Week 11
400 LONELY THINGS – SUBDIVISIONS (CD by Unexplained Sounds Group/Dissipatio)
HYPNOSKULL – CYBERPUNISHER (CD by EE Tapes)
DAVE PHILLIPS – NOTHING’S WRONG (CD by Flag Day Recordings)
OORT – THEY PASS BY, BARELY SHOWING THEMSELVES – I, II, III (CD by Flag Day Recordings)
ALEXANDRA GRIMAL/GIOVANNI DI DOMENICO – SHAKKEI (CD by Relative Pitch Records)
ORNELLA NOULET – PROMISE OF FAITHFULNESS (CD by Relative Pitch Records)
TAKUMI SEINO – PARTICLES (CD by Voice Of Silence)
DOC WÖR MIRRAN – GISH GALLOP (CDR by Marginal Talent)
SUBJECT – WHO WILL SAVE BELGIUM (CDR by Je M’en Fish)
M.A.L – TRAVELER’S DIARY (CDR by Je M’en Fish)
M.A.L – OUTLAW (CDR by Je M’en Fish)
BJ NILSEN & JOHN OLSON & SIGTRYGGUR BERG SIGMARSSON – GAME BEUYS (cassette by Radical Documents)
JUNTA – CANNY ALLEY (cassette by Rupu Tapes)
AI YAMAMOTO – LESS HYPE MORE HYPHAE (cassette by Le Mont Analogue)
GALLERY SIX – KISETSU (cassette by Le Mont Analogue)
THE HATERS – NIET HIER (cassette by Korm Plastics D)
PERMEATION – REPEATED CYCLES (cassette by Kringloop Kassettes)
JULIUS MÉNARD – ZEITGEIST (cassette by Kringloop Kassettes)
AMANDA IRARRÁZABAL & MARCO ALBERT – ŌG- (cassette by Eh? Records)
DAVID LEE MYERS – TIN DROP TEAR (book, private)
400 LONELY THINGS – SUBDIVISIONS (CD by Unexplained Sounds Group/Dissipatio)
A regular in Vital Weekly is 400 Lonely Things, Craig Varian’s musical project. He started it with Jonathan McCall, who passed away in 2020, although they started using the name in 2002; since then, it’s been Varian’s solo project. Maybe you know this from previous reviews. Varian describes his current music as “Dark New Age for the New Dark Age,” which is nowadays the soundtrack for mankind. We are in the dark about what kind of instruments are used, but a fair share of electronics, field recordings, a piano and synthesisers spring to mind. It might be no surprise to find 400 Lonely Things dabbling with dark ambient. With a rich variation of sounds and instruments, there’s always an extended release and ‘Subdivisions’ is no different, with nearly 80 minutes of music. There are lengthy passages of sustaining sounds, but also looped-based sounds, which do not necessarily add a rhythm dynamic to the music (i.e. dance music) but something that breaks the flow. The soundtrack-like aspect of the music is never far away, more a horror soundtrack than something. The wind of a misty plain, that type of thing, of incoming doom, but the music also has other emotions, such as anger, sadness and grief. The music is small in approach, without all too big production, but that’s the beauty of the music; it stays close together and comforting, even in its most ghost-like approach. I am told this is the first album without a thematic or conceptual approach, but I noted the 14 tracks are together most coherently. This album is also a narrative, albeit more abstract, inviting the listener to think of a private story behind the music, which is excellent. Music-wise, perhaps, not the biggest surprise, but another well-crafted work of a most delicate nature. (FdW)
––– Address: https://unexplainedsoundsgroup.bandcamp.com/
HYPNOSKULL – CYBERPUNISHER (CD by EE Tapes)
If you have never heard of Hypnoskull, then where the hell did you buy your sleeping pills? Those must be some powerful ones because Hypnoskull is alive and has never been more relevant to the music industry then these days. And he has been a relative in the industry for over 30 years, which is proven by this release. This was originally released in 1994, and from what I understood, it was kinda ‘lost’, so for Patrick Stevens (the man behind the project), it was kind of a surprise too to see this release surfacing again.
