|
============
VITAL WEEKLY
============
number 722
---------------------
week 11
---------------------
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. We
finally have a feed again. 1000x times to Maximillian for his
endless patience & help. Its here: http://www.vitalweekly.net/podcast.xml
KLINGT.ORG - 10JAHRE BESSERE FARBEN (2CD
compilation by Mikroton Recordings)
SPARTAK - VERONA (CD by Low Point) *
VEX'D - CLOUD SEED (CD by Planet Mu)
THE INTERNAL TULIPS - MISLEAD INTO A FIELD BY A DEFORMED DEAR
(CD by Planet Mu)
YANNIS KYRIAKIDES - ANTICHAMBER (2CD by Unsounds)
NOAH CRESHEVSKY - THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS (CD by Tzadik)
LORI FREEDMAN - BRIDGE ( CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
NOUS PERCONS LES OREILLES - SHAMAN ( CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
KLAXON GUEULE - INFININIMENT ( CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
QUASER - MIROIR DES VENTS ( CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
MAEROR TRI - MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER (CD by Purple Soil)
*
KIVA (2CD by Pogus) * *
LUIGI ARCHETTI - NULL (CD by Die Schachtel)
KOBI - EARPLUGGED (CD by End of Hum)
KOBI - LIVE IN JAPAN (CD by End of Hum)
MANDELBROT - EVOLUTION (CD by Audiophob) *
ALARMEN - NEXT (CD by Audiophob) *
SPHERICAL DISRUPTED - QUASAR (CD by Audiophob) *
HEAVEN AND - BYE AND BYE I'M GOING TO SEE THE KING (CD by Staubgold)
*
PASCAL BATTUS & CHRISTINE SEHNAOUI ABDELNOUR - ICHNITES (CD
by Potlatch) *
SERAFINA STEER - CHANGE IS GOOD CHANGE IS GOOD (CD by Static
Caravan) *
HANNAH PEEL - RE-BOX (7" by Static Caravan) *
VERNON & BURNS - THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE DIAL (LP by
Gagarin Records)
MARK BOOMBASTIK - PLASTIK LIEB/HOFFNUNG (LIVE) (7" by Meeuw
Muzak)
FVRTVR - DEMON CYCLE 1-9 (CDR by Niente Records) *
MACHINIST - VIENS AVEC MOI DANS LE VIDE (CDR by Betontoon) *
ANDREAS BRANDAL - JERNVOGNEN (CDR by Tape Drift)
CORPSE CANDLE - WASTE NOT WANT NOT (CDR by Twilight Luggage)
GOMEISA - TEMPORAL DEATH (CDR, private)
DRAPE - DREAM WORDS (CDR by Gears Of Sand) *
UR/IRON MOLAR (CDR by Locust Swarm Rex, Fucking Clinica, Alampo)
SPRUIT - PATTERNS (3"CDR by Spruit)
BARACLOUGH - THE LAMPSHADE IS NOT A PAST TENSE (cassette by The
Tapeworm)
LEIF ELGGREN - ALL ANIMALS ARE SAINTS (cassette by The Tapeworm)
TONGUES OF MOUNT MERU - THE DELIGHT OF ASSEMBLY (cassette by
The Tapeworm)
MELTAOT - FIRST AND SECOND RITES (cassette by The Tapeworm)
PETERMANN - INIT (MP3 by Carpal Tunnel)
PASCAL SAVY - THE SILENT WATCHER (MP3 by Audio Moves)
KLINGT.ORG - 10JAHRE BESSERE FARBEN (2CD
compilation by Mikroton Recordings)
Among the mass of e-mails I get, there is always some from Kling.org,
which I shamefully admit, never bother to read. Its never clear
wether I should put this into Vital Weekly. Maybe it seems like
a world of its own. Perhaps it is. If I understand the booklet
here right, its a sort of digital community of people working
together, started by dieb13 and it resembles a cafe from his
home-town Vienna. You can sit down and talk, in all quietness.
Musicians can exchange ideas or sounds. Once year the leave digispace
and there is a concert. I believe this double CD is a collection
of both live recordings of various concert recordings and perhaps
some other solo pieces (I am not entirely sure here), and some
are made with digital means of exchange. A soundpool of some
kind. Some 140 minutes, which is not easy to digest I should
think, but the sequencing of the pieces is done in a great way.
My suggestion would be to not look at the tracklist, the names
of the players but have this playing from begin to end. Then
it will sound like an electro-acoustic concert, partly in pure
electronic areas, then a few real instruments, cut-up of sound
material and the crackles of contact microphones. (Perhaps even
then this might all be a bit long, I admit that, but then I played
the first one yesterday and the second today). There is a bit
of everybody in there, at least if you are open-minded towards
a lot of what Vital Weekly stands (and that's why you are here,
right?). Some of the names here then: Christof Kurzmann, The
Magic I.D., Goh Lee Kwang, dieb13, erikM, Billy Roisz, Siewert,
Jez Riley, Toshimaru Nakamura, K&K, Boris Hauf, Hose... and
that's about one third of all the names included here. An excellent
compilation/overview of a movement. (FdW)
Address: http://www.mikroton.net
SPARTAK - VERONA (CD by Low Point)
The busy man down under is Shoeb Ahmad, who runs the Hello Square
label and plays in various outfits within improvised music. Spartak
is, so I believe, his main point of action. Its a duo with Evan
Dorrian, who plays drums and percussion, while Ahmad is the man
for guitars and electronics. He himself released the debut CD,
now its time for expansion, and with an eye to a forthcoming
tour in Europe, there is the second CD, this time for a label
in the UK. As said Spartak plays improvised music. Mainly in
the percussion parts this is where these things are happening.
Dorrian plays his kit, but also junk material in a great, almost
jazzy way. Maybe you could see that as traditional, but where
Spartak differs is in what Ahmad has to add. His guitar and no-input
mixer often refers to music we know from ambient and post rock.
His guitar wails about, also in a jazzy way, but fed through
all his effects, things get very spacious. Eight pieces here
of gentle debris, which not always work ('Sleepstalker' for instance
is drowned in sound effects), but throughout this is a very pleasant
release. A fine cross-over between the improvised jazz world,
rock and ambient. All remaining considerable analogue in approach.
Can't wait to see this live. (FdW)
Address: http://www.low-point.com
VEX'D - CLOUD SEED (CD by Planet Mu)
THE INTERNAL TULIPS - MISLEAD INTO A FIELD BY A DEFORMED DEAR
(CD by Planet Mu)
Two new and very different releases from Planet Mu - the label
of drill'n'bass artist Mike Paradinas alias mu-Ziq. Originally
started by Virgin Records in the mid-90's. When it turned out
that Virgin didn't do well in marketing this kind of music, Mike
Paradinas set up the label independently in 1998. Since then
a great number of albums have been launched from the label. Over
the years the span of releases seems progressively wider. One
of the latest releases comes from the british duo Vex'd consisting
of Jamie Teasdale and Roly Porter. The project takes its starting
point in the dubstep-scene and regarded as being part of the
pioneering wave of dubstepper's with their first release in 2004.
That the first release titled "Function" was released
from the label "Drum + breaks" with roots in the city
of Bristol doesn't come as a surprise as you listen to this new
album titled "Cloud seed". A number of tracks, first
of all "Heart space" has some clear fingerprints of
the Bristol-born trip hop-style with associations pointed towards
Portishead, with the addition of vocalist Anneka reminiscent
of Björk or Norwegian Stinna Nordenstamm. Other tracks like
"Disposition" features some excellent rapping from
Jest adding an excellent aggressive edge to the dubstep-beats.
There is nice contrast between the hardcore dubstep-pieces featuring
samples and darkside-basslines and then other tracks where the
rhythm-textures has been added great atmospheric ambient-scapes.
Excellent album. As said, there is a great contrast between the
"Cloud seed"-album of Vex'd and the other new shot
from Planet Mu: The Internal Tulips is an American project consisting
of Brad Lamer and Alex Graham. Both artists have a background
in the rock-based soundworld; a fact the seems obvious as you
listen to the album carrying the odd title "Mislead into
a field by a deformed deer". The band balances between electronica
and acoustic music carried by vocals that draws associations
towards John Lennon and Jonathan Donahue (vocalist of Mercury
Rev). There is a nice melancholic feel to the music reminiscent
of the aforementioned bands, Beatles and Mercury Rev. Also the
style of David Sylvian drifts somewhere in the music. An excellent
album that despite its great distance from the usually cutting
edge sounds from the Planet Mu-label, is a gem in the catalogue
and definitely an album worth checking out! (NM)
Address: http://www.planet.mu/
YANNIS KYRIAKIDES - ANTICHAMBER (2CD by
Unsounds)
Kyriakides (1969) comes from Cyprus, moved to Britain and settled
down later in Amsterdam. Here he studied with Louis Andriessen
and collaborated with Dick Raaymakers. Although I know him by
name I did not encounter earlier any his works . This will change
now. With "Antichamber" I have two CDs in my hands
filled with 10 of his works composed between 1995 and 2007.150
minutes in total! It will take some time to learn all these works
well. They are released by Unsounds, a label that he runs with
Andy Moor (The Ex). No wonder in the past already several other
CDs carrying his works saw the light. By the way, with Andy Moor
Kyriakides also has a performing duo of improvised music. But
above all Kyriakides is a very productive composer who wrote
for many ensembles and orchestras. It is always a surprise to
enter the musical universe of a composer at a first meeting.
In the case of Kyriakides it sure is a complete and unique universe
that I discovered. All works on "Antichamber" have
in common that they are written for a limited group of instrumentalists,
varying from piece to piece. In most works also electronic technology
is involved. This has a widening effect, making the music much
'broader' then just a combination of a few acoustic instruments.
Kyriakides has his special method of bringing acoustic and electronic
sound sources together. Along both ways Kyriakides builds music
of great nuance and detail, and rich sound scapes. Dramatically
spoken none of the works direct to climaxes. Instead they meander
peacefully and with grace through unknown landscapes. The opening
piece "Telegraphic" plays in a wonderful way with telegraphic
codes. "Zeimbebiko 1918" is for violin an guitar, plus
surface noises of old vinyl and short cuts from an old rembetika
recording. Kyriakides turns to his roots here I suppose. These
and all other pieces are instrumental ones, except "U"
that is for eight part choir and sinewaves. Of course not all
compositions worked for me. "Chaoids" has boring minimal-music
like passages that irritated me enormously. The closing piece
"Atopia" is again a beautiful piece, this time made
up of lengthy drones. No idea to what extent we have explored
Kyriakides musical universe with this double CD, as he wrote
also for greater ensembles and orchestras. But no doubt Kyriakides
is on the map now in my musical universe. Great music! (DM)
Address: http://www.unsounds.com/
NOAH CRESHEVSKY - THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS
(CD by Tzadik)
My first response while listening to this new CD by Creshevsky
is a big smile. This is fabulous and intelligent music that opens
ones heart. Creshevsky is active in electronic composition since
1971 after studying with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and Luciano
Berio. That's some time ago. So I think it is quite exceptional
for a modern composer of this generation still to be so musically
active, plus having the opportunity of works released on a label
like Tzadik. With "Twilight of the Gods" he has his
second album out on this label. Without judging on Creshevsky's
colleagues, I think this attention is fully deserved. Creshevsky
is into electro-acoustical metamusic. Music that is constructed
out of already existing music, without leaning on their compositional
structures. Creshevsky himself describes his music as 'hyperrealist'
as a name for the electroacoustic language that he developed
over the years. One of its characteristics is that Creshevsky
builds his compositions from natural ingredients. Sounds, mostly
from traditional instruments, found in our environment. Creshevsky
does not treat the sound material as such, what makes his compositions
sound very natural. Instruments, voices and natural sounds can
easily be identified. However Creshevsky has caught them in structures
that are beyond human capacities if it comes to performing them.
Especially for the opening and closing pieces on this album,
Creshevsky recruited several musicians. This raises the question
whether he in these cases first wrote playable acoustic music
for several musicians with the intention to use the recording
for his hyperrealist procedures. Listening to 'Happy Ending'
that has rock elements as well jazzy guitar playing by Rodney
Jones, I suppose this is the case. And also 'Gotterdammerung'
the opening piece is prove of this. Surely this is the most exuberant
composition on the album. In the first part jazz dominates. With
a female singer that changes to a jewish singing style from time
to time. This is continued in the second part of very up tempo
klezmer. I have a special weakness for the piece "Brother
Tom", where Creshevsky uses vocal samples of Thomas Buckner.
It is a beautiful 'simple song', evidencing that Creshevsky does
not get lost in an aimless complexity of possible worlds. "Estancia"
built from acoustic guitar samples, breathes spanish atmospheres.
As a composition it stays close - in a way - to the idiom of
the classical spanish guitar music on the samples. Each work
on this CD is an example of the same paradoxical game Creshevsky
plays. Staying close as much as possible to traditional sounds
and idioms, and at the same moving away from it as far as you
can. With very enjoying and powerful results. (DM)
Address: http://www.tzadik.com/
LORI FREEDMAN - BRIDGE ( CD by Ambiances
Magnetiques)
NOUS PERCONS LES OREILLES - SHAMAN ( CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
KLAXON GUEULE - INFININIMENT ( CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
QUASER - MIROIR DES VENTS ( CD by Ambiances Magnetiques)
A solo-, a duo- , a trio-album and one by a quartet. That is
one way of ordering these new releases by Ambiances Magnetiques.
Musically however these four albums touch on very different grounds.
Lori Freedman returns with a beautifully recorded solo album
called 'Bridge'. All nuances and colors of her playing can be
noticed and fully enjoyed on this crystal clear recording. Freedman
leads us through ten works that have her playing bass clarinet,
accompanied by Brigitte Poulin (piano) on 'Flicker' (Michel Galante).
Some of them are improvisations. Others are compositions by well-known
(Scelsi) and not so well-known composers like Monique Jean, Pascal
Dusapin, Franco Donatini, etc. Improvising and playing composed
music are equally important for Freedman at this stage of her
career and that's why we find examples of both of them on this
record. The contrasts I experienced do not exist between the
improvised pieces on the one hand, and the composed ones on the
other. Freedman choose very different works to interpret, offering
a diverse richness and many contrasts. For instance, 'Clair'
(1980) by Donatelli plays intelligently with jazz idiom and is
a pleasantly light and positive work. Scelsi's 'Maknongen' (1976)
remains in dark and low sections that are interrupted by almost
screaming outbursts. Improvisation and composition are combined
in 'Brief Candles' a work composed by Freedman. The closing piece
'Low Memory 3' by Monique Jean is the only electroacoustic work.
The clarinet is surrounded here with sounds that range from ambient-like
to very noisy eruptions.
Nous Perçons Les Oreilles is Jean Derome and Joane Hetu.
They present their next step under this name after a silence
of about eight years. 'Shaman' is their third work. We hear Hetu
on sax and voice. Derome also on sax and voice plus flute and
objects. Emotional and intense improvisations. With the title
'Shaman' they want to hint at their conviction that their work
is "closer to the world of healing, supernatural communication,
and ancestral memory than the world of entertainment."
I'm always especially curious after new releases by Michel F.
Côté. He is a very interesting musician who deserves
a much broader attention if you ask me. For instance for his
fantastic Klaxon Gueule. This is Michel F Côté (drums,
percussion), Bernard Falaise (guitar) and Alexandre St-Onge (bass).
They started in 1995, and with 'Infininiment' they are ready
for their fifth statement after a silence of 5-year silence.
Helped out by Gordon Allen , Jean Derome and Philippe Lauzier.
It is not necessary to introduce the three core members as they
are very profiled artists, all of them involved in numerous other
musical projects. Klaxon Gueule combines these extraordinary
talents who are very equipped to interpret Cote's bizarre musical
visions. In a very abstract manner his music stays linked with
rock, and more explicit it shows relations with improvised music.
It is very rewarding and enjoyable to listen to all short movements
and actions by the different players, and to experience how they
intertwine into a strong nucleus of linear moving music.
Quasar is a saxophone quartet. Marie-Chantal Leclair, Mathieu
Leclair, Andre Leroux and Jean-Marc Bouchard, are the players.
They play works from six canadian composers of whom only Claude
Vivier who died in 1983 is known to me. No wonder 'Pulau Dewata'
(1974) by Vivier is the oldest composition played by this quartet.
The CD opens with 'Miroir des vents' by Luc Marcel, thoroughly
composed piece. 'Geyser Ghetto' from Michel Frigon is an evocation
of the powers of nature as met in the phenomenon of geysers.
No wonder a very dynamic piece. One feels the pressures that
geysers cause. "Iskra" by Wolf Edwards is a wild and
anarchistic piece. Here the quartet comes most close to the phrasing,
etc. that we know from improvisation and free jazz. Especially
in the power play by one of players in the beginning of the piece.
With 'Giuco Piano' by Frangis Nurulla-Khoja we come in calmer
realms. And 'Pulau Dewata' by Vivier is the most friendly sounding
piece. Often it is close to minimal music. No wonder as it is
inspired on Balinese music. Concerning the closing piece by Jean-Franois
Laporte, the title says it all: 'Le chant de l'inauduble'. Through
long extended notes, the music moves very slowly staying very
close to silence. The richness of the work is revealed if you
listen very carefully and discover the diversity in sounds and
textures. (DM)
Address: http://www.actuellecd.com/
MAEROR TRI - MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER
(CD by Purple Soil)
Some music is related to a period, because of the sound of the
amplifiers, recording possibilities, effects and synthesizers.
The technic colors the sound during that period and gives is
that time limit. I cannot say that about the re-release of the
timeless sounds at the CD "Multiple Personality Disorder"
(MPD) of the not anymore existing German group Maeror Tri. The
groups existed from 1998 - 1996 and has the following members
Stefan "Baraka [H]" Knappe, Martin "GLIT[s]CH"
Git and Helge Siehl. Stefan Knappe and Martin Git continues to
make music with the group Troum and releases music with the vinyllabel
Drone Records. From 1998 - 1993 Maeror Tri released a lot of
tapes. The music for the first CD Multiply Personality Disorder
was recorded in 1991 and released in 1993 by Korm Plastics as
a limited edition of 600 in the serial Introductionaire to promote
the music of new musical artists. For now the re-release has
been done by the Purplesoil from the Czech Republic. During the
musical project the group examined the different states of mind
and characters by means of music and they want to confront the
listener with the totally different states of mind and feeling
of people with MPD. The CD exist of five compositions, with different
moods, from ambient and atmospheric to aggressive and anxious.
And really I was confronted with the different moods some with
MPD. The meaning of the album has been successful.
During that same period I was working in a psychiatric hospital
with people with so-called personality diseases. I worked also
with people with MPD and they presented themselves with totally
different characters, behavior, clothing, sexual preference and
sound of the voice. I was really very differcult to work with
these people because I had to deal with one person, but sometimes
during daytime with three or four different persons. Most of
these people had very bad childhood experiences and they try
to deal with the some treating or stressfull reality with different
personalities. For now MPD has become more on the background
but this release is really a good flashback of that period and
a successful experiment of Maeror Tri. (JKH)
Address: http://www.dronerecords.de
KIVA (2CD by Pogus)
Pogus keeps finding material in archives all over the world interesting
music from many moons ago. Here they present a double CD by Kiva,
a 'research/performance' group Kiva, which was started in 1975
by trombonist John Silber and percussionist Jean-Charles Francois,
who both worked at the Center for Music Experiment at the University
of California San Diego. Graduate students played along with
them. Two persons became important, the Korean dancer Hi-ah Park
and pianist Keith Humble. Kiva was about the 'emancipation of
the classical performer from the role of interpreter of written
music to one that involved being fully an actor of artistic creation
through the direct production of sounds on instruments and related
objects'. Yet they didn't want to call this improvised music.
But I would. This is hardcore improvised music. Kiva apparently
recorded everything and we get here three out of four pieces
of such improvised concerts. One is supposed to have some sort
of electronics, which I somehow don't hear back in this recording,
but perhaps its there. Otherwise these three pieces are explorations
of trombone, percussion and piano. Not unlike AMM at times, but
maybe also a bit more straightforward in their approach. Its
actually quite nice altogether, but also quite a long sit through.
The fourth pieces is a sound collage of Kiva playing music, set
along tape manipulations of Antonin Artaud's poem 'Pour En Finir
Avec le Jugement De Dieu' and vocal improvisations of Silber
and Francois. An entirely different piece, even when it comes
from the world of improvisation too, but it distinctly different.
This is not music to just put on and do the dishes, this is something
that requires ones full attention, and perhaps best had in one
piece at a time. (FdW)
Address: http://www.pogus.com
LUIGI ARCHETTI - NULL (CD by Die Schachtel)
The main instrument of Luigi Archetti is the guitar, which he
has been playing since 1978. Every now and then he releases a
CD and usually its some sort of thematic approach. His previous
CD 'Fragments On Speed, Slowless And Tedium' was about improvised
guitar playing, edited on the computer. For 'Null' he explores
drones, or so he says. Besides the guitar he uses field recordings
here from sources such as white noise of blank video tape and
hum from generators. Thirteen pieces here, which he calls a 'journey
further into unexplored regions', but I'm afraid its a journey
I truly well heard before. Like before Archetti stays in a musical
field which is quite well-known, even when a bit different than
his previous CD release, but anyone with some knowledge of the
current state of experimental music will hear these paths. Droning
music at times, sometimes entirely build from loops, sometimes
from actually playing the guitar, with an e-bow or objects, fed
through some effects. Its not a bad CD, but also something that
couldn't interest me for its entire length. After a while I was
a bit fed up and decided I listen to something else. (FdW)
Address: http://www.die-schachtel.com
KOBI - EARPLUGGED (CD by End of Hum)
KOBI - LIVE IN JAPAN (CD by End of Hum)
Earplugged is Kai Mikalsen's solo (studio?) " death-ambient
album the world has been waiting for.." consisting of very
gentle scrapes and clicks... I could save space and time by a
link or cut and paste to my thoughts on Spruit. (I won't) The
consequences of accepting the greatness of Kant, none seem yet
to knock him down, put so simply as I can, to the extent of making
the ridiculous, is that we only see, hear, feel and know by virtue
of what *we are* not by virtue of *what is*. That's probably
good, at least evolutionarily, because otherwise the world would
appear to us like the LSD trip magnified to infinity. We cope
with the world because its our world, there is no point in waiting
for godot, he wont come because he is already here, if not the
actual saviour, not the actual infinite being of the second coming,
i.e. the product of some grand experiment in art, the whole of
metaphysics is nothing more than the feeling a child has on Christmas
eve, assuming she/he is living in an affluent tolerant middle
class western
household, and so at the most transcendental he/she will only
see Santa kissing mommy. There is a chapter in John Barrow's
book on impossibility entitled "Does Gödel Stymie Physics",
well does Godot stymie experimentalism - I guess so. (I should
have said Kant but the symmetry wouldn't be the same.) On the
second CD, Kai Mikalsen is joined by Petter Flaten, Eilertsen
and Kelly Churko in a live piece of abstract improv which is
much more interesting as its not a dead metaphysical monster,
who never existed and who never will, but good ole humanity interacting,
so from the above, replace Santa with Daddy, and kissing with
what ever possibility turns you on. Its amusing, worrying, funny,
serious .. Human work, one in which its possible to hear the
breath of God, as "performance". (jliat)
Address: http://www.endofhum.no/
MANDELBROT - EVOLUTION (CD by Audiophob)
ALARMEN - NEXT (CD by Audiophob)
SPHERICAL DISRUPTED - QUASAR (CD by Audiophob)
Perhaps a bit late, 'Evolution' by Mandelbrot, which celebrates
the publication of 'The Origins Of Species' by Charles Darwin,
last year. B. Teichner and P. Muench, also known as Mandelbrot
were asked to present a musical work for the Museum am Scholerberg
which displayed works of/on Darwin. They created an hour worth
of music, which are presented here on this CD in the form of
nine tracks, called in German by their numbers, 'Null', 'Sechs',
'Zwei' etc. Not the most logical order, and it seems to me that
the music is not a linear evolution either. Played, I think,
on a bunch of analogue synthesizers and sound effects. Heavy
cosmic music on display here. Atmospheric, with arpeggio's, delay
machines, even some rhythm machines, this music is not what you
would expect: an hour of drones, but well rounded compositions
of moody electronics. Not music I would easily associate with
a museum, and I wonder what the visitors may have thought about
it. Perhaps a bit too much popmusic (?) for four white walls?
But it works well at home, even when thematic approach is a bit
lost here.
Niels Mark discussed the first real CD by Alarmen, 'There Is
No Place Like Hoan' in VItal Weekly 534 and he told us that its
a project by Carsten Stiller. It was followed by two MP3 releases,
and now there is 'Next', the next CD by Alarmen (never a good
title for a CD I'd say, suggesting nothing more than 'oh, the
next CD'). It starts off with a harsher rhythmic minimalist piece,
along the lines of the previous release. But that's only deceiving
the listener. The other six tracks on 'Next' are perhaps like-wise
minimalist in approach, but sound a bit more lighter in approach.
Synthesizer parts are mixed up a bit higher and a piece like
'Next 3' is slow, almost dub-like, with some nice, mean organ
sounds blubbling below, while 'Next 4' is almost cheery in approach.
Quite an interesting varied album, with only 'Next 7' to be something
of a hit and miss track.
The last full length release by Spherical Disrupted was 'Null'
(Vital Weekly 482), followed by the remix album 'Barriere'. The
new one 'Quasar' (short for 'Quasi-Stellar Radio Source') is
also not a full length, but perhaps more like a EP of five tracks
(long one at that: total is about fifty-five minutes) plus three
remixes. Like Alarmen heavily relying on the use of rhythm, with
an extended use of analogue synthesizers which sound even more
like cosmic music than that of Alarmen. Arpeggio's are used extensively
here, along with long sustaining sounds, dark chords and such
like. Not every track is as strong here: 'Galaxy Bulge' for instance
just doesn't seem to have enough variation to be fully interesting.
Its too long. But a piece like 'Solar Luminosity' on the other
hand shows it can be done: moody, atmospheric, rhythmic, all
combined in a hypnotic piece. No wonder it gets a remix treatment,
by Xabec, who pulls out even more cosmic/ambient house patterns
from the original. Empusae knows how to give a more danceable
spin to 'Accretion Disc' into some proto techno vein whereas
Spherical Disrupted himself remixes Fractional Shift into a chilling
closure of the CD - not the best track here, with some slight
distortion in the lower regio of the piece. All in all a nice
release with some minor flaws. (FdW)
Address: http://www.audiophob.de
HEAVEN AND - BYE AND BYE I'M GOING TO SEE
THE KING (CD by Staubgold)
The second release by Heaven And, a quartet of musicians: Martin
Siewert (guitar), Tony Buck (drums), Steve Heather (drums) and
Zeitblom (bass, keyboards), and their second album is also named
after Blind Wilie Johnson song. Like their first album, 'Sweeter
As The Years Roll By' (see Vital Weekly 618), they continue to
experiment with elements from jazz, post/free/whatever rock,
slide guitars and bits of noise. Still there is a strong element
of retro to this music, blues, jazz, improvisation to it, with
all the various incarnations of guitar music from past hundred
years, but throughout I enjoyed this album more than I did the
previously. I am not sure why that is. Maybe the pieces are better
in terms of compositions? Maybe less free form? Strongly melancholic
this music, very krautrock at times, very old, but never the
less also quite nice. Maybe its because the rain makes me sad
and bluesy? (FdW)
Address: http://www.staubgold.com
PASCAL BATTUS & CHRISTINE SEHNAOUI
ABDELNOUR - ICHNITES (CD by Potlatch)
Lebanese born, but now living in France is alto-saxophone player
Christine Shenaoui Abdelnour, who has a background in improvisation,
which she plays in all sorts of ways, some of which may be like
intended by Aldophe. She works here with Pascal Battus, who usually
works with table-top guitars, but here plays 'rotating surfaces':
"small motorised components from inside old walkmans, used
as exciters on different objects reacting as vibrators and resonators:
sheets of paper, cardboards, plastic, wooden, metal or polystyrene
pieces, and stems connected to cymbals". They played together
on may 26th 2009 and the results can be found on 'Ichnites'.
This is some hardcore improvised music, and not necessarily from
a softer edge. Things buzz at times at an immense volume, for
instance in 'Fouilles & Rongement'. Its followed by a more
quieter excursion, 'Estocade & Coulees'. These two play some
mighty intense music, which requires one full attention. Its
not easy music, but one that makes your hair rise up the wrong
way. An utter fine work of improvisation. Very intense, very
beautiful. (FdW)
Address: http://www.potlatch.fr
SERAFINA STEER - CHANGE IS GOOD CHANGE
IS GOOD (CD by Static Caravan)
HANNAH PEEL - RE-BOX (7" by Static Caravan)
Actually I should not be reviewing music by Static Caravan. Their
releases are usually far away from the madding crowd called Vital
Weekly. Its never improvised, noise, onkyo, field recordings,
droning ambient and all such like, but Static Caravan deal with
popmusic. And we don't, right? Wrong. Whenever a parcel from
Static Caravan lands, a smile is to be found here: popmusic!
And to be more precise, popmusic from the leftfield of the biz,
and its usually great. Serafina Steer plays the harp and signs.
She already released a CD and a 3"CDR and here gets help
from Capital K and Benge in the form of production. The already
great folky music of Steer benefits greatly from the added production
skills. There are synth lines, synthetic and real drums, and
even an up-tempo song like 'Margoton', which reminded me Nouvelle
Vague. It pushes, from time to time, the folk aspect of Steer's
music to the background and makes it even more (hurrah) pop-like.
An excellent CD, the perfect anti-dote after a long day of 'difficult'
music.
Hannah Peel plays music boxes (with those long strings of paper
with holes in it) and sings. She does four covers here, all of
which I happen to have in the original 7" and 12" form:
'Sugar Hiccup' (Cocteau Twins), 'Electricity' (OMD - an all time
stand out classic par excellence), 'Tainted Love' (Gloria Jones
- well, I have the Soft Cell version) and 'Blue Monday' (New
Order). Peel plays them in a very unique private way. Quiet,
almost folk like. She doesn't have the drama of Liz Frazer, or
the coolness of Sumner, or the drive of OMD - but she does perform
'Electricity' with OMD's Andy Mclusky. She renders all four from
the original form into something very much her own. Did I just
mention Nouvelle Vague? Hannah Peel does something equally ground
breaking I think. She might be a novelty act, but it should be
a big one. I can't choose between 'Electricity' or 'Blue Monday'
to my favorite here, but I love 'm all. And that's why Static
Caravan makes me happy and that's why they fit in Vital Weekly
- I can finally ramble about my favorite music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.staticcaravan.org
VERNON & BURNS - THE LIGHT AT THE END
OF THE DIAL (LP by Gagarin Records)
By now Vernon & Burns should be house-hold names, at least
if you are commited to plunderphonics for their various releases,
mainly on Felix Kubin's Gagarin Records. Their newest record,
for the same company, is loosely centered around jingles for
commercial productions. At least I understood this right. 'Vernon
& Burns offer 14 exciting multi-use modular selections of
mood and temoi in the most contemporary idioms to suit a wide
range of productions and products". There you go. This new
record breaks away, at least to some extent, from the radio plays
they are usually connect themselves with, and seems to be dealing
more with music. Still of course they plunder the musical sources
together from various media (vinyl, tapes, the internet, TV)
and create rather short pieces with them, which usually deal
with one aspect, as to maintain that idea of a commercial. It
is spliced together in the good tradition of musique concrete
- variation francaise - but it sounds at times like a big band.
Samplemania of course. The narrative aspect of the older music
is missed here, and I'm not sure if I'm pleased with that. Maybe
the whole album sounds a bit too easy for me. It seems there
is so much more possible with the idea of jingles and commercials
(see The Residents 'Commercial Album' in that respect), or even
make them more real, like real commercials, but then in the style
of plunderphonics. Not entirely convinced now by this as an end-result.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.gagarinrecords.com
MARK BOOMBASTIK - PLASTIK LIEB/HOFFNUNG
(LIVE) (7" by Meeuw Muzak)
Its been a while since we last heard a new 7" by Meeuw Muzak,
busy with a private life these days and nights (congratulations
from the entire VW team on that mister Meeuw) but then here a
brand new 7" by Mark Boombastik, who already released 'I
Hate Art Galleries' on the same label, as well as material for
other labels, such Solotempo, Lou Records, Gagarin Records, Tomlab
etc. His background is in the field of hip hop, so he's probably
better known in other, non Vital areas. He has worked with Patric
Catani (Candie Hank), Funkstoerung, Felix Kubin and such alike.
The music is not really hip hop like (as far as I can judge,
not being fully known with the genre), but Boombastik uses a
stomping rhythm, deep bass sound, something that sounds like
a theremin and German vocals, which sing about our love for plastic.
Quite biting the a-side, maybe even a political edge to it. The
b-side is a looped voice duet between 'where is my hope' and
'where is my fear', along with fucked up rhythm backing. Quite
chilling this one. Great labels here too: based on the energy
chocolate which keeps drivers awake - Meeuw should remember that
from a shared experience with the writer! (FdW)
Address: http://www.meeuw.net
FVRTVR - DEMON CYCLE 1-9 (CDR by Niente
Records)
Recorded in the basement of an old post office by Fvrtvr, which
is a duo of Guido Hennebohl (electronics) and Fritz Welch (percussion
and voice). Nine tracks here, recorded backwards it says on the
press release, but no doubt it means that the last piece they
recorded comes first and then works its way backwards. This is
a pretty fine disc of improvised music. Somewhere between soft
and loud, noise and onkyo is where this duo position themselves.
The voice is clearly a voice, but the words are all non-sense;
making sound, like the best sound poetry of say Jaap Blonk, but
without much variation. The percussive bits rumble about and
the most interesting part comes from the electronics. Its here
we find enough variation, with drone like sounds, noise outing
and clicks and cuts. Maybe its all a bit long for the amount
of variation, and certainly some more editing would have helped,
but throughout its all pretty decent thing. (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/nienterecords
MACHINIST - VIENS AVEC MOI DANS LE VIDE
(CDR by Betontoon)
Caves aren't exactly the things you find in The Netherlands,
but Machinist make cave like music. Machinist is Zeno van den
Broek from Rotterdam and since 2005 he has released a couple
of CDRs and played a few selected concerts. On this new release
he gets help from Sven Schlijper who recites a text and Elleke
Bosma, who plays cello on two tracks. As said cave music, by
which mean music that is very, very dark (as in no light), but
also using the reverb of caves. I believe to be hearing - although
not entirely sure - lots of heavily processed guitars, even more
electronics, some field recordings and a fair amount of dark
percussive sounds. Despite what it says on the press release
'... opens up the auditory point of view of the listener at an
open and wide panoramic vista of emotions with a sharp focus
on the horizon', I hear perhaps something else. This is music
from a claustrophobic point. Hermetically closed, grey/black
landscape music. Having said that, its not a judgment or a negative
qualification per se. It might not be entirely my cup of coffee,
this kind of music (being too black, grim and hinting towards
things I don't care about - maybe a bit too gothic?), I can see
that Machinist plays his music with great care. Its excellently
produced, the individual compositions are kept into a great time
frame and calls the dark beast out its hole. Its about time he
moved to doing real CDs, I'd say. (FdW)
Address: http://www.betontoon.com
ANDREAS BRANDAL - JERNVOGNEN (CDR by Tape
Drift)
Noise with a twist from this crafty Norwegian sound-smith, who
has a distinct penchant for the dark and ominous. 'Jernvognen'
itself is a reference to a 1909 mystery novel by Stein Riverton,
which revolves around a "mysterious chariot which move[s]
in the dead of night without leaving any track." Intriguing
subject matter, no doubt, though for me this record's prime attribute
is its stark evocation of the pitch-black arctic night. Nowhere
is this more evident than on its sublimely atmospheric final
composition, whose fragile, pensive drone ebbs in and out, accompanied
by subtle guitar tomfoolery and a chilled, industrial ambiance.
A delicious conclusion to the ordeal, it sends the listener skyward
in a a whirl of Aurora Borealis and twinkling little stars. The
rest of the record explores depraved, distorted guitar drone,
as on evil part one (replete with sonic waves and shreds glistening
above the noise) and steadily dissolute part two. Meanwhile,
the record's menacing third part deserves special note, as it
craftily weds a brooding melodic loop to all sorts of bass-heavy
interference. (MT)
Address: http://sites.google.com/site/hardiman04/
CORPSE CANDLE - WASTE NOT WANT NOT (CDR
by Twilight Luggage)
I am not a lover of all harsh noise - in fact, I can be quite
captious about the matter - but I really dig noise like this,
which offers that deliciously odious sense of teetering just
over the brink. 'Waste Not Want Not' is a rather riveting assault,
and it conveys its intensity admirably - it's unabashedly abrasive
and menacingly nihilistic, but carefully designed for maximum
impact. Dig album-best "Bats in the Belfry," which
attacks like a vicious steam engine barreling forward; it's all
windy pedal abrasion and spasmodic hyper-drilling - a beautiful
flower of a harsh noise assault that will drive noiseheads into
ecstasy and roommates up the wall. The soundtrack to fucked up
things happening, in short. On the other hand, "Fresh Grave,
Well... Get In..." is somehow a more reasoned and musical
affair (we're still talking about abrasive noise here, however),
while brief "Well So Long Then" clatters randomly,
employing far more negative space than its two discmates. Yes,
'Waste Not Want Not' peaks early, but that shouldn't discredit
its blissful spectacle of chaos. (MT)|
Address: http://www.twilightluggage.com
GOMEISA - TEMPORAL DEATH (CDR, private)
A nine minute passage of sinister dark ambience starts off this
self-released nugget from Gomeisa (Cole Peters). It's a wonderfully
grisly harbinger of the vile noise assault that's to come in
the form of "Seconds Migrate Like Cattle to the Butcher,"
which offers twenty minutes of on-the-brink reverb and feedback,
craggy with chunks of pedal abuse and deathly screeching. It's
like an immensely drawn-out enactment of a rural cargo train
derailing and being rendered to smithereens. Even from a noise
standpoint, it's a feverishly brutal composition. The three-parted
"Temporal Death" proper occupies the disc's final trio
of tracks, and is, for me, the least compelling component of
this album. It's a respectable noise exploit, with ample grungy
feedback, but for me it doesn't boast the same riveting dynamics
of the first two tracks. Don't get me wrong - this is solid abrasion
throughout, with more than enough aural aggression to leave even
hardened ears throbbing, but tracks one and two have that added
je-ne-sais-quoi that stirs your viscera just so. (MT)
Address: http://www.colepeters.com/gomeisa
DRAPE - DREAM WORDS (CDR by Gears Of Sand)
The recordings here, by Ryan Gracey and Spencer Williams, also
known as Drape, date already from 2004 to 2006. I have no idea
why they haven't been released sooner, as its certainly very
nice music. Seeing this being released by Gears Of Sand, since
some time the new major CDR label (as far I'm concerned) for
ambient music, the music is, naturally ambient too. Nothing new
there, and that's what we don't expect either. When we open a
jewel case, labeled Gears Of Sand, we expect this kind of slow,
meditative ambient music. No disappointment there, as Drape deliver
eight tracks of exactly that. Played with... well, I'd say synthesizers,
but these days (or even those days) you never know. It might
as well be a bunch of guitars and lots sound effect units - like
I said you never know. The music is quiet, calm and not very
outspoken, but some excellent cold winter night, nocturnal music.
Sounds come and go, and usually hoover about for a while in similar
vein - the very essence I'd say of ambient music. It fills your
space with warmth. Drape doesn't do much new indeed and like
I said, for ambient music that's quite alright. You get what
you asked for. Drape does it all, and they do it very well. (FdW)
Address: http://www.gearsofsand.net
UR/IRON MOLAR (CDR by Locust Swarm Rex,
Fucking Clinica, Alampo)
We've already had various releases by Ur, the Italian trio of
Federico Esposito, Mauro Sciaccaluga and Andrea Ferraris. Here
they have a split release with Iron Molar, of whom I know nothing.
Apparently a work people have been waiting for, as it is released
by three different CDR labels. Iron Molar has one long track,
Ur has four. The music of Ur is mostly based in the world of
drones, although they go out here with 'You've Been So Kind To
Me' into the world of noise, and sadly not the best result. The
other three tracks however are great: a swamp of drones, field
recordings and lots of sound effects which transform the analogue
synthesizers and guitars into some great atmospheric music. Works
best when things are more quiet and spacious.
Iron Molar has a guitar, a loop device, a microphone and maybe
some sort of synthesizer. The twenty-seven minutes of their 'La
Caduta Di Lucifero' (the fall of lucifer) is a noise based piece,
that never seems to explode into real noise (or never wants to
perhaps), but also a piece that is generated through methods
of improvisation. Everything is switched on and we'll see where
it gets us. Not particular far I'd say. Not too much of my liking.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.alampomusic.com
SPRUIT - PATTERNS (3"CDR by Spruit)
Morphology is a strange science. At its extreme, most open to
ontologies it appears open ended, and so rather than mark off
a territory offers ever expanding planes of immanence, certainly
to the creative, inventive mind, but de-anthropomorphise this,
it should allow "a hyper-chaos, for which nothing is or
would seem to be, impossible, not even the unthinkable".
The whole history of post-theory is strewn with papers, blogs
and books where such is attempted, and it seems ever more justified
by appeals to "empirical science", as if that offers
some freedom from the philosophical blinkers, or shackles (keeping
us facing the cave wall) of Kantian correlationism. But such
musings of the prisoners once exposed to the empirical daylight
would bring disappointment. Plastic is a good (empirical) example.
