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VITAL WEEKLY
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number 628
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week 21
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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
carefully: http://www.vitalweekly.net/fga.html
Submitting material means you read this and approve of this.
* noted are in this week's podcast
C (CD compilation by Zelphabet)
ROBERT ASHLEY - CONCRETE (2CD by Lovely Music)
THOMAS BUCKNER - NEW MUSIC FOR BARITONE & CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
(CD by Mutable Music)
KOLKHÖZE PRINTANIUM - KOLKHÖZNITSA (CD by D'Autres Cordes)
NURSE WITH WOUND - MAN WITH THE WOMAN FACE (CD by ICR Distribution)
*
GOTHENBURG 08 (CD by Fang Bomb)
TIM BRADY - TOPOLOGY: SCAT (CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
JOE GRIMM - BRAIN CLOUD (CD by Spekk) *
MATHIEU RUHLMANN & CELER - MESOSCAPHE (CD by Spekk)
METHAHDRONE - STERILITY (CD by Foreshadow) *
THISQUIETARMY - UNCONQUERED (CD by Foreshadow)
SKITLIV - AMFETAMIN (CD by Cold Spring)
PUNCH INC. - FIGHTCLUB (CD by ANT-ZEN)
HATEWAVE - FREE RINGTONES (CD by Apop Records)
EB.ER/LANZ/PHILLIPS - SCHIMPFLUCH-COMMUNE INT. (CD by Nihilist)
*
ANDY ORTMANN - OCTAGONIST (DVD by Nihilst)
BONNE PARTE (CD by Wham Wham Records)
MICHEAL J. SCHUMACHER - FIVE SOUND INSTALLATIONS (DVD by Experimental
Intermedia)
COR FUHLER/MATS GUSTAFSSON (LP by Narrominded) *
JON MUELLER - STRUNG (LP by Table Of The Elements)
MIKA VAINIO / HASWELL & HECKER - POPOL VUH REMIXES (12"
by Editions Mego) *
JAMIE DROUIN - SONAMBULO (CDR by Rope Swing Cities) *
THELMO CRISTOVAM - PAISAGENS SONORAS EM OSTRO HYIJA (CDR by Triple
Bath)
ANAKRID - LITTLE SIR ECHO (CDR by Insult Recordings) *
ASTRONAUT - EARLY PERIL (CDR by Insult Recordings)
MUURA - BLACK BIRD SINGS (CDR by Black Petal) *
CITY PEOPLE'S FARMERS MUJSIC - AFTERNOON TEA (3"CDR by Black
Petal)
ANIMAL MACHINE HOMO HOMINI LUPUS CDr by KIF Recoding)
SWAMPS UP NOSTRILS DIGITANA (CDr by KIF Recoding)
THE NOISER (AKA JULIEN OTTAVI) - LA TRILOGIE DES FANTÔMES
(CDr by Free Software Series)
PATO - CLIP_CLAP_CRISIS (CDr by Free Software Series)
JOSETXO GRIETA - SORISAS VENDO, DONDE NOS LLEVAN! (CDr by Taumaturgia)
IRON BITCHFACE- KITTEN APOCALYPSE (CDr by SFRecords) *
PM (3"CDR by Herbal Records) *
DEEP & JUNE PAIK - I MOG DEEP (3"CDR by Verato Project)
FREIBAND - REFLECTION (3" CDR by Moll) *
C (CD compilation by Zelphabet)
Hot on the heels of 'A' and 'B', follows 'C', the third volume
in the Zelphabet series. The 'C' of Charlemagne Palestine, Chop
Shop, Contagious Orgasm and C Spencer Yeh. The old meet the new,
but there is some great consistency here. From Palestine we get
a lovely piece of oscillating sounds, drone music that is, recorded
in 1974 and from Spencer Yeh a more noise based piece called 'Three
Synthesizers', recorded in March 2008. Hectic, nervous sounds.
A total opposite to the Palestine piece, which opens this CD and
marks the perfect ending for this journey along generations. In
set up both pieces are similar, yet with a very different outcome.
Chop Shop recently surprised me with his 'Oxide' CD release, and
here he comes with 'Retrofit' which is the sound of decay in action
(or should that be 'action in decay'). Noisy blasts of eroded
tapes, loops, hum are put together in a great collage of highly
rusty sounds. Contagious Orgasm is a bit of an odd ball in this
collection (the other three would have made the perfect drone
based CD, with three different perspectives on the matter) with
a nice collage of found sound - spoken word, eating chips and
electronics. As such, as said, the odd ball here, but it provides
a counterpoint too. Great volume in this encyclopedia. (FdW)
Address: http://www.zelphabet.com
ROBERT ASHLEY - CONCRETE (2CD by Lovely
Music)
Robert Ashley is a New York composer. He started his careers many
decades ago, during the fluxus period. During the 60s he was one
of the circle of composers who organized the ONCE festival. Language
has always been one of the central aspects in his composing, to
be more specific, spoken language. Works by Ashley are extensive,
in the sense that they last long, are of epic measure. Perfect
Lives, an opera which he composed in the early 80s and which was
released as a whole in 1991 lasted 3 discs long. A lot of attention
is given to the libretto of the opera. "Now Eleanor's idea",
a tetralogic opera, was released on 4 separate discs. Here, on
Concrete, the monumental character is also present. One part of
Concrete (2 discs) consists of musings, a monologue interieure
of an old man who lives in a big city (hence the title). The other
part are "dialogues interieure".
Music-wise there is not very much new going on. Being very critical
I might say that the singing, the melodic developments, the sound
accompaniment has not evolved since his works of the 80s. Indeed,
even a few of the performers present on this disc were in the
cast of Atalanta and Perfect Lives and Now Eleanor's Idea. Only
the subject matter has changed. Of course, the libretto is perfectly
written and indeed make us believe that an old man with many spare
hours living in a big city might have these thoughts. But I don't
know whether I'm already interested in them. I'm sorry to have
to say that, in comparison to a lot of earlier material, this
is rather disappointing. (IS)
Address: http://www.lovely.com
THOMAS BUCKNER - NEW MUSIC FOR BARITONE
& CHAMBER ENSEMBLE (CD by Mutable Music)
With two different ensembles Buckner performs three works. With
the S.E.M. Ensemble of Petr Kotik, Buckner interprets 'Luminescence'
written by Annea Lockwood and 'Conceptuality/Life' of Petr Kotik.
With Continuum Buckner plays 'Canto', a composition by cuban Tania
León. All pieces were written for Thomas Buckner, a very
reputed singer of avant garde music. 'Luminescence' is a strong
narrative piece, based on eight poems by Etel Adnan. It is music
with a timeless atmosphere talking about the love for the ocean.
'Canto' is also a songcycle, but a much more jumpy composition
built around rhythm. The voice of Buckner is accompanied her by
clarinet, cello, percussion and piano. Like in the first composition
in 'Conceptually/Life' we hear the flute, trumpet, violins, cello
and percussion of the SEM Ensemble. It is one lengthy piece of
27 minutes, composed in 2003. In all three works, Buckner, who
has a wide range of vocal expressions and techniques, sings in
a way you probably associate with classical music. His baritone
voice fits perfectly with these ensembles, and what they offer
together is a sort of modern chamber music. It is not music that
immediately talks to you. It only talks to the patient ear. (DM)
Address: http://www.mutablemusic.com/
KOLKHÖZE PRINTANIUM - KOLKHÖZNITSA
(CD by D'Autres Cordes)
This french band combines the talents of Philippe Gleize (drums),
Hugues Mayot (saxophone), Paul Brousseau (keyboards), Jean-Philippe
Morel (bass) and Maxime Delpierre (guitar) together, assisted
by guests Ucoc Lay, David Linx and Matthieu Metzger. Brousseau,
from Poitiers (1976) is the central force in this group of young
talented french musicians. The self-educated multi-instrumentalist
Brousseau learned a lot from playing with Louis Sclavis, Marc
Ducret a.o. And with this album his ready for his own thing. All
compositions are by his hand, leaving plenty of room for improvisation.
He is an adventurous composer/musician, trying to combine influences
you don't find normally together. Fusion jazz is one source, but
another is hardcore to name the two most important ones. Intelligently
Brousseau creates unusual hybrid structures. They are played with
verve by the musicians. Mayot plays in most tracks his sax in
a way close to the esthetics of jazz and fusion in a lyric way.
This is contrasted especially by the dark hardcore-like playing
of Morel on bass. The electric guitar of Delpierre is close to
rockmusic most of the time. Brousseau doesn't take much of the
solos but he is omnipresent in most tracks as he is constantly
adding strange soundsamples, etc., making the pieces very detailed
and multicolored. In a ballad like 'Fsy Tokyo' he creates strange
soundscapes and textures as a background for the solo by the saxophone.
A lot is happening on this CD. Each track has new things to offer.
Strange eclectic mixtures that work. In all complexity the music
remains sensual and vivid. The playing is very dynamic and enthusiastic.
The overall sound is rough and edgy. All in all this is a very
fresh treat. This band is definitely in for something new, and
they have a good sense for humor. In the closing track 'Mana'
it is as if we hear Yes singing or another other progressive rockgroup
from the 70s. Very funny, and not just for this effect. A promising
group that is hard to pin up down! We will hear more of mister
Brousseau. I'm sure about that and can't wait! (DM)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/dautrescordes
NURSE WITH WOUND - MAN WITH THE WOMAN FACE
(CD by ICR Distribution)
When your label has released your record and go bankrupt right
after that, it's bad, but you have the opportunity to re-issue
it later on and adds a bonus. That's what the Nurses do. When
they released 'Man With The Woman Face' their label World Serpent
went under shortly after that. Now Colin Potter's ICR does a re-issue
and like with so many of the ICR releases we are treated with
a bonus CD. I love Nurse With Wound, I think Steve Stapleton is
a true genius, but having said that I have some trouble keeping
with his recorded output. It's ominous, and at times expensive.
So pointing you in directions as to what this 2002 album is -
Nurse drones, Nurse krautrock - with specific titles is not an
easy task. There is a bit of everything in here, I'd say. I recognized
the 'Spiral Insana' influence in the opening 'Beware The African
Mosquito' but more concise and including some of the rapid changing
in sounds. The second piece 'Ag canadh thuas sa spèir'
(which means in Gaelic 'Up in the Air, Singing', is a strong piece
which starts out with modern classical avant-garde electronics,
but is intercepted with collated sounds and krautrock interceptions.
The longest piece is 'White Light from the Stars in Your Mind
(A Paramechanical Development)' which for me was harder to place
in the Nurse With Wound catalogue, but that's because I haven't
kept up with Stapleton's work with Tibet. The title is repeated
admitst a mass of sounds, both very dry ones and ones with heavy
reverb. It's a nice one, but not the classic Nurse piece, unlike
the other two. On the bonus CD there are alternative 'versions'
of the first and the third track, plus an unreleased outtake.
Even in it's alternative form, the track is beyond saving: I still
don't dig it. But the other two pieces are great. The 'Blue Lacune
mix' of 'Beware The African Mosquito' is a more ambient affair
with none of the rapid changes but with haunting quality. 'White
Light etc' home demo is a bunch of banging and rattling, which
is nice for four minutes but they entire twelve. In between is
the unreleased 'Camel Be Air', which seems indeed like an outtake:
the band tuns up and once there they play a neat, jazzy like tune
with sounds swirling in and out the mix. Nice one, if a bit long
- but hey, it's an outtake. The bonus CD is nice too, but more
for the true die hard fans of Nurse With Wound and provides a
look in the kitchen. Fine work throughout. (FdW)
Address: http://www.icrdistribution.com
GOTHENBURG 08 (CD by Fang Bomb)
Years and years ago Dutch company Donemus released two double
LP sets with the history of electronic music, one from 1955 to
1965 and from 1965 to 1975. Why they never bothered to make 1975
to 1985 (or beyond) is a riddle that I have no answer (nor the
fact why they aren't on CD still). In Sweden they do things better.
