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VITAL WEEKLY
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number 615
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week 8
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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
before submitting material please read this
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Submitting material means you read this and approve of this.
* noted are in this week's podcast
JEAN-LUC GUIONNET & TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA
(CD by Potlatch) *
MICHEAL ESPOSITO & LEIF ELGGREN & EMANUEL SWEDENBORG -
THE SUMMERHOUSE (CD by Firework Edition) *
YOSHIO MACHIDA - HYPERNATURAL #3 (CD by Baskaru) *
APM - SPRINT MILL (CD by ICR Records) *
BROKEN LINE REMIXES (CD by Zang: Records)
LAURIE RADFORD - LES PONTS DE L'ESPACE (DVD by Empreintes Digitales)
ASS/BLOOD MUSIC (7" by Static Caravan)
KASPER VAN HOEK - DEN HAAG/GRONINGEN/FROOMBOSCH (CDR by Dirty
Demos) *
IAMBLICHI - ALL WORLDS (CDR by Dirty Demos)
EFTUS SPECTUN - THE TALONS SNAG BINARY (CDR by Void Of Ovals)
THE DAGGER BROTHERS - YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAD TO BE IN THE DAGGER
BROTHERS BUT IT DOES HELP (CDR by Void Of Ovals) *
BLOWHOLE - REASSEMBLED (CDR by Lunhare) *
PANGOLIN ORCHESTRA (CDR by Lunhare)
CRAWLING WITH TARTS - LUDIQUES MANIFESTES (CDR by Lunhare) *
HYDRUS - INTERLEAVES (CDR/DVR by Narrominded)
COEN OSCAR POLACK - PSYCHIC INVESTIGATIONS (CDR by Narrominded)
*
FREIBAND - 298 (CDR by Tosom) *
ASHER - INTERVALS (CDR by The Land Of) *
XEDH - ARMIARMA (MP3 by Homophoni) *
GRAD COM - CUTS + EDITS (MP3) *
DICK RAAYMAKERS - MONOGRAFIE (book by V2 publishers)
JEAN-LUC GUIONNET & TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA
(CD by Potlatch)
Of these two Jean-Luc Guionnet might be the busiest of the two,
exploring a wide range of musical activities. He plays alto-saxophone
and organ, plays free improvisation with Hubbub, saxophone quartet
and Pheromone, free jazz with Return Of The New Swing and The
Fish but also composes electronic music and builds sound installations.
Here he teams up with Toshimaru Nakamura, the well-known improviser
on the no-input mixer. In July of last year they played together
two concerts of which the result can be found on 'Map'. The cover
mentions 'editing' (by Toshimaru), but I wonder what he did edit.
There are four tracks on this release, spanning in total some
seventy minutes, which deems to me that there is hardly any edit.
Very much what I wrote last week, I believe, I don't think it's
necessary to document the entirety of a recording - perhaps it's
part of the world of improvisation to do so, but perhaps they
should consider then too that a concert is not the same as a release.
So I have some reservations against this CD, which don't lie in
the content of the individual pieces, which I do believe all to
be great, but listened to in one, uninterrupted session is a bit
too much. After two pieces it's best to take a rest and then return
to it, as Guionnet and Nakamura play demanding music. Lots of
free saxophone blowing, in which the saxophone is to be recognized
as a saxophone and high end sounds from the no input mixer (which
we might also call feedback). Demanding music, with some great
beauty in it. (FdW)
Address: http://www.potlatch.fr
MICHEAL ESPOSITO & LEIF ELGGREN &
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG - THE SUMMERHOUSE (CD by Firework Edition)
The Emanuel Swedenborg mentioned as one of the three performers
on this CD lived in the 18th century. He claimed to have contact
with angels and spirits on a daily basis, and he noted all his
dreams. The scandinavian people love those kind of stories. Leif
Elggren and Micheal Esposito went to the summerhouse of Swedenborg
(some how I believe all people in Sweden have a summer house by
the lake) and recorded sounds there. They are present on this
CD along with recordings on an installation at Färgfabriken
in Stockholm. They used thirty two iron plates (2x1,3 m), placed
over loudspeakers with a contact microphone on top making a low
frequency feedback, like a choir. It was called 'Reception'. As
with all of Elggren's work it is covered with mystery. One sound
piece of fifty three minutes and eighteen seconds of ongoing noise,
every now and then interrupted by 'field recordings'. The noise
is like a rattle, somehow covered or muffled, like the engine
that doesn't get started. It's actually quite a nice CD, quite
conceptual, but in all it's minimalism it's also quite enjoyable
as a stand alone piece of music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.fireworkeditionrecords.com
YOSHIO MACHIDA - HYPERNATURAL #3 (CD by
Baskaru)
We have to go back to Vital Weekly 289 to read about the second
installment of 'Hypernatural' by Yoshio Machida, while the first
was released in 1999. Machida is a man to work slow, of perhaps
too busy in other fields. His music has been used for a commercial
on French television, while also playing concerts which include
electronics and steel drums. The latter play also a role on 'Hypernatural
#3', but to recognize; for the rest its again a meeting of field
recordings and 'treated instrumental sounds': piano and bass.
While I was playing this CD I thought it was quite nice, but also
I thought it's all something I have heard before, done better,
done worse and done as good as Machida does it. What was in years
ago the big hype, has turned to a normality now. It's fairly good
microsounding music, a delicate line between instruments and field
recordings, never dropping below the threshold of hearing, but
also perhaps a bit too regular and normal now. A form that has
worn out a bit by now. On a scale to ten, I'd say a good solid
7. (FdW)
Address: http://www.baskaru.com
APM - SPRINT MILL (CD by ICR Records)
At the southern gateway of entering the Lake District in the Cumbria
district stands the Sprint Mill, the studio and workspace of one
Edward Acland. I have never been there, but Colin Potter, Phil
Mouldycliff and Chris Atkins (APM in short) have been. They have
been recording the mill and the area surrounding it. Water running,
rusty objects, stones and such like is what makes up the fifteen
tracks on this CD. Rather than a drone like piece one would expect
from these masters of the genre, they opt now for a more picture
like scenery. Rusty metal objects, crackle of stones. Then a piece
based on more water like sounds and in between small spoken bits.
The electronic processing is surely present in these recordings
but they are rather there to perhaps sweeten a bit of the sound
and do not take the sound over - it stays a photographic reproduction
of the field and not the starting point for something entirely
different. Like I said, I never visited this area, but one can
sense the quietness of the area, even when this work never drops
below a low hearing point. Atmospheric music once again, but the
great power of the work lies in the fact that it moves away from
the traditional drone and ambient music, but also on the other
hand it's not the usual set of field recordings either. That makes
this, I think, not just a remarkable but also a beautiful CD.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.icrdistribution.com
BROKEN LINE REMIXES (CD by Zang: Records)
The name Nils Henrik Asheim popped up in Vital Weekly 574 when
we reviewed his CD with Lasse Marhaug. Asheim is, besides an excellent
player of the church organ also a well-known composer in Norway.
In 2007 he released a CD, unheard here however, called 'Broken
Line', with four compositions 'interspersed with short close-miked
concrete improvisations. On the night the CD was presented, in
beautiful Tou Scene in likewise beautiful Stavanger, Asheim invited
six local electronic musicians to create a remix of whatever part
they preferred from 'Broken Line'.
From the active underground scene of Stavanger we
get Sindre Bjerga, QRT, Jan-M Iversen, Anders Gjerde, HOH and
Pal Asle Pettersen - who work solo and in various combinations
together. Of course it's a great pity that the original 'Broken
Line' release wasn't heard, which makes it a bit harder to judge
the remixes. To what extend are there samples, and to what extend
are things added, for instance? The end result, six solo tracks
and an all group improvisation (trimmed down to seven minutes)
are affairs of loops, samples and gritty electronics. Some wander
into the field of rhythm like QRT and HOH, but mostly it stays
in moody, atmospheric fields of music, like Iversen, but some
noise is there too, by Gjerde. A nice compilation for sure that
perhaps acts now as just another fine compilation, and less as
a remix CD. (FdW)
Address: http://www.zang.no
LAURIE RADFORD - LES PONTS DE L'ESPACE (DVD
by Empreintes Digitales)
Music released by Empreintes Digitales is music that seems to
be made according to a matrix or certain schematics. Or so it
seems. Of course it's never easy to be fully original, but with
the composers/performers on Empreintes Digitales it seems that
they use the same software, both editing/processing and the input
is usually one or more instruments. I must admit I never heard
of Laurie Radford, and yes, there are differences between him
and others the two, be it, however, minor. Throughout I think
that this release has certainly nice moments, but it's all way
too long. It seems as if the music is put on repeat or self-generating
new bits of music. Maybe there is a world out there which I just
fail to see? (FdW)
Address: http://www.electrocd.com
ASS/BLOOD MUSIC (7" by Static Caravan)
A lovely Static Caravan comes around with a nice red marbled piece
of vinyl with two bands on it. Ass from Sweden (and who made it
to these pages before) and Blood Music. The later released before
on Static Caravan, and they are no doubt nice boys. Both bands
have two pieces. 'Problematique' by Blood Music is based upon
guitar and vocals and is traditional singer songwriter though
nothing bad about it. It's however their other song 'Don Quite'
which is gorgeous: piano, organ and horns in a sorrowful tune,
but with a nice down beat to it. Ass' 'It's In The Galley' is
for two guitars, one being strummed, and one slide, with soft
tinkle on the glockenspiel - also highly meditative. The second
piece is alike that, but has sweet creepy strings in it. Great
7", of course and of course, once again. (FdW)
Address: http://www.staticcaravan.org
KASPER VAN HOEK - DEN HAAG/GRONINGEN/FROOMBOSCH
(CDR by Dirty Demos)
IAMBLICHI - ALL WORLDS (CDR by Dirty Demos)
If I am not mistaken, this might be the very first release by
Kasper van Hoek that is not presented on his own Heilskabaal Records
label. Time to expand to other CDR ventures and he's right, his
work is right for the next step. That is the conclusion which
we can draw from his first release on Dirty Demos. Recorded in
the Dutch cities of Den Haag and Groningen and the for me unknown
Froombosch, he processes these field recordings with 'open source
software' and thus creates microsound like music. Some of the
street life leaks through, but Van Hoek effectively alienates
the material beyond recognition. Quite a move away from his previous
work which was more noise based, around old equipment such as
tapeloops and turntables. This is quite intense music, with creepy
undercurrents and even a touch of music in it (perhaps any street
musicians around). This is an excellent break with the past and
a major leap forward.
I never heard of Iamblichi, who is from Berlin with two net releases
and a bunch of live shows under his belt. Apparently its not a
solo project but a band. Their music is a mixed variation of styles,
although everything is generated in the digital world here. 'Old
Universe' for instance sounds like a glitch ambient piece, but
not a great one. It is followed by digital distortion and then
a piece for rhythmic hiss. Indeed 'all worlds' are covered here,
but to be honest, I must say I wished they stayed in one or two
areas and explored that really well and not try explore as many
styles as possible. I think the ambient glitch material on this
release has the most potential for the future. (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/dirtydemos
EFTUS SPECTUN - THE TALONS SNAG BINARY (CDR
by Void Of Ovals)
THE DAGGER BROTHERS - YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAD TO BE IN THE DAGGER
BROTHERS BUT IT DOES HELP (CDR by Void Of Ovals)
Two releases on a new label, at least for me, Void Of Ovals, of
which Eftus Spectun was reviewed before, with their release on
Public Eyesore (see Vital Weekly 520). They are from Bath/Bristol
and now reduced to Kieran on drums and Oliver on guitar. They
are a math rock band (they claim) and play only one piece here,
a fifteen minute piece of a guitar swing which is repeated with
intervals and bang on the kit, also with intervals. That goes
on for some time, until finally we see some move of the material,
but that arrived a bit late. The whole thing, while short, is
a bit long for the amount of information it tries to get across.
