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VITAL WEEKLY
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number 600
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week 45
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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
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* noted are in this week's podcast
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IF, BWANA - RADIO SLAVES (CD by Monochrome
Vision) *
BATCHAS - EXPLORATIONS 85-95 (CD by Monochrome Vision)
ROULETTE RUSSE POUR EN PEU DE CAVIAR (CD by Monochrome Vision)
FRANCISCO LOPEZ - WIND [PATAGONIA] (CD by And/Oar) *
TATSUYA NAKATANI - PRIMAL COMMUNICATION (CD by HH Production)
*
DIF:USE - MANDRAKE (CD by Symbolic Interaction)
DAVID NEWLYN - RELATIVELY DOWN (CD by Symbolic Interaction) *
ROGER DOYLE - THE NINTH SET (CD by Die Stadt) *
JOHN DUNCAN / KONTAKT DER JÜNGLINGE / C.M. VON HAUSSWOLFF
(CD by Die Stadt)
DEMONS - EVOCATION (CD by No Fun Productions) *
PAIN JERK / INCAPACITANTS - LIVE AT THE NO FUN FEST 2007 (CD by
No Fun Productions)
TOSHIJI MIKAWA - GYO-KAI ELEGY (CD by Anoema Recordings) *
LASSE MARHAUG - QUALITY CONTROL (CD by Anoema Recordings)
MARC BARON & BERTRAND DENZLER & JEAN-LUC GUIONNET &
STEPHANE RIVES - PROPAGATIONS (CD by Potlatch)
JOHN LUTHER ADAMS - RED ARC/BLUE VEIL (CD by Cold Blue Music)
RHODRI DAVIES & MATT DAVIS & SAMANTHA REBELLO & BECHIR
SAADE - HUM (CD by Another Timbre)
JOHN BUTCHER & XAVIER CHARLES & AXEL DÖRNER - TEMPESTUOS
(CD by Another Timbre)
SOPHIE ANGEL & PHIL MINTON - TASTING (CD by Another Timbre)
COMA - ORNAMENTAL URBAN SHRUBBERY (CD by Edgetone)
EDDIE THE RAT - INSOMNIA SOUND BIBLE (CD by Edgetone)
FRANZ HAUTZINGER - GOMBERG II "PROFILE" (CD by Loewenhertz)
COMPACT LISTEN (CD by CLaudia)
MATTIN & TAKU UNAMI - ATTENTION (CD by w.m.o/r/Hibari Music)
WOCHTZCHEE - DIKTUONEEMAKILT (CD by Ulmeplaadid) *
SMEGMA - THE SMELL REMAINS THE SAME (LP by Anarchymoon)
REDGLAER - AMERICAN MASONRY (CD by Anarchymoon)
FILTER FEEDER - PLEASURE CYCLE/PEAK OIL/13/11 (LP by Entr'acte)
HAPTIC - CORRECTION (7" by Entr'acte/Absurd)
YAKI UDON BAND - BASHO ATE MY HEART (7" by A Binary Datum)
JEFF GBUREK - VIRTIUOUS CIRCLES (CDR by A Question Of Ee-Entry)
*
THE BOHMAN BROTHERS/THE SONIC CATERING BAND (CDR by Absurd)
ASCANIO BORGA - PERIPHERAL VISION (CDR, private) *
JAN-M IVERSEN - DET ER DET DET ER (CDR by Verato Project) *
CONES - ICE FIELD ELEPHANTS (CDR by Ikuisuus) *
ENFER BOREAL - L'ESPACE DES ETERNITES POSSIBLES (CDR by Ikuisuus)
MATSUTAKE - GUITAR VS PC (CDR by Arterija) *
UKR.TELE.KOM - COMPOSITIONS AND IMPROVISATIONS (CDR by Arterija)
PIERRE GERARD - VOYAGE AU CENTRE (CDR by Un Arbre En Bois)
VUELTA MAGENTICA - FACE A, FACE B (CDR by Un Arbre En Bois)
JLIAT - NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL NOISE (CDR by Larks Council)
ARCHIPELAGOGO (CDR, private)
PLEKO (CDR, private)
MICROPHONE STAND (MP3)
IF, BWANA - RADIO SLAVES (CD by Monochrome
Vision)
BATCHAS - EXPLORATIONS 85-95 (CD by Monochrome Vision)
ROULETTE RUSSE POUR EN PEU DE CAVIAR (CD by Monochrome Vision)
If you are twenty, and you work inside experimental music, there
is no need to send a demo to Monochrome Vision: this Russian label
deals with old people; people who started in the 80s with cassettes,
then moved to LPs and eventually CDs. That is, if they didn't
have a break in their career. If, Bwana's Al Margolis is still
around and never was away. In the 80s he had his own Sound Of
Pig Music, which released hundreds of tapes (if my memory serves
right), and If, Bwana was his solo music thing. 'Radio Slaves'
was originally released as a cassette on French Medicinal Tapes
and it's primary instrument is the casio SK-1 sampler. More than
the VL-Tone 1, which was a small synthesizer, the SK-1 (and the
SK-5) was THE instrument of the cassette underground. You could
record two long or four short samples (on the SK-5), which couldn't
be stored, so you had to play with them on the spot. That's what
Margolis does here. Lots of vinyl and radio sources, the sixteen
tracks are foremost short, sketch like. Voices from opera, preachers,
orchestral bits, vinyl cracks - it's all there. Almost like a
DJ, but then twenty years ago. It's throughout nice stuff, although
some of it perhaps a bit too sketchy for my taste. Also included
are four bonus pieces, and excellently remastered - something
you don't find when ripping this of a blog.
