the real thing. Slowly the two built up the almost
forty minute piece, from sparsely orchestrated sounds towards
a full blown symphony of aqua drones of fans and motors, with
of course water sounds vaguely being part of the entire thing.
Perhaps this is the sound of being in a submarine? Who knows (not
me), but I certainly did think this a beautifully laid out piece.
An excellent piece of drone music that sounds unlike much other
drone works. Great stuff. (FdW)
Address: http://www.void.gr/absurd
YASUSHI YOSHIDA - SECRET FIGURE (CD by Noble
Records)
Japanese Noble Records have a known reputation for music that
melodic, dramatic, warm and sometimes firmly rooted in the world
of digital music. 'Secret Figure' by Yasushi Yoshida is not different,
even when the acoustic instruments, such as piano, cello, violin
and guitar. They are performed by various musicians, including
Yoshida himself, who added field recordings, and some minimal,
beat related samples, which are bit glitchy. But he successfully
knows to incorporate these to such an extent that the emphasis
lies on the acoustic instruments and all extra's are merely decoration.
Every song is a world of it's own, or rather a soundtrack on it's
own. Each of the nine tracks could easily fit any sort of dramatic
sequence of film, with desolated buildings, empty deserts or sunsets.
Highly subtle and minimal music, with chamber music like qualities.
A bit like Penguin Cafe Orchestra, but then updated with electronics,
even to a such a small scale level. Music to be played at late
evenings when the sun has long gone. (FdW)
Address: http://www.noble-label.net
THE CONDITION OF MUZAK 2 (CD by Expanding
Records)
Vital Weekly regularly discusses the releases by London's Expanding
Records, but they are usually only their CD releases. Expanding
Records have also a solid reputation when it comes to releasing
7"s. They come in editions of 400 copies (perhaps that why
we never see them), on heavy colored vinyl in a silkscreened zip-locked
envelope. Every now and then, Expanding releases the best tracks
of a series of nine on a compilation CD, here also including an
exclusive track by Benge and remixes by Cathode, Am/Pm and Tunng.
Some of the artists we have seen before on CDs, such as Benge,
Vessel, Cathode and Maps+Diagrams. If you are familiar with these,
then this compilation is no surprise, as Expanding Records have
a pretty strong personal style in music. Laidback beats, melancholic
keyboards, ambient textures. The differences between the various
bands are relatively small and that strength is also the weakness
of Expanding Records. None of the artists really standout from
the rest, there is not one that bends procedures into a new direction,
even when among this lot there isn't a single weak brother. It's
a pity that the recent singing Modern Institute haven't made it
to 7": they seemed to have a good and refreshing answer.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.expandingrecords.com
ANTONIO DELLA MARINA - FADES (CD by I Dischi
Di Angelica)
The name of Antonio Della Marina is a new one for me. He studied
musical and performing arts in Bologna, focussing on american
experimental music. Primarily his work deals with 'sequencies,
frequencies and phase of sine waves and the essential characteristics
of sound itself'. 'Fades' was already started in 2001 as an audio
installation, of four 32 hertz pitches in a dark room and by putting
them on random loop, the piece changed throughout. The version
of 'Fades' on this CD is not a stereo mix of the installation
piece, but rather a live version that was performed in 2003. The
piece lasts one hour and is a beautiful sine wave like piece along
the lines of 'Music On A Long Thin Wire' by Alvin Lucier. Sounds
move slowly around, fading in and fading out, reappearing every
now and then. Unlike Lucier, whose pieces can be menacing at times,
Della Marina plays everything with a much softer touch, more gentle.
The piece itself is not really recorded very loud, but it's best
to play it at a moderate volume, so that it fills your environment.