The tracks are from 4 years before the legendary first release on Ant-Zen, being ‘Rhythmusmaschine 1-2’, with Ant-Zen developing itself into now of the major labels in the industrial scene in the second half of the nineties. I can’t remember how often I’ve seen Hypno with label mates Imminent (Starvation), Asche and Synapscape perform in those days and the many years of Maschinenfest in the years thereafter. And either as Hypnoskull or in disguise as one of his many different projects, Patrick always stuck to his ideals. Nihilistic, anarchistic, in your face, loud, direct, sometimes with too many beers, but always honest and friendly. And so far, my notes in this review are because we’re back to the music. Because in the end, that is what Patrick is about too.
“Cyberpunisher” was, as said earlier, released in 1994, back when Hypnoskull wasn’t known. It was recorded in about 3 weeks, as with all Hypnoskull albums. If it takes too long to create, the vibe is wrong, and it’s not good enough. So, we already know the vibe on this one is as it should be. It was released by the – for me – fully unknown Hahamandad label from Axel in the Netherlands. Their last release, according to Discogs, was from 1995, and even though most names are unfamiliar to me, I see a few known ones, too, like Konstruktivists, The Venus Fly Trap and Sigmar Fricke. The original tape was used as a master and remastered for CD, and it got new artwork. It sounds and looks lovely.
What makes this particular release interesting is that Patrick was mainly experimenting with noise and sounds before this release. This was the first release where he experimented with rhythm. Rhythm as a weapon. Rhythm to make a statement. And maybe because this is one of those first experiments, the impact is audible. The sound is evolving as – back then – the artist was evolving. There are moments where the sound experiments are the most essential part of the track, and there are moments where it’s the noise, and somewhere the rhythm is in the lead. And no, I’ll not write down titles and stuff. if you’re interested in finding out how Hypnoskull became Hypnoskull, you will simply have to go to the Bandcamp page and listen. And then decide on whether you want to complete your collection. Because if you’re still reading, we both know you already HAVE more Hypnoskull and you definitely WANT more Hypnoskull.
––– Address: https://eetapes.bandcamp.com/
DAVE PHILLIPS – NOTHING’S WRONG (CD by Flag Day Recordings)
OORT – THEY PASS BY, BARELY SHOWING THEMSELVES – I, II, III (CD by Flag Day Recordings)
It’s not a problematic choice to start with Dave Phillips. I know his work better than Oort’s, and I am always curious to hear something new from him. ‘Nothing’s Wrong – Just Continue As Usual’, it says on the front cover, which he means ironic, as there is everything to worry about; the backside says it all “the ongoing rape of mother earth”, and drives the point home, on the inside it says, “when I hear people say ‘nature will prevail’, it sounds like telling a gangrape victim who’s been beaten and stabbed, ‘don’t worry, you won’t die'”. That sums up the ecological message that has played a vital role in his music for many years. The music on this new CD he created for 16-channel ‘diffusion’ in Lausanne and reduced to stereo for the CD. Something I like about Phillips’ music is the noisy aspect, but it’s a different kind of noise. His noise doesn’t deal with distortion, stomp boxes or synthesisers. Phillips uses field recordings, fire and animal sounds, highly amplified, and his voice, also in a more animalistic form, and with bangs on wood or metal. Sometimes, there are other sounds, such as a clock ticking – time running out. There is something very primitive about this, like a ritual of a long time ago; I could use the word ‘primitive’, but was life primitive back then? Or is our current civilisation a thinly disguised form of something more primitive? Driven by urges we know have catastrophic effects? So, who’s the primitive here? It sounds like Etant Donnes’ masterpiece ‘Blue’, but extremer because of this amplification. Dave Phillips’ music is a substantial charge for a cause that isn’t good but essential if we want to survive and he’s the shaman/priest to call us in action. We only need to listen, but as we know, we won’t.
