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VITAL WEEKLY
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number 609
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week 2
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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
there are some problems with the feed, so go here to get the podcast: http://www.vitalweekly.net/podcast.html
* noted are in this week's podcast
PUPKULIES & REBECCA - BEYOND THE CAGE
(CD by Normoton)
VAIMOUS - BOX (CD by Empop) *
LITTLE WINGS - MAGIC WAND (CD by Ahornfelder) *
TAUNUS - HARRIET (CD by Ahornfelder) *
ROEL MEELKOP & GIUSEPPE IELASI & HOWARD STELZER &
FRANS DE WAARD - ZONDAG (CD by Port) *
DEADSET - KEYS OPEN DOORS (CD by Front Room Recordings)
BARDOSENETICCUBE + NOISES OF RUSSIA - NEW ORTHODOX LINE (CD by
Some Place Else) *
GELSOMINA + NO XIVIC - FURNACE (CD by Some Place Else)
SON OF GUNNAR, TON OF SHEL - SAME (CD by Edgetone Records)
A BAD DIANA - THE LIGHTS ARE ON BUT NO-ONE'S HOME (CD by Jnana
Records) *
FREIDA ABTAN - SUBTLE MOVEMENTS (CD by Jnana Records) *
KEVIN PARKS & JOE FOSTER - IPSI SIBI SOMNIA FINGUNT (CD, private)
MOE! STAIANO'S MOE!KESTRA! - TWO ROOMS OF URANIUM INSIDE 83 MARKERS:
CONDUCTED IMPROVISATION VOL II (CD by Edgetone Records)
IGOR OGOGO - SOLO VIEW (CD by III Records) *
LATITUDE/LONGITUDE - SOLAR FILTERS/MOTHER EVENING (7" by
Free103point9)
RADIO RUIDO - FALSE ROSETTA (double 7" by Free103point9)
JOE FRAWLEY - THE HYPNOTIST (CDR, private) *
JLIAT - NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL NOISE VOL 10 (CDR by Jliat) *
JEFF GBUREK - RED ROSE FOR THE SINKING SHIP (CDR by Triple Bath)
*
MICHAEL THOMAS JACKSON - MASS WASTING (2 X CDR by Primecuts Recordings)
*
MICHAEL THOMAS JACKSON - ID CONTROL (Cassette by deep fried tapes)
RAFAEL FLORES & MICHAEL THOMAS JACKSON - EL SONORE DE LA PELICULA
DEFETO (2x3inch CDr by Phase!Records)
MICHAEL THOMAS JACKSON MARC ZAJACK BRIAN OSBORNE- MIXED CASSETTE
(cassette by Heat Retention Records)
DAG ROSENQVIST & RUTGER ZUYDERVELT - FEBERDRÖM (3"CDR
by Odradek)
IF, BWANA - THE GHOST OF REALITY (3"CDR by Odradek)
HOWARD STELZER/FRANS DE WAARD - TORN TONGUE VOL. 1 (business card
CD-R by Moll)
PETER DUIMELINKS - REVISIE (HEROVERWOGEN) (3" CD-R by Moll)
*
THE FORTIETH DAY - PELUSIUM: 540 AD (Cassette by Cipher Productions
)
ELEKTRIK UNDERGROUND 20YM (MP3 by Motok)
PUPKULIES & REBECCA - BEYOND THE CAGE
(CD by Normoton)
The second album 'Beyond The Cage' by the duo Pupkulies &
Rebecca, which is consisting of Janosch Blaul and Rebecca Gropp,
is one of those cases when the songwriting approach and execution
of the music and the songs crossovers with some of the styles
from the electronic dance scenes, musical styles like house, techno
or electro, forming a kind of music that can be filed under: indietronica.
All 11 songs on the album are very carefully performed and produced
by the duo. Rebecca sings in English, French and German languages
and her vocal performances are always seductive and catchy in
the way she sings the lyrics. All of the tracks on this great
album are consisting of very clever and often melancholic melodies
that are efficiently developing in every track, sometimes sounding
like minimal(house) music in a songwriting context and sometimes
the melodies are witty, as in 'Some gin'. The music on 'Beyond
The Cage', with it's sensibility, reminds of and can be related
to the artists like Pulseprograming, Lali Puna and other similar
indie-tronic artists. Specially interesting in the music of Pupkulies
& Rebecca are the moments when the acoustic guitar sounds
in the right and correct place when it's played together with
some very delicate and carefully chosen techno beats in the background,
creating a fusion between the guitar, the singer-songwriting vocal
elements and the beats, and delivering the great music on this
album, with a special intimate touch and sensibility that are
attached to it. (BR)
Address: http://www.normoton.de
VAIMOUS - BOX (CD by Empop)
The man behind Vaimous is one Johan Sandsjö, who still uses
software he downloaded to his 486 computer in 1998, when the Swedish
government started a program of bringing PCs to their civilians.
The pieces on this CD were recorded over a long period, from 2003-2006,
and they were recorded to be played live. Thirteen relatively
short electro pop tracks are to be found here: stomping rhythm
box, fat bass and vocoder vocals. Maybe it lacks some variation
here and there, but throughout it's a very pleasant listening.
I was reminded of good Suction Records releases (whatever happened
there?) and releases of Swedish Slowball label - which also seems
very old by now. But that's doesn't mean that this sounds old
or worn out, Vaimous brings quirky uptempo electro-pop punk and
it's great. A small strip of sunlight on a rainy day. (FdW)
Address: http://www.empop.se
LITTLE WINGS - MAGIC WAND (CD by Ahornfelder)
TAUNUS - HARRIET (CD by Ahornfelder)
It went by me unnoticed by the releases on German's Ahornfelder
were all instrumental, but with Little Wings they move away from
this small tradition. Behind Little Wings is one Kyle Field of
whom Ahornfelder also published a booklet in 2007. Field plays
guitar, piano and sings. He can easily be called a folk singer,
and perhaps that's what is the problem here and it might be entirely
my problem. I am known, I hope, for not caring too much about
lyrics and rather for listening to the texture the voice produces
along with the music, but with music like this, which is so little
music, and so much voice/text based, the vocals should be really
good. But Field's slight false, nasal singing is not all spent
on me. After a while it even starts to irritate me. But like said,
it might all be my problem and I am dismissing something that
is really good. Time will tell.
To 'proof' my point there is also the CD by Taunus, which also
has vocals, although not in every track. Taunus' core are steel
guitarists Jan Thoben and Jochen Briesen with several guest plays
on percussion, banjo, harmonium and vibraphone when they play
live. They too have a folk-like sound, but the pieces sound much
more interesting, perhaps since the fact that they dwell less
on vocals, and more on a wider variety of instruments. Fingerpicking
guitar, soft vibraphone passages, this is rather sweet acoustic
music. Partly composed and partly improvised, the music in eight
tracks is a gentle and merry flow down the stream and one that
fits the Ahornfelder catalogue pretty well. Although similar,
superficially, similar to Little Wings, a much more mature and
complete recording this one and to these ears at least, much more
interesting to hear. (FdW)
Address: http://www.ahornfelder.de
ROEL MEELKOP & GIUSEPPE IELASI &
HOWARD STELZER & FRANS DE WAARD - ZONDAG (CD by Port)
The Dutch word zondag translates as Sunday in English and indeed
these
improvisations were recorded in a single day, a Sunday in January
2005.
Quite in contrast with the speed of the recording, the recordings
themselves
were then shelved for no less than 2,5 years before they were
revised by
Roel Meelkop in June 2007. This CD, smartly packed in cardboard
material as
used for cardboard boxes, lists exactly who does what on the sleeve.
Meelkop
plays on Roland SH-101, Ielasi plays guitar, De Waard plays his
trusty and
ancient Korg MS-20 and Stelzer does what he does best on cassettes.
The CD
starts off quite promising with the beautiful track "Untitled".
In fact, all
tracks are called "Untitled", which is something I have
trouble with. I know
I'm something of a "title-man", but even so by calling
tracks "untitled" you
make the same statement as if you had given them actual titles.
I even tend
to think of this practice as a bit "artsy-fartsy" for
"artsy-fartsy" sake.
But enough of me complaining, this is about the music and, as
said, the
first track is beautiful. With a relaxing pace, a fragile atmosphere
of
synthesetics interspersed with what sounds like guitar (much like
an
instrumental track by Swedish wonderboys Sheriff) this is gripping
music.
However, this relaxation ends abruptly with track 2, which is
far more noisy
with nervous arpeggios and blasts of noise. All within a certain
range mind
you. It's noisy, but it's never noise. Despite that, this is not
my
favorite track. Track 4 has low MS-20 groans and sweeping wind
effects.
Later on bells appear, which (to me) makes the Sheriff connection
ever
stronger. Track 5 features cassettes played like only Stelzer
can. Anyone
who's ever seen our small hero live, will know what I mean. The
idea that
there is someone out there using cassettes and a cassette recorder
as
instruments is something which I consider to be simply brilliant.
The final
track is a remix by Evala. I'm not quite sure of what earlier
track this is
a remix, but the result really fit the previous tracks. Slow,
carefully
played and despite the four people involved, quite coherent in
atmosphere.
Despite the noisy bits and pieces on Zondag, the sound and feel
of the music
is remarkably open and even tranquil. With four personalities
at the helm
there is a huge risk that egos take over and all good intentions
are drowned
in a pool of muddy noise. Luckily Zondag is nothing like that.
In all,
Zondag is a great listen, restrained and well-played. With not
a dull moment
in sight, this album will turn any Sunday into a lovely quiet
fun-day. (FK)
Address: http://www.port-label.jp
DEADSET - KEYS OPEN DOORS (CD by Front Room
Recordings)
It's not easy recording a good album with electronic dance music
these days, when there are a lot of good artists and labels that
are releasing their music for the dance floors. With their debut
'Keys open doors' Deadset have managed to do that, to record a
good album with primary dance music but also very suitable and
amusing for home listening. It is not a surprise that the music
by Deadset is a mixture of electro, house and techno, since the
mix of those three styles is common in almost every modern dance
music production today. In each of the 15 tracks on this CD some
of the previously mentioned styles prevail and Deadset are usually
using the electro elements in their music, to develop the melodies
in their tracks. The 4/4 beats are there, the techno atmosphere
is also present with the electro moments and even some experiments
in few of the tracks, which remind and can be compared with the
music of Modeselektor. Deadset are not afraid to experiment and
that is how they achieve in creating a special touch or a twist
in some of the tracks, as it's well done in 'Ape man abacus'.
With an excellent production, never sounding narrowminded but
with an atmosphere that is varied in the various tracks, 'Keys
open doors' is sure one of the best dance albums in 2007, an album
that sounds great when it's listened at home too. (BR)
Address: http://www.frontroomrecordings.com
BARDOSENETICCUBE + NOISES OF RUSSIA - NEW
ORTHODOX LINE (CD by Some Place Else)
GELSOMINA + NO XIVIC - FURNACE (CD by Some Place Else)
Finnish label "Some Place Else" focuses on music of
the outer limits. The label had its 10 th anniversary in 2007
and almost approaches 50 releases in its catalogue. Having reviewed
a couple of their older releases some years ago in this magazine,
the two latest releases definitely represent some of the more
extreme expressions from the label. First album is a joint venture
between two of Russia's interesting projects from the Noise-related
scene. Noises Of Russia is a quartet known for its high activity
of live performances plus a large number of albums and videos
released. The other project is called Bardosenetticcube also being
in the forefront on the Russian scene. This album titled "New
orthodox line" is a strange beast even in the noise scene
with the inclusion of sacral soundscapes consisting of church
bells and orthodox choirs swirling in the storm of abrasive noise
drones. Consisting of one lengthy track of 47 minutes the expression
is impressive with a nice emotional approach to sonic aggression.
Intense. The other album just released by the "Some Place
Else"-label present to compatriots of Finland. No Xivic is
the solo project of Finnish artist Henkka Kyllönen known
for his electro-acoustic approach to dark ambient. Gelsomina is
a Finnish harsh noise group. Containing three tracks, the album
opens with a collaboration between the two projects: The track
titled "Furnace" runs approx. 25 minutes and has much
focus on guitar-based noise and expressive buzz-drones. Second
track titled "Everlasting fire" demonstrates the harsh
style of Gelsomina in full throttle. "This is the way youth
get to know Satan and hell" the description says on the cover-sleeve
and yes! - This work sound like the symphony of hell - impressive.
Equally to aforementioned track, the third and final track on
the album, titled "Greater suffering", wasn't made to
make the listener feel comfortable during the listening process.
Also belonging to the harsh expression, the track is stylishly
more subdued and introvert compared to the expressively extrovert
contribution by No Xivic. Towards the end the hostile noise drones
are overtaken by atmospheric, almost musical drones ending up
with a very beautiful finale to this particular track as well
as to the album as a whole. Two great releases by Some Place Else.