Something entirely different are The Dagger Brothers, who are
described as 'Wham meets King Crimson'. They sing and play electronic
music, a bit mid-tempo, with strong emphasis on more melodic synthesizer
lines. Not exactly what I remember of Wham and maybe, with a fair
amount of fantasy, some of the song bending could be King Crimson
like, but it's hardly '21st Century Schizoid Man' for a synthesizer
and singer. But I must say I quite like this. The voice is dark,
low and EBM like, but the music is quite light, especially when
it is concerned with the synthesizers. Electro-pop of a more darker
kind and certainly quite retro, certainly in their lyrics: 'do
you remember the 80s?'. Everything returns it seems... (FdW)
Address: http://www.voidofovals.com
BLOWHOLE - REASSEMBLED (CDR by Lunhare)
PANGOLIN ORCHESTRA (CDR by Lunhare)
CRAWLING WITH TARTS - LUDIQUES MANIFESTES (CDR by Lunhare)
A lot of music that was once released on cassettes will never
be released on a real CD, but someone once said to me recently
that the CD market is rapidly disappearing anyway, so why bother
about some old music? He suggested re-releasing on cassettes since
that was the hype of the day. Some of the old stuff find its way
to blogs sharing this kind of music, which is great but it's a
MP3. Its like taking a xerox of a full color image. Luckily there
are people like Lunhare, erstwhile known as b/b, an Italian cassette
label in the early nineties. They relaunch their activities with
the release of some of the previous cassette releases on CDR,
in a cute plastic bag with excellent printed covers. Now if you
don't have money that's the way to do it. Two of these three were
actually released before, while Crawling With Tarts arrived too
late to be released on a cassette.
Blowhole, I think, no longer exist. It was the band of Jeph Jerman
(these days known as Jeph Jerman, but in the 80s as Hands To and
member of City Of Worms) who played improvised music, solo, but
more likely with others. Blowhole had a sound that was quite loud
and percussive. Or rather, using rhythm in a non rhythm way. In
the early nineties Blowhole released a whole bunch of cassettes,
LPs and even a CD (or two?) which displayed the various sides
very well. On 'Reassembled' we find some examples of that: objects
being scraped in one track, blowing into pipes, but there is also
a bigger group with a wild free jazz improvisation on guitar,
concussion (which I believe is metal), violin, vocals, trumpet
and drums. It's perhaps this Blowhole sound that is most well-known,
but their true was in the combination of various styles of improvisation.
It's been a while since I last heard anything by them, but I must
say it still has some raw energy. Perhaps a bit dated, but it
surely could win new fans.
I may have heard the Blowhole release back then, but I don't think
I remember the release by Pangolin Orchestra, a quartet of Felice
Pesavento (casiotone, Gem Rodeo 49), Stefano Noro (drums), Gio
Lago (percussion) and Gi Gasparin (bass, keyboards, vocals). They
too play music through improvisation, I think, but sound much
more traditional. A bit rock like, a bit jazz like, naive, child-like
approach. Although not bad, I must say it's also not entirely
my kind of music. One way or the other it sounds quite 'Italian',
like La 1919, if my recollection is serving me well. Perhaps,
I don't remember it that well at all. Anyway Pangolin Orchestra
may appeal to more traditional free music lovers.
Crawling With Tarts came up with the master of their release some
two years after B/b stopped it's activities. 'Ludiques Manifestes'
is a collection of ten tracks recorded live in concert in Oakland,
and sees the line up of Micheal Gendreau (now working under his
own name), Suzanne Dycus and Cliff Neighbours. They too play music
through means of improvisation, and like Blowhole they have wide
pattern of tunes on their plate. The first two pieces, by a street
length the longest, and a free percussive/object banging affairs.
In the next three tracks, Crawling With Tarts use more stringed
like objects, besides the percussive rumble and things are more
under 'control' here, more calm if you wish. But here it also
it also forecasts a bandlike approach, which later on will return
in an almost punky 'Lug Music: Lug 5' (with the right length for
such a piece). A mixed bag this, but a bag full of surprises.
Quite a nice document of a band that unfortunately sinked into
obscurity. (FdW)
Address: http://www.lunhare.net
HYDRUS - INTERLEAVES (CDR/DVR by Narrominded)
COEN OSCAR POLACK - PSYCHIC INVESTIGATIONS (CDR by Narrominded)
Hydrus have had a couple of releases before, on Narrominded, but
'Interleaves' is the first full length release by this Amsterdam
duo of Herman Wilken and Almer Lücke. Although they play
in rock bands too, for Hydrus it's all things electronic, crisp
and clean. Over the years they have developed this sound of theirs
to the max, and this album should be the final peak, at least
in my humble opinion. Hydrus plays a combination of techno music
with deep, melancholic synthesizers. Sometimes the accent of rhythm
is pushed to the background and pure ambient takes over. It's
music that goes well on labels as Highpoint Lowlife, Expanding
or Boltfish and to be honest after hearing many work by these
labels, it's also a style that is worn out a bit. Even when Hydrus
are capable producers and engineers, it still something that I
think is beyond it's date now. It's music that is in urgent need
for a change, I think. The video that was made by Erik Mijwaard
of Videotroopers that comes as part of this package are abstract,
moving images, which work well with the abstract kind of music
of Hydrus, certainly in "Flux'.
Also on Narrominded is a release by Coen Oscar Polack, who is
one half of Living Ornaments and co-owner of the label. For the
no-)TOON) festival 2007 in Haarlem he created a piece of music
based on the heating system in De Vleeshal and that became the
title piece of his release. It's the most abstract piece of the
six on the release, since it doesn't use any instruments, save
for a bit of saxophone towards the end. For the other pieces he
uses guitar, saxophone and cymbal. The computer is an all important
tool to change and recreate sounds, but throughout it's possible
to recognize the original input. Polack plays an interesting mix
of musique concrete, microsound and noise, between drone and rhythm.
It bounces towards all directions, but curiously Polack knows
how to keep control over the material and how to deliver an album
that sounds both varied and coherent. The ambience of 'This Moody
Sky Today' (for Joni MItchell) versus the hectic of 'Bekkende
Nederlander' - that is the strength of this album.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.narrominded.com
FREIBAND - 298 (CDR by Tosom)
This music has been dedicated to Phill Niblock. Who is Phill Niblock?
And what does his music sound like? According to the wikipedia
"Niblock's music is an exploration of sound textures created
by multiple tones in very dense tunings (generally microtonal
in conception) performed in long durations. The layering of long
tones only very slightly distinct in pitch creates a multitude
of beats and generates complex overtone patterns and other fascinating
psychoacoustic effects. The combination of apparently static surface
textures and extremely active harmonic movement generates a highly
original music that, while having things in common with early
drone-based Minimalism, is utterly distinct in sound and technique.
Niblock's work continues to influence a generation of musicians,
especially younger players from a variety of musical genres. Niblock's
compositional process often begins with recordings of single tones
played by a specific musician. "
Well, that is a very accurate description of the music on Freiband's
disk. So the dedication is quite apt. The first piece, for instance,
starts with the recording of a single tone played on a saxophone.
The recording is repeated a few times, with intermittent silences.
Then, after approximately 1 minute, the repetitions start to layer.
The next start is no longer áfter the previous one, but
follows after a short period (0.5 second). And then a third and
a fourth, etc. This builds up into a sound which is still recognizable
as coming from a saxophone but the envelope slowly disappears.
At first you can still hear the starts as little bumps but they
slowly fade. What emerges, and I don't know whether this is a
result of the process of layering itself or that it has been enhanced
digitally, but what emerges is a cadence of a pitch that is somewhat
higher than that of the saxophone itself. Listening closely I
think it's the sound of a piano playing two notes alternatingly.
Like Niblock's music it is at the same time self fulfilling and
exciting. And Freiband is experienced enough to know when to stop
before the effect wears out.
The second track (of three) is different because more complex.
Now the original recordings are still saxophonic, but they sound
like those of violins, simple strokes. Some have higher pitches,
others last a little longer than others. There are only four or
five different originals which are the building blocks for the
composition. This has been done before, of course, and many have
failed while trying. I think this one manages to remain standing
on the tightrope. But it depends on your mood as a listener. I
was in a quiet and patient mood while writing the review. I quite
enjoyed it, imagining patterns of needles that continuously change
before my eyes.
The final track features the sax again. It's a much shorter piece
(5 minutes, instead of 17, respectively 19 minutes). It's a return
to the looping route. That's a pity because the deja vu feeling
is too much present. It also reminded me at first of the tape
loop experiments of Brian Eno. And right at the moment when things
become more interesting (when the loops fall apart creating space
for change) the composition ends. (JS)
Address: http://www.tosom.de
ASHER - INTERVALS (CDR by The Land Of)
The previous work by Asher was a bit of a setback for me, but
with this new release he's back in shape, as far I'm concerned.
This time not in the format of MP3 but real audio, on a real CDR
(and blimey: The Land Of are excellent packagers of that!). Asher
recorded a bunch of material at the campus of Goddard College
in Plainfield, Vermont. It's hard to tell what, if at all, Asher
did with these recordings, but one thing is sure: he spliced them
apart. Unlike many of his previous releases which consist of a
single piece, we have thirty nine pieces, many of them not more
than a minute. The listener is recommended to play this at random
(and I'd 'on repeat'), which certainly shuffles the various sections.
There is pure (and untreated?) field recording material to be
spotted around here, but also piano playing in the form of loosely
tones. Hiss however seems to be a constant factor here as well
as in much of his previous work. Like there has been a lot of
erosion, or the use of a whole bunch of old ferro cassettes been
used. It's an Asher trademark by now. The recomposing aspects
of this release appealed lesser to me since that race was already
made before, but listened to in a strict linear fashion, this
is quite a fine release. Moving from the inside to the outside
and back, the chirping of insects, the piano and other unidentifiable
sounds make this one of the best Asher releases so far. Great!
(FdW)
Address: http://thelandof.org
XEDH - ARMIARMA (MP3 by Homophoni)
The ever so active Miguel A Garcia returns here, this time solo,
after a recent flurry of collaborative activities, armed with
a sine generator, microphone and a mixer. It's never easy to tell
with the music of Xedh if it's been entirely improvised or perhaps
it is multi-track/mixed/edited. Somehow I think it's the case
here with this new solo release that he in fact made various recordings
and mixed them together. 'Armiarma' is a two part composition,
which has a loud(er) first section and a very quiet second part.