In Vital Weekly 1470, I first reviewed something by Oort, the Italian duo of Michele Anelli (double bass, tapes and electronic devices) and Nicholas Remondino (percussion, samplers, electronics). I thought that cassette was a fascinating work of improvised music meeting more experimental, glitchy music and it sounds less improvised, which was great. Their new CD has one piece of music in three distinct parts. The opening section exemplifies their approach of improvisation and glitchiness. The bass is bowed, the percussion scraped, and the voices are sampled and cut very short. The second part seems to be the two musician building and building, layer upon layer of sound, using what appears to be motorised sounds upon their instruments. It becomes loud when it reaches its climax and then slowly fades away. This section had all the markings of loud acoustic drone music, which sounds great. However, as much as these sections sounded great, the best is saved till the last. The last section is a beautifully shimmering piece of electronics, hushed acoustic tones, and remote bass drones. It has a quiet, ambient feeling, and while I am unsure where this section starts, it could have lasted much longer. I wouldn’t have minded this to be the complete 30 minutes of this CD, with minor variations on the sounds they produce. This is another fine work. (FdW)
––– Address: http://flagdayrecordings.bandcamp.com/
ALEXANDRA GRIMAL/GIOVANNI DI DOMENICO – SHAKKEI (CD by Relative Pitch Records)
Alexandra Grimal (1980) has been featured here a few times. She was born in Cairo and currently lives in Paris. She studied at The Hague Conservatory and the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. In 2009, she recorded the album “Owl’s Talk” with Gary Peacock, Paul Motian, and Lee Konitz and began to develop her first projects independently. She performs regularly with Marc Ducret, Joelle Leandre, Theo Ceccaldi, and since 2013, with Hans Lüdemann in his TransEuropeExpress. From 2014 to 2018, Grimal was a member of the Orchestre National de Jazz in France. She composes for her ensembles, interdisciplinary projects, and classical symphony orchestras. Her music partner, Giovanni di Domenico (1977), has also been featured several times on these pages. He played with Chris Corsano, Jim O’Rourke, Akira Sakata, Tetuzi Akiyama, Keiji Haino, Eiko Ishibashi, Joe Talia, Okkyung Lee, Balasz Pandi, Nate Wooley, Yan Jun, John Edwards, Darin Gray, Roger Turner, Steve Noble, DJ Sniff, Terrie Ex, David Maranha, Manuel Mota, Arve Henriksen, Norberto Lobo, Peter Jacquemyn, Alexandra Grimal, John Duncan, Tony Allen, Rafael Toral or Toshimaru Nakamura, to name a few. Born in Italy, he studied at the Hague Conservatory and met Alexandra. This is their fourth release since 2011. And what a splendid release it is. Five pieces, all with Japanese titles, with a duration between two and a whopping twenty minutes. This classifies as chamber jazz. Grimal plays the soprano and tenor saxophone, and Di Domenico plays the grand piano, the celesta (an instrument that is both a percussion and hammered instrument, with tuned metal blocks that are hammered in the piano way, with a piano keyboard, the instrument is almost exclusively used in classical music) and the pipe organ, with some sections played on the celeste, on the most extended piece. This is captivating music throughout. (MDS)
––– Address: https://relativepitchrecords.bandcamp.com/
ORNELLA NOULET – PROMISE OF FAITHFULNESS (CD by Relative Pitch Records)