The good things about Monochrome Vision is that the covers (all
in stark black/white) have liner notes and so I learned that Robert
Masse, who was once the active force behind Batchas (as well as
Freq 63, Mydaus, Trebor Semas, Microscope, Myiase and Mental Showdowns)
is no longer active in music, but works as a flash developer.
What a pity, certainly when we hear 'Explorations 85-95', which
of course has material from this period. Each of his projects
had a specific sound and Batchas hoovers about in the dark alley
of highly atmospheric music. Played on a bunch of analogue synthesizers,
this is darker than life mood music, sometimes going almost beyond
the threshold of hearing. Great stuff, which calls back to memory
his old records, or in fact the scene that came with it, the ambient
industrial posse. Very music of that age - highly ambient, a bit
industrial: we'd call that drone music these days.
In Annecy, France lives Philippe Blanchard, also known as Lt.
Caramel, who organized a festival called 'Bruit De La Neige' (the
noise of the snow), with exclusively young Russian music makers.
We come by a whole bunch whom we met on CDRs before, such as Cisfinitum,
CDR, Alexey Borisov and Bardoseneticcube, but also new names names
such as Interior Disposition, Moscow Laptop Orchestra, Noises
Of Russia and Instant Movie Combinations. Throughout the music
here seems indeed the work of young, serious men and their laptops
(thus destroying what I said earlier), who all play a fair bunch
of field recordings, feeding through laptops, plug ins and what
have you. But also sound bricolage, using reel to reel machines,
cassettes and other lo-fi quality recordings never seem far away.
Not every piece is convincing, but throughout it was a most pleasant
introduction into the experimental music from a different country
than the usual suspects. And as such quite nice. (FdW)
Address: http://www.monochromevision.ru
FRANCISCO LOPEZ - WIND [PATAGONIA] (CD by
And/Oar)
Many of the works by Senor Lopez are sparsely packed: his name,
untitled number so and so and a label name. The vast majority
of his work doesn't go beyond that low level of information. For
reasons I am not entirely sure off (or rather not at all), some
works are packed with text: 'La Selva', 'Buildings [New York]'
and this new one 'Wind [Patagonia]' too (the link might be they
are all recorded in America). So we learn that this piece of fifty-six
minutes is an 'non-processed, not mixed environmental sound matter
from a certain 'reality'' and in this case the reality is the
wind the empty spaces of Patagonia, in the southern part of Argentina.
During the 'austral winters' of 2000 and 2003, Lopez recorded
a whole bunch of wind. The empty space, usually referred as a
quiet one in the world of musical reviews (certainly by Vital
Weekly) is of course a misconception. Silence as such doesn't
exist and the wind can be harsh player. The wind blows here heavily
in the microphone - varies types are used - and the membrane shakes
along. It's not a straight forward, almost one hour piece of win
blowing. In his piece he uses various segments of wind sound,
both the 'quiet' and the 'loud' and thus depicts a beautifully
cruel world. As a biker I learned to dislike the wind, as much
as I like it; it depends on which way you are going. This new
work fits along very, very well along the two previous mentioned
releases and for those who care to know: this isn't the all out
silent Lopez, as it's audible through the end, although the sound
is in a long fade out. A great conclusion to a great trilogy.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.and-oar.org
TATSUYA NAKATANI - PRIMAL COMMUNICATION
(CD by HH Production)
After I played this for the first time, I already knew it was
a disc of solo percussion. But somehow I thought it would have
been a multi-tracked version of solo percussion. Because it sounds
like that in certain places - although not everywhere. Unlike
that other recent solo percussion disc, 'Metal' by Jon Mueller,
this is from the world of conventional improvised music, even
Nakatani, from Japanese origin, but in the USA since the age of
13, uses bows to resonate the cymbals and various objects to play
his instrument. He doesn't like the words 'improvisation' or 'experimental',
but instead uses the word 'contemporary solo percussion', which
indeed is perhaps a more adequate phrase. Nakatani used eight
microphones to capture his playing, which he mixed down to stereo.
Perhaps that's why I think it's multi-tracked. For Nakatani the
rhythm is not the most important thing about percussion music,
as there are portions in which he scraps his cymbals in a furious
way - almost like strings of a violin and it sounds far, far away
from traditional percussion music. I must admit I quite enjoyed
this release, because on one hand it's traditionally improvised
but on the other hand, it seems to be his concern to make it sound
like anything but percussion music. Almost an hour long, Natatani
takes the listener on a journey through highly varied textures,
which make a great listening session. Very extended percussion
music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.hhproduction.org
DIF:USE - MANDRAKE (CD by Symbolic Interaction)
DAVID NEWLYN - RELATIVELY DOWN (CD by Symbolic Interaction)
Both of these releases deal with an extended meaning of ambient
music, but worked out differently. Dif:use started out as a laptop
big band, including Don and Roel Funcken (of Funckarma fame),
Cor Bolten (of Mecano fame), Hanno Leichtman (of Static) and some
others which I forgot. They played some high profile concerts,
and I was there when they did a public rehearsal. I wasn't blown
away by it, back then. Big washes of ambient sounds, all sauced
by an unhealthy dose of reverb and echo, which mudded the sound
and whatever beats were thrown in. I sort assumed it was an one-off
project, but much too my surprise now, four years later, there
is a CD by Dif:use, reduced to Don, Roel and Cor. In contrast
to much of their other work, the Funcken brothers, have an ambient
tag here, but I am afraid I'm still not very much blown away by
it. The music still seems an amorphous mass to me, sounds are
thrown about, without much head or tail, like an improvised music
jam, but all glued together with an like wise unnecessary amount
of sound effects. Completely lacks tension, me thinks.