The sine waves used in the first are earpiercing, even when played
on a moderate volume, and is too much 'old' Xedh for me, but in
the second part it's all new territory, and the quiet approach
suits him quite well, I think. Soft, but outspoken he moves through
his material in a most intelligent way. Perhaps not as new under
the microsun, but he does a more than fine job with the material
at hand. (FdW)
Address: http://www.homophoni.com
GRAD COM - CUTS + EDITS (MP3)
Incite is a German duo, from Hamburg, who travel a lot. When on
the road they can perform together as Incite, but also supporting
themselves with two solo acts, Axiomatic Integration and Grad
Com. The latter, the male half of Incite, now played forty-five
times since June 2004 and it's time to reflect on those forty-five
shows, as the idea of Grad Com is a simple one: in the place where
he perform he searches for a sound, any sound, samples it and
plays around with it on his laptop. More a live project than a
studio project. The sources here are a sitar, a whiskey glass
with ice, a bottle cooler, a plastic water bottle, but also a
12" record and "an unattentive audience chatting'. Several
of the pieces are collaborations with others, such as Gregory
Büttner and Koutaru Fukui, as well as a studio improvisation
with harp player Rhodri Davies. A working method that reminded
me a bit of Aube, using a single sound source and even when Grad
Com works entirely in the digital world, there is also some other
similarity with Aube. In the end it doesn't matter what kind of
sound source is used, as the various processing start sounding
similar. Partly, perhaps, due to the software and plug ins used
and the idea behind every track: have some sounds running and
loops them around, while applying various filters. I thought as
a documentation of all those concerts this is actually quite a
nice bunch of pieces, with some overlap to eachother. The studio
piece however showed the way out, as this a break from the live
tracks and certainly a road to explore. (FdW)
Address: http://www.gradcom.org
DICK RAAYMAKERS - MONOGRAFIE (book by V2
publishers)
When Dutch institute NEAR announced the release of a Dick Raaymakers
anthology in the form of 3 CDs, I was delighted. When Basta announced
a 5CD set of Raaymakers (and others) "entertainment"
music I was excited. So can you imagine what happened when I learned
V2 was about to publish a book on the theatrical works of the
most important composer/artist/conceptualist of the Netherlands?
So I ordered my copy right away and spend some time since receiving
it to read and look through it. It's not a book to read from beginning
to end, but rather something to flip through, read about a work
and look at the various images and then put it aside for a while.
I must say I am quite disappointed by this book. It's very dry
material and it never becomes alive. Many, if not all, work by
Raaymakers in theatre (and some installation pieces) are comments
on events from the past. Mao, Mussolini, Laurel & Hardy, Etienne-Jules
Marey but also Glenn Gould or Pierre Boulez. Falling is one important
theme in his work. The fall of Mussolini, the fall in the films
of Laurel & Hardy. Scientific matters. Highly thought out
work, very conceptual. Without a concept, no piece of art. Much
of his work is a comment on that, an enlargement of events, a
detailed look. It's his line of work, but I wish it was something
more of his own. His 'Intona' piece for the destruction of twelve
microphones is one such thing of his own. I saw this being performed
in V2 and it sounded great. Sadly it wasn't on the three CD set
and the description is nice, but, and here we come to another
objection against the book: it's book, the most stabile of all
media, presented by V2, once the propagator of Unstable Media.
Why no DVD so we could see the action moving? I am sure some of
this must have been filmed. Or a website? Why the form of a book?
One thing that struck me also was this: since their start in the
early part of the 80s, V2 presented concerts by Laibach, Sonic
Youth, Test Dept, SBOTHI, P16.D4, Etant Donnes, The Hafler Trio,
Kapotte Muziek, THU20 (some of these not pure as musical events
but part of bigger multi-media events as was the tone of the day)
and such like, but it seems that over the years music has been
moved out of the world of V2. They stopped their shop/mailorder
and closed the label. Music these days for V2 is either the demonstration
of yet another new technological aspect of working with computers
or internet or the after thought after hard day of talking and
developing new technologies (for whatever application in art),
music that is no longer 'experimental'. At the end of the day
when we all want to relax and talk we want some more pleasant
4/4 techno beat with an exotic touch of experimentalism. The world
of visual art in general never cares much for experimental music,
which is usually to be found irritating noise on a volume level
that is too loud - all in my private and humble experience as
such. So why a book on Raaymakers? With nothing to see moving
before your eyes, or anything to hear? Is it perhaps because V2
has become too much a part of the real art world, they are now
the institute which their instability should or could have prevented
them from ever becoming one? And if this review stirred some interest
to you, but you don't read Dutch: too bad, this book is only in
Dutch. The good thing is the fairly traditional design, which
makes this a delight for the eyes. (FdW)
Address: http://www.dickraaijmakers.nl/