This is Noulets first solo record. She was born in France and now resides in Brussels. The release contains seven pieces in forty minutes. The longest is ten minutes, the shortest is less than two and a half minutes. As explained in the liner notes, the title of the release (and a few of the track titles, among others, the longest one: Truth is Mysterious) are taken from the acceptance speech by Albert Camus on the occasion of his winning the Nobel Prize in 1957. She also wanted to explore the spirits in music. On a saxophone, you can easily play multiphonics, that is to say, multiple notes simultaneously. And with a bit of experimenting you can summon these ghosts while playing. They also appear when you start playing the saxophone, but that is not the case here. And she does that on several pieces. Especially in the Prayer for Red Poppies. Played in the altissimo register (the highest one) with multiphonics. For the most impressive track on this release. This will definitely not be for everyone. But I’ll keep an eye out for her because she has a distinctive voice. (MDS)
––– Address: https://relativepitchrecords.bandcamp.com/
TAKUMI SEINO – PARTICLES (CD by Voice Of Silence)
The music of Takumi Seio was reviewed a lot on these pages, primarily by our esteemed yet retired reviewer, Dolf Mulder. I reviewed his last one, ‘Echo’, in Vital Weekly 1416. That review ended with, “With our jazz department very small these days, our interest isn’t in that area anymore, and this goes for an album like Seino’s new one. It’s lovely, relaxing, and very much the soundtrack for a Sunday afternoon, but I think it’s too sweet, friendly, and somewhat out of place in Vital Weekly.” His new one isn’t as sweet, only partly. Seino plays acoustic and electric guitars, and in 43 minutes, he plays 35 pieces. The shortest is 40 seconds, the longest two minutes and 17 seconds. These pieces are dedicated to the 35th anniversary of a venue in Kobe, Japan, called Big Apple. The cover mentions “all improvised by Takumi Seino, except ‘Apple Obsession’ composed by Takumi Seino”; it took me some time to understand its meaning. That composed track is the last on the disc and doesn’t sound much different than the previous 34, even when there is some variation. Some pieces are the sweetest short vignettes of string plucking, a bit jazzy, laid back and consumer-friendly (and, perhaps, less Vital Weekly friendly). Yet there are also pieces of more experimental approaches to the guitar, occasionally resulting in a bunch of noise. I understand this Big Apple venue as a place of improvisation, jazz and noise music. If the music is any conceptual indication, I’d say jazz and improvisation happen more than noise music. Needless to say I enjoyed the experimental and noise particles here more than the sweet jazzy bits, and I hope Seino might do a full length of noise one day. (FdW)
––– Address: http://www.takumiseino.com/
DOC WÖR MIRRAN – GISH GALLOP (CDR by Marginal Talent)
Over the years, I heard a lot of Doc Wör Mirran. I don’t keep lists, but believe me when I say it’s a lot. I know the group to be ever-changing in the style of music and membership. It is a group that sometimes takes me by complete surprise. ‘Giash Gallop’ is such a release by them. Joseph B. Raimond, head honcho, is, of course, present and long-term members Michael Wurzer and Stefan Schweiger. I have never heard of the two new names, Matt McNeil and Michael Ash. As is most of the time, instruments aren’t mentioned and listening to this 48+ minute piece, I couldn’t say what they use. It could be a drill (or more than one), bowed metal sheets, large chunks of metal dragged across a factory floor, and a fair amount of reverb to top it off. The piece has various parts, which aren’t always as metallic, but throughout, the music stays densely layered. At some point, I think I may have heard the scraping of violins. It’s not like anything I heard from Doc Wör Mirran, not even in their most industrial form, and, mind you, I wouldn’t say this industrial or noise. It’s more an ambient, drone and industrial music meeting in an abandoned factory. They dimmed the lights, sounds came from all corners and, towards the end, it became very creepy; it’s here where the piece is the most melodic, with spooky piano music in a desolated space. I am curious to know more about this, how it was made, and what the role of the newcomers was.