If you move through your own environment you will notice small
changes in the pitch. Like you are playing the piece too. That
is simply a great effort. Beautiful and relaxing work. (FdW)
Address: http://www.fades.net
FE-MAIL - BLIXTER TOAD (2CD by Asphodel)
In perhaps the earlier days of Fe-Mail I could keep up with their
releases, but these days it's perhaps a bit too much. Fe-mail
are surely female: it's a duo of Maja Ratkje and Hild Sofie Tafjord
from Norway. They are also a member of Spunk, but expand their
sound by the limitation of members. Fe-mail are best known as
noise musicians. At least that's how I remember it from the early
days. 'This two disc set is best described as the taxonomic designation
of feminine conviction through gadgetry and acoustic archaeology',
it says somewhat cryptically. Live sampling is the instrument
of Fe-mail. Taking whatever sound is available, sampling it, and
then messing about with it. If there is no sound, there is always
a voice. The noise of Fe-mail has grown considerably since I last
heard them. It has moved away from the Merzbowian noise of before,
and into a field of electro-acoustic music. Loud, dirty and improvised
for sure, but it has moments in which things take back control,
perhaps even a moment of rest and peace (even when I don't mean
this in any sort of ambient way), before matters go out of hand
again. On the second disc there are two video's made while Fe-mail
is improvising their way, but heavily processed by Masako Tanaka,
into a heavy cut up style, with flickering colors and forms a
perfect visualization of the music. We see them at work, but at
the same manipulated visuals come in. Especially in 'It Becomes
Her' this works extremely well. Perhaps two discs are a bit much
but it's a truly fine work. (FdW)
Address: http://www.asphodel.com
FLUTWACHT - CRETA (CD by Apocalyptic Radio)
NOUS SOMMES LES MORTS (CD by Apocalyptic Radio)
It seems that Apocalyptic Radio now finally moved over to the
world of 'real' CDs, via these two releases. The first one is
by Flutwacht, who have had a bunch of CDR releases on Apocalyptic
Radio. They more or less were based on one idea, that was worked
out through the entire release. Mainly noise, noise and rhythm,
with just a little bit of 'lesser' noise. On 'Creta' they (or
he or she) expand the musical territorium to quite an extent.
The noise and rhythm pieces are of course still there, such as
in 'Night In Chains', but there are also moments of quietness
such as in 'Achtung Einsam (Creta Part 1)' and 'Wasserbogen' (Creta
Part 2). All the way out in the lengthy 'Jehovas Law', which seems
to be an improvisation on guitars, amplifiers and distortion pedals.
Drone rock at it's best. There is a great deal of variety in these
twelve tracks, which makes it a very good disc. Mainly for noise
heads still, but certainly those with an open mind.
And where you would expect variation, on a compilation release,
you don't get any. Which is kinda odd, I think. To many in the
world of noise, there are a few classic noise compilations, such
as 'Für Ilse Koch' and 'Neuengamme' and many have tried to
accomplish the same thing, but it hardly ever worked. Many of
the tracks on this compilation sound similar: a dark, distorted
sound starts out as the backbone of a piece, then a high pierced
sound, a highly distorted voice (more Ramleh than Whitehouse actually)
shouting about death (obviously with such a title) and that's
about it. Beinhaus and Contagious Orgasm uses rhythm, but otherwise
nothing changed. Highly unoriginal music as far as I'm concerned.
In case they mean anything to you: Objekt/Urian, Atrox, PPF, Moral
Fraktal, Praying For Oblivion, Antracot, Propergol, Vronthor,
Shadow Theater, Synomorph and Flutwacht. (FdW)
Address: http://www.apocalyptic-radio.de
FREIBAND - LEISE (CD by Cronica Electronica)
Freiband is one of the musical projects by the ever-prolific Frans
de Waard. With Frans being one half of Beequeen and me being the
other half, it is a bit difficult to be fully objective about
this CD. However, to me, Freiband is one of the most interesting
projects Frans is involved in. The reason for this is that Freiband
is the musical project that comes closest to the person of Frans
de Waard. He likes his music as devoid as possible of emotions,
but Freiband has proven to be an exception. Often, the music has
a "warmer" side and appears to be made with more depth
in composing and structure and, as a bonus (perhaps as a consequence),
is more accessible than say Kapotte Muziek or Goem. On this album,
Frans uses sounds created in 2002 by his then 5-year old daughter
Elise. These sounds (sometimes on musical instruments, sometimes
not) were reworked on the laptop, giving the music that typical
"laptop-sound. Most of the tracks on this album have been
groomed in several live performances. Opening with Elise blabbing
out "Freiband!" this CD more or less follows those live
sets. At times the origins of the sounds can be detected in the
music (as in Vuur 'fire' and Storm), at times this is harder to
recoup (as in Knippers cutters- or Daisees). Personal favourites
are 'Bij' and 'Daisees' with their slow pulses and keyboard sounds.
Other pieces (like Rammel 'rattle' or De Kabale Brug 'the noise
bridge') are slightly more fragmented. The title Leise ("quiet"
in German) is a clever anagram of Elise,s name. The "toot
toot toot toots" at the end of the CD are charming little
audio signatures of Elise and were previously also used to good
effect in Beequeen performances. A review of this album would
not be complete without a few words on the sleeve. This one is
adorned by a gorgeous line drawing of Elise with cats in her arms
by Rui Vitorino Santos. It is a charming, almost naïve portrait
and surprisingly well-characterized. Interestingly enough, much
like the music on this CD. (FK)
Address: http://www.cronicaelectronica.org
REIKO KUDO - HITO/KUSA (2CD by Hyotan)
On and off Maher Shalal Hash Bas-member Reiko Kudo's output since
1979 has been limited: one LP and two CD's. She made the LP (Noise,
under the name Tenno) with Tori Kudo who is also member of Maher
Shalal Hash Bas. Now we are treated with 2 new albums on her private
Hyotan label. Hito was recorded in the summer of 2005, whereas
Kusa was recorded in the winter of 2005. Musically the difference
between the two albums is minimal; both feature almost heartbreaking
soul music I've ever heard. Not soul music like say Aretha Franklin,
but REAL soul music; music that touches the soul of the listener.
The playing on these albums is minimal; often just a piano hesitantly
played with Kudo's beautiful, almost childlike voice. At times
there is a guitar-based song with some soft bassguitar in the
background. The songs are brief (with both albums clocking in
at around 30 minutes each) and almost sound like they're made
up on the spot. The atmosphere of the music is that of a domestic
nature, with the songs resembling entries in a private dairy.
There is background hiss, electric buzzing, doors creaking, rain
and sounds all around (including a surprise vacuum cleaner), which
do not distract but add to the simple beauty of these recordings.
Kudo's enunciation is delicate and fragile, like she hesitates
to sing these fragile soul songs. In all, these two brief albums
come with the highest recommendation possible. They are probably
not stocked at your local Virgin store, but have a go at www.forcedexposure.com
(FK)
DAVID LACEY & PAUL VOGEL & MARK
WASTELL (CDR by Confront Performance Series)
KEITH ROWE & MARK WASTELL (CDR by Confront Performance Series)
Perhaps its a matter of economics, with CD sales going down, but
perhaps its just returning to the old idea of the world of cassettes:
do a concert and release it right away. The Confront label has
had some releases on CDs, but now they started the Confront Performance
Series, releasing live recordings. Packed in a tin can, in an
edition of 100 copies. A lovely idea, certainly in the world of
improvised music, where concerts usually have an unique character,
an one-off meeting. On the first release we find Mark Wastell,
already a known improviser whose bio is like a who's who of improvised
music. Here he plays ride cymbal, cd player and mixer, together
with David Lacey on percussion and e-bowed monochord and Paul
Vogel on computer and clarinet. The piece starts out with a high
pitched tone, soft but presently clear. Slowly the other instruments
come in and sounds start to develop from there. Carefully, slowly,
but always with a present sound, this is quite electronically
sounding, with the cymbal being the odd ball, ad-mist the percussion
and computer treatments of the clarinet sounds. They built up
but not entirely to a mighty crescendo: once it has reached the
peak it stays there and starts developping from there, the intensity
of the playing becomes richer and then works towards a fade out
at the end - perhaps a bit abrupt. A fine, solid disc.
The second disc also contains music by Mark Wastell who plays
here amplified textures and electronics and Keith Rowe, one of
the true eminence grise of improvised music on guitar and electronics.
This recording, made 31 march 2006, was their second concert together.
Apparently Wastell changed his mode of playing this year, moving
away from the careful textures sound into a more noise related
territory. It shows on this recording. His textured sounds are
no longer 'delicate' or 'careful', but delicate and loud, scratching
the surface. In this piece, which lasts just under thirty minutes,
it seems to me that Rowe his the man of carefulness, with his
guitar humming about, slowly coming out of a bath of hiss and
reduced noise, but the amplified textures are scratching about,
like contact microphones hitting the carpet or wood. At times
pretty mean and nasty, but it's hardly to be compared with say
Merzbow: it drops to quiet parts and slowly builds up again from
that. Another fine solid work. (FdW)
Address: http://www.confront.info
THE DOMESTIC FRONT - CONSTRICTOR (CDR by
Tib Prod)
COMPEST - AUFESTEHUNG (3"CDR by Tib Prod)
HOH - ANDERS HANA REMIXZ (CDR by Tib Prod)
OZKA - GLACIERS (CDR by Tib Prod)
MONO-DRONE - AUTUMN LEAVES (CDR by Tib Prod)
Probably there is no such thing as summer lazyness in Norway?
Five new releases made it to this sweat hut. The first is by a
new name, Thom Bailey, who works as The Domestic Front. 'Constrictor'
is based on his experiences as an asthmatic and if I understood
well is entirely based on recordings of him breathing. That is
of course something strange to realize when hearing this. The
sound of illness being put to use as part of music. He feeds recordings
of his breathing through a bunch of computer filters, looping
them around, trying out various types of processing. It never
goes into a quiet, Gunter-like mood of playing, but it stays pleasantly
present (if one will allow me to use that phrase). Not every moment
is great but as a whole it's certainly much enjoyable.
Martin Steinebach is a busy bee, working as Stillstand, Concientia
Peccati, Monoid and Compest, each with a different musical angle.
Much of his work made it to these pages. The previous Compest
release was a bit of tribal, pseudo ethno affair, but this one
is different: electro-acoustic sounds open up, perhaps some processed
saxophone? Then darker layers of an unknown origin move in, while
the saxophone sounds become nastier and nastier. It's only half
way through that some rhythm starts kicking in, building slowly
up, but staying also a bit in the back. It's a desolate piece
of music, quite nice actually.
Anders Hana is a well known Norwegian improvisation guitarist,
who has his own Moha! duo, but also plays with Ultralyd, Noxagt
and much more. On this short CDR release, HOH, aka Helge Olav
Oksendal, remixes some of his guitar playing. HOH (part of the
collective known as Zang) adds rhythm machines and vocals to blocks
of sampled guitars, removing them from the world of improvisation
and making them into more structured pieces of music. The rhythm
holds everything together, except perhaps in 'aHA 2' and 'Stuffing
Kit-remix', which are more abstract collages of looped sounds.
Quite a nice release.
Also new to me is Ozka, aka David Nizet from Belgium. He was already
featured on Tib Prod's massive 'Catzenjammer' four CDR set compilation
and some MP3s, but this is his first full length release. Although
there is zero information for this, my best guess is that Ozka
belongs to the world of musicians who record their environment,
feed it through a bunch of computer processors and cook it up
until a nice, warm, glitch meal is ready. Insect like at times,
at other times water boiling. Each of the fourteen pieces stays
firmly inside whatever was started and only change minimally.
It's a bit long, and perhaps not all too new or innovative, but
it was interesting enough throughout.
The final new one is from one Massimo Amato, aka Mono-Drone, from
Italy. Also present on 'Catzenjammer' and various MP3 releases,
but 'Autumn Leaves' is his second release, following one on his
own FM Records label. Despite the name, the music has nothing
to do with drones. It's rhythm electronic music, but hardly techno.
Made with Korg Electribe, harmonium, synth, samples, software
and field recordings, the music has rather a down beat tempo,
melancholic synths (but not those along the lines of Expanding
Records, see elsewhere), but it's rather simply made, a bit naive.
The songs don't show too much development. It's all a bit too
amateuristic for my taste. (FdW)
Address: http://www.tibprod.com
.AT/ON - PROSTIR (CDR by Minus N)
MOVIN ON (CDR compilation by Minus N)
Japanese Minus N label surprises us with an interesting compilation,
as well as a release by one of the bands on that compilation.
I have no idea who .at/on is, but perhaps he is from the Ukraine,
since 'Prostir' means dimension in that language. Four tracks
appear on the CDR, three further ones are only available at the
website. The music was all made with samples, vst instruments,
synthedit, fruityloops and acid: all window programs alien to
this apple eater. There are some political dimensions to this
release, regarding the third world and dimensions to that. The
four tracks I heard are great actually. Loopy and noisy stuff,
with sounds dropping in and out, voices, shortwave like sounds
making small rhythms and such. Clicks & cuts moving out of
the ordinary.
"Movin' On" is the title of the compilation and as far
as I'm concerned this is both the program for the label Minus
N, as well as a current state of mind in the field of clicks and
cuts music. It has moved away from the pure techno related pieces
from yesteryear, into music that has grown a lot since then. Some
of these pieces are still techno influenced, such as those by
Pero, Shalma and Salman or the very housy, Luomo like piece by
Motor, but there is also the Pan Sonic like piece by G. Naaf,
Jos Smolders off beat rhythms, the rock drumkit by Goem|fdw or
the sample mishmash of Claudia Bonarelli and the dubby Lod. Besides
some known names (and for instance in Smolders' case, unexpected
ones) many new names are to be discovered here, plus both releases
are also available for free to download. (FdW)
Address: http://minusn.com/
OBITUARY:
Geert Feytons (27-12-1967 - 22-07-2006)
It is with great sadness that Geert Feytons is no longer among us. He took his own life on saturday the 22nd of July 2006. Geert was the main member of Noise Maker's Fifes. After a speedy start in the nineties, they released a whole bunch of CDs and vinyl, but after a while they moved to doing less and less releases, but their pieces became much more elaborate. Sound, images, installation pieces: they were all melted together into a gesamtkunstwerk. Geert Feytons was the main person to do this. Besides he worked with Negative Entropy and Micheal Prime.
The first time I met Geert Feytons was perhaps ten years ago, when he came to Staalplaat with Timo van Luyck. Determined to do something with his music, he was always very talkative, always promoting his work, but in a very friendly way. Off and on we met throughout the years, but my best memory is the final night of the 2004 of Earational, when he and Timo stayed at the concert hall, together with a few of us. Drinking beer and talking about popmusic, singing along with some tunes: a night that never seemed to end, and no one seemed to care. A joyous person has left us. His friends write: "Geert was one of those few persons able to give energy when you needed, to make you smile when things went wrong, to live as if it was a piece of cake. At the same time he decided that life had given him everything, and that there was nothing more to wait for." A truly fine person is no longer among us. He will be missed.
- Frans de Waard
Correction: last week we reviewed a bunch of releases, which we thought were on a label called Abgurd Stillclouds, but in fact the label is just called Abgurd.
Podcasts:
1.
http://www.tokafi.com/recordings/radio-show
We play Experimental electronics, drones, field recordings, noise,
unusual pop or rock and weird jazz. Selection is made by Tobias
Fischer, http://www.einzeleinheit.com/einzeleinheitkuenstler/feufollet
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