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VITAL WEEKLY
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number 639
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week 33
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Vital Weekly, the webcast: we offering a
weekly webcast, freely to download. This can be regarded as the
audio-supplement to Vital Weekly. Presented as a radioprogramm
with excerpts of just some of the CDs (no vinyl or MP3) reviewed.
It will remain on the site for a limited period (most likely 2-4
weeks). Download the file to your MP3 player and enjoy!
complete tracklist here: http://www.vitalweekly.net/podcast.html
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
PRURIENT - ARROWHEAD (CD by Editions Mego)
JASON ZEH - HERACLITUS (CD by C.I.P.) *
CAVESTAR - WETLANDS (CD by Psychosomatic Records) *
INVERZ - SONGS (CD by Granny Records) *
DIASPORA: COTTAGE INDUSTRIES 5 (2CD by Neo Ouija)
STRINGS OF CONSCIOUSNESS - FANTOMASTIQUE ACOUSTICA (CD by Stilll)
*
ST. JUST VIGILANTES - PASTOR OF OAKS, SHEPHERD OF STONES (CD by
Static Caravan) *
THE OWL SERVICE AND ALISON O'DONNELL - THE FABRIC OF FOLK (CDEP
by Static Caravan)
RELIGIOUS KNIVES - THE DOOR (CD by Ecstatic Peace) *
HUSH ARBORS (CD by Ecstatic Peace)
CORNFLAKES HEROES - DEAR MR PAINKILLERS (CD by Greed Records)
GUERNICA - WHO ARE YOUR SONGS FOR? (CD by Greed Records)
HAIR POLICE - CERTAINTY OF SWARMS (CD by No Fun Productions)
MENSTRUATION SISTERS - MA (LP by No Fun Productions)
GREG KELLEY - RELIGIOUS ELECTRONICS (LP by No Fun Productions)
SCOTT FOUST - HERE'S TO LOVE (DVD by Swill Radio)
SCOTT FOUST - STRANDED (10 Postcards by Entr'acte)
MARTIN BLADH & BO I CAVEFORS THREE STUDIES FOR A CRUCIFIXION
(DVD & CD by FireWork Edition Records)
BRYAN LEWIS SAUNDERS - N1-N4 VARIATIONS (CDR by Stand-Up Tragedy
Records) *
SANTO Y BLUE DEMON CONTRA LOS MONSTRUOS - FANTASMAGORIANA (CDR
by Bricolage) * FOSSILS - WATERBOARDING (CDR by Unverified Records)
*
DEAD LABOUR PROCESS - EXAMINATIONS (CDR by Unverified Records)
DK720 - BLUE PERIOD (CDR by Unverified Records)
LE SCRAMBLED DEBUTANTE - DEVILS IN HEAVY SYRUP (CDR by Power Silence)
MYSTIFIED - CRANK (CDR by Power Silence)
NICHOLAS SZCZEPANIK - ECRU EPITHET (CDR by Power Silence) *
FCKN'BSTRDS - POWERTRASH 2008 (DVD-R by Farmers from Holland)
PLACEBO LIFE - A-B (3"CDR, private) *
NICOLAS TONE I'M TONE DEAF (3" CDR by Thor's Rubber Hammer
Productions)
CHARTREUSE NO MORE PATHS TO SOUNDER SLEEP (Cassette by Thor's
Rubber Hammer Productions)
THE GREEN KNIGHT THE ETERNAL OM (Cassette by Thor's Rubber Hammer
Productions)
HELMETICRONONAUT/ANIMAL MACHINE- PARTIALLY DIGESTED MEALS SAYING
HELLO/HOMO HOMINI LUPUS (CDR by Kraklisk)
ANIMAL MACHINE - SCAPEGOAT (CDR by Kraklisk)
CADMIUM DUNKEL - THE ENERHAUGEN CONCERTS (CDR by Kraklisk) *
JULIA LADENSE - PUSSY WILLOW (CDR by I Had An Accident Records)
JLIAT - NTWICN Vol 16 (CDR by The Larks Council of England)
FREDERIC DARRAS (MP3 by Et Le Feu Comme) *
PIERRE GERARD - OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR
(MP3 by Et Le Feu Comme)
PRURIENT - ARROWHEAD (CD by Editions Mego)
Three tracks with mostly very high pitched feedback, screaming
and on tracks one/three drumming recorded back in 2004. Despite
the accompanying blurb's "ear splitting" the vocals
are restrained in terms of volume, the drumming more incidental
than loud - it could be that somewhere the message and meaning
of noise has been misunderstood, or re-interpreted, i.e. that
there is no message, I suppose means it can mean everything and
anything but not to the exclusion of anything else. Noise does
not communicate by definition, noise prevents communication. "I
don't have any special message in my noise, but being loud."
Mikawa-san. So what the *angst* does here and anywhere else is
position the piece as some critical dialogue with - "whatever".
Just as the intensity of the bongos (track 3) or the anger is
much U.S. noise misses the point and places itself back into communication
and so music, not noise. The vocals should be cold, as cold and
unfeeling as the electric feedback- unemotional, its not the Munch
Scream but the cold emptiness of Zen, the nothing that is obviously
available to the Japanese masters that many in the west fail to
recognize or achieve. (jliat)
Address: http://www.editionsmego.com
JASON ZEH - HERACLITUS (CD by C.I.P.)
In the very first few minutes of Jason Zeh's debut CD (following
several CDR releases including one on Gameboy Records) we hear
a 'tabletop cassette recorder over a candle flame while recording'.
This is the very basic thing that is used to create the rest of
the composition - all melted into one piece, from start to finish.
The processing stages this went through all deals with cassettes,
in which literally everything from the cassette, the shells, guide
rollers and pressure pads is used to alter the sound. All of these
stages were recorded and from all these recordings the final composition
was created. A dense work, which at times had some similarities
to the work of Howard Stezler (especially his most recent work
'Bond Inlets') or Brutum Fullmen, of corroded sounds, rotten sounds
and decay in general. Divided into several parts, with quite some
dynamics (although things never get really loud), this is simply
one of the most engaging things I heard recently. While on one
hand connected to the world of microsound, mainly through the
final composition, the techniques are more or less ancient, yet
even by any old standard, this all sounds mysterious and not muffled,
or hidden in a bath of hiss, like many of his ancestors did sound
on tape. It owes in the technique department more to the old masters
of musique concrete, yet with an entirely different outcome. As
Heraclitus said you can never step into the same river twice (panta
rhei), you can loop a tape, but it never sounds the same. Highlight,
for me, of this week. (FdW)
Address: http://www.cipsite.net
CAVESTAR - WETLANDS (CD by Psychosomatic
Records)
Not a week seems to go by when I write words like 'new artist',
'new label' and this week its time for Cavestar, nom de plume
for one Kevin Crosslin from Chicago, who releases on Psychosomatic
Records. That's about what I know of him. The label calls it 'new
directions in atmospherics', which I don't think is entirely true,
but maybe it's better to call this the 'many directions in atmospherics'.
Cavestar produced eight tracks with a considerable amount of differences.
The opening is quite noise related, but in the second already
all the cliche of ambient music are opened up, and in 'Gritch'
things are more abstract. One could say Cavestar can't make up
his mind, or perhaps wants to display his many ideas. I think
it's the latter. Working with samples, electronics, field recordings
and perhaps some guitar sounds. Though I don't think all of his
ideas are convincing - the aforementioned 'Gritch' is not a strong
piece of sampled electronics - throughout its quite a decent,
however not surprising record and certainly nothing new. It lacks
a bit of direction, which makes it hard to 'market' this album.
Anyone who is into more melodic ambient could be interested (say
along the lines of the old Multimood label), but hard to pin down
in one scene or the other. (FdW)
Address: http://www.psyrecords.com
INVERZ - SONGS (CD by Granny Records)
Savvas Metaxas (which sounds like a good drink) is the guitarist
from 218 and a member of Good Luck Mr Gorsky but also active solo
under the guise of Inverz. For his album 'Songs' he plays guitar
(electric and acoustic), vintage synthesizers and field recordings.
That may seem like old hat, and obviously the end result doesn't
offer much new under the micro sun, but I thought the result were
pretty neat. Tinkling guitars in the middle of sea of swirling
electronic sounds, field recordings being processed to quite an
extent where they become unrecognizable. Maybe its all done and
said before, and occasionally also better than this, this is still
a fine copy of say Fennesz meets Machinefabriek. Core piece is
'Bow Song', which features only the contrabass by Iraklis Iosifidis,
in various, layered samples, building a nice drone piece. On a
hot day like this, I'd like to sit back and enjoy whatever is
coming to me in a nice way, and this is just the one for such
a day; when more thinking is not necessary. (FdW)
Address: http://www.grannyrecords.blogspot.com
DIASPORA: COTTAGE INDUSTRIES 5 (2CD by Neo
Ouija)
Its a common thing to compare music with other music, to define
styles. Handy for the reviewer, handy for the listener. So, I
sometimes refer to labels like Highpoint Lowlife or Expanding
Records, when wanting to define a certain musical genre that sometimes
is called IDM. I know, omission here, I could have (or rather
should have) mentioned Neo Ouija as part of that string of labels,
but I didn't. Much of what the label releases is out of my sight.
The label started in 2000 by Lee Norris (of whom we know musical
activities as Metamatics, Nacht Plank and Norken), who stopped
it in 2005. Now, three years onwards, the label makes a fresh
start in the hands of his friend Martin Hirsch and what better
to start then with a compilation with the current pack of intelligent
dance producers working from their cottages around the world?
Thirty tracks by almost as many artists and we see familiar names
as Pridon, Move D, Fluxion, Build Buildings, Benjamin Brunn, Maps
And Diagrams, Andrey Kiritchenko and Nacht Plank plus a whole
bunch of new names. Two CDs, which is easily more than two hours
of music, is of course a real feast, even, and here comes a bit
of critique, when a lot of the music sounds quite similar. It
needs expert knowledge to know the precise differences, a bit
like with last week's 'A Cleansing Ascension', which had small
but essential differences. I rather take the bird view, and play
it while working, not caring too much about those subtle differences,
more techno, more slow, more fast, but enjoy this as an almost
endless stream of nice music to play. Also included are Plexus
Instruments, Kangding Ray, Sense, Relapxych.0, A Made Up Sound,
Dimitar Dodovski, Deer, MXM, Tilman Ehrhorn, Remote, NQ and more.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.neooujia.com
STRINGS OF CONSCIOUSNESS - FANTOMASTIQUE
ACOUSTICA (CD by Stilll)
Vital Weekly likes to receive music through the mail man, so we
can play it on a CD player or a turntable and the endless amounts
of e-mails with recommendations or 'band' news are thrown away
with caring too much (but of course we glance at them). I know
there is some involvement of Philippe Petit, label boss of Bip
Hop, in a 14 member big band Strings Of Consciousness, which combines
instruments like strings and winds with digital techniques. Only
composers are mentioned, Herve Vincento, Perceval Bellonw and
Petit and no other band members are named on the cover and the
press blurb, so lets say its a real collective. They have four
tracks on this CD, spanning about a mini CD, plus nine remixes
and two video's. Their own music is a fine, cinematographic combination
of post rock tunes, with swirling guitars, heavy drums and screaming
saxophones, such as in 'Crest & Watersheds'. Its the more
jazzy inspired side of Godspeed and less dark, way less dark.
In the remixes various elements of the music is brought alive.
Sometimes just the bass end (Rothko), the orchestral elements
(MIra Calix, Kammerflimmer Kollektief) or an electronic alteration
of the original (Leafcutter John, Gamial Trio, Sutekh (who does
something different than the rest)). Lots of saxophone play a
leading role, in the remixes by Scanner, and Marsen Jules. A pretty
decent bunch of remixes and four great originals. I may prefer
more of the latter next time. (FdW)
Address: http://www.stilll.org
ST. JUST VIGILANTES - PASTOR OF OAKS, SHEPHERD
OF STONES (CD by Static Caravan)
THE OWL SERVICE AND ALISON O'DONNELL - THE FABRIC OF FOLK (CDEP
by Static Caravan)
RELIGIOUS KNIVES - THE DOOR (CD by Ecstatic Peace)
HUSH ARBORS (CD by Ecstatic Peace)
CORNFLAKES HEROES - DEAR MR PAINKILLERS (CD by Greed Records)
GUERNICA - WHO ARE YOUR SONGS FOR? (CD by Greed Records)
Welcome to the 'un-Vital' corner of this week's issue. We cover
indeed a wide field of strange music, and not a wide field of
normal music - the reverse of a normal music magazine, or at least
that's what we wish for. But sometimes 'normal' music arrives
on our doorstep, that may be classified by the 'real' world as
'abnormal', but by the Vital standard is pretty regular. Be reminded
that all of this is not a classification or a judgment, just a
statement. St. Just Vigilants are Alan Boyd and Jonathan Twilight
Orr, who play some very fine folk music. Folk plus that is, folk
music plus electronics, a bit of psychedelics, a bit of pop, even
a bit of drone like music thrown in. At times even Vital like,
but the majority of this is not like many of the releases around
here, but I must say its a damn fine album, mainly because it's
largely instrumental, which is something I like very much.
On the same label, always a fine home for things pop and beyond,
there is also The Owl Service and Alison O'Donnell. The latter
was formerly of 'legendary Irish prog-folk troupe Mellow Candle'
and discussion on myspace (hurrah, interaction! networking! hurrah!
long live myspace) with The Owl Service lead to the five pieces
on this CDEP. More neo-folk and less something else. The Owl Service,
being Steven Collins, provided music on piano, electronics, guitars
and sets the perfect introspective mood for the crystal folk-clear
voice of O'Donnell. They play two traditional songs, and three
compositions of their own. Great fiddle on 'The Fabric Of Life'.
Nicely moody songs, great neo-folk. 100% un-Vital.
While we sometimes review CDRs in an edition of a mere handful,
one could all too easily forget that 'real' (and I mean 'real')
record labels press up 'real' promo CDs, such as Ecstatic Peace.
But then I must delve my head into the world of real alternative
popmusic, which is something I know nothing about. Religious Knives
are an off-shoot of Double Leopards, originally a duo of Maya
Miller and Micheal Bernstein. They released a bunch of CDRs and
cassettes on vocals and guitars, but since 2006 they are a quartet,
included Nate Nelson on drums and Todd Cavallo on bass. This might
Vital music: it drones as it rocks, its minimal and it has vocals.
Heavy and heady stuff, but it feels like alternative rock music
- and from the country where noise has become a form of alternative
rock, with some super groups from that field, this is no real
surprise. Again not bad, but maybe a bit too regular.
Hush Arbors then. It starts as real noise, but this turns out
to be most disappointing one of the un-Vital lot. Keith Wood is
a singer song writer in the best sense of the word. Everything
I never liked about singer-songwriters (well, with the exception
of Simon & Garfunkel) is summed up here. No doubt appeals
to many, but I'm not many. The most un-Vital one.
Normally its enough to say once that some music is just un-Vital
and then I will hear no more. Maybe at Greed Records they don't
read Vital, or just cut and paste the review into the 'press file'?
Fact is that I already reviewed the debut release by Cornflake
Heroes 'Off With Your Heads' (Vital Weekly 556) and now it's time
for a new release. 'Edgy US Rock', it reads somewhere, and that's
one of those areas I am quite unfamiliar with. But it's not bad
at all, but doubtful if I would want to hear it again.
Also a four piece are Guernica, who hail from Brussel. I don't
hear much difference between them and Cornflake Heroes. Inspired,
sound alike Blonde Redhead, Sonic Youth in the mid 90s. Fugazi
of the late's 90s (it's specialized territory here), Unwound and
more bands which I never cared for. Another fine thirty minutes
of rock music, but again, will I play this again? I don't think
so. I see on the enclosed catalogue that Greed Records has three
volumes of music for prepared guitar. I wonder if they get sent
that to Rolling Stone magazine? (FdW)
Address: http://www.staticcaravan.org
Address: http://www.ecstaticpeace.com
Address: http://www.greed-recordings.com
HAIR POLICE - CERTAINTY OF SWARMS (CD by
No Fun Productions)
MENSTRUATION SISTERS - MA (LP by No Fun Productions)
GREG KELLEY - RELIGIOUS ELECTRONICS (LP by No Fun Productions)
Four new releases on one of my favorite labels, which seems to
spread its wings more and more with each release. Three of these
will be released here, the fourth one, a new CD by Dan Burke and
Thomas Dimuzio was snatched up by the big boss of Vital because
he's such an Illusion of Safety fan, so for that review please
check the last issue. The other CD in the batch comes from the
name most close to the No Fun program normally, the Hair Police.
It's a group that's always been hard to pin down, similar to Wolf
Eyes in the sense that every record shows another side of their
chameleon approach to a noise understanding. "Certainty of
Swarms" is no different in that it starts out almost traditionally,
here they actually sound like a band playing. A very hardcore
fucked up one, but still, a band. Quite a difference from their
last album, "The Empty Quarter", which I found to be
very enjoyable, and was certainly a group effort as well, but
it was a lot more out-there. Vocals are more present here as well,
giving the idea that these tracks could be almost songs if in
the right frame of mind. They could almost be lifted from some
obscure abstract black metal band. The drums also place this record
in more of an garage rock tradition, but one gone terribly wrong.
Being no metal/rock fan this side of the band is on the face of
it less interesting to me, but the way to take these elements,
obliterate them and turn them into something new, is certainly
a very exciting one to observe.
On to the two LPs in this batch. The first one is by the Menstruation
Sisters, and it's a reissue of their first album only originally
available in Australia, the country where they're from. I own
another one of their LPs, which I haven't played a lot, and I
thought that was the only one they ever made, but apparently I'm
wrong. At the time I bought the other LP because I heard Oren
Ambarchi is a member, but the record completely alienated me.
Ambarchi is a member though, and Discogs tells me there's also
two girls involved (the sisters that were inspiration for the
group name?) and some other guy. There's nothing here that reminds
of Ambarchi's fragile guitar playing as we know from his Touch
albums, which looking back on it I should've known as there are
few people who can adjust to different musical environments so
easily as he can. This record is nice to hear after the Hair Police
one as it also has some pretty fucked up band-on-flight imaginations
on offer, especially concerning the vocals, which here are sometimes
male, sometimes female, a sort of Junko baby daughter choking
on her own spit. It's a fun record that's not very easy to listen
to, but interesting for its (im)possibilities to see what people
can get out of a normal group set up (hellish screaming, all-over-the-place
drums, some distorted bass/guitar and a heap of other unidentifiable
sound). I actually listened to the A-side at 45 rpm by accident
the first time, and it didn't sound any different. Guess that
makes it a twice as good record.
Greg Kelley is a man between the cracks, a trumpet-player more
known from contemporary improv circles, but with an obvious penchant
for all-the-way noise. "This is not a jazz record" it
says on the No Fun website, and hell no it ain't. What it is,
is a contemporary noise record that has learned from listening
to some older Mego records but definitely does it's own thing
(with a bit of fantasy it sometimes sounds like an almost organic
Hecker record). I'm not even sure if this is a trumpet anymore,
it never sounds like an actual one, but processing can do a lot,
so maybe the source material still comes from there, and it does
sound like quite a bit of processing was done here. Thinking of
it as being trumpet makes the record sound different then just
taking it for what it is, which can be quite interesting to think
of. Quite a nice album, and altogether another great group of
records from this amazing label. (RM)
Address: http://www.nofunfest.com
SCOTT FOUST - HERE'S TO LOVE (DVD by Swill
Radio)
SCOTT FOUST - STRANDED (10 Postcards by Entr'acte)
Whenever I decide I like a film, I can watch it over and over
again. 'Turks Fruit' ('Turkish Delight' is the USA video title)
is one I saw many times, and remains the best Dutch film ever,
as well as others by Paul Verhoeven. No doubt I saw '24 Hour Party
People' more than a few times, and believe it or not, I already
saw 'Here's To Love' by Scott Foust already quite a few times,
even before its official release now. The narrative is easy and
told in the first few minutes, which I won't spoil here. Once
the 'story' is told, literally in French and subtitled, we get
to see it. It's a long stretch, so now, with the story printed
on the cover, it's easier to follow the lengthy sequences that
follow. Shot in color, sometimes with grainy textures, this is
above all a music film - a film about sound. The music used is
from various musical bands which involve Foust, such as Idea Fire
Company, The Pickle Factory, Tart, XX Committee and Y-Front, that
accompany the slow moving scenes. Don't watch this when in a 'hurry',
but sit down, with a good glass of any alcoholic (bottle within
reach) and simply enjoy the scenes and the music. Poetic slow
musical. Essential keywords. Don't wait this to be shown near
you, while it can be shown at your home.
If that isn't enough Foustian wit for you, there is also a set
of ten postcards available from Entr'acte, perhaps as to accompany
Idea Fire Company's recent 7" on the same label which was
called 'Postcard' with some thought provoking texts: "If
it were up to me, no one would be allowed into a church or any
other house of lies until they were allowed into a bar. Let's
say sixteen. No one would fall for any of it then' is one quote
from the card that is titled 'The Age Of Reason'. Not quite 'Oblique
Strategies' but Foust, at least for me, is like Brian Eno, a Homo
Universalis. Can't wait for a novel. (FdW)
Address: http://www.ant-naturals.org
Address: http://www.entracte.co.uk
MARTIN BLADH & BO I CAVEFORS THREE STUDIES
FOR A CRUCIFIXION (DVD & CD by FireWork Edition Records)
This DVD is of a three act "Passion Play" dedicated
to Francis Bacon, this is nothing to do with noise either, but
certainly could in no way be described as trivial. The protagonists
here in front of a projection of the paintings set out to embody
the nihilistic vision of the painter. You might feel disgusted
or sick at the blood, intestines and homosexual acts- and perhaps
want to return to the playfulness of Fckn'bstrds antics. This
is the real deep black horror of existence - shocking in that
is can be or should be performed by human beings at all, not that
it is in its deliberation - to shock or disgust- that would be
too easy, it would become a sex show, and it is not. Like the
paintings of Bacon it unfolds along a horrific and deterministic
trajectory that somehow cannot be avoided, if it did appear to
be deliberately shocking then it would be possible to step outside
the drama and see it as amusement or entertainment. Or is it excusable
as a sudden outburst of promethian energy - which is understandably
human - from tribal dancing through to the silliness in noise
festivals. The real horror here is the premeditated logic of the
performance devoid of any emotional excuse. This performance as
also Bacons' paintings in their inhumanity could and should be
ignored as impossible imaginations if not for the reality of the
logic of the slaughter house from which they derive and the even
more terrible realizations of these artists finding in this beauty.
(jliat)
Address: http://www.fireworkeditionrecords.com
BRYAN LEWIS SAUNDERS - N1-N4 VARIATIONS
(CDR by Stand-Up Tragedy Records)
One of stranger items I had to review, although I forgot which
issue, was the 'Experiments With Dreams' by Thomas Liljenberg
and Leif Elggren, a book about dreams and CD with the sound of
two people sleeping. Hardly a surprise that the same Elggren suggested
one Bryan Lewis Saunders to release his 'N1-N4 Variations' - 'a
vocal documentation from all 4 sleep stages'. Fifteen pieces in
total of this. It started out with recordings his dreams when
he was awake, but he decided to create while dreaming and talking
in his sleep. Certainly as strange as the Elggren/Liljenberg release,
but not snoring sounds but unconscious talking. Not always easy
to follow what he is saying, but surely 'strange' enough. Maybe
its a bit long at fifteen 'tracks' that all sound quite similar
but its surely something to use when having guests at the dinner
table - even when this is released in an edition of 20 copies
only. (FdW)
Address: http://www.bryanlewissaunders.org
SANTO Y BLUE DEMON CONTRA LOS MONSTRUOS
- FANTASMAGORIANA (CDR by Bricolage)
On both accounts, label and artist, these are new names for me.
Behind the Spanish name of Santo Y Blue Demon Contra Los Monstrous
are two guys from Paris, who use children's toys, 'early electronic
instruments', tape recorders, radios and microphones and for their
first release they pay homage 'of sorts' to Etienne-Gaspard Robert,
the '18th century inventor, entrepeneur and scientist most famous
for his magic latern show [...] the Fantasmagorie', with 'scary
images'. The music, a thirty minute some piece, is not scary,
but a dense piece of lo-fi electronics, feedback, circuit bending
and other sorts of humming artifacts. In a way this sounds very
'New Zealand': a live recording with an open microphone, lots
of low grade noise, but Santo Y Blue Demon Contra Los Monstrous
also know how to throw in a melody, thus providing from leaping
straight into an unlistenable slab of drone rock. It makes the
whole thing actually quite nice, and moving through all variations
at hand, an excellent piece of raw music. (FdW)
Address: <bricolage@ymail.com>
FOSSILS - WATERBOARDING (CDR by Unverified
Records)
DEAD LABOUR PROCESS - EXAMINATIONS (CDR by Unverified Records)
DK720 - BLUE PERIOD (CDR by Unverified Records)
In all but one aspect these three are a total time machine. They
breath the air of cassettes in 80s and the one thing that sets
them apart is of course the medium of CDR. But the way these are
designed, or rather the lack thereof, the cut 'n paste from newspaper
and magazines, the typewriter font (which is actually a real typewriter)
and the lack of coherent information, which, in combination with
the music in a pretty low affair. No doubt appealing to the real
fans of this music and design (and no doubt people who create
similar music so that they have similar items to trade - another
similarity with the early days). Take Fossils for instance. A
band? One man with too many amps? I don't know. Quite a noisy
bunch of pieces, highly lo-fi of course, but I must say that it
all sounded quite nice in all its layered, noise based drones.
On 'Examinations' we get a 'new set of flexidisc scratching, layered
found archaic and tape scrunch' as promised by the 'catalogue'
from the label. Another lo-fi affair of tape manipulation, record
manipulations and instrument doodling. Less dense than the previous
release by Fossils, but still nice enough in all its lo-fi approach.
The most noise based release of this lot is the release by DK720,
which says on the cover 'live sets featuring Madame Velia (soprano),
recorded on 50s ferrograph reel to reel at the Coum-flakes (?)
exhibition, Start Gallery, Brighton'. Two long cuts of unrelentness
noise and several very short pieces which are less noisy. Of the
three releases on offer, this is the one I enjoyed least, mainly
because it seemed so 'normal' in terms of noise and the way its
presented. (FdW)
Address: http://www.geocities.com/unrecs
LE SCRAMBLED DEBUTANTE - DEVILS IN HEAVY
SYRUP (CDR by Power Silence)
MYSTIFIED - CRANK (CDR by Power Silence)
NICHOLAS SZCZEPANIK - ECRU EPITHET (CDR by Power Silence)
The more noise based releases of Power Silence are passed onto
Jliat, but that doesn't mean that these three are less noise based.
They too incorporate, at least at one level noise. There isn't
much information available on any of these. Jerry Sutton, Allan
Zane, Sir Bear Trapper, Sid Redlin and Ms Joey Zan Day are those
responsible for the two lengthy cuts of Le Scrambled Debutante
release. 'Think Nurse With Wound' the website says, and sure,
there are influences of the wounded Nurse ensemble to spotted
in these two collages of found sound. It seems to me that they
use a bunch of record players, which they play manually, spinning
all sorts of records with music and spoken word and add some electronic
manipulation thereof to the table. Nice enough but it seems to
me that these five people have a hard time making up their mind
and that decisions should be made as to what they really want
to achieve with the sound production. Now it seems production
for production sake, and hardly doing anything with the composition
as such.
Mystified is no longer a mystery. Its the one man project of Thomas
Park from St. Louis, who has presented much of his work already
on CDR labels throughout on this planet. His music so far has
been a blend of industrial music, ambient and rhythm. Before I
expressed the wish he should explore the latter aspect more but
so far he doesn't so and 'Crank' is no exception. In some ways
this seems to be a return to the more 'industrial' outings by
him as before. Still armed with a small sampler and sound effects
he creates here nine pieces of minimalist, industrialist patterns,
bouncing up and down within the small frames that Park allows
himself. Like I said, I wished he would leave this path and explore
that motoric rhythm he explored briefly before and here only in
a remix of Metek, but this is once again solid ambient industrial
music. Maybe a bit too much of the same and that's something I
don't like very much.
I can't vouch for the label's claim that the work 'Ecru Epithet'
by one Nicholas Szczepanik is not unlike anything he did before,
simply because I didn't hear any of that. It was recorded during
a period of 'great personal turmoil'. This is the release that
walks the balance between noise and quiet best. Its hard to say
what Szczepanik does here, but I think it's that line between
field recordings, real instruments and lots of processing - let's
say the current version of . Sometimes things hoover quietly about,
rumbling in the bass end, then there is a crackle and things may
explode into the world of feedback. Five tracks in total, which
reminded me of some of the best work by Illusion Of Safety, even
when Szczepanik plays his noise a bit louder than Dan Burke. Szczepanik
likes his shock therapy with sudden moves and swift changes. In
terms of 'composition' this is by far the best out of three, I'd
say. If this is not his usual cup of tea, I'd be curious to know
what exactly is, and for what it is worth, I'd say follow this
path. A very fine loud quiet disc. (FdW)
Address: http://www.somnimage.com
FCKN'BSTRDS - POWERTRASH 2008 (DVD-R by
Farmers from Holland)
Are Vulvax, Dr Bibber, Sjab el Kebap, The Stiff Nipple of Terror
on this
DVD - are what I would call a performance group from Holland who
can be seen here for the most part semi naked with headdresses
of their own creation performing at various venues including a
hotel bathroom. The DVD is dedicated to Berry Rikkerink who I
know little of I'm afraid (formerly known as The Lost Attic, and
died earlier this year - FdW). From what I've said elsewhere I
don't regard such groups as making noise - but that is what the
anarchistic output can at times resemble. And I even admit to
feint amusement at such antics - it would be all too easy to place
them in the
tradition of social commentators, clowns, fools and the like that
has
accompanied humanity's so called progress and civilization- and
I suppose
that is what I'd do. Their functions and features have been studied
in depth
and no doubt they form some psychological benefit to society though
perhaps
showing my own psyche's faults I take things too seriously. Then
again
perhaps this kind of thing long ago when danced by shaman in order
to join
once again humanity back into the natural world of the unconscious
it was
serious, and its trivialization is what I dislike. (jliat)
Address: http://www.fcknbstrds.com/
PLACEBO LIFE - A-B (3"CDR, private)
From Montreal is one Alain Lefebvre, who calls
himself Total Music/Placebo Life, who use a wide array of soundsources
to create his music: ring modulation/LFO, delay, chorus, noise
gate, compression, reverb pedals (all in 'Effects Chain No.3'
and contact microphone, kalimba, loop and reverb pedals and harmonica
in 'Semi-Open'. Both pieces are 'live improvisations' and I must
say both are a bit long and of the two 'Semi-Open' is the more
interesting one, although also a bit long. Placebo Life's music
is quite minimal, focussing on a few sounds which are feeding
off through a bunch of sound effects, with subtle changes. But
Placebo Life moves back into the same changes throughout this
piece and that is a pity. 'Effects Chain No. 3' is indeed a chain
of sound effects which results in a pretty noisy piece, and in
'Semi-Open' the Kalimba plays the central role in the piece. For
both I could easily say that three to five minutes would have
been long enough in order to have the same tension. (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/totalmusicsite2
NICOLAS TONE I'M TONE DEAF (3" CDR
by Thor's Rubber Hammer Productions)
CHARTREUSE NO MORE PATHS TO SOUNDER SLEEP (Cassette by Thor's
Rubber Hammer Productions)
THE GREEN KNIGHT THE ETERNAL OM (Cassette by Thor's Rubber Hammer
Productions)
There is quite allot of drumming on the Tone CD, and fragments
of noise, found sound and film track sound. The drumming is frenzied
but rhythmical,
tracks 4 and 9 completely silent even on inspection with a sound
editor - zero - bits of micro sound, track 7 is some children
mimicking police sirens,
it comes in a grey sleeve envelope. Elsewhere I've made comments
regarding noise, but as in his book Hegerty maintains noise can
be anything you like, all categorizations are off, or on, when
some powergroup can motivate sufficient numbers. Noise has transfigured
itself into a cult, from a genre in which disparate groups find
kinship. And through this kinship exert a hegemony of the sort
that the USS Nimitz does. Chartreuse.. "We can't wait. No
More Paths will come out on a real-deal CD this summer, but so
many people have e-mailed that TRHP's gonna go ahead and offer
15 of the 50 copies that Drew Smith (Chartreuse) himself dubbed
onto cassette. (Note: This is the unmastered version, but there's
a great gritty and muddled quality that makes it distinct from
the final product.) Organ drones seep through the earth as if
heard by a tape recorder buried underground." This is indeed
very muddy and a kind of looping drone- and guitar riffs- on the
cassette box is some illegible text, are we meant to read it,
are we meant to play what is inside. It seems there is some urgency
that we should, more evangelical hand clapping, more eschatological
hand waving that tidied up could do well in wine bars or sell
insurance. And before you think I'm being harsh, I like wine bars
and carry insurance. What is happening is the
mirroring in the alternative of the image now not reversed - were
the pigs
wrong at the end of animal farm and was the fall of communism
a good or bad thing. And now today you answer by googling - We
pursue excellence and happiness - even I have paid over 5 UK pounds
in a Crowne Plaza bar for some peanuts. and the means to do this
is almost free. Green Knight. "Abrasive tape manipulations
fall down the stairs in paranoid murmurs." - boded well as
the cassette case was of course broken- though the idea of this
being deliberate echoes as a concept these days between being
cool, avant garde and clichéd. And both at the same time.
So some tape manipulation yes - and a rather good recording of
the great northern diver- I joke not - a track for bill oddie?
- which - you will never guess - is then looped! The religiosity
of noise - or any group of fundamentalists- like the ipod carrying
iconoclastic Taliban is maintained by the ability to maintain
openly contradictions, that after all is the whole point of free-speech
and
the American way of life. This here of course being the exception.
(jliat)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/thorsrubberhammerproductions
HELMETICRONONAUT/ANIMAL MACHINE- PARTIALLY
DIGESTED MEALS SAYING HELLO/HOMO HOMINI LUPUS (CDR by Kraklisk)
ANIMAL MACHINE - SCAPEGOAT (CDR by Kraklisk)
CADMIUM DUNKEL - THE ENERHAUGEN CONCERTS (CDR by Kraklisk)
You might do well to read the blurb on all these
@http://swampsupnostrils.teks.no/krakilsk/index2.htm - its not
serious is it? I'd really like some help here. it's a fiction
in parodying other S&M and occultist sites - and not the real
thing - as for the first CD - "gory subspace visions of werewolves
joining cannibals in a carnivorous blood orgy where the main coarse
is human beef tartar, with a side dish of aborted fetuses and
fried puppies." Obviously a micky take? - these guys eat
the pizza mom prepares- and anyway didn't she and hubbie eat the
afterbirth - the "sons of agrothorax" would be horrified.
But children- art lovers were horrified when Nigela Lawson accidentally
thawed out the head of Marc Quinn, stored among the frozen peas.
The work, "Self", consists of Quinn's head cast in nine
pints of his own frozen, congealed blood.- gross mom! And Nigela,
daughter of the former conservative chancellor of the exchequer,
(Baron Lawson of Blaby) star cook of t.v. and domestic goddess,
Chelsea football fan and partner of the dead cows Saatchi. fckin
weird or what - here is the paradox - my point - the establishment
far from finding the gore text (joke) here revolting would find
it silly in comparison to their actualities. So its got to be
all a mindless parody or this really is the stuff of sex starved
adolescents playing violent (but safe soooo safe) video games?
"Put it on loud and grunt along while your fellow wolfmen
howl at the moon!" Oh come on! - its not bad noise though.
No grunting boys - just get out your moms ironing board and surf
the irony. Scapegoat's write up attempts some justification! -
but singularly fails to identify the need for noise to be ambivalent.
All talk of blood and sodomy doesn't shock an authority that's
been indulging in this for centuries. "Yet again, noise tries
to take upon itself to redeem us from the archaic melodic harmonic
rule bound structure of boredom." *Redemption* - yet again
a genre becomes a pseudo religion- regains a morality- Jesus wants
me for a sunbeam? Actually there is some excellent noise on these
two releases- and excellent not because of either invention or
shock which are and always have been the pleasures of the bourgeois,
but excellent- because they are indistinguishable. but Cadmium
Dunkel's is an imaginary concert- a live open mike with background
rumble and someone is playing the piano, and plucking the strings-
for a few seconds then synth noise. Echoing swathes of pads -
I was in one of those ethnic shops the other day where they sell
those CDs - you know - of whales and wolves and red-indians- you
press the buttons and out comes music for municipal mantras- more
noise then? " mr.Dunkel paints an abstract and floating audio
image that can only be seen by utilizing your pineal gland"
What? "The pineal gland is large in children, but shrinks
at puberty. It appears to play a major role in sexual development,
hibernation in animals, metabolism, and seasonal breeding. Historically,
its location deep in the brain suggested to philosophers that
it possessed particular importance. This combination led to its
being a "mystery" gland with myth, superstition and
metaphysical theories surrounding its perceived function."
Wiki.. When Nietzsche and Heidegger threw away the truth in some
idea of producing the superman (who can endure the boredom of
the eternal return) how wrong they were- for we do not any longer
have the truth but we do have what is true. Now heaven forbid
you think I'm again being harsh - I think that's up to the reader,
but the idea of truth - say regarding the pineal gland - opens
up the post-modern can of worms. At the end of the day such arguments
always ignore the text in favor of individual justification. And
if that's OK then its OK - I can no more stop you thinking that
than change the events of 9-11 In the work of "Georges Bataille,
.. Hollier discusses how Bataille uses the concept of a 'pineal-eye'
as a reference to a blind-spot in Western rationality. "Image
- the Taliban carrying their favored Russian made RPG. We see
nothing wrong in any fundamentalism which is anti-intellectual
using the self same justifications. (God you do go on here! -
did you like it? - first two yes - last no) (jliat)
Address: http://www.krakilsk.org
JULIA LADENSE - PUSSY WILLOW (CDR by I Had
An Accident Records)
Despite the total handmade made/hand written cover of Julia LaDense's
'Pussy Willow', its released by a real label. That is a label
that released music before. I have no idea about her, but the
website says: "Julia LaDense has been in control of her artistic
revelations. Currently the editor in chief of Cincinnati's own
hardcore feminist satire rag entitled "Pussy Cat," Julia
offers a collection of projects she has worked on recently with
dated material and soundscapes that create a massive explosion
of sound and music fuckery. Not to be taken lightly, Pussy Willow
is the noise album of the year." I must disagree there, even
when of course Jliat is the person to announce Vital's noise album
of the year. The fact that I didn't forward this him, does mean
I don't think its very much a noise album. LaDense uses vinyl
or radio snippets which are played too slow and with too much
distortion, creating loops by having the records skip and jump
needle, or in other occasions a full noise blast (tracks are written
on the CDR, so I can't see what they are called when writing this)
which is also a bit too regular in my humble opinion. The first
eleven tracks were already a bit much, but track twelve, in itself
not a bad piece of low humming electronics spanning almost thirty
minutes, could have been at its best an entirely separate release
and the other eleven should have been trimmed down to say seven
tracks and it could have been two very nice releases, in stead
of one over-long release. (FdW)
Address: http://www.ihadanaccidentrecords.com/
JLIAT - NTWICN Vol 16 (CDR by The Larks
Council of England)
Noise
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
.... In signal processing or computing it can be
considered data without meaning....
Existentialism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Existentialism is a philosophical movement which posits that individuals
create the meaning and essence of their lives, as opposed to it
being
created for them by deities or authorities or defined for them
by philosophical or
theological doctrines.
Sartre saw problems with rationality, calling it a form of "bad
faith", an
attempt by the self to impose structure on a world of phenomena
- "the
other" - that is fundamentally irrational and random.
The notion of the Absurd contains the idea that there is no meaning
to be
found in the world beyond what meaning we give to it.
Noise
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
.... In signal processing or computing it can be
considered data without meaning... (jliat)
Address: <James@Jliat.com>
FREDERIC DARRAS (MP3 by Et Le Feu Comme)
PIERRE GERARD - OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR
(MP3 by Et Le Feu Comme)
Pierre Gerard is the man behind the netlabel Et Le Feu Comme from
Belgium, although I got these two releases in quite nice printed
covers. Frederic Darras is primarily a video maker who is used
to compose his own music. Knowing this almost forces us to listen
to his music as soundtracks to video pieces. The music is made
from using instruments (probably sampled rather than self played)
and field recordings and certainly evoke here images. Slow camera
shots in the first piece, rapid moves in the second of street
action and more slow motion in the third. Especially 'Magma',
the third piece with its long form drones, crackles and electro-acoustic
sounds is a very fine piece. Its a pity that this cinema is only
short at twenty minutes.
The second release is by the man from the label and its less audible.
To hear it rightly I put on my headphones, which is something
I hardly do. The two pieces are inspired by 'the light impact
on a car wing mirror in motion' and non-driver Gerard has had
the opportunity to observe this day and night. 'Light Of Day'
is a very silent piece of sounds moving in and out of the mix,
recorded at a very low volume. If microsound means nothing to
you, then listen to these isolated sounds moving about in a sea
of silence that slow is filled with sinewave like sounds. In 'Front
Nights' there is more 'action', and here I think to recognize
music instruments. Lots of hiss on some of these sounds, but throughout
more happening than in the first piece. Both pieces require an
intense listening session, but along the lines of Steve Roden
and Roel Meelkop quite enjoyable microsound pieces. (FdW)
Address: http://www.etlefeucomme.be