Along with this release came ‘The Colour Of Panic’ by Joseph B. Raimond, subtitled ‘Travel Poems Vol.2′. As I write in my review of David Lee Myers’ poetry book, I know nothing about poetry and am not qualified to review it. But I liked ‘Self Sufficient’, which starts with “I publish my own books / So I don’t have to argue / with editors / or go to boring meetings / about marketing or promotion”, which sums up very well the attitude of the uber Mirran. (FdW)
––– Address: https://www.dwmirran.de/dwm.htm
SUBJECT – WHO WILL SAVE BELGIUM (CDR by Je M’en Fish)
M.A.L – TRAVELER’S DIARY (CDR by Je M’en Fish)
M.A.L – OUTLAW (CDR by Je M’en Fish)
Growing up with music in the 1980s meant growing up cassettes. I had lots of them (Do I regret not having them anymore? Yes, sometimes), including many compilations. Many contained similar electronic experiments, power electronics, noise and nonsense. The music that stood out were the different ones, those leaning towards pop music. The Legendary Pink Dots you could always pick from any cassette. Also, the bands from Insane Music stood out. Maybe that’s the reason I am, after 40 years, still a fan. Insane Music, which I told many times before, was the brainchild of Alain Neffe, with groups such as Pseudo Code, Human Flesh, Cortex, Bene Gesserit and Subject, each a bit different, conceptually from the other. Subject was the poppiest work by Neffe, who worked with Daniel Malempré, also known as MAL; more about him after this. He plays guitar and bass, while Neffe plays synthesiser, rhythm box, strings organ, saxophone, vocoder, bass and mini sampler (some of this on a few tracks only). They received help from Mirella Brunello, who sings five of the 25 songs. Three other songs are by three other singers, one being Nadine Bal of Bene Gesserit. Six of these pieces were previously unreleased, and the others appeared on compilation cassettes, vinyl and CDs. It’s a festival of tunes, of which I recognised quite a few. I couldn’t say which compilation exactly (‘Oh, this is from ‘Insane Music For Insane People Volume 3’, lovely. Wow, ‘Orgies In Synth’ also included!), and I wouldn’t have minded a list on the cover, instead of going back and forth on Discogs. The songs are joyous, quirky, extravert, introspective and at 75 minutes, hardly an album of pop music length, more like a 1970s concept double LP. The tempo is up most of the time and wears the listener out a bit, but think of this as a workout album: it keeps you moving.
In solo mode, Daniel Malempré becomes M.A.L., effectively the only solo outsider on Insane Music. He and Neffe go back to the 1970s, when they played in a group called Kosmose, whose music was first released after 2010 on a handful of CDs, and legend has it, Malempré mailed a demo to Ohr Music, explaining how it was made and found Manuel Göttsching copying that technique on ‘E2-E4’. Since the 1980s, he has had several solo releases on Sub Rosa, Vinyl On Demand and EE Tapes, which uncovered many old and new Insane Music releases. The guitar is his primary instrument, played melodically, using many effects and various layers. He adds bass, synthesisers (I am not sure about those), and drum machines. It’s easy to see why he would send a demo to Krautrock label Ohr in the 1970s as his music is very much in a similar spirit, and 50 years later still is. Endless guitar soloing upon soloing, spacious layers of tinkling guitars, droning guitars, and sometimes exotic percussion work wonders.
I know it’s a bit much to launch straight into ‘Outlaw’, a re-issue of a cassette from M.A.L. from 1986 on Insane Music, following the CDR I just heard. I missed that release when it first came out; my money was limited as a student. It’s interesting to compare M.A.L. from 1986 and 2024/5. In the old days, working with rather primitive equipment, and these days, with more sophisticated ones (I assume he’s not recording on the same Sony TC-630 machine as he had in the 70s). The primitive aspect can be heard in the music on ‘Outlaw’. It is less complex, with fewer guitar lines, but with the same driving force of all things Krautrock—more spaciousness but also more openness. The sound isn’t as dense as on his recent music, but otherwise is a perfect flow with the ‘Traveler’s Diary’. CDR and cassette are graced by covers that are delicate reminders of 1970s psychedelic artwork; the cassette could have adorned any incense-burning record store back then. (FdW)
––– Address: https://jemenfish.bandcamp.com/
BJ NILSEN & JOHN OLSON & SIGTRYGGUR BERG SIGMARSSON – GAME BEUYS (cassette by Radical Documents)
While 2025 isn’t old, there was enough time for BJ Nilsen, John Olson and Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson to work on some new music, edit, mix and release it on a cassette. It’s been a while since I last heard something from two Nordic friends; much of what Olson does is beyond my knowledge, but I know some of his background, which is hard to avoid. When Nilsen and Sigmarsson are in play, analogue technology in the form of an old reel isn’t far away. They use it to manipulate sound, and the results are copied into the computer for editing and mixing. I assume this has been no different when working with Olson. As with their previous releases, we are never told what kind of sounds went into this, and the material never provides a clue. There is a more collage-like approach than on some of the earlier releases, or rather, they always had this collage-like approach, but on this new cassette, the movements are shorter, adