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VITAL WEEKLY
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number 589
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week 33
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Vital Weekly, the webcast: 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
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New broadcasts will be sent directly when uploaded.
PLEASE READ THIS. WE WILL NOT REVIEW MATERIAL OLDER THAN SIX MONTHS, SO PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. NOT ONLY WILL WE NOT REVIEW IT, BUT WE WILL SELL THE MATERIAL TO A SECOND MAIL ORDER OUTLET. ALSO, DON'T SEND MORE THAN 3 (THREE) RELEASES AT ONCE. WE SIMPLY CAN'T HANDLE EVERYTHING ANYMORE. SAVE YOURSELVES THE FRUSTRATION... AND US!
ALEJANDRO FRANOV - KHALI (CD by Staubgold)
*
ROBERT HAIGH AND SILENT STORM - FROM THE AIR (CD by Seal Pool)
WALDTEUFEL - SANGUIS (CD by Beta Lactam Ring)
MARTYN BATES - MIGRAINE INDUCERS: DISSONACE/ANTAGONISTIC MUSIC
(2CD by Beta Lactam Ring) *
GUILLAUME ELUERD - THE YEAR OF THE DOG (CD by Fabriq)
THE SPLINTER ORCHESTRA (CD by Split Records) *
TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA & LUCIO CAPECE - IJ (CD by Formed Records)
*
MERSAULT - RAYMOND & MARIE (CD by Formed Records) *
ROBERT VINCS - DEVIC KINGDOM (CD by Extreme)
MARC HANNAFORD - THE GARDEN OF FORKING PATHS (CD by Extreme)
BRUME - ACCIDENT DE CHASSE (CD by Waystyx) *
BRUME - I'M... I COME... I WAS... (CD by Waystyx)
BAD SECTOR - STORAGE DISK 1 (CD by Waystyx)
RYAN RAPSYS - THE-NOVUS-ARCADIA (CD by Erratik Productions)
DUNAEWSKY 69 XQUISITE.XCERPT. (CD by Kvitnu) *
YAPORIGAMI XIII (CD by Give Daddy The Knife / Merry Works)
KNOB A SIESTA - IN MY HEAD THERE IS SILENCE AND A HULA-HULA GIRL
DANCING TO A MAKE-BELIEVE TUNE (LP by Tonometer)
DEATHROES - FINAL EXPENSE (LP by Misanthropic Agenda)
MLEHST - VILIFICATION OF THE ENGLISH PEASANT CLASS (LP by Diophantine
Discs)
MUURA - EL DORADO (CDR by Black Petal) *
THE NORTH SEA - ON THE ENDLESS GOLDEN SKYWAY (CDR by Black Petal)
*
KENJI SIRATORI & GOH LEE KWANG - BACTERIUM SYNDROME (CDR by
Herbal Records) *
WOLFGANG FUCHS - BRINX (CDR by Herbal Records)
JEAN-LUC GUIONNET & PASCAL BATTUS - TOC SINE (CDR by Herbal
Records) *
SUPRASTATE - MODERN CLASSICS (CDR by Tib Prod)
LYDHODE - MY LIFE IN THE GHOST OF BUSH (CDR by Tib Prod) *
INSECTS WITH TITS (3"CDR by Tib Prod)
[BLEED] - BLACK LEATHER UNIFORM (CDR by Nil By Mouth Records)
*
FIRE IN THE HEAD - YOU TOO SHALL BURN (3"CDR by Nil By Mouth
Records)
DISASTRATO - FLOWS-FLAWS 1 (MP3 by LuvSound)
ALEJANDRO FRANOV - KHALI (CD by Staubgold)
The Staubgold imperium spreads its wings further now they signed
Alejandro Franov from Argentina. It's not the first time that
a folk/world musician comes to a Western label, say the Vital
Weekly area: Jorge Reyes was about a decade ago the man from Mexico
releasing on labels as Staalplaat. In a way Franov can be compared
to Reyes. Franov plays three instruments: the african Mbira, the
Paraguayan harp arpa and the Indian sitar, along with percussion,
voice and a little bit of electronics. Reyes limited himself to
traditional Mexican instruments, but there are resemblances in
sound - me think, while I have to add that I most certainly not
someone who knows his way in the world of world music. The music
of Franov is throughout peaceful and calm. The rhythm is tapped
on the tabla, and a swirl of ethnic sounds are rolled like cosey
warm bed. The sitar plays it's raga like tunes, but it's never
uptempo. Dreamlike, meditative, late night lounge music, sipping
a good cocktail. Or, as in my case, good music to wake up to with
a pretty heavy hangover. Very pleasant by all means. (FdW)
Address: http://www.staubgold.com
ROBERT HAIGH AND SILENT STORM - FROM THE
AIR (CD by Seal Pool)
Probably best known for his ambient drums and bass albums as Omni
Trio, Haigh's earlier, and much more electronic-avant-garde work
with Sema has been criminally overlooked by the digital format.
This is a true shame as 1982's Notes From Underground LP belongs
to the best that the genre has to offer. Growing tired of his
early work, Haigh moved to semi-classical piano pieces with the
release of the beautiful Valentine Out Of Season LP on United
Diaries, which is also still not available on CD. On From The
Air Haigh creates 9 beautiful instrumental tapestries of haunting
melodic piano pieces combined with shifting drum patterns. Definitely
not dance nor strictly experimental and never obtrusive, From
The Air is brilliantly positioned between Haigh's work with Sema
and his later work as Omni Trio. The first edition of this album
comes with a bonus CD with one long ambient, eerie track incorporating
voices, which is much more reminiscent of his earlier work with
Sema. Now all we need are the four Sema albums on CD (FK).
Address: http://www.seal-pool.org
WALDTEUFEL - SANGUIS (CD by Beta Lactam
Ring)
More than 3 years in the making, this new album by Waldteufel
(German for Wood Devil) comes in a beautiful heavy book-like gatefold
cover, which, unfortunately, gives no other information than artist
and album title. This is a shame, as this release would benefit
from more background information. For instance, how else would
we known that the lyrics are based on writings by German Fin-de-Siecle
artists Stefan George and Alfred Schuler as well as the ancient
Indian Vedas? And if you think that sounds pretentious, you're
right. Still, Waldteufel (Markus Wolff, also known from the band
Crash Worship and his partner Tyrsson Sinclair) have managed to
create a fascinating album filled with Teutonic avant-garde rock.
Containing Gregorian-like chants with tom-tom percussion, German
(spoken) lyrics embedded in creepy soundscapes, ritual passages
and the occasional blast of distorted guitar, Sanguis is one of
those albums you either fall in love with instantly or laugh you
head off about. (FK)
Address: http://www.blrrecords.com
MARTYN BATES - MIGRAINE INDUCERS: DISSONACE/ANTAGONISTIC
MUSIC (2CD by Beta Lactam Ring)
Calling yourself Migraine Inducers might not be the best route
to stardom. But then, this was released in 1979 at the birth of
the DIY movement, which was all about making a defiant two-finger
salute to stardom. A new generation of ambitious musicians armed
with total artistic freedom released their music on the then-popular
cassette format thus bypassing major record companies. Martyn
Bates (of later Eyeless in Gaza fame) debuted with Dissonance/Antagonistic
Music, a homemade cassette full of intense nervous fragmented
soundscaping, not dissimilar to Nurse With Wound or an instrumental
Throbbing Gristle. When the initial 12 copies had sold out, the
tape was re-released slightly more professionally over the years
and now, for the first time ever, as a double CD. Sonic exploration
is the heart of this beautiful, stark masterpiece, which may not
be easy on the ear on first take, but gradually grows and then,
when you least expect it, proves itself full of harsh beauty.
(FK)
Address: http://www.blrrecords.com
GUILLAUME ELUERD - THE YEAR OF THE DOG (CD
by Fabriq)
This has been noted before, but Vital Weekly may seem to review
a lot, but there is a substantial amount of music we get that
we have no use for. One Guillaume Eluerd is in this lot. He plays
guitar and sings. It seems to be a bunch of some religious inspired
songs, which are actually quite nice, and this was kindly tinkling
it's way in the background, but it entirely misses it's place
in Vital Weekly - and please don't start the narrow minded approach,
which we certainly don't have. But this is far far out of place
here. It's not dark folk, it's not experimental, not even remotely
by any (sub-)standard, just fairly o.k. folk like songs about
the world, god, people and friends - well, a man and a guitar,
and why do I have the urge to play Al Stewart's 'The Year Of The
Cat'? I had a nice time with it, no doubt about that, but what
is it doing here? (FdW)
Address: http://ww.fabriq.net
THE SPLINTER ORCHESTRA (CD by Split Records)
In terms of big bands, The Splinter Orchestra can easily match
up, size wise, with Mimeo, actually they have twenty-five players,
instead of twenty-four, but in the past it even went up to fifty-five
players. Among them we note names as Robbie Avenaim, Ben Byrne
and Split Record labelboss Jim Denley. About every instrument
is played here. Late last year the pieces on this CD were recorded
as a 'set of improvisations and procedural compositions'. They
like small sounds, with a natural flow for each of them to explore
the specific sonic quality of each instrument. As you can understand
it's not easy to keep things under control, but The Splinter Orchestra
succeeds very well in keeping control. It's not that they play
a deliberate soft card here, it's au contraire, a very detailed
recording with lots of sounds happening on all level. Large scale
scrapings on a microscopic level, plinks and plonks all around,
even crackle of electrical charges like in a good laptop improvisation
are there. Occasionally things go 'wild' here, but that's only
on very few moments, and even at that they don't reach for noise
or deliberate loudness. It's more controlled hecticness than about
loudness. One that requires loads of attention before it truly
unfolds it's power. It would be great to see them all play together
and learn how the interaction works here. (FdW)
Address: http://www.splitrec.com
TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA & LUCIO CAPECE -
IJ (CD by Formed Records)
MERSAULT - RAYMOND & MARIE (CD by Formed Records)
'IJ', the name of the latest CD by Toshimaru Nakamura and Lucio
Capece, is the name of some water part near Amsterdam, which is
the city where this CD was recorded, at the legendary Steim Studios.
Nakamura gets a credit for no-input mixing board and Capece for
soprano saxophone, bass clarinet and preparations. Certainly this
is not easy music. The level is quite low, which requires full
on concentration so one can fully grasp what's going on. There
are two pieces on this CD. It seems to me that in the first Nakamura
has the bigger say, whereas in the longer second piece the Capece
sounds are more to the foreground. So it's careful feedback backed
with careful saxophone sounds. Everything seems to be happening
with great pace and slow speed. Sounds come in, move around, disappear,
every time displaying a new technique in playing or a new approach
to the same sound. Highly concentrated and quite demanding material,
but very rewarding.
When I first reviewed Mersault, I listed the names of the players
as the artists and Mersault as it's title (see Vital Weekly 517),
but now I understand that Mersault is actually the name of the
group. The players are Tomas Korber (guitar, electronics), Christian
Weber (doublebass) and Christian Wolfarth (drums). All three are
high profile improvisation musicians from Switzerland, a land
gifted with more talent in this area. This new work 'Raymond &
Marie' sees a continuation from the previous release. Analogue
improvisations on all three instruments meet up with the isolated
electronics played by Korber, which seem to be a minority this
time around. Much louder and audible than the other new release
on Formed Records, this too has a wide range of dynamics. The
playing ranges from soft and intimate to loud and menacing. Maybe
because of this being a bit louder than Nakamura/Capece, the high
level of concentration is less needed, and this comes all in a
free form flow towards the listener. An utter fine disc that doesn't
sound to haphazard improvisation, but offers longer, sustaining
blocks of improvised sound. (FdW)
Address: http://www.formedrecords.com
ROBERT VINCS - DEVIC KINGDOM (CD by Extreme)
MARC HANNAFORD - THE GARDEN OF FORKING PATHS (CD by Extreme)
Extreme Records takes a new direction. Some time ago they surprised
with a superb album of solo-improvisations by trumpetplayer Scott
Tinkler. Now again they release two other records of improvised
and new music. And if I'm not mistaken, they didn't cover this
kind of music in the past. Tinkler is again present on the cd
of pianist Marc Hannaford, another rising star in the world of
improvised music in Australia. He gives an overview of his music
through eight works, some composed by himself, others by all the
players. Composed may be not the right term. He composed frameworks
as a starting point for improvisations. Besides Hannaford (piano)
and Tinkler (trumpet), we hear Ken Edie on drums and Philip Rex
on double bass, changing from trio to quartet-format. Also there
they are two solopieces by Hannaford on the cd. There's a lot
happening on this cd. Drummer, trumpetist, pianist, bassist, all
of them seem involved in their own thing at moments, at first
impression. But that is far from the truth. In fact they intelligently
construct some very engaging and complex improvisations, through
a process of intense interactive communication. So this music
really 'talks', specially when the piano and drums meet. Like
in the first track there are several moments on this cd where
the music really takes off. There music is close to what you normally
associate with the word 'jazz'. But no retro-styled jazz, nor
completely free and far out improvisations. They prove there still
is a future for jazz, also in Australia. Hannaford has an economic
and effective way of playing the piano, but his mates are equally
impressive musicians. So Extreme Records has another hit with
this album.