Music by David Newlyn was already reviewed before, in Vital Weekly
557, when he had a release on Boltfish. On 'Relatively Down' he
moves away from the rhythm machine, which he already sparsely
used on 'Ancient Lights', in favor of a more non rhythm ambient
approach. The pieces are short, ten in thirty six minutes, and
are a varied bunch. Processed field recordings, some guitar doodling,
but also a relatively loud 'Overview', of stretched out drone
material. Moody music, but it's the variation here that makes
this a highly enjoyable album. Unlike the Dif:use album which
seems more like a long track cut into various shorter bits, this
is to the point, composed but also not intense, but that's the
whole point of course. Relaxing, cloud covered autumn music.
Address: http://www.symbolicinteraction.net
ROGER DOYLE - THE NINTH SET (CD by Die Stadt)
JOHN DUNCAN / KONTAKT DER JÜNGLINGE / C.M. VON HAUSSWOLFF
(CD by Die Stadt)
To be honest I must admit I didn't keep up with Roger Doyle's
extensive discography, that started in the mid seventies with
his Operating Theatre, that in the early 80s gave us the classic
'Rapid Eye Movements' album. What I always thought was great that
his work found his way to the underground, with labels such as
Artware or Die Stadt, but also to the serious avant-garde such
as the Dutch BV Haast label, but the latter usually doesn't reach
the weekly desk. So I missed out on the first two volumes of the
Passades series, as they came on BV Haast. The first eight sets
were found there, and here is 'The Ninth Set', in five parts.
Two of them won a prize in Bourges - another fine example of how
he mingles in the overground. Apparently the music is made 'from
software that freezes sounds like a freeze-frame in DVD', but
how it exactly relates to the music is a bit unclear to me, and
of course it's not really necessary to know the exact ins and
outs of this. The five pieces seem (!!) to be built from either
heavily processed instruments, or perhaps (!!) even orchestral
parts, although in some instances in the third and fourth part
(movement?) there is electro-acoustic sources to be spotted. The
work shifts from loud parts to very quiet passages, like a good
symphony would do. It is, but forgive me as I am not the true
expert, related to the acousmatic music and the releases by Empreintes
Digitales, but it sounds less software based, or at least it doesn't
show off all the techniques hidden in the computer. It's hard
to say if I would award this a prize, but it's surely a great
work. Should hunt down the previous parts, me thinks.
To be on Die Stadt as an artist seems to me a great thing. Besides
great looking releases, they organize events for you, and for
such an occasion they usually release a CD or a 7", which
can be bought on the night, but there is always a left-over for
the unlucky who didn't make it. Last month there was an event
in Brussels with three stable mates: John Duncan, CM von Hauswolff
and Kontakt Der Junglinge. Perhaps Die Stadt asks too much of
their artists, and none did a new studio recording, but you could
also think it's interesting to capture a live track by them. So
three live tracks here. Duncan's piece was recorded at the Compound,
earlier this year, and although it's a while since I last heard
studio recording by John Duncan, it sounds like a trademark piece
for him: micro tones, composed from heavily processed shortwave
sounds, make up a fine piece shifting from intense loudness to
careful and delicate. Very nice. Kontakt Der Jünglinge, being
Asmus Tietchens and Thomas Köner, present a recording from
2003, at the Mutek festival. They too present a characteristic
piece for them with computer processing of acoustic sounds. Loads
of dark rumble and high pitched processed sounds. Hauswolff's
piece seems to be made with bird sounds, looped around and with
a crescendo of noise coming in and more insect like sounds. Nice
but not his best. Three good introductions of three great artists
(well, four), in case you ever would need that. (FdW)
Address: http://www.diestadtmusik.de
DEMONS - EVOCATION (CD by No Fun Productions)
PAIN JERK / INCAPACITANTS - LIVE AT THE NO FUN FEST 2007 (CD by
No Fun Productions)
Apparently going analogue (again) is some sort of re-appreciation
for different sound textures for many noise artists, with artists
such as Merzbow, Carlos Giffoni and several others recently closing
their laptops to switch on their synths and such. Demons, a duo
of Nate Young (Wolf Eyes) and Steve Kenney is no different with
their all analogue approach. As obvious as it sounds these recordings
do sound more warmer, even when the musical palette is a rather
bleak droney affair. Links to what the English/Americans call
Kosmiche (sic) can be found here, it sounds more spacey then noisy,
complete with some universal acid bleeps (but no beats). I find
it difficult to fully get into it when it so directly sounds like
a dislocated jamming unit from the 70s, especially when the sound
variety is kept to a minimum as it is here and it therefore all
comes down to compositional/improvisational qualities, which on
this album just about suffice.
Japanese noise flagbearers Pain Jerk and Incapacitants came to
Brooklyn earlier this year to play at the No Fun Fest, the yearly
congregation of noisicians organized by No Fun/Carlos Giffoni.
Their live sets from that weekend are now collected on one disc.
Pain Jerk's piece is almost comical in its formulaic approach
to Japanese noise, a simple torrent of sound without any idea
of variation. It just flows. I'm not sure who exactly needs music
like this after thousands of similar noise records/performances,
but maybe in this case it's just legend that verifies it. The
slightly more well known Incapacitants are slightly better, with
a more hands-on approach that leaves a little more space for individual
gestures. It probably was much more fun seeing it in the flesh,
though what makes this release worthwhile is it's great packaging,
including nice shots of the shows and some liner notes about how
to get elusive Japanese noise musicians onto your festival bill.