(NM)
Address: http://www.someplaceelse.net
SON OF GUNNAR, TON OF SHEL - SAME (CD by
Edgetone Records)
For this project Aram Shelton and Steini Gunnarson mixed up their
backnames to the anagram Son of Gunnar, Ton of Shel. What more
did they mix up? Let's have a look. Shelton plays saxophone, bass
clarinet, trumpet and processing. Steini Gunnarson concentrates
on prepared guitar and processing. In may 2006 they recorded several
improvisations somewhere in Oakland. What can we tell of these
young musicians? Gunnarsson was born in Iceland in 1982. He studied
composition with Alvin Curran, Fred Frith and Annie Gosfield at
Mills College. Shelton comes from Florida, and played later in
several groups when moved to Chicago. In 2005 he moved to the
Bay Area to study at Mills College. So I guess this is the place
where both gentlemen met. Their music largely depends on improvisation.
Both share a love for extended and long improvisations. Besides
prepared guitar and windinstruments both make use live sample-based
processing via PD and MSP. Through these extended techniques they
create streams of multilayered sounds and interesting aural environments.
Very exuberant like in the second piece, but most of the time
in a more sober way. In several tracks, like track 5, they come
close to the minimalist music of Terry Riley in his early days.
Surely they know what they are doing on this CD. They are good
players and know how to handle extended techniques. But for same
reason or another it didn't work for me. A bit too introspective.
Also the almost lyrical style of Shelton (track 6) doesn't fit
perfectly with the more repetitive style of playing by Gunnarson.
On the other hand, there is enough quality on this cd to be curious
to their next steps. (DM)
Address: http://www.edgetonerecords.com
A BAD DIANA - THE LIGHTS ARE ON BUT NO-ONE'S
HOME (CD by Jnana Records)
FREIDA ABTAN - SUBTLE MOVEMENTS (CD by Jnana Records)
In the old(er) days of Vital Weekly, when we were wasting paper,
we started a discussion about women and experimental music, and
why there were so few. We never found the answer, and in twenty
years things hardly improved. Still the number of males outnumber
the females in these pages - sad but true. But here are two, one
representing the 'old' (careful there, my boy) and the 'young'.
The old, without any disrespect, is Diana Rogerson, who used to
go by the name of Crystal Belle Scrodd ages ago, and then was
silent for a long time returns to the scene. Maybe you recognize
her voice from Nurse With Wound albums, and in her own right she
may sound a bit like the nurses, but hey what can do if the man
if your companion for so long. Also partying here is Matt Waldron
of Irr App (ext). In all seven tracks the voice of Rogerson plays
the central role. Reciting and singing her usual unusual lyrics,
set against a great, warm bed of rhythm and electronics. Psychedelic,
cinematic are the keywords here. It's been a while since I last
heard anything by her, and hearing this made me think to unshelve
some of her previous work too. A highly refined work, culminating
in the almost fourteen minutes 'Chant D'Amour/Da Mort' of distant
piano tones, warm drones and text.
The young generation is Freida Abtan from Montreal. Most curious
enough, her feminine side is hardly shown, save for some voice
treatments here and there. Much of what she does can be lumped
in with acousmatic music, even when it seems - although I can't
be sure - it's less computer based and more tape like. It seems
- again - that she fills the multi-track recorder with lots of
weird sounds that hardly make sense, until she starts to mix them.
Then things fall into place, faders go up and down, and the sounds
are fed through an endless line of effects, perhaps a bit too
many effects at times, but she depicts crazy sound collages. Less
academic than her Canadian counterparts of No-Type/Empreintes
Digitalis, divided into much shorter pieces than is usual in that
scene. The Nurse With Wound influence is quite apparent, with
sounds bouncing in and out, swirling electronics and female voices
every now and then. Quite a pleasant album, of which I could only
say it's a bit too long for my taste. It lasts about an hour,
and could have been twenty minutes shorter, which have had a much
higher impact.
Interesting to see that the younger is the more experimental of
the two, while Rogerson stays more of musical side, but she knows
how to keep her things more under control and Abtan lets things
run more freely. But both are great, no matter of generation,
gender or differences. (FdW)
Address: http://www.jnanarecords.com
KEVIN PARKS & JOE FOSTER - IPSI SIBI
SOMNIA FINGUNT (CD, private)
These boys have guts. A nice package, a pro-pressed CD, but besides
their names, a title for the release, the year and track titles,
no other information. No label, no website. The note said 'improvisations
from Seoul', but that's it. Quite odd. Perhaps they don't want
to sell it? I can't see why that should be. It's a bit hard to
tell what sources Kevin Parks and Joe Foster up (down?) in Seoul
are using. At times I thought they were dueling guitars and electronics,
like reverb and echo units, but then there might also be some
computer involvement. Or perhaps not. Things work best when they
keep their material under control. That is when things are carefully
played, feedback kept under control, blowing balloons and let
the sustain run out beyond it's decay. When not, and those moments
are also present here, things explode in a loud and vicious manner.
This is more towards the end of the CD than at the quite strong
first two tracks. With considerable lengths, this is a bit overlong
and the editing tool could have been used more. However if one
could play just the first two pieces and the softer opening of
the third, then one has a great CD. Switch it off when things
get out of control. (FdW)
Address: none given
MOE! STAIANO'S MOE!KESTRA! - TWO ROOMS OF
URANIUM INSIDE 83 MARKERS: CONDUCTED IMPROVISATION VOL II (CD
by Edgetone Records)
Originally Moe! Staiano worked as a percussionist and played in
bands like Vacuum Tree Head and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. Later
he concentrated on conducted improvisation using graphic scores
for very extended ensembles (25-50 persons). He titled this project
as 'Moe!kestra!'. First results were released on Edgetone in 2003:
'Two Forms of Multitudes', containing 'Conducted Improvisation
Piece 5 and 4'. With his new CD Moe! Staiano releases two other
examples of his conducted improvisation (nr. 6 and nr.11), both
recorded in 2003 at the Oakland Box Theater. 'Improvisation nr.6'
is played by 9 players on strings, voice and percussion. 'Nr.
11' by 32 players and uses also windinstruments, and a diversity
of percussion instruments. Some of the players have familiar names
like Myles Boisen (guitar) and Carla Kihlstedt (voice), but most
of of them are unknown musicians from the Bay Area.
For 'Conducted Improvisation nr 11', the orchestra was split in
two, both playing in separated, though connected rooms. Staiano
conducted both orchestra's simultaneously. On the cd it sounds
as one whole, although the mixing makes it possible to identify
both groups. But being part of the audience walking from one room
to another it must have been altogether a completely different
experience. The improvisations don't excel in virtuosity. That
is not what they are about. The music sounds heavy and rude, and
it is far more close to rock and punk music then to the esthetics
of jazz. It is evident that Staiano loves a big and loud sound,
using groups of instruments playing the same patterns, gradually
working to chaotic climaxes. This brings the work of Glenn Branca
to the mind if you need a comparison. But the music of Staiano
stands on its own big feet of dinosaur proportions. A challenging
and successful work. (DM)
Address: http://www.edgetonerecords.com/
IGOR OGOGO - SOLO VIEW (CD by III Records)
The Igor in the Igor Ogogo is one Igor Grigoriev who was born
in 1950 in Moscow, but who moved to the Los Angeles in the 1990s
and became part of groups as Roof, Asphalt and Ogogo. Igor plays
the guitar, and these days teaches this instrument, along with
music history, jazz history, ensembles and improvisation. On his
album 'Solo View' he offers us eight pieces of what is called
'avant-garde jazz', which prompted me to think of forwarding it
to our regular improvisation/jazz reviewer, but I suspect he would
not like the somewhat noise based excursions of Igor. Not that
it could bother our noise reviewer either, now I come to think
of it. The eight pieces by Igor are all over the guitar, feeding
through a line of delay and distortion pedals, playing jazz motifs
against a small, thin wall of noise. To be honest, none of the
eight tracks could bother me that much. Wether he is playing solo
guitar, adding a rhythm machine or put his fists on organ, it
all left me quite cold. Maybe fans of more regular loud improvisation,
softer improvised noise may find this of interest, but I pass
this on. (FdW)
Address: http://iiirecords.com
LATITUDE/LONGITUDE - SOLAR FILTERS/MOTHER
EVENING (7" by Free103point9)
RADIO RUIDO - FALSE ROSETTA (double 7" by Free103point9)
Audio Dispatch is a series of releases by the ever so active Free103point9,
a radio station, concert space and who knows what else - a label
also! In this series they release work by people who played there,
or who were asked to record something specially for them. Latitude/Longitude
is a duo of Micheal Garofalo and Patrick McCarthy, which are announced
as an 'electro-acoustic duo', since they use 'test oscillators,
homemade cassette tape and field recordings, radio transmissions,
toy electronics as well as traditional instruments as guitar,
banjo, mbira and vocals'. I may have expected something else than
this, but these two pieces are gorgeous alternative pop songs.
The 'day-side' has 'Solar Filters', a piece for drum loop, banjo,
melodica and voice. There is something country & western like
about it, or a workman like song, of simple beauty. 'Mother Evening',
on the other side, is a more mellow song, based around a simple
one-stomp loop and sorrowful voice in a bed of pedalsteel and
perhaps some electronics. Both pieces cry for more. A sort of
alternative pop 7" that I cherish since the early 80s. One
long tradition here.
Radio Ruido is a project by Tom Mulligan and he deals with number
stations. In case you forgot about those since the excellent 'Conet
Project', number stations are shortwave radio signals that consist
of number reading, words, tunes, morse code and are perhaps perhaps
used by secret agents all over the world. Dial on your radio to
the far end and look for it yourself. It can provide some excellent
source material to create music. Mulligan creates four pieces
out of what he found on the waves. It's of course pretty experimental
and dark this music, but what else can you expect? It tends towards
the noise side of things, but it never goes over the top. Perhaps
that is a bit of a problem, I thought. It stays all a bit too
much on the safe side of things. No menace, no treat, no harm.
Nice, but perhaps a bit too normal. (FdW)
Address: http://www.free103point9.org
JOE FRAWLEY - THE HYPNOTIST (CDR, private)
The third release by Joe Frawley, following 'Tangerine' (Vital
Weekly 579) and 'Wilhelmina's Dream' (Vital Weekly 564), which
both were highly appreciated in these pages. Frawley is a piano
player, which comes more to light on this release I think than
on his previous two releases. There are more differences to be
spotted, for instance the fact that we are dealing with a story
throughout the whole release: 'the central is between a visitor
to an unfamiliar city and a therapist exploring the mind of a
patient through hypnotic techniques'. To his end, Frawley uses
various conversations, dialogues and speeches from various speakers
and various situations that he stole, or perhaps speaks himself,
well some of it. The piano music not unlike Ravel, Debussy, Satie
or more recent Harold Budd. Very cleverly he mixes in some field
recordings and classical music lifted from other sources. I have
no idea why there is a 2008 remix of 'Wilhelmina's Dream', since
it's recorded in 2007, and even when it's not a strange thing
on this release it seems, conceptually at least a bit out of place.
Otherwise I think this is another great release by Frawley, a
great combination of melancholic piano music, field recording,
spoken word and plunderphonic. (FdW)
Address: http://www.joefrawleymusic.info
JLIAT - NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL NOISE VOL
10 (CDR by Jliat)
"Oh yes - i do. In the past whether and whatever i did i
always had to push on to something new - even the drones in the
end became from the point of making them less and less interesting
/ exciting. I remember feeling sick that this happened and envious
of painters like Pollock who could continue the same kind of thing
for many works over a period. But with the noise works this just
hasn't happened! So i've been making these short tracks for soon
a year and have recorded already up to volume 20. When time allows
i want to make many more and create a virtual Mall online of downloads.
Maybe an animated shopping Mall where all the shops stock jliat
noise... so just as the 3.59 tracks parody the pop single i can
parody the present consumerism..." (FdW)
Address: http://www.jliat.com
JEFF GBUREK - RED ROSE FOR THE SINKING SHIP
(CDR by Triple Bath)
Only a few weeks ago, in Vital Weekly 600, I reviewed 'Virtiuous
Circles' by Jeff Gburek on A Question Of Re-Entry, which I thought
was a great work of field recordings, here he returns from his
home in Berlin with another release on a Greek label and 'Red
Rose For The Sinking Ship' 'informally constitutes a sonic essay
about Mao Zedong's leadership of the Chinese Revolution, for fifty
years until his death'. How that works exactly is not told, as
Gburek loves a bit of mysticism. Triple Bath delivered some more
notes about Gburek and we learn that he plays the guitar and self-constructed
electronic environment to process the guitar playing. He has played
with many improvisers from the field of electronic and improvised
music area. This new work deals with the guitar and not with field
recordings. Divided in five parts, this is however one piece.
In the beginning the guitar sounds like a guitar, moving delicately
through various forms of electronic processing, without losing
the idea of a real guitar. It ends in the very last minute by
sounding like a music box and in between it has taken many shapes:
loud click noise music, soft sections and in much of that the
guitar is not recognized as such. Not at all. It's again a pretty
fascinating journey that he takes the listener on, moving through
various textures, moods and atmospheres. Despite some of the harsher
textures here and there more microsound than one would expect.
A great release, again, one that will reveal some of its beauty
only after a repeated playing. (FdW)
Address: http://www.triplebath.gr
MICHAEL THOMAS JACKSON - MASS WASTING (2
X CDR by Primecuts Recordings)
MICHAEL THOMAS JACKSON - ID CONTROL (Cassette by deep fried tapes)
RAFAEL FLORES & MICHAEL THOMAS JACKSON - EL SONORE DE LA PELICULA
DEFETO (2x3inch CDr by Phase!Records)
MICHAEL THOMAS JACKSON MARC ZAJACK BRIAN OSBORNE- MIXED CASSETTE
(cassette by Heat Retention Records)
"Art has become iconoclastic. Modern iconoclasm no longer
consists in destroying images, but in manufacturing a profusion
of images where there is nothing to see." So wrote Baudrillard
in 'The Conspiracy of Art" - the truth of this has never
for me been greater, and yet the same can - and I would say is
also true for the idea of philosophy itself- and of course then
this review. You might like to think about this - you might not
- that is the point, that after all is Baudrillard's particular
point here. Now what is this to do with music, and Michael Thomas
Jackson's in particular? Well there is rather a large amount of
material here and not particularly within my scope of interest
at present - "Michael Thomas Jackson is a composer and multi-instrumentalist..
he has been involved in notated composition, free improvisation,
electronic studio work. - employing microtones and multiphonics
as fundamental elements of music-making. This spirit of experimentation."
And listening to these works I can agree, I can be in total agreement,
and though it is true that there is a profusion here, maybe unlimited
experiments it's the fact of it maybe having content that makes
me not dislike it, but reject it in the spirit of Baudrilliard's
idea above. (jliat)
Address: http://www.microearth.com/jackson/
Address: http://www.deepfriedtapes.org
Address: http://www.phaseweb.tk
Address: http://www.heatretentionrecords.com
DAG ROSENQVIST & RUTGER ZUYDERVELT -
FEBERDRÖM (3"CDR by Odradek)
IF, BWANA - THE GHOST OF REALITY (3"CDR by Odradek)
Exactly one year ago, in Vital Weekly 559, I reviewed 'Vintermusik',
a collaboration between Dag Rosenqvist and Rutger Zuydervelt,
the latter of course better known as the owner of Machinefabriek,
and no doubt one of the more busier bees around the globe and
fastest rising stars on the firmament. Rosenqvist is also known
as Jasper TX from Sweden. Glacierlike music I wrote back then.
The rest of the year was spend on recording another collaboration,
no doubt through the use of the internet and the outcome is this
new piece, twenty-three minute in length and working in a strict
linear fashion. I have no idea who does what here, or who created
the mix of it, but it's a great work. High static crackles, a
mid-range bed of warm drones and a bass that rumbles somewhere
below. Much along the recent works of Machinefabriek, and a sound
that brought him his fame so far. Maybe there is a risk of repeating,
but no doubt the fans will take that for granted. Nice one.
A bit older is the release by Al Margolis' If, Bwana project.
I wasn't blown away by his last release (see Vital Weekly 602),
but this one makes up things in a nice way. The two pieces here
date back from 2006. 'Too Too' was made with 'computer processing,
some of the source material drawn from Salvatore Linguido's CD
'Theme', it says on the cover and I think it's a trade mark If,
Bwana piece. Various layers of sound move over eachother. Layers
that sound similar, but not always of equal length thus creating
a phase shifting pattern. A bit drone/ambient like, but more modern
classical than anything noise related. In 'Imp' Margolis fiddles
around with a ARP 2600 synthesizer in what seems to be a random
manner, but here too he cleverly builds a whole web of sounds.
From all the aleatory sounds, small patterns occur, that only
start making sense over the course of the piece. More 'rhythmic'
than much of his other work, but Margolis applies his techniques
and it works well. Great covers on both of these releases. (FdW)
Address: http://www.odradek.net
HOWARD STELZER/FRANS DE WAARD - TORN TONGUE
VOL. 1 (business card CD-R by Moll)
PETER DUIMELINKS - REVISIE (HEROVERWOGEN) (3" CD-R by Moll)
Frans de Waard seems to like business card CD-Rs, and he regularly
releases some on his Moll imprint, the latest one being a collaborative
work by himself and Howard Stelzer. Each of the two has one track
and I guess they exchanged source material and then worked individually
on their respective pieces. Stelzer is of course well known for
his tape manipulation techniques, which dissolve all information
originally stored on the tape into blasts of abstract noise. However,
rather than the start/stop-aesthetic that I would have expected
from him, his piece on this CD-R is an almost static drone. Even
at just over two minutes in length it is utterly captivating because
of its textural quality; it consists of a thick hissing sound,
which occasional reveals some tiny acoustic details, and stays
as minimal as complex throughout. Frans' track is then much more
dynamic, a fragmented composition based on processed bits of what
I would guess to have been burst of tape noise. It is a solid,
OK piece of abstract digital noise - quality stuff, albeit not
really surprising. In the context of this short release it does
make perfect sense, though, and the juxtaposition of two distinct
aesthetic approaches makes for a good five-minute release.