'Devic Kingdom' by Robert Vincs is an altogether different piece
of cake. Vincs is a very experienced musician in many ways. He
has a lot of experience as a freelance jazz musician, composed
music for theatre and dance. He he teaches saxophone, improvisation
and musical technology at The Victorian College of Arts. Furthermore
he made his mark in the past with works for saxophone and interactive
electronics. In 1988 he received an award for his work on artificial
intelligence in music. His solo-album 'Devic Kingdom' is inevitably
a very high-tech album. Vincs plays mainly saxophone but also
a korean bone flute and a leather horn, a.o. Plus a considerable
amount of interactive electronics is at work. Vincs plays his
saxophones often in the higher regions, often with a penetrating
sound and in an ecstasy seeking way, like in track 5, which makes
him not my favorite sax-player. Like in track 6 or 7 it becomes
evident that he is influenced by exotic musical cultures. The
echoing sounds of his playing evoke the atmosphere of 'primitive'
or tribal cultures. Of each track something different can be said.
He makes use of many different musical influences, on the one
hand, and of lots of possibilities that the electronics seem to
offer. So with 15 pieces on this cd, it is for sure a very varied
one, offering many different textures. But I,m not sure what Vincs
is up to in the end. He has a fascination for interactive - thus
'intelligent' - electronics. But from this he became also interested
in "the nature of human consciousness and the 'transcendent'
experience and the music of ancient cultures." All these
interests can be traced easily on this cd. And surely Vincs is
doing interesting things. There is a lot to discover on this cd
as it is a very rich one considering the sounds and sonic landscapes
Vincs creates. But in the end the music left me unmoved, as all
his escapades didn't impress me. The musical structure of most
pieces didn't appeal to me, and left me with the question: why?
(DM)
Address: http://www.xtr.com/
BRUME - ACCIDENT DE CHASSE (CD by Waystyx)
BRUME - I'M... I COME... I WAS... (CD by Waystyx)
BAD SECTOR - STORAGE DISK 1 (CD by Waystyx)
Russia's Waystyx is an ambitious label, and that's great. They
now start with the first two of a total of thirteen releases by
Brume, from the period 1978 to 2000. Those were the years that
Frenchman Christian Renou used the name Brume and he released
a whole bunch of cassettes back then. On the thirteen CDs you
will find a selection of these, along with live material and unreleased
recordings. Every CD will be released in an edition of 375 copies,
so collector's item stamped all over it. The first two releases
here were originally released by Tonspur Tapes with a three year
interval, but it's Brume at his trademark sound. Using reel to
reel multitrack recording, synthesizers, percussion and voice
he creates his full on sound: never a moment of silence. The differences
between these two are quite small. I'd say that 'Accident De Chasse'
is a bit more minimal, with less sudden moves and that 'I'm...
I Come... I Was...' is a bit more focussed on sound collage with
a great deal of voices. Both releases are quite nice for everybody
who loves that more industrial form of musique concrete.
Bad Sector, the project of Massimo Magrini, is always lumped in
with the darker musics I know, from the likes of Old Europa Cafe
and Cold Meat Industry. But it's not justly so, I think. Whenever
I hear his music I think I should re-adjust my opinion. On 'Storage
Disk 1', the first in a two part series, Magrini shows his love
for old Soviet computers. Although it's not said with that many
words, I think Magrini made the music with such computers, or
perhaps with the sound of such computers. The overall tone of
the music is indeed dark, but at times also rhythmic in a crazy
sort of techno sense. There is what I would call a gothic undercurrent
in this music, which is not well spend on me, such as in 'Jackie
1954', but overall it's a really nice CD of dark and atmospheric
music that works best when it's a bit more abstract and uncontrolled,
moving away from say popmusic. (FdW)
Address: http://www.waystyx.com/
RYAN RAPSYS - THE-NOVUS-ARCADIA (CD by Erratik
Productions)
Erratik Productions promise us a combination of drum 'n bass,
ambient, downtempo, trance, idm an trip hop, if we listen to the
debut album of Ryan Rapsys from Duluth, Minnesota. That must be
right, since Erratik Productions is Rapsys own label. Rapsys has
a bachelor of music, concentrating on theory and composition,
and has been playing music to choreography and film and even composes
for orchestras. There are twelve tracks on his debut album, and
indeed it moves among all the above mentioned sub genres of electronic
music. You could image that it would bite each other but oddly
enough it doesn't. Tracks from various genres sit nicely to eachother
and throughout it's quite pleasant stuff going on here. It's a
bit hard to imagine, as a non DJ and non-dance type how this work
on the dance floor, but it seems to me that this material is a
touch too experimental to do well on the floor. It makes a rather
nice listening session at home, let's say just before you go out
and dance and this is a great warming up listening experience.
Rather nice indeed, if only for that odd mixture of styles. (FdW)
Address: http://www.erratikproductions.com
DUNAEWSKY 69 XQUISITE.XCERPT. (CD
by Kvitnu)
YAPORIGAMI XIII (CD by Give Daddy The Knife / Merry Works)
It is not everyday we have the honor of reviewing albums composed
by fighter pilots in the special air forces of Ukrainian army,
but here we go! Behind the not so memo-friendly name Dunaewsky
69, we find a very interesting artist whose real name is Olexandr
Gladun. After his career as pilot the well-talented composer spent
much concentration in music. With a musical background counting
drum-player in Death Metal- and Grindcore-bands as well as in
Jazz-related orchestras plus a collaborative past with Japanese
Noise-project C.S.S.O, Mr. Gladun certainly has a wide musical
knowledge for composing music. And this album titled "Xquisite.xcerpt."
does reveal a very interesting and clever approach to electronic
music. The music on this 78 minutes ride into the brain of Dunaewsky
69 is abstract electronic music based minimalist soundscapes,
complex rhythm textures and most important, beautiful and extremely
atmospheric ambient-layers. My favorite on the album is the incredible
opening track "Flyings in slumber" with some quite amazing
rhythmic jazz-like structures giving us a clue that the artist
hasn't forgot his career as Jazz-drummer. In combination with
the dark long-stretching and quite emotional soundscapes, Dunaewsky
69 manages to lift the expressions up to higher grounds. With
a nice balance between a listening friendly style and intellectual
textures of high complexity keeps your brain entertained for AT
LEAST 78 minutes. Though I bet, this is an album you will keep
returning back to again and again! Another album of rhythmic complexity
- mildly spoken (!!) - comes from British artist calling himself
Yaporigami. The CDR titled "XIIII" is released on his
own label "Give Daddy The Knife / Merry Works". As was
the case with Dunaewsky 69, Yaporigami also has elements of floating
ambient-soundscapes in a few tracks, but the focus has been laid
on the rhythm textures. Taking its starting point in furious breakbeats,
the music belongs to the style often branded as drum'n'noise with
a few doses of IDM added. Opening tracks are relatively mild and
listen-friendly but as the album progress the expression turns
more and more furious but always elegantly controlled by this
excellent breakcore-artist. If you are ready for something ear-crushing
you need to check this out! This is ultra.! (NM)
Address: http://www.kvitnu.com
Address: http://www.yprgm.net
KNOB A SIESTA - IN MY HEAD THERE IS SILENCE
AND A HULA-HULA GIRL DANCING TO A MAKE-BELIEVE TUNE (LP by Tonometer)
From the department of funny names (or silly names, whichever
you think is appropriate), here is Knob A Siesta. Their LP 'In
My Head There Is Silence And A Hula-Hula Girl Dancing To A Make-Believe
Tune' (from the surrealist department no doubt) is released by
a new label from Denmark, Tonometer, who set themselves forward
releasing experimental music on vinyl. Knob A Siesta is Caspar
Bach Hegstrup an Christian Skjødt, who got together in
2003 and create their music through the use of 'various objects,
electronics, toys, keyboards and computers' and what the press
text doesn't tell us, is that Knob A Siesta paid close attention
to whatever is happening on 12K and Line. Much of what they do
on this LP could have been easily released by that label. Field
recordings run around through plug ins, sparse piano tones, tinkle
on a guitar: it's all there and most of the times they do a neat
job. What is a bit hard to understand is why so many of the tracks
end rather abruptly, as if they were clueless on how to end a
piece. That is a bit odd. Throughout however it's fairly decent
album that however in no way holds something that we haven't encountered
before of equal or better quality. (FdW)
Address: http://www.tonometermusic.com
DEATHROES - FINAL EXPENSE (LP by Misanthropic
Agenda)
Problem? That of the survival in the post-modern epoch of personality
in the age of avatars hyperreality and MMOGs further how to write
a review of a 12inch vinyl in the throws of a house move prior
to a holiday in the Mediterranean? I like to think I'm Matt Damon
as in the Bourne adventure series but I'm probably more
like Brill AKA Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State. Why?