In 1984 Radium 226.05 released a LP 'Gothenburg 84' which included
electronic music by CM von Hauswolff, Freddie Wadling, Zbigniew
Karkowski and Jean-Louis Huhta, showing us the vibrancy of the
city's electronic scene. These days some of them live elsewhere,
but there is still an active scene in Swedish second largest city.
Names that we also welcome in Vital Weekly, such as Viktor Sjöberg
(last week!), Sewer Election, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words,
Jasper TX, The Skull Defekts and Tsukimono. It's a pretty varied
bunch here, ranging from noise to sheer ambient (Porn Sword Tobacco
even does new age) and in some cases from people which you don't
expect to do so. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words even use vocals
which is a rarity for them (and in this scene in general). Best
pieces are the heavy controlled drones of The Skull Defekts and
the lighter drones of Jasper TX. Not as 'academic' as the '84
generation but throughout quite an enjoyable compilation, displaying
an active scene. (FdW)
Address: http://www.fangbomb.com
TIM BRADY - TOPOLOGY: SCAT (CD by Ambiances
Magnetiques)
'Scat'contains four compositions of the canadian composer and
guitarist Tim Brady dating from the years 1998-2000. All pieces
are performed by the australian leading new music ensemble Topology
or members of this ensemble and recorded in january 2006 in Brisbane.
From the start it is clear that this was a fruitful collaboration.
The cd opens with the three part suite 'Scat'. The first and the
third part of this piece are very dynamic and powerful. It is
a true pleasure to hear this rhythm-driven piece performed by
these excellent musicians. The chambermusic of Tim Brady has the
power and directness of rock music. In effect it sounds very fresh
for modern composed music. 'Lighting Field - Darkness/ Illuminations'
consists of two parts. The first part is a very dark piece of
music where the instruments play against a background of electronic
sampled sounds. The second part 'Illumination' is built upon minimalmusic-like
patterns played by the piano and violins. It moves steady forward,
alternated by parts where the instruments are whirling around
and chasing each other. 'Dark Matter' was originally composed
for the Relache Ensemble. It is the most introspective piece on
this cd. But also in this composition there is often a strong
pulse. The cd closes with 'Struck Twice by Lightning' an exhausting
battle between viola and tape. Again Brady delivers a cd with
very appealing compositions by his hand, and played very convincingly
and eagerly by the Topology crew. If Brady is new for you, start
here. (DM)
Address: http://www.actuellecd.com
JOE GRIMM - BRAIN CLOUD (CD by Spekk)
MATHIEU RUHLMANN & CELER - MESOSCAPHE (CD by Spekk)
Spekk is still on my favorite labels, and with these two new ones
they prove once again their style. Even when there is no information
supplied on Joe Grimm, from his personal notes to his CD we still
learn something, such as the fact that he participated in Branca's
100-guitar symphonies and that he's a keen admirer of Charlemagne
Palestine. On 'Brain Cloud' there are five of his own personal
investigation into the world of overtones, not through electronic
manipulation but through actual, physical playing of two instruments:
three pieces for the piano and two with harpsichord. In the piano
pieces, called 'Brain Cloud', there is also the addition of voices,
violins and horns, but the piano is the main player. In these
pieces the Palestine influence is most clear. With a rapid attack
and the sustain pedal down, Grimm creates a dense web of swirling
sounds, not quite unlike Palestine, but with some expanded sounds
that go beyond Palestine. The two harpsichord pieces are improvisations
of fast playing and the high pitched sound which is so recognizable
for the harpsichord. The grande finale is reached with 'Brain
Cloud III', which is a piece for three piano's played the eighteen
hands in total, yet they manage to work the dynamics very well.
Of a different kind, more the Spekk kind perhaps, is the work
by Mathieu Ruhlmann which he recorded with Celer, a duo of Danielle
Baquet-Long (pianosm words, custom electronics, tape-loops, theremin)
and Will Long (pianos, custom electronics, tape-loops, arrangement
diagrams and splicing). I never heard of them. Ruhlmann, which
we know from his previous releases in the field of microsound,
field recording and ambient, gets credit for field recordings,
bowed ukelin and cymbal, violin, kettel and contact microphone
recordings of the Mesocaphe. The latter is a work by Jacques Piccard,
and is a naturally-propelled submarine, also known as the Ben
Franklin. It has been in the water for thirty days back in 1969,
but it's not as well-known as the moon-landing which happened
shortly after that. The music here, in three parts and each with
distinctive different parts, is build from both the field recordings
of water and the submarine as well as the instruments, which make
a great combination. The sub-aquatic thematic approach here recalls
the many albums released by Mystery Sea, but I must say this is
something that is just a bit better. There is more detail in the
music, due to better (more extended) mixing of the diverse sounds,
and attention to smaller parts are brought in. Though it's not
easy to differentiate between the various sounds used, the boat
rumbling, water splashing and the drones produced by the various
instruments, there is throughout a gentle flow (pun intended)
in this music. Maybe less surprising than the Grimm disc, this
stands out well in the Spekk catalogue. (FdW)
Address: http://www.spekk.net
METHAHDRONE - STERILITY (CD by Foreshadow)
THISQUIETARMY - UNCONQUERED (CD by Foreshadow)
On this for me new label, two artist of whom I never heard of
(but the label makes it sound if they are famous - and why not).
Behind Methadrone is one Craig Pillard, who is bass player in
'one of the best doom metal bands from the USA, Evoken' and before
that a member of 'extreme metal band Incantation' (I can smell
tattoo's here), but by the end of the day he likes to expand his
doom music into the world of drone music. Drenched heavily in
reverb, he strums his guitar, adds deep bass, builds a drone and
invites David Galas of Lycia to sing a song. There are more points
of reference to the darkwave (less drums) of Lycia and Nadja (with
whom he shared a record). Its lesser an affair of plain dark ambient,
as Methadrone is much more musically oriented. Doom however is
the tone of the day - hardly lush drone music to enjoy the evening,
this rather more unsettling doom ambient - perhaps a bit too unpleasant
to be atmospheric, but desolation is all over the place.
From Canada comes Thisquietarmy, the one man band
of Eric Quach. He's a 'guitarist in a renowned shoe-gaze band
Destroyalldreamers' (the fact that both projects are spelled as
one word might give it away, right?) and here too the six strings
are used and as such can be recognized. Other than Pillard however
Quach wants things to be a bit more abstract, plus he adds a drum
sound here and there. His textures are also 'moody' but more atmospheric,
perhaps through the addition of female vocals from Meryem Yildiz
in one track. Here too a Nadja reference can be made: Aidan Baker,
one half thereof, plays a guest contribution and stylistically
Quach refers to Baker's solo work. Long pieces of sounds that
are stringed together, through the use of loop pedals, creating
nice textures and occasionally heavy explosions, such as in 'Warchitects'.
That makes the album more varied than Methadrone, but also less
suitable as chill out, come down music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.foreshadow.pl
SKITLIV - AMFETAMIN (CD by Cold Spring)
Metal music and electronic based music are most often like night
and day when it comes to musical expression. At the moment though,
there seems to be a tendency with bands that combines the violence
of heavy guitar riffs with the harshness of mistreated electronic
equipment. A few weeks ago I reviewed the album "Cult of
ruins" by Canadian band Menace Ruins released on Alien8 Recordings.
Present album from Cold Spring Records has a similar same approach
to expression blending metal and electronics but with a quite
different result. The brain behind the project Skitliv calls himself
Maniac, he has a background in one of Norways most successful
black metal-bands Mayhem. On this debut-album of Skitliv, titled
"Amfetamin", Maniac integrates evil black metal-vocals
in doom metal-sounds spheres based on ultra-heavy and slow guitar-riffs
with guest appearances of Attila from one of the most successful
drones-based doom metal bands at the moment, SUNN O))), and intros
by Current 93's David Tibet. Abusive storms of harsh noise add
a quite interesting supplement to the spheres of metallic steel.
A quite interesting album that shows that the mixture of metal
and electronic expression can end up with a very interesting result.
Thus recommended for listeners of both electronic and metal music.
(NM)
Address: http://www.coldspring.co.uk/
PUNCH INC. - FIGHTCLUB (CD by ANT-ZEN)
Punch Inc might be a new name to some of us, but the brains behind
have been feeding the listeners of harsh electronics with earlier
releases on German label Ant-Zen Recordings. Andreas Glöckner
is known for his project Moctan with the last album titled "Suspect"
released in 2006. The other half of Punch Inc. is Andreas Brinkert,
who under the name Bipol impressed with his "Ritual"-album
released a year ago. With two artists that have their musical
background in the Industrial sound world, it should make sense
that this joint venture is another exploration into the harsh
world of Industrial sound. Punch Inc. is like the name of the
project reveals a slap in your face. Abrasive Power Noise-sound
spheres circulate in territories of deep rumbling bass-lines assisted
by atmospheric soundscapes and hordes of vocal samples. The rhythm
textures are astonishing on the album sometimes reminiscent of
early Imminent Starvation. Punch Inc. is the result of two Industrial
brains collaboration and the result is more than successful. Highly
recommended! (NM)
Address: http://www.ant-zen.com/
HATEWAVE - FREE RINGTONES (CD by Apop Records)
Some music is meant to be extreme. Present album from Chicago-based
project Hatewave is such an album. Being a long time follower
of boundary pushing cultures such as horror movies, extreme metal
and harsh noise I consider myself being a quite open-minded consumer.
Though this album is very provocative when it comes to cover-art,
with a cover design unquestionably ranking as some of the most
repulsive I have witnessed alongside artworks from Carcass ("Reek
of putrefaction", Earache Records, 1988) and Cadaver ("Hallucinating
anxiety", Necrosis Records, 1990). The musical containment
of the album must also be regarded as, if not sick, then remarkably
bizarre due to its untraditional approach to sonic extremity.
The harshness of the album is not an eye-opener in itself since
the factor of brutality has been way surpassed by other projects
from both the metal and the electronic world of extreme expression.
What separates Hatewave from other projects is the mildly spoken
untraditional approach to grindcore music. The music consists
of the classic growling style of underground grindcore but rather
than overwhelming the sound picture with evil storms of grinding
guitars, Hatewave adds a hammond organ-like electronic sound machine
instead. The result is brutal but more than that, it is utterly
strange. Listeners interested in boundary pushing releases might
find the Hatewave's album quite interesting (I did!), but listeners
of sonic beauty or with a more conventional approach to music
should stay right away from this one. The cover-artwork itself
will probably separate the sheep from the goats anyway. (NM)
Address: http://www.apoprecords.com/
EB.ER/LANZ/PHILLIPS - SCHIMPFLUCH-COMMUNE
INT. (CD by Nihilist)
ANDY ORTMANN - OCTAGONIST (DVD by Nihilst)
At the end of 2006 the Swiss label Schimpfluch existed twenty
years and thus also the musical activities of Rudolf Eb.er, erstwhile
known as Runzelstirn & Gurgelstock, but these days also known
under his own name. Perhaps it also marked twenty years of Sudden
Infant, whose early material was also released on Schimpfluch.
Here Sudden Infant, also known as Joke Lanz and Eb.er team up
with their more recent associate Dave Phillips and produced together
'Schimpfluch-Commune Int.' Lanz and Phillips provide what is called
on the cover 'elemental recordings and pre-compositions' and Rudolf
Eb.er with the same as well as 'allover mutation and final composition'.
The three of them collect acoustic sounds, picked up with a contact
microphone as well as open microphones their actions and sounds
from the mouth, which are they meticulously edited into music.
This is noise music plus. Other than a sheer wall of noise, this
is collage music, cut and pasted together, through ultra short
editing, swift changes and dry sounds. This is not laptop heavy
plug in music, if at all made with computers, as I would rather
expect these boys to use a splicing block and a demagnetized razor
blade to physically cut magnetic tapes, but a rather 'old fashioned'
electro-acoustic record. A great one at that, actually.
Something which is actually also the case with the release by
Nihilist label boss Andy Ortmann. Before better known as Panicsville,
but now moving into the realms of serious music (this new release
got some sponsoring from arts councils) under his own name. The
octa-thing deals with the number eight, and the three pieces here
on this DVD (no images) can be played on a 7.1 installation, if
you have such a thing. I only have a 2.0 installation, called
'stereo', but it sounds great still. Ortmann lists (inconveniently
on the DVD itself) a list of instruments - mainly old analogue
synthesizers and where he did his field recordings. Just as on
the Schimpfluch disc, I'd say this is the small alley where noise
is really interesting. Not because it's super loud, although there
are points when things are pretty loud, but because of the fine
balance between electronic, noisy sounds and the crackling of
highly amplified field recordings which are all put together into
an interesting collage of sound. Not like Schimpfluch of short
and shorter sounds, but through longer pieces which work quite
well. Great stuff, both of these releases and if noise is like
this, I'd sign up again. (FdW)
Address: http://www.nihilistrecords.net
BONNE PARTE (CD by Wham Wham Records)
Last week we had Pale Man Made, this week it's Bonne Parte, a
band from that lovely part Friesland and they exist since 2006.
This is not at all music that fits Vital Weekly very well, but
I dig it more than Pale Man Made. This band plays ultra short
but loud rock songs ('think Beefheart, Shellac, Sonic Youth, Millionaire,
Adept', to which I like to add Lul, older but from the same part
of the country). I like this sort of loud music, perhaps even
better when one could see it in concert, for what it is: loud
rock music, but it's nothing for these pages. (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/whamwhamrecords
MICHEAL J. SCHUMACHER - FIVE SOUND INSTALLATIONS
(DVD by Experimental Intermedia)
This is not a DVD with musical compositions in any sort of traditional
manner. It doesn't 'play' in a conventional way. One has to copy
all the information to the harddisc (watch your system requirements,
and there is both Mac and Windows available) and then you will
have five pieces of music that are made in real time. Every time
you play one of the five it will sound different. It's the work
of Micheal J. Schumacher who has explored before sound installations
and his releases were often 'just' the musical component of it,
not the spatial side. But now you can set it up, stereo or surround
sound (unavailable in the HQ here). Still not quite interactive:
one can't load sounds yourself to the pieces, an Schumacher has
set the parameters of the pieces, but there is, obviously, more
freedom than a regular. This is music that plays until you stop
it or if your computer shuts down. Definitely the first release
ever in Vital Weekly that you can't download on a blog! I played
every installation for about fifteen minutes to get the drift
of it. My favorite was 'Room Piece Twenty-four': it had continuos
gliding sounds which filled my space with elegance - certainly
work to have playing for some time. The other four pieces more
cut and paste pieces that arrive a bit louder than the first one,
thus making a bigger 'presence' in your space. They were fine
too, but I choose to play them at a somewhat lower volume but
there is certainly sense in having these pieces play for a long
time and see what it creates for you (unfortunately time is not
something the average reviewer has too much at hand). Next step
would be something to incorporate ones own sounds I guess. (FdW)
Address: http://www.xirecords.org
COR FUHLER/MATS GUSTAFSSON (LP by Narrominded)
It's been a while since Narrominded released the previous split
LP (Hydrus/Kettel in Vital Weekly 414 and before that Living Ornaments/Accelera
Deck in Vital Weekly) and now they return with two artists that
also can be lumped together, just like the two previous editions.
Both Cor Fuhler and Mats Gustafsson hail from the world of improvised
music. Fuhler builds his own instruments, plays the prepared piano
and is part of Mimeo, Otomo's Yoshihide's New Jazz Orchestra and
his own Corkestra. For his two pieces here he plays the prepared
piano, with magnets, ebow, hand drill and milk shakers. It's hard
to believe that this is so, certainly in 'Tengam', the longest
of two. It doesn't sound like, say John Cage, with strange blowing
and plucking sounds, given a strange, direct in your face sound
with lots of hectic movements. Towards the end the sound of what
seems a geiger counter drops in and more loud noise. Quite a heavy
weight piece, but the shorter 'Repus' brings a great counterpoint.
A great room filling drone/tone piece. Gustafsson on the other
side of the record has just one piece, 'Sleeping Instructions'
for baritone saxophone and live electronics. Its hard to believe
that Gustafsson is a member of anything free in music, as this
sounds like a strictly composed piece of highly concentrated and
condensed drone music, with long sustaining sounds and strange
piano like tinkling qualities. A great piece that, as far as I'm
concerned, could have lasted much longer than the thirteen something
minutes that it does now. Fuhler does what he does best, I think
and Gustafsson makes the real surprise here. Great record! (FdW)
Address: http://www.narrominded.com
JON MUELLER - STRUNG (LP by Table Of The
Elements)
Already noted before: Table Of The Elements love Jon Mueller,
and who doesn't? Here he leaves the drum kit for what it is and
plays guitar, as an addition to the labels Guitar Series Vol.
3, an one-sided LP (the other side has an etching, which is a
bit hard to see in transparent vinyl) of Mueller playing the guitar
as if it was a mechanical beast. Perhaps with rotating blades?
A ventilator? Mueller cuts out, in a rhythmical manner, sounds
and thus one strum arises, repeated, until the full guitar orchestra
falls in, with full blown drones. A very consistent idea that
is worked out well, and makes this sound like a great album, coming
from a great tradition: from Lou Reed to Glenn Branca to Earth.
At the same time it also sounds like a Mueller record, with amplified
hums. Perhaps a bit too short, as this seems over before it has
properly started, it seems. The built-up takes some time because
it keeps shifting back and forth, adding a strange movement to
the piece. This is a great record, showing a new side for Mueller
I think. (FdW)
Address: http://www.tableoftheelements.com
MIKA VAINIO / HASWELL & HECKER - POPOL
VUH REMIXES (12" by Editions Mego)
On transparent red vinyl Mego Records released this 12" with
two remixes of Popol Vuh tracks. Mika Vainio reworks the track
'Nachts:Schnee' from the Cobra Verde-soundtrack, originally released
in 1987, when Florian Fricke returned to electronics using the
synklavier.
The original piece (1:51) is extended here to about 10 minutes.
Haswell & Hecker picked out what may be the most famous Popol
Vuh piece, namely 'Aguirre', recorded in 1972 for the film of
the same name by Werner Herzog. Fricke just put his Moog aside
and used an obscure mellotron-like instrument for 'Aguirre'. The
first however to remix Popol Vuh, was Florian Fricke himself.
For the 1993-album 'Sing, for Song Drives Away the Wolves', Fricke
remixed and reworked old Popol Vuh material in order to update
their sound. Vainio, Haswell and Hecker have other intentions,
as they add new elements to the original. By the way, why they
decided to use Popol Vuh-material I couldn't trace. And if they
happen to be Popol Vuh-fans I don't know either. Reworks and covers
of Popol Vuh songs are rare. To be found mostly by obscure Italian
musicians, and not to forget the great interpretations Gary Lucas
recorded of two compositions (see: http://www.popolvuh.nl/). Whatever
the intentions of Vainio and the others may be, the importance
of this release is that it brings Popol Vuh into contact with
a younger public. The other way around it may also introduce a
few older Popol Vuh-fans with younger alternative musicians.
Vainio let his piece start with a big smash. When silence returns,
the ambient sounds of 'Nachts: Schnee' set in. Rudely disturbed
by a big and loud swift after a few minutes. This swift returns
a few times later on. In between these interruptions he increasingly
plays with the ambient sounds. In the second part the ambient
sounds are reduced increasingly by adding 'drop-out-like short
silences' etc. Haswell and Hecker needed about 8 minutes for their
comment on 'Aguirre'. They leave the structure of 'Aguirre' in
tact. Halfway they start to pile up wild, chaotic sounds on the
mellotron-choir. Although less intense, these sounds remain to
the end. Thus far I' m very descriptive. But if you ask me wether
I appreciate these remixes, the answer would be diplomatic: these
remixes didn't change my skepticism towards remixes, as they often
don't add much in my perception. But may be I miss the point.
(DM)
Address: http://www.editionsmego.com/
JAMIE DROUIN - SONAMBULO (CDR by Rope Swing
Cities)
Work by Jamie Drouin were previously released by Dragon's Eye
Recordings, which he recorded with Yann Novak and later with Lance
Olsen (although the first time his name was mentioned in Vital
Weekly was in issue 385 - more recent reviews are in 577 and 599),
this is however the first work we hear from him solo. It deals
with sleepwalking. It seems to me that it deals entirely with
field recordings, which come to us in both a clean and a processed
manner. Bird twitter, rain fall, insects and such like which are
transformed into carefully streams of soft sound. Like his previous
work this is all firmly rooted in the world of microsound. Deep
bass sounds, high pitched crackles: nocturnal music indeed, as
this works best when played in a dark(er) room, when light has
faded and the stars arrived at the firmament. Quite nice, if somewhat
unsurprising (or rather not very new) in the world of microsound.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.ropeswingcities.com
THELMO CRISTOVAM - PAISAGENS SONORAS EM
OSTRO HYIJA (CDR by Triple Bath)
Work by Thelmo Cristovam has been reviewed before. He's a member
of various groups in the field of improvisation and electronics,
such as Hronir, Combo Recife De Improviso and Abillas and plays
various wind instruments, such as c-melody saxophone, pocket trumpet,
valve trombone and flute in combination with phonograph/field
recordings and electronics. The works on 'Paisagens Sonoras Em
Ostro Hyija' were made from 2003 to 2006 and sees him exploring
also the acoustic guitar in 'Ago' and spaces in 'Construcoes Em
Barro, Vidro e Plasma' along with his usual line of instruments.
The shortest piece is just under eight minutes and the longest
is over twenty-three. That is a bit problematic I think. Not everything
he has to say needs that much time. Here is a rule for Cristovam's
music: the longer the piece is, the less interesting it is. It
seems that Cristovam's likes his sounds very much, especially
the fee use of sound effects, and that love he wants to share
with us. His music could be 'saved' if he would prepared to make
some choices and make things a bit more concise, instead of offering
a free run of sound material. As it were to get out of the improvisation
mood and into composing. Now we hear potentially interesting sounds,
but we loose the sight of a composition. There would be a lot
to gain I guess. (FdW)
Address: http://www.triplebath.gr
ANAKRID - LITTLE SIR ECHO (CDR by Insult
Recordings)
ASTRONAUT - EARLY PERIL (CDR by Insult Recordings)
Panos Alexiadis is the man whom we know as Red Needled Sea for
his releases on Tib Prod, Krakilisk and Ambolthue (among others),
but he has started his own label Insult Recordings and the first
two are, curious enough, not by the man himself. Chris Bickel,
the man behind Anakrid, is an active force in all sorts of musical
areas, ranging from the experimental to punk. With his Anakrid
hat on, he plays drone like music. At least on 'Little Sir Echo'.
Three long tracks of dark atmospheric music - if some of his previous
music was to be compared with Nurse With Wound's more wild tape
splicing techniques, then this is 'Soliloquy For Lilith' pitched
down to a size when it comes a black painting. Slow moving sounds
in the two parts of the title track and in 'Yamomari' things 'open
up' with a percussive piece, which is a bunch of dry tape loops
of wood on wood and wood on metal, with some slight sound effects,
creating a third world feel. Very nice piece that one, whereas
the two previous are nice, but a bit too regular dark ambient.
I never heard of Astronaut, which seems to be a three piece group:
Daniel Lopatin, Lee E. Tindall and A.R. Plovnick who are all credited
with playing synthesizer. Their music is best described as an
explosion of the dark cosmos. Their music is like big dark clouds
passing by, moving slowly, but moving. A grey sky, loaded with
rain and thunder, but that's only a treat, no real rain falls
from this sky. Densely layered cosmic music, that won't appeal,
I think, to the fans of the cosmic music of the seventies, but
rather finds it way to those who love the darker back alleys of
ambient music, with some pins sticking out of the walls, poking
in your flesh. Consistent release which is worked out well. (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/insultrecordings
MUURA - BLACK BIRD SINGS (CDR by Black Petal)
CITY PEOPLE'S FARMERS MUJSIC - AFTERNOON TEA (3"CDR by Black
Petal)
Three regular visitors here to the world of Anthony Guerra's Black
Petal label. Matt Earle is a busy man, and as Muura he has had
two previous releases on Black Petal. He plays all of the stuff
at the same: guitar, drums, analog synthesizer and singing. Which
sounds a lot at the same time, but Earle sets his synth in some
drone fashion (tape those keys down!) and plays his guitar with
his hands and the drums with his feet - or vice versa - whatever
is required. His music is a minimalist affair, an endurance test
perhaps. For how long can I produce a certain sound, keeping up
rhythm and still make interesting small moves to make a 'song'.
He does that remarkable well. The pieces have enough tension to
be interesting and the only thing that bothers me a bit is that
the sound quality is, as always perhaps, a bit too lo-fi. I'd
be curious to know how it would sound if it was recorded with
some better microphones. Perhaps it sounds better, but perhaps
some of this music would loose its magic.
On a smaller size we find City People's Farmers Music, a duo of
Mark Sadgrove and Sam Hamilton - I believe both from New Zealand
and now both in Tokyo. Together they operate on a variety names,
solo, together and with other people and both have their own label.
If I may say so, here they operate as singer-songwriters with
just guitars and Sam doing the vocals and Mark the backingvocals.
I think we should regard this as tongue in cheek - also my remark
about singer-songwriters. Although there is not much else to hear
than some highly experimental form of guitar playing - this is
the true non-musicianship at work - just rubbing a string with
a piece of plastic, which slowly may or may not develop into some
loose figures playing, or so it may seem, with mumbling vocals
- which sound like backing vocals already if you ask me. Very
minimalist stuff, very lo-fi, but also highly captivating and
quite emotional - which made me think of the whole singer-songwriter
tag. Very nice. (FdW)
Address: http://www.blackpetal.com
ANIMAL MACHINE HOMO HOMINI LUPUS CDr by
KIF Recoding)
SWAMPS UP NOSTRILS DIGITANA (CDr by KIF Recoding)
Homo homini lupus is a roman proverb - people act like wolves
to each other - as in are cruel, for never are humans happier
than killing each other apart perhaps from working out new ways
to do this. Giving such a title to 4 tracks of essentially harsh
noise provokes the comment that here noise once again criticizes
what others call civilization - which is also its "music"
- its organization of sound, in particular western music, an organization
which is responsible for the world we find ourselves in. A worry
is that using animals pejoratively misses the point of the extent
of man's fall from grace, man invented punishment- not animals
- how much this is to be taken seriously? - should we be serious
at all- for noise's amateurism and in-competence denies appropriation
into an academia which if no longer literally throws humans to
wolves - by way of amusement - "justified" as punishment
- does so in far more spectacular and devious ways. Modernism's
programme of absolute organization - (of everything including
sound which it defines as music) generated paranoia - post-modernity's
schizophrenia (look at the proliferation of groups and labels
in *noise* - often the same people - *same people* multiple personalities)..
is the overcoming of modernity. But I explain too much? Digitania
has what appears to be 6 tracks - beginning like an experimental
work based on sine and other wave forms, beats pulses and silences
- interrupted by swathes of noise which are themselves interrupted.
Interesting but more acoustically/ethically problematic (modern!)
than the ideological deconstruction of AM. (jliat)
Address http://www.freewebs.com/kifrecording/index.htm
THE NOISER (AKA JULIEN OTTAVI) - LA TRILOGIE
DES FANTÔMES (CDr by Free Software Series)
PATO - CLIP_CLAP_CRISIS (CDr by Free Software Series)
JOSETXO GRIETA - SORISAS VENDO, DONDE NOS LLEVAN! (CDr by Taumaturgia)
Free Software Series is an organization which releases work made
using - you guessed it. sadly goes on to say it releases "experimental"
work. This is bad though I've used the term myself - I should
not - do we need the so called respectability of "science"
to ideologize work? is art to be subject to objective falsification?
There is some ethical consideration of just what can be done in
the name of experiment. See - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Harlow
- you might not - so here- "Harlow was recognized with several
distinctions, including - National Medal of Science (1967), and
Gold Medal from American Psychological Foundation (1973) chose
deliberately outrageous terms for the experimental apparatus he
devised, including a forced mating device he called a "rape
rack," tormenting surrogate mother devices he called "iron
maidens," and in about 1971, an isolation chamber he called
the "pit of despair" where baby monkeys were left alone
in darkness for up to one year from birth"- So there is a
general ethical connotation as to the idea of "research"
and "experiment" & the idea of de-humanizing - of
gaining "the truth" and through this some kind of academic
hierarchy which legitimates not only torture but "CULTURE"
and "ART" - which - in the first example - appears is
precisely what our Jules is about. "Founder, artistic programmer,
audio computer researcher (network and audio research) and sound
artist of the experimental music organization APO33. the purpose
.. the advancement of sound creation. "etc etc. - Advancing
where exactly? Why, & @ what cost? - advancing? by producing
drones drenched in reverb and static white noise bursts with pseudo
electronic tibetan chanting. Are such pieces verifiable in the
Popperean sense?
The only information regarding Pato I could find was on the disk
sleeve- 12 tracks recorded in a dirty living room in Berlin -
on a broken laptop, would appear to lie in direct conflict to
the noiser. & the others. Josetxo Grieta - is I think a group
of 3 - Josetxo Anitua, Iñigo Eguillor & Mattin- run
the label Taumaturgia, (Mattin's the person responsible for the
free software series) -they have played with Eddie Prévost-
haven't we all? Been reviewed by Art & Language, The Wire
et al. - we continue the schizophrenic paths .. with strong links
to Bilbao and London- seem to radiate around various groupings/festivals
and publications of the "avant garde's" institutions
and state funded art bodies - dire - 10 minutes of a guy talking
in Spanish whilst another shouts and screams (about his lama?)
followed by an encore of twiddling guitar feedback - I suppose
sufficient for some grant or bursary? But still dire. Pato's is
the only piece which lives up to its reputation of in-competence
and challenges the rest of this academicized bull-shit. (jliat)
Address: http://www.freesoftwareseries.org/
Address: http://www.taumaturgia.com/
IRON BITCHFACE- KITTEN APOCALYPSE (CDr by
SFRecords)
"Iron Bitchface is Kyle "Rot" Martin doing voice,
keys and programming, and Kris "Fin Du Monde" Misner
rocking the guitar." Kind of sits in the tradition of US
crazzyness - Spike Jones - Frank Zappa? Loony tunes - noise -
and beeps - random sines. well - maybe? And maybe not in the tradition
of those - more street theatre a la fluxus? - perhaps - here a
very short - inexplicably (7 minutes!) so for a full size CDr
- obviously then not a serious commercial venture- ha! - or anything
else for that matter? This *outrageous* band of "rock noise",
deliberately playing badly, are bewildered at their own success-
why I'm not sure - people will pay to see nonsense - bearded ladies
and double headed dogs - tiny tim was famous as is the Portsmouth
Symphonia, I know guys- there's no point - it's a laugh and been
done before- and even before that - perhaps a modern dada gesture
based on the medieval fool - or not? But if your promo pics have
you holding a crucifix upside down with cans of Carlsberg - at
least they could be Special Brew - shocking kids - just shocking!
(jliat)
Address: <ironbitchface@yahoo.com>
PM (3"CDR by Herbal Records)
'Oh, we call ourself PM I think' is written on the backside of
the envelope in which this came. Also it says on the same backside
'This CDR is done by Lee Kwang Goh and Olf Hochherz in Berlin
2008 at Arthurs place' and two websites. The CDR cover just has
the names repeated and no further info. That is, to put it frankly
forward, a bit uninformative. I have no idea who Hochhertz is,
but Lee Kwang Goh we know from his releases on his own Herbal
Records and a player of no-input mixers. His music ranges from
the extreme soft to the extreme loud, involving lots of feedback.
Of the two pieces on this the first one has lots of hiss and bird
like feedback sound. Like a microphone with lots of gain which
amplifies the room. In the first piece things work up in a strict
linear manner. In the second, much shorter piece, things start
out in a rhythmical manner, but grows into an electro-acoustic
affair. I think I preferred the second track for its more concise
character and broader range of sounds. Next time make it more
into a real release, please. (FdW)
Address: http://www.gohleekwang.tk http://www.shwobl.de
DEEP & JUNE PAIK - I MOG DEEP (3"CDR
by Verato Project)
In a nice cover comes this 3" CDR recorded by Deep and June
Paik. I know Deep as being related to Dhyana Records who releases
their music with long intervals, but June Paik is a new name for
me, at least if it's not Nam June Paik, but he's dead, so it must
be somebody else. These two project played together at the Let
There Be Rock concert in february 2007 and Deep member Bernd Spring
mixed the material (from april 2007 to january 2008, mind you)
which is announced as 'a collection of drones, feedbacks and melodies',
which is almost true. Melodies is something I didn't hear very
well, but the drones put on by this lot is quite nice. A louder
version that what is usually the case in music like this and sounds,
through distorted guitars like Sunn O))) or Fears Falls Burning,
building in a strict linear fashion. Short but nice. (FdW)
Address: http://www.verato-project.de
FREIBAND - REFLECTION (3" CDR by Moll)
When it comes to microsoundish excursions into the fields of sound
and music, then it's the "Freiband" moniker under which
Frans de Waard presents us his ideas (and works resulting from
them). The latest one being a 3" CDR on his own "My
Own Little Label" and coincidentally probably also the last
Freiband recording of 2007. The sound sources on this work originate
from piano recordings made on boxing day (a day that doesn't really
exist in the Netherlands. We don't get the presents, we just have
an extra holiday and call it 2nd christmas day. Never anything
to do on that day, so what more excuses do you need, to get down
to some quality time in music production? I guess De Waard did
just that). He didn't keep it to just that boxing day. In the
days after, he transformed the original recordings into usable
bits, pieces and layers. Culminating into a final mix on new years
eve. Without getting to psycho-analytical, this piece (carrying
the name "Reflection") might very well be De Waard's
"looking back on the year 2007" (if only for the too
obvious title). But heck, that's something we all do, isn't it?
And nothing wrong with that. In fact, what better way then to
do this then by means of your own craft? - (so that it's bound
to deliver something nice as well).
"Reflection" is a 16 minute piece that starts off with
some pulsating piano tones, while underneath stretched out ones
are placed. Slowly fading away, coming back again and eventually
dissolving into more stretched out piano soundscapes. A higher
pitched grinding marks its presence and invokes a new movement
in the piece: we're in the domain of high frequency whirlwinds
and storms now. Eventually diving into an ocean of crystal clear
tone transformations and finally bringing us back home to the
stretched out tones of the first movements (although a bit more
airier). The circle is made round again, when we return to piano
tones at the end of the piece (but here slightly more distorted).
"Refection" has a comforting contemplative feel to it,
which in my opinion is a very suitable soundtrack to the last
days of the year. We actually need more recordings like this!
Would be such a nice alternative to all that ridiculous Dutch
fireworks or spinning Slayer's "Angel of Death" over
and over again. (SDT)
Address: http://www.kormplastics.nl/moll.html