LULL – MOMENTS (CD by Relapse)
SETH NEHIL – TRACING THE SKINS OF CLOUDS (CD by Kaon)
LEIF ELGGREN – THE NEW IMMORTALITY #2 (7″ by Firework)
0161 (Compilation CD by Skam)
COMPILATION – OMCO (CD by Outward Music Company)
LULL – MOMENTS (CD by Relapse)
Lull’s Mick Harris returns with one of my more favourite Harris’ solo projects. This new one, is again one track, by unlike the previous, ‘Continue’, indexed with 99 start codes, leaving freedom to play at random… now, if that’s is not exictengly old concept… Cynism left aside, this is another fine CD, and shows Lull into some fine isolationist drones music. There is another progression going on it seems: the empahsizes on really low end bass sound, makes this, at least for me, a more physical release then the previous CD’s. It dwells hughly on thick bass rumblings, even when played at a low volume (like I always do). I doubt wether I will play this either on ‘random’ or on ‘repeat 1 track’, because the ongoing flow is just too nice to be interrupted, and not really appropiate to this kind of music. (FdW)
Address: <mailorder@relapse.com>
SETH NEHIL – TRACING THE SKINS OF CLOUDS (CD by Kaon)
Seth Nehil… my latin is unsufficient to translate it for you, but it sounds like a third rate gothic band. However it’s not (otherwise it wouldn’t have been on Kaon, suppliers of fine modern day musique concrete). The otherwise uninformative packaging, says that the materials used here were collected by one Doug Easterly, J. Grzinich and M. Northam – the latter two known for their excellent ‘Stomach Of The Sky’ release from last year. So now the duo is a trio, and together they explore the sounds of our daily environment a little bit further. With contactmicrophones they amplify concrete, plastic tubes etc… and that added with a dash of reverb, it becomes a rich sound pattern. In just a few places the electronica takes control, but only for some moments. In general it’s relaxing music that has no real peak; apperentely not drifting in dynamics, but nevertheless an interesting and, as said, relaxing listen. (FdW)
Address: <kaon@hol.fr>
LEIF ELGGREN – THE NEW IMMORTALITY #2 (7″ by Firework)
One of my first activities working for a company which I will not name, was buying a 7″ which I dfound in the promo bin. It was called ‘The New Imoortality’ by Leif Elggren, and had the sound of a needle cut in a record – well, that, or something similar. That was in june 1992.
Now, some many years later, the ‘remix’ record is released. The New Immortality number 1 is reworked into a number 2. This time on playable vinyl. It sounds exactely what it is: a destroyed record being played and recorded. Great remix if that word is apprpriate at all…, more noise is added. And I’m sure we’ll have number 3 coming in another 6 years. (FdW)Address: fax: + 46 8 18 87 20
0161 (Compilation CD by Skam)
Compiled by Daddy Sockman and with names like Gescom, The Fall and The Renegades as the more familiar ones from Manchester (dial 0161… in the UK). I’ll give you a run through the tracks, and my opinion.
Mild Man Jan starts this CD out with a environmental recording from an industrial nature and from there takes it into a noisy and distorted break beat rhythm that gets caught in a hold on a delay apparatus.
Jackfear: break beats, effects, tempo changes with a corny musical cheap synthy style ‘mum leave my old casio alone-you are driving me crazy – I wish I never bought it back then-let me explain you how CuBase VST works- or maybe not’ sort of break.
Gescom is next on the disc and they do a very nice not to hectic but still pretty fast track, synthy melody on repeat, in your head dance music, mellow (I’m doing keywords here).
The Fall track is called Powderkex and sounds like somebody else doing a Fall remix.
Bola is not only responsible for the mastering of this CD but also for a track called ‘01706’.
Keywords again: mellow, break beat, synthesizers, fx’s, oh! what a nice break and the way the tune
comes back is brilliant!
Martian Tin Can: Joking Apart; triphoppy, classical string samples on a spooky sort of theremin background, orchestral samples.
Jega: Whore; drum&bass, sort of acid bassline, I don’t like these synthesizers sequencer loops.
V/VM: Asymetric; crazy noise techno chaos and short; excellent stuff!
The Renegades: Destination Tomorrow; also short, break beat,……..what else?
Audiomontage: Probe; slow, long, jazz, break beat, cool.
Datathief: Night Raid; electro, they have been stealing this data from the eighties, Herbies Handcock, Thomas Dolby????….
O’Natural: Mood Swingz; AAAH! Here we go again, except for that one string sound it’s back to cool again.
Yunx: Cyclomethicone; ambient style, sweet, all fall asleep now.
Professor Broxburn: Flat Slab; Oil drums and crying, minute of silence, and some very good programming using samples from the oil drums bit is my guess.
Altogether a very good and leveled out compilation for everyone who is into break beats drum&bassy style experimental music. (RM)
Address: Skam P.O.Box 76 Manchester M45 7XW UK
COMPILATION – OMCO (CD by Outward Music Company)
All artists on this compilation are from Portland USA. Apparently all these guys have their latest stuff played from DATape or cassette over a PA installation in a club called ‘Frequency’ which is also in Portland.
Solenoid -Lucky 13; starts out with nice click pulse where a nice beat is put on top. Reminds me of some of the better stuff from NUF. Very good programming, rhythms are a bit in the background, no heavy bass (not on this entire CD actually). Some very nice sounds though.
Solenoid – Ocean Floor Crawler; more normal basic ambient techno stuff.
CNS Engineering – Nothing But Rock; not very good, old school something.
CNS Engineering – Sublingual; straight acid-techno, not to boring.
Rehab. – Gentle Ben; short track, guitar based, done with records?
Nudge- Parlour Song; Jimi Tenor like.
Jesse James – Left Leg/Goat Girl; lots of high pitched synthesizers, no bass! but very good!!
Supplement – ambient, guitars and rhythms through fx’s.
Pulse Programming – Mozzer; noisy, drum&bass rhythm patterns mixed in the background, again not to much bass, but very good!
Pulse Programming – Test Tubes (Tiny Events); ambient.
Overall not a bad CD at all, deserves to be listened to.(RM)
Address: <omco@teleport.com>