keep up with me. So having to fix a washing machine well
even heros need clean clothes, and a broken W.C. even heros
need to not mention stopping the rat getting into the kitchen
not code I'm left with only a couple of hours to listen to the
above and another vinyl before departing. As my mission
of review looks impossible I adopt the above Hollywood stars abilities
and plugging the deck into a pre-amp and then via MP3 to the lap-top
down load the said disks taking a 12inch deck on holiday
is not an option. Why all this bother well who am I to delay
publicity of Deaththoes "a noise supergroup consisting
of Sixes and Gerritt "who in turn respectively are ex Crash
Worship and Gerritt - Sunn 0))), Ginnungagap, John Wiese and LHD
collaborator. I'm having to listen via headphones on the lap top
by the pool - all around are people sunbathing and reading Harry
Potter, if they knew what I was doing it would probably kill them
anyway side 1 is OK standard noise disintegrating
slowly if anything side 2 starts stops then continues more
layered and far far more "serious" managing to project
the idea of immanent collapse of the audio environment- always
the mark of "classic" noise, and would be the envy of
the poolside cicadas if I could hear them or they this. Side two
is the business- perfect I'll say no more. So problem solved
review done all I need to do now is upload via satellite
to frans and blow up the hotel why? If I told you that I
would have to kill you. (jliat AKA 008-3/4)
Address: http://www.misanthropicagenda.com
MLEHST - VILIFICATION OF THE ENGLISH PEASANT
CLASS (LP by Diophantine Discs)
Here we are then about to review the second 12inch and I've no
covering material with me! Oh dear I think from memory its about
England and pesantry??? - it is not noise but electronics
beatless sounds background saw tooth waves perhaps ring-modulated
and the occasional electronic glitch. I have to wonder the point
of putting out such material on vinyl- as one is with vinyl sometimes
aware of the medium in the case of harsh noise this is either
irrelevant or part of the process of deconstruction of the stichhaltige
Welt - again another track of a basic background oscillator with
the occasional interruption of higher pitched modulated sound.
All quite delicately done and now building into some attempt
at an abstract edifice of sounds, then as quickly dying. Some
percussive sound but still in a fairly unstructured landscape..
I could maybe contact Frans about this and get some more info
via the web but the pool area doesn't appear to have WiFi
how the hard pressed reviewer must suffer* brief percussive
burst ends what for argument I will call side one. Side two begins
much the same- one might say located within a modernist epoch
of experimentalism this work might not only find a grundlegendes
Haus but some gravitas that is lacking in a period which is even
forgetting post-modernism and post-structuralism and so these
structures can re-appear in a Weltdiagramm in which this
music is now difficult to locate, which should be surprising
but isn't. - there isn't any surrounding logic - its then both
interesting, enjoyable and ultimately in a brief moment of remembrance
depressing. * obviously I did the lobby has WiFi! (jliat)
Address http://www.freewebs.com/mlehst
MUURA - EL DORADO (CDR by Black Petal)
THE NORTH SEA - ON THE ENDLESS GOLDEN SKYWAY (CDR by Black Petal)
'El Dorado' sees the second release by Matt Earle from New South
Wales, who is also known to be part of Stasis Duo, X-wave, Your
Intestines, The Minerals, Antipan and XnobbgX, and owner of the
cassette label Breakdance The Dawn, but as Muura he is the man
with many hands: he apparently plays guitar, drums, analog synthesizer
while singing. I must admit that the feature of singing is something
I didn't hear in this new release. Like the previous 'Scarlet
Urmine Sandstone Lady' (see Vital Weekly 526), Muura doesn't care
much about the recording quality, using the lowest quality possible.