Deemed to be the most amorphous protean being too easy to catch,
plastic either looks plastic or looks like anything else, wood,
metal, ceramic. Rather than offering a hyper-chaos it adds one
more and only one more substance to the world, itself. Likewise
with electronic music and its locus of the
synthesizer, that either sounds like a synthesizer or some other
pre-existing instrument, but never sounds the realm of infinite
and impossible, even to the extent that modern software emulates
a Moog in the same way it does a Grand Piano. Cutting to the
chase then, 'Patterns' rather than extending the chaos of ON/OFF
becomes not more abstract but dissolves into insect like soundscapes
and computer glitches which are immediately recognisable. That
might be a good thing, that "rock 'n roll feeling",
and I suppose shouldn't disappoint- our ears can only hear what
we hear, not "the" sounds, which are not available,
like "the thing in itself" lost to us. The recent metaphysical
howling for the moon is very familiar. (jliat)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/spruit
BARACLOUGH - THE LAMPSHADE IS NOT A PAST
TENSE (cassette by The Tapeworm)
LEIF ELGGREN - ALL ANIMALS ARE SAINTS (cassette by The Tapeworm)
TONGUES OF MOUNT MERU - THE DELIGHT OF ASSEMBLY (cassette by
The Tapeworm)
MELTAOT - FIRST AND SECOND RITES (cassette by The Tapeworm)
The cassette is back - there is little doubt about that. It was
never away I guess. Over the years I used to play my favorites
from twenty years ago, but added not many new favorites, simply
because for years not many were released. But its back, and one
of the more interesting new labels is The Tapeworm - loosely
connected to Touch, in which online shop you can order them.
The cassette also a playground for new names, ideas and small
concepts. For instance Baraclough, the longest of these four
releases. A group of Paul de Casparis, Eddie Nuttall and Dale
Cornish, from London. Whatever instrument they play is not revealed
(information on all covers is sparse), but there might be a synthesizer,
maybe some bowed instrument, voices, a laptop filled with field
recordings? Who knows. Three lengthy pieces (repeated on the
b-side). Although I think the music is made through improvisation,
it has very little do with improvised music. Quite loop based,
with a kind of repressed noise in the background. A pretty obscure
release I'd say, and perhaps tracks are bit too long, but it
also has something quite captivating about it. Hard to say what
exactly, but I surely liked it.
Leif Elggren was in London in November 2009 to present his DVD
release 'Death Travels Backwards' (see Vital Weekly 710). The
first night he read a story, followed by music of a highly strange
kind. It sounds electronic, with all sorts of peeps with intervals
of a varying length - it could be processed voice. It has that
sort of minimalist sound that we know and love Elggren for. Then
the story continues and more processed sounds. An odd piece.
The b-side is entirely instrumental with some odd sound from
a small organ, and what seems to be the squeaking of a door or
some other object being rubbed. Perhaps not indeed the sort of
thing to put on a CD release, but surely quite captivating. A
great private document.
Behind Tongues Of Mount Meru we find one Jon Wesseltoft and the
well-known Lasse Marhaug. One would perhaps expect some noise
release, or cut-up collage like sounds, but these two pieces
sound like these two found a bunch of cheap bontempi keyboards.
Pressing a few chords down on all of them, they sit behind a
mixing board mixing the sounds together. Welcome ye of drone
music! Its the kind of drone music I like very much - lover all
of organs. Hardcore minimalism at work here, with slow changes
in the sound material, but piercing throughout. Not in a noise
way, but in a more upfront manner. The new plasticity of drone
music. Simply yet effective. Great release.
The final release is the shortest, by one SavX, who plays 'electric
rooster guitar' and Sharon Gal on electric bass, voice, percussion
and feedback, who work as Meltaot. Here we land in noise territory,
but perhaps due to the quality which comes with medium, its not
loud as such. Improvised noise, bending guitar, feedback in the
background and distortion pedals used sparsely throughout, this
is however my least favorite of the four. Maybe its because I
am not that fond (anymore) of noise, or perhaps I heard too many
of these noisy guitar improvisations. Not bad, but a little worn
out. (FdW)
Address: http://www.tapeworm.org.uk
PAID Downloads:
PETERMANN - INIT (MP3 by Carpal Tunnel)
This is a paid download thing - also something we don't want
to review anymore - by one Petermann. I have no idea where he
is from, although I assume Germany. His music can best be called
laptopmusic. By this I mean a mixture of various interests in
music, which all have to do with electronic means which are to
be found on a laptop, primarily I think Ableton Live. Petermann's
music is most of the time dealing with rhythm and a bit of ambient
and drones. As an influence on his work I think we should not
look further than early Pan(a)sonic. Deep bass thumbs, high end
sounds, hiss as melody and such like, and you get the Petermann
sound. Music like this that seems have some revival these days.
It seems however that this lacks the depth of the masters, let
alone the swing needed. A few tracks are actually alright, but
not all twelve. (FdW)
Address: http://www.carpaltunnel.net
PASCAL SAVY - THE SILENT WATCHER (MP3 by
Audio Moves)
A subdivision from the physical label Audiobulb is Audio Moves,
which deal with paid downloads. Pascal Savy started in the 90s
playing Detroit techno, recorded onto tapes and minidiscs and
stopped for quite some time. Now he's back, concentrating on
my ambient textured music. To that end he uses field recordings
made in an old workshop, the slowing down of clocks, the spinning
wheel of a rusty bike, children playing and such like. In his
music he treats these sounds on the computer and mixes both the
raw, unprocessed parts with the processed ones. It would be too
easy to say his music is all ambient. Savy uses sustaining sounds
for sure, build from small extracts of his field recordings,
but an important feature is also the use of loops. Sometimes
these loops are worked into something that can be called a rhythm,
like in 'rhythm machines' - or perhaps he just added those? The
seven tracks make a pretty strong impression, while at the same
time its perhaps not much new under the sun of microsound, ambient,
field recordings and drones. Savy adds small musical touches
to the material, such as the piano like sounds in 'Deconstructing
Clues', which makes this less abstract than the average release
in this field. Excellent production - great compositions. Should
have been a real CD, I think. (FdW)
Address: http://www.audiomoves.com
<<<
|