Address: http://www.nofunproductions.com
TOSHIJI MIKAWA - GYO-KAI ELEGY (CD by Anoema
Recordings)
LASSE MARHAUG - QUALITY CONTROL (CD by Anoema Recordings)
Mikawa is known for being one of the two form-destroyers in Incapacitants
(and before that some time in Hijokaidan). Although he has been
active in these Japanese noise groups since the late 70s this
is his first album under his own name. It's pretty rough material
as could be expected, but there's also a delicacy at play here
that makes this record quite an exciting listen. The best thing
here is that Mikawa unleashes his sound with the same intensity
that made Incapacitants so infamous, but there is always place
for detail, with several layers working simultaneously, the screeching
noise always supported by a more subdued backbone, like a second
noise record being played in the next room and softly filtering
through. Timing and some form/idea of basic compositional interest
are obviously not completely lost on him; nothing outstays its
welcome here, and nowhere does it get boring because of a possible
lack in sound variety. Simply a great noise record.
Quality control is probably an self-critical joke towards his
own release policy, but it is fact that people like Lasse Marhaug
have shown that releasing 5 CDs a month doesn't mean that they
don't know what they're doing. Well, maybe he doesn't, but there
certainly is no quality decrease since I started listening to
his music several years ago. On this new one he's not discovering
new land for himself, more like taking a walk amongst already
explored territory. That's not a bad thing, Marhaug is still inventive
and abrasive enough with each release to make it an enjoyable
listen. Especially the frenetic (the louder you play this the
more sounds seem to emerge) nature of some of this material reminds
me why I became a fan in the first place. (RM)
Address: http://www.anoema.com
MARC BARON & BERTRAND DENZLER &
JEAN-LUC GUIONNET & STEPHANE RIVES - PROPAGATIONS (CD by Potlatch)
For french saxplayers join forces here for a CD on the french
Potlatch label. A label specialized in improvised music. I must
say, it is some time ago that I came across a cd with the sax-quartet
format, as there has been a time when this format was very popular
(Rova, etc.). But these gentlemen still see possibilities.
All you might expect from a saxophone quartet is not here. Everything
you expect from jazz either. This quartet choses for a very stripped
down approach, resulting in a very abstract music made up of long
sustained notes or very short ones. With straight lines and dots
they divide space, leaving enough room for silence. Their improvisations
sound very controlled and disciplined, and they are not a highly
emotional affair. On the other hand their music sounds very delicate,
subtle and even intense.
All four players made their mark in the french improv scene. As
a quartet they play and study since three years, working on their
own sound and music with a prominent place for the less is more
principle. They do not chose the easy way. They make use of extended
techniques for coloring their sound, making you often forget you
listen to four saxophones. With little means - a very reduced
use of musical idioms and vocabulary - they impressively succeed
in sculpting a fascinating structure that lasts some 40 minutes.
(DM)
Address: http://www.potlatch.fr
JOHN LUTHER ADAMS - RED ARC/BLUE VEIL (CD
by Cold Blue Music)
In the world of serious composed, modern classical music, the
name John Luther Adams is a well-known one. He has composed works
for orchestra, chamber ensembles, electronic and solo instruments
and some of this work was released by labels such New World, Albion,
Mode and now on Cold Blue. The four pieces presented here are
for one or two pianos in combination with percussion and electronics.
The first two pieces are piano pieces. Swelling, rising tones
with lots of sustain, sounding a bit like Charlemagne Palestine.
Cascading sounds, but not entirely convincing. Which is also something
that can be said of 'Qilyaun', a solo percussion piece of which
the nicest thing is that it is very stereo. Here too bangs are
in full crescendo, speeding up and slowing down. The final track
is the title track and that I thought was the best on the CD and
it all comes together. The electronic processing of mallet percussion
and piano, make a nice minimal music piece, all seemingly from
one note and having that classical minimal music (mid seventies
Steve Reich) small ensemble feel to it. That piece alone would
justify the purchase of this CD, me thinks. Received with mixed
feelings. (FdW)
Address: http://www.coldbluemusic.com
RHODRI DAVIES & MATT DAVIS & SAMANTHA
REBELLO & BECHIR SAADE - HUM (CD by Another Timbre)
JOHN BUTCHER & XAVIER CHARLES & AXEL DÖRNER - TEMPESTUOS
(CD by Another Timbre)
SOPHIE ANGEL & PHIL MINTON - TASTING (CD by Another Timbre)
On the vastly populated horizon of labels releasing improvised
music, here is another new name to remember when you go out shopping:
Another Timbre. On the first three releases we find a duo, a trio
and a quartet. The latter is with Rhodri Davies on harp and objects,
Matt Davis on trumpet and electronics, Samantha Rebello on flute
and Bechir Saade on bass clarinet. On June the 23rd of this year
they play together for the first time as a quartet at the Red
Rose club in London. The curious thing seems here, at least to
these ears, that the two players who also have electronics at
their disposal play a more electronic version of their instruments,
and not as much their original instrument. That gives us a nice
balance with the other two players, who use unusual techniques
to play their instruments. In the interaction between these four
voices they create some intense moments, ranging from the utter
quiet kind to more louder, even drone like parts. It worked best
for me in the latter moments, because they were more tense. In
the quieter moments it seemed as if they were searching a bit
more for the right sound, but the quiet fifth final piece had
a similar intensity. Nice one.
Three wind instruments on the trio disc: John Butcher plays tenor
and soprano saxophone, Xavier Charles plays clarinet and Axel
Dörner plays trumpet. A live recording from 2006 from the
Huddersfield contemporary music festival on a windy november night.
Although indexed with seven tracks this is one piece. Much to
my surprise this work seems to be more about the regular improvised
playing than about all sorts of extended techniques. The three
blow their lungs off, however also leaving space for the others.
Long sustained tones are changed for fragments of silence and
a little bit of 'other' treatments. One player - I don't know
which - manages at one point to make it sound like the strings
of a guitar. I thought this was a fine work too, but perhaps a
bit too long. One third or so too much. Here some editing could
have helped.
Phil Minton of course is known as the voice improviser with a
long career to his name, but I never heard of Sophie Angel who
plays the piano. Their concert was taped in june 2006 in Poitiers,
France. Angel plays inside and outside of the piano. She's all
over the keys and the strings, thus guiding Minton's voice. Or
perhaps it's the other way round? Unlike the other two releases,
it seems here that the six pieces are to be understood as six
pieces, and not as one long concert. That is good, since it makes
the pieces rounded off, with a head and tail. Throughout I must
admit also that voice improvisation is not that much of my liking,
even when it comes to a skilled performer as Minton clearly is.
Angel's piano playing however makes up a lot. Especially in the
third piece when the piano playing is the main thing and Minton's
voice seems to be electronically processed, there is some really
good interaction.
One thing about the covers of these three releases: why is improvised
music so often badly designed? This seems no exception. (FdW)
Address: http://www.anothertimbre.com
COMA - ORNAMENTAL URBAN SHRUBBERY (CD by
Edgetone)
EDDIE THE RAT - INSOMNIA SOUND BIBLE (CD by Edgetone)
Coma, or The California Outside Music Associates is around since
about eight years. And "Ornamental Urban Shrubbery"
is the second release of this group. To be more exact, it is a
collective performing in different configurations. For this recording
Coma includes John Vaughn (saxes, percussion, theremin), Zone
(electric cello, electric bass, percussion) and Dax Compise (percussion).
Vaughn and Compise are both founding members of this collective.
Both have played in groups performing music ranging from classical,
blues, rock and they meet here for their love for improvisation.
These backgrounds are often evident in their improvisations, that
consists mainly of very common ingredients. From this point their
improvisations have nothing interesting or new to offer. But also
they do not tell us any relevant of surprising, using worn out
vocabulary. Also in their playing and performance I didn't find
any magic. So alas, they didn't convince me.
With Eddie the Rat we have something very different in our hands.
Like Coma they present their second cd. They try to sell some
Residents-like weirdness. Eddie the Rat is the dream of composer
and multi-instrumentalist Peter Martin. He started it as a one
man experiment in 2000. But soon Eddie the Rat evolved into an
extensive ensemble. Over 25 musicians make their contribution
on "Insomnia Sound Bible", a collection of 16 poppy
songs. We hear trumpets, clarinets, violins, guitars, cellos,
percussion and many undefinable sounds and instruments. Also most
tracks have vocals, singing in a theatrical style. In each piece
we find strange breaks and twists, but always Martin stays within
the song-format. For sure Martin has many ideas. In some pieces
this really works like in "Cahoozle Blooze", others
however are boring. A minor point is the singing, but all together
Eddie the Rat is a promising project of theatrical and dramatical
potencies. (DM)
Address: http://www.edgetonerecords.com/
FRANZ HAUTZINGER - GOMBERG II "PROFILE"
(CD by Loewenhertz)
A quick listen before sending this off to Dolf Mulder, our in
house reviewer of most things very improvised was what I thought
when I opened the package. Not so, as you can guess, since I am
writing these words. It's not because it's not improvised, but
rather because I very much like it myself. Franz Hautzinger is
the inventor of the 'quartertone trumpet' (a picture would be
handy), which plays quarter tones too... well, I guess. The material
on this CD might be generated through ways of improvisation, but
it's absolutely not a work of a single instrument recording. In
the studio of Christoph Amann (who has recorded lots of Austrian
artists), Hautzinger has worked on dubbing his trumpet playing,
in some instances up to fourteen different voices. Sometimes he
plays similar voices at the same time, sometimes slightly out
of phase, so that drone like pieces arise, but also at other times,
it's more different pieces together. Things work best I think
when he allows himself time to develop a piece. The shorter pieces
here don't work as well as the longer pieces. 'J.M.' for instance
is such a piece that is short, but only partly successful, but
it's followed by 'Unken', in which various tones and intervals
are used to create a nice call and response game among the trumpets.
It has time to develop and explore the material, which is fine.
So for the next 'Gomberg' more of that. And please, less pictures
of the artist and perhaps a proper designer. (FdW)
Address: http://www.loewenhertz.at
COMPACT LISTEN (CD by CLaudia)
From the active scene in New Zealand, where
everybody seems to be making music, hails the CLaudia label, of
whom we reviewed releases before. But now they venture out to
releasing real CDs, and like a young label would the first real
CD is a compilation, showcasing only thirteen of the talents from
the world down under. We come across well-known names such as
Greg Malcolm, Metal Rouge, Mhfs, Sam Hamilton, Rosy Parlane, Antony
Milton, but also Stefan Neville, The Futurians, Sweetcakes, Jane
Austen and the very dutch name of Arie Hellendoorn. Throughout
the music is experimental, working out in different directions.
Drone like, lo-fi guitar playing, computerized glitch drones,
and more straight forward improvised music. There is however a
strong element of 'atmospheric mood music' to be detected in all
of these tracks, even in the more heavy outing of The Futurians
or Stefan Neville. Tracks are throughout short and to the point
and none of them is a real high flyer, but there isn't also a
real weak link. A good overview this compilation of just a tiny
bit of a big scene. (FdW)
Address: http://www.halftheory.com/claudia
MATTIN & TAKU UNAMI - ATTENTION (CD
by w.m.o/r/Hibari Music)
File under 'practical jokes' this one. Taku Unami plays a guitar,
but produces not many sounds throughout the entire seventy-three
minutes. A note here, silence, a note there. Ok. That's one the
right channel. On the left channel there is Mattin rambling about
this music, and that you should play it at the best possible installation,
and asking if you are still there. 'Go Buy This CD' is also a
statement, followed by lengthy silence, as all of his remarks
are one liners, statements, but hardly do make a coherent text.
We all had a good laugh and then played some music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.mattin.org
WOCHTZCHEE - DIKTUONEEMAKILT (CD by Ulmeplaadid)
It might seem an odd name, and certainly not one that is easy
to pronounce, Wochtzchee (one of the reasons of not doing announcements
in our podcast!), but behind it's one Estonian Taavi Tulev, son
of Toivo Tulev, who apparently is a world famous composer in contemporary
music (but I readily admit I know only one famous Estonian composer).
Taavi was trained on the violin, but stopped playing it and then
went on to create other types of music, including electronic music.
As Wochtzchee he tries to play hypnotic music, incorporating the
far end of dark ambient and techno rhythms, although those are
kept in a strict minimal, somewhat slow fashion. I couldn't help
thinking of Plastikman's 'Consumed' album, as it carries that
similar interest in darker than life mood music in combination
with stripped down, minimalist beats. When I first played it,
I sort of dismissed it as a Plastikman clone, but then, later
at night I played it again, somewhat louder and I must admit the
album grew on me. Quite densely layered material, that works best
if played in a somewhat darkened space to create that extra scary
mood. (FdW)
Address: http://www.ulmeplaadid.ee
SMEGMA - THE SMELL REMAINS THE SAME (LP
by Anarchymoon)
REDGLAER - AMERICAN MASONRY (CD by Anarchymoon)
Though being a constant factor in noise & free rock for as
long as those genres might even exist, I can't recall ever listening
to a full Smegma album apart from collaborations with Wolf Eyes
or Jazkamer. This new LP, subtitled SINGLES 90-95, might therefore
be the best introduction to this group that has been around for
longer then I've been. Considering that this is a collection of
7" tracks it makes for quite a diverse and exciting listen,
even including a relatively straightforward garage rock track
with opener "Swamp Dick". What amazes me most here is
how good they actually are as musicians. Tracks like "Fish
Story" end up as some alien free jazz, not unlike some Art
Ensemble of Chicago, and what also strikes me is the spirited
use of loops, found sound and sampling. It makes the group sound
in places like a musique concrète lab experiment injected
with a viral disease. I wonder if their all-out approach to sampling
is something from the 90s or if this has always been their sound.
I will certainly need to start checking out more of them now.
Better late then never.
Much less known, and much younger, is Redglaer. The solo project
of one Bob Bellerue, this new CD contains a live recording made
in Tulsa in 2006. The title of this recording is chosen well,
it sounds like somebody who knows his craft, and builds sonic
walls for his after-work pleasure. The music takes place at the
crossing between drone music, dark ambient and the occasional
noise, but stays abstract enough to neither annoy or grab attention.
At some moments vocals come to the fore, especially in the third,
final, and best track, which for a short moment sounds like an
extended buddhist chant overlayered with, I assume, Redglaer's
own wordless incantations ending in some rather nice stormy weather.
(RM)
Address: http://www.anarchymoon.com
FILTER FEEDER - PLEASURE CYCLE/PEAK OIL/13/11
(LP by Entr'acte)
HAPTIC - CORRECTION (7" by Entr'acte/Absurd)
The three previous releases Julian Doyle's project Filter Feeder
were qualified here from 'bad' to 'o.k.', but nothing great yet.
He now releases a LP which he expands his sounds, and tells us
on the cover about his working method. Doyle likes his music to
be rhythmic, and usually finds it's shape through improvisation.
He sets about an arpeggio rhythm on a synth, which is then fed
through a bunch of other synthesizers and mixed as such. The rhythm
can also be derived from anything else, he writes on the cover,
but if that it is true, I wonder on which track, because they
all sound like drum computer patterns to me, certainly on 'Peak
Oil'. Minimalist beat stuff, head nod music. Maybe the improvisational
aspect is a bit in the way, I think, because if it would have
been properly multi-tracked and mixed, the potential of the music
could have been so much bigger. This new one can be classified
as 'o.k.' again, but still no master piece.
On a 7" size Haptic from Chicago, which is Steven Hess, Joseph
Mills and Adam Sonderberg. This trio generates their work through
improvisation but sometimes process whatever they record later
on. This is their second release for Entr'acte, following a split
release with Mouths. 'Ybo' on one side is largely dominated by
various recordings of cymbals, which sound like a swirling, drone
like mass of sound. On the other side we find 'Sum' which opens
with a music box like sound that suddenly drops and then is taken
over by loads of strange sounds, which do remind me of scratching
the surface. It swells, audience noise comes in and it ends as
suddenly as it started. Great music, however way too short. This
is music that should have a longer duration in order to grow on
the listener, despite the fact that they are rounded of compositions.
Quite enjoyable. (FdW)
Address: http://www.entracte.co.uk
YAKI UDON BAND - BASHO ATE MY HEART (7"
by A Binary Datum)
This might be an odd release for A Binary Datum, following some
more arty music records, but it also makes sense. All releases
deal with a certain low fidelity character in recording. Behind
Yaki Udon Band we find ICO on guitar and vocals and Kurusho Mabo
on drums. There are six tracks on this 7", but it's hard
to decipher where one stops and the next one begins. Yaki Udon
Band certainly didn't invest in recording gear, that's for sure.