More than before he plays around with... nothing actually. The
three lengthy pieces are all about silence. An occasional bang,
much hiss from the amplifier, and the empty space where Earle
sits. Maybe it's easy to play many instruments when one doesn't,
but at times there is something to be heard and one can sense
the level of concentration of putting this together. I thought
this was a great disc!
It's been a long time since we heard music by Brad Rose, that
is music he played himself, as the releases on his on his Digitalis
label reaches us all the time. He's also a musician playing in
Corsican Paintbrush, Eastern Fox Squirrels and solo as The North
Sea. This new one seems to be a take off from his 'The Oscelot
Chronicles', of which we only heard volume one (see Vital Weekly
424). Back then it seemed to be about loud drone related ambient,
here it's all singer-songwriter, well, in an odd kind of way.
Brad plays guitar, percussion, harmonium, sings and gets occasional
saxophone help. Private music of a desolate kind, but it's certainly
not 'empty' music. There is a lot of action in his music. Brad
does use multitracking, laying down lots of separate elements,
that breath an air of naivety, but then well-produced. It all
ends in the spacious, even psychedelic 'The Sun Went Out', which
is by far the longest piece here and drifts about nicely, trapped
in electronics, feedback and a swirling saxophone. (FdW)
Address: http://www.blackpetal.com
KENJI SIRATORI & GOH LEE KWANG - BACTERIUM
SYNDROME (CDR by Herbal Records)
WOLFGANG FUCHS - BRINX (CDR by Herbal Records)
JEAN-LUC GUIONNET & PASCAL BATTUS - TOC SINE (CDR by Herbal
Records)
It seems to me that Goh Lee Kwang moved back to Maleysia, since
the latest three releases on his Herbal Records were sent from
there. Goh himself is responsible for 'Bacterium Syndrome', which
he produced together with one Kenji Siratori, who does the spoken
word part. I assume this is all in Malaysian language, as it all
eludes me very much. Titles like 'Corpse City', 'Orbit', 'Antivital',
'Insane Asylum' and such like doesn't seem to relate to bacteria
syndrome. Goh produces some high pitched noise to the texts, which
could be processed feedback. However, since we don't know what
the texts are about, it's a bit hard to say if there is true menace
or not. From the far away point it hardly seems there is.
I never heard of Wolfgang Fuchs who on 'Brinx' offers us '10 pieces
for 1 turntable'. Wrong connections are made and the turntable
offers a lot of feedback, hiss and an occasional crackle of needle
skipping - there even might be a record (as in a piece of vinyl)
involved. However I must admit that these ten variations on a
theme are quite nice indeed. A rather conceptual approach than
a musical one, me thinks, but with enough variation to make things
interesting.
In terms of music the final release might be the most interesting
one. 'Electrics and electronics', recorded in Montreal two years
ago, this improvisation duet between Jean-Luc Guionnet and one
Pascal Battus is also a pretty noise related affair in which a
turntable is used and abused. The two keep the noise under control
quite a bit, letting things hiss, scratch, beep and occasionally
things go out of control, which is o.k. as it fits the scheme
quite nicely. It misses the conceptual edge of Fuchs, but it makes
it well up in terms of improvised noise. (FdW)
Address: http://www.geocities.com/whynotltd
SUPRASTATE - MODERN CLASSICS (CDR by Tib
Prod)
LYDHODE - MY LIFE IN THE GHOST OF BUSH (CDR by Tib Prod)
INSECTS WITH TITS (3"CDR by Tib Prod)
From this new lot on Tib Prod, Suprastate is a new name for me.
It's one Thomas Aslaksen from Norway, who plays computer music.
So far he has made releases on MP3 labels and here for the first
time on CDR. I must say that I thought it was all a bit unsurprising.
Loops of noise, although not loud, go bump around, culling extra
sounds from field recordings, and have some plug in running. It
works best when things aren't really loud and when it seems that
there is something of structure or even a faint trace of melody
occurring. But throughout I thought this was a rather unengaging
release.