Peter Duimelinks is, as it is probably well known among the readers
of Vital Weekly anyway, one third of Kapotte Muziek (with Roel
Meelkop and Frans de Waard being the other two members). The track
on this 3" CD-R was created in 2001 already, but back then
rejected by the label it had originally been recorded for. This
mode of production obviously allows for more precise accentuation
than live improvisations (Kapotte Muziek's usual domain, these
days). This becomes particularly obvious during the first part
of Duimelinks' track in which he focuses on the quiet and delicate
sounds of small objects gently rubbed and stroked, accompanied
by almost imperceptible electronic pulses in the background. In
contrast the gritty shortwave frequencies, which he introduces
later, seem almost brute, but they work well as a kind of compositional
hinge to lead over to the final, again quieter part. Duimelinks
uses his material in a very sensitive way, composing with the
given sounds rather than treating and processing them extensively,
thus keeping close to the original aesthetic (which I can of course
only extrapolate from other KM recordings I've heard, as I don't
know Duimelinks' sources for this piece) while successfully translating
the tension of live improvisation into a more controlled and calculated
mode. It's hard to see why this wasn't released back when it was
created, but it is for sure a good decision to make it available
now. (MSS)
Address: http://www.kormplastics.nl/moll.html
THE FORTIETH DAY - PELUSIUM: 540 AD (Cassette
by Cipher Productions )
Industrial sounds I would say - like being in the engine room
of the titanic pre iceberg, are in fact the guitar/bass duo of
Isidro Reyes and Mark Solotroff, though this is far from obvious
and extremely processed and heavily split across the stereo field
it clinks on in washes of noise in search of its iceberg. The
Fortieth Day is to do with some orthodox ritual for the dead and
Pelusium a city on the Nile delta, and the year 540 AD marks the
outbreak of the bubonic plague in that city, and appears as one
of the first historical accounts of the famous European outbreak
which continued into the last century in parts of the world. Such
scary events are only reduced to absurdity when one thinks of
a stupid baker burning down London and so relieving the city of
its rat vectors and giving Wren the opportunity to create some
remarkable churches, and of course forcing Newton home to his
apple orchard.. the deaths from the plague generally increased
the economics of a faltering Europe and given the impact of Newton's
work on subsequent industrialization makes the occult glee I surmise
is hinted at here somewhat questionable. (jliat)
Address http://www.iheartnoise.com/cipherproductions/
ELEKTRIK UNDERGROUND 20YM (MP3 by Motok)
The names which you are about to read never appeared in Vital
Weekly, despite our reputation as the world's oldest online source
for experimental music. It's not because 'fresh' and 'young' are
what these bands are about, but because they have been in hibernation
for a long period. Motok is the creation of Nico Selen, erstwhile
of New Bulwark Records and Tapes, then of the short lived Sun
Sound Systems and from a long, almost twenty year gap in which
not much happened, but as Selen was googling his name and activities
he discovered his band O.R.D.U.C. and releases were still hot
with lovers of early 80 electronic music. It spawned him to create
new music, and dust of the machines and get proper profiles on
the internet. O.R.D.U.C. is Selen's 'best' known band, but his
work knows many aliases, some of which can be found here. He's
responsible for all eight pieces on this release. Synthesizers
play an important role in all of them, and also guitars, sound
effects and such like. For each name, Selen invents a new sound,
or alternation of sound direction. Cosmic Dream plays indeed cosmic
music, while as Ilo Istatov it's more experimental music and the
O.R.D.U.C. track even ventures into 'dance' music. Some of the
pieces are old and contain a fair amount of tape hiss, but that
seems to be OK to get the picture of something old. In 1993 he
created a piece of music on a mac computer and as Mac Music Machine
it sounds much louder (the album is volume wise a bit unbalanced).
There is in some of these pieces still that naivety that is apparent
in many of Selen's work, but it works out pretty well in these
pieces. (FdW)
Address: http://www.motok.org/