Scratching and scraping form the main techniques to play the music,
and all in a less careful way: Yaki Udon Band like a bit of noise,
that is for sure, but again the low quality of the recordings
prevent this from being the Merzbow type of noise. To be honest
I must admit I am not blown away by it. A bit too many 'low' in
here. (FdW)
Address: http://www.abinarydatum.net
JEFF GBUREK - VIRTIUOUS CIRCLES (CDR by
A Question Of Ee-Entry)
THE BOHMAN BROTHERS/THE SONIC CATERING BAND (CDR by Absurd)
The release by Jeff Gburek looks pretty vague from the outside,
but he wrote some extensive liner notes about the area in Berlin
he lives in (Kreuzberg and Neukolln), a poor area with lots of
immigrants. It's in these streets where he made his field recordings
that resulted in his piece 'Virtuous Circles', along with recordings
from Paris, San Francisco, New York, Java, Morrocco, Kenya, Egypt
and Iraq. A blend of western cities and 'third world' cities -
the clash of cultures? On a microscale this is what Berlin is
like too, a melting pot of cultures. In Gburek's piece there is
a lot of high end sounds at the start, quite abstract, but if
you can, turn up the volume and play this louder. Below the high
end surface there is a lot of activity going on. Later on the
field recordings become louder and it's possible to dissect voices,
sounds of transport means, street sounds and such like. I thought
it was a pretty strong work this one, with a particular strong
composition and not just a pure work of field recording. Fascinating
journey this one.
Also fascinating, vague but too short is 'Impartial Metric' by
The Sonic Catering Band and The Bohman Brothers. Vague, because
it's hard to tell what is what here. My guess is that the opening
piece is by The Bohman Brothers, reciting some text at the beginning
and then continuing with amplified cooking sounds, which sounds
like a great musique concrete piece of music. Cooking sounds are
also the territory of The Sonic Catering Band, but their 'Refrigeration'
is probably more about cold food. They present a bunch of shorter
pieces, which are more like sound events, of partly heavily cut
together sound sources, and straight forward recordings. Nice,
but less convincing than the brothers. With sixteen minutes in
total, this would have made a nice 7". (FdW)
Address: http://www.void.gr/absurd
ASCANIO BORGA - PERIPHERAL VISION (CDR,
private)
Exactly one year ago, we reviewed the first three releases by
Italy's Ascanio Borga (see Vital Weekly 550), even when those
releases were quite old already. On his fourth release, 'Peripheral
Vision', he continues to explore the vast area of ambient music.
The previous lot showed he was capable of producing various forms
of ambient, cosmic in one, more industrial in the other two, but
here he goes out, all the way into the 'real' ambient music. Heavily
textured music, all played on a guitar, but he could have fooled
me. I assume this all goes through a whole bunch of computerized
environment (I don't know why I think so, but Borga has 'a formal
background in mathematics and works in the software industry',
maybe that's why). It shares common ground with the work of Vidna
Obmana (mid nineties) and whatever was released by Hypnos (also
in the same period). It makes this music heavily dated, but that's
not really a big problem. To re-new the music area of ambient
is not necessary, if not impossible, but in general it's also
not of concern for those who play ambient, like Borga. His goal
is deliver an hour worth of music that creates a beautiful environment
for the listener and as such he succeeds wonderfully well. (FdW)
Address: http://www.ascanioborga.com
JAN-M IVERSEN - DET ER DET DET ER (CDR by
Verato Project)
Bits of this release we already heard on the compilation CD 'Don't
Get Annoyed, Get Inspired' (see Vital Weekly 581), where said
it's 'glitch', but now we get the full work. Jan-M Iversen is
best known as an improviser with his Bjerga/Iversen duo, but also
because he a long line of solo releases, many of them on his own
label Tib Prod. The quality of his work is of a varying nature,
from the more noise related work to more ambient outings. 'Det
Er Det Det Er' falls in between these two categories. It starts
out in a true ambient drone fashion but half way through in the
background distortion leaps in, however Iversen manages to keep
things under control here. It's like a wall which you can sort
of see in the background, but not entirely well visible, so that
the overall work is still of a distorted but ambient nature. It's
a fine work, perhaps one of the best solo discs I heard of mister
Iversen. (FdW)
Address: http://www.verato-project.de
CONES - ICE FIELD ELEPHANTS (CDR by Ikuisuus)
ENFER BOREAL - L'ESPACE DES ETERNITES POSSIBLES (CDR by Ikuisuus)
On the small Ikuisuus label two releases of people I think I never
heard of. First there is Cones, a duo of Marcel Turkowsky and
Ulf Schutte, who are also members of Datashock and have involvement
in "Aosuke, Tapetektoniks, UUHUU, Hui Tales Collection, Leo
Mars and more", although none of that rang a bell here. It's
a bit hard to say what they use equipment wise, but the music
is quite interesting. In one way it's quite lo-fi, with all sorts
of rumbles going on, but in a vibrant way. Things keep evolving
and revolving around rotating loops and electronics that drop
in and out. Maybe a lot of turntables used here? I think the music
is generated through improvisation, and I was reminded of the
work of Bjerga/Iversen. Quite cosmic/psychedelic release, with
the title track being the prize winner here.
Also, likewise, I never heard of Maxime Primault, who works as
Enfer Boreal, who runs a label called Crier Dans Les Musées.
In August of this year he recorded his own debut as a musician,
using a guitar, electronics, turntables, bass, radio, keyboards
and voice. From various improvised music sessions, he created
this release using multi-layering. Here too the result is quite
psychedelic, although it lacks the somewhat harsher overtones
found in the work of Cones. More drone based with minimalist changes
going throughout each of the two pieces, that unmistakably move
forward, entering new fields before you know it, but it changes
like this throughout. It makes two lengthy, spacious pieces of
music of the right length to remain interesting, with lots of
subtle variations. (FdW)
Address: http://www.ikuisuus.net
MATSUTAKE - GUITAR VS PC (CDR by Arterija)
UKR.TELE.KOM - COMPOSITIONS AND IMPROVISATIONS (CDR by Arterija)
The man behind Matsutake is one Evgeniy Gorbunov, whom he met
in Vital Weekly 544, when we reviewed a work with Dankoe and Zemlyanikeen,
but here is on his own, armed with a guitar and a computer. His
playing is improvised, and the sound is fed directly into the
computer, which does all sorts of crazy things, but also at times
allows to sound the guitar like a guitar. The original improvised
playing can be heard through all the crazy effects. The artists
sees his music like a mushroom, ' it grows and develops by its
own but nevertheless weird things happen. The artist takes only
a little part in the musical process by letting the music "grow
by itself"' - he says. It's a fine work, although I am not
taken by his mushroom theory. You need to have input and keep
on feeding with input otherwise your mushroom will die, I think.
That aside, this is a fine work. Pieces have variations enough,
throughout the release, and are kept to the point. No overtly
long improvisations, but each with it's thematic approach, sometimes
gentle and sweet as the fourth part of part one, sometimes noisy
and angular. Nice.
Named after the major Ukrainian telephone monopolist is Ukr.tele.kom,
which is an open musical project of people sending in their sound
contribution, which is compiled by Andrei Sechkovskiy, who started
the project in 2002 with Sergei Klein. The text on the backside
is barely readable, but this release is a collection of various
improvisations with people and various compositions, which are
made by Sechkovskiy himself. He plays with the live recordings
of the group, home made improvisations and computer collages.
I must say I am a bit lost in this release, it's so much over
the place that it's hard to say what Ukr.tele.kom wants. Bits
of improvised electronics, more regular improvised music, noisy
bits, sampled bits: there is so much in some many different styles,
that one bounces from one thing to the other, but it seems to
me a too much. Add the sketch like character of some of the pieces,
which leave an unfinished feel to them, it's not easy to get into
this one. (FdW)
Address: http://www.arterija.org
PIERRE GERARD - VOYAGE AU CENTRE (CDR by
Un Arbre En Bois)
VUELTA MAGENTICA - FACE A, FACE B (CDR by Un Arbre En Bois)
From the man behind the label Un Arbre En Bois,
his third release, but the first under his own name: Pierre Gerard.
Before he had two releases as Maison Medicale. One very long for
solo bass, the shortest one for voice only and in the middle there
is a track combining both. However besides these two basic sources,
he also uses the computer to process his sounds. To start with
the best thing: the title piece, the long one is a highly interesting
piece of music. A fine combination of drone like material and
microsound; sometimes the bass generates sustained drone pieces,
but the whole thing is spiced with collated sounds dropping in
and out. After almost thirty-two minutes this might well be enough,
but there is two more shorter pieces. In 'Lainage 2' I don't have
the idea something is added to what has been said before, but
it's o.k. 'Lainage 1' is a superfluous voice based only, which
as far I am concerned shouldn't have been included.
The second new release on Un Arbre En Bois is by Vuelta Magentica,
which is one Sebastien Demeffe from Valencia. He likes to toy
around with tape-loops. Cut from all things magnetic - as opposed
to all thing digital - he crafted four pieces together of voices
and music. Things swirl in and out in a kind of relaxing manner,
not loud, not harsh, but moody and atmospheric. Quite typical
music of the 80s in the big days of the world of cassettes. The
Horse He's Sick. The Loop Orchestra. If you don't remember, don't
worry, but it's very much from that tradition. Not every moment
in every track is great, but it's all pretty decently made. (FdW)
Address: http://www.unarbreenbois.be
JLIAT - NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL NOISE (CDR
by Larks Council)
Noise. (FdW)
Address: http://www.jliat.com
ARCHIPELAGOGO (CDR, private)
Behind Archipelagogo is one Arvid van der Rijt, from The Netherlands,
who is a DJ and has work experience in record stores. Which is
all he wants to share with us about his musical career. His self-released
CDR was recorded in the first half of this year in Finland, and
uses guitars, music box, feedback and 'processed sound'. There
are six tracks in total, and it's a pretty decent affair. A bit
dark, a bit microsound, Fennesz is never far away. At the same
time it deems me that not every track is finished, and some could
have used a bit more variation, or more structure and/or composition.
Maybe a question of wanting to release something too soon? However
the potential to grow is certainly there, but the possibilities
should be explored more. However a promising start. (FdW)
Address: http://www.archipelagogo.com
PLEKO (CDR, private)
Nick Kurple, the man behind Pleko, constructed wind chimes out
of various types of metal and used contact microphones to pick
up the sound and feed it through his computer. We can only bow
our heads and praise such thing, because the result, fifteen tracks
in twelve minutes, could have been as easily made with some feedback
resulting from scratching the microphone on the carpet. I mean:
why go through all the trouble of making those chimes whereas
the only thing you want is big time noise? Some of the things
in life which I don't understand, I guess. Harsh, loud noise,
totally over the top, in a good Merzbow tradition, but then chopped
into fifteen tiny bits, almost like a punk rock thing, and that's
something I like about this one: not a single second too long.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/pleko
MICROPHONE STAND (MP3)
Unless you want to download this from the Microphone Stand website,
there is no reason to go there, as there is no information at
all. Music wise behind the microstand there is a singer, a drum
machine, a guitar, a keyboard. He sings songs. A bit traditional,
but here and there with some elements thrown in, but not enough
to make it 'experimental'. I must admit I don't like the singing
very much, didn't quite get the lyrics and the musical backing
is a bit naff also. Not really my thing then. On the website there
are some extra, under which, bizarre and curious as it seems,
a Jos Smolders remix. (FdW)
Address: http://www.microphonestan.co.uk