Lydhode means something like 'soundhead' and is an ongoing and
open collaboration. Here it's labelboss Jan M. Iversen with Roar
Borge of Cadmium Dunkel. You could expect a release about emptiness
with a title like that, but it's not. It starts out in a rather
free mode with sounds bouncing and colliding towards eachother,
a free fall from the sky, until the temperate is raised and we
land in a world of colliding loops that oddly enough reminded
me of very old Merzbow cassettes. It had that similar lo-fi reel
to reel tapeloop quality. It made this into quite a nice affair.
A free flow of sounds that could have very well be by Bjerga and
Iversen, but it's Lydhode. Nice.
Insects With Tits, a.k.a. Roger Smith and Kenneth Yates, do whatever
they do best: play noise. Four tracks in twenty minutes. Loud,
furious, but it seems to have a bit of progression from the previous
work. A bit more structured and with more dynamics all around.
Taking back the gear and building up again. That makes this actually
quite allright. But perhaps it's also because it's short and to
the point. (FdW)
Address: http://www.tibprod.com
[BLEED] - BLACK LEATHER UNIFORM (CDR by
Nil By Mouth Records)
FIRE IN THE HEAD - YOU TOO SHALL BURN (3"CDR by Nil By Mouth
Records)
Of course [Bleed] is more up the Jliat alley, but he's out sunbathing,
and I'm in dreary low countries, fulfilling the duties of a reviewer.
Both releases are excellently packed, even when the contents is
grim. [Bleed] have vague photo's of guns and naked bodies, and
'the colour is black, the material is leather, the seduction is
beauty, the justification is honesty, the aim is ectasy, the fantasy
is death'. Titels? 'Dagger', 'Discipline', 'Death Rune' and 'Role
Play' among like wise grim others. Heavy banging on metal, feeding
the loops thereof through a bunch of filters, playing backwards.
Maybe it's because SM is not of daily practice at all here at
the Vital Weekly - that is if you don't count listening to noise
- that it's a bit hard for me to relate to this. Yet it's not
all pure loudness going on, [Bleed] can get a creepy sound out
of his pocket. Think Neubauten, think Test Department, think Non,
think Throbbing Gristle, think: history. Both in content and execution,
this is all very 80s. Maybe it's just a joke? Nah. This must be
serious. But [Bleed] would do well in the darkroom. I think.
Fire In The Head is of course Micheal Page's pet project when
it comes to noise (Sky Burial when it comes to ambient). No help
from former punk rockers here on these four short tracks. It's
always hard to tell the difference when it becomes to liking noise,
but Fire In The Head is a project I like. Also furious in approach,
here with vocals and electronics, Page builts an intense sonic
work that gets better and better, even doing a ballad like piece
in 'Hurry My Children'. Best work so far. (FdW)
Address: http://www.exoteric-zine.com/nilbymouth
DISASTRATO - FLOWS-FLAWS 1 (MP3 by LuvSound)
This last review closes the ironic circle of my life at the moment
what was received was a Cdr of an internet release which therefore
technically has no physical presence (I know this is in line with
VWs rules) so now we have 21 tracks which in effect are orderless
yet track 21, the last, stands out in it being 22:22 minutes
long- compared to the others which range around a few minutes.
22:22 of 21 might be significant, though I cant find out what
this is. What the sound is is electronics (again)
slivers of abstract sounds- droney loops - on some tracks mixed
with looped found sound in a fairly industrial way- spoken French
& English and cheesy samples? Riechian loops??? - but to continue
my story- I did play this on the now famous car CD on a long journey
through the hottest day in England this year so lacking
air con the windows full open it was only a cursory listen. so
uykuzun that's track 21, caused me to wonder if there was
something wrong. There might be? But on second listening the complexity
of micro sound, panning and such are revealed. "Make a nice
dinner, put the lights on low, and let flows/flaws have its way."
Says the blurb but here is the problem and second
irony as downloads you get individual tracks which save
uykuzun mean you have either to burn your own cdr or keep stopping
your meal to play the next track after a couple of minutes...
of very eclectic electronics. So likely to give one indigestion
oh I know you can set up a play list! But the eclectic nature
of this release would still be problematic. (jliat)
Address: http://www.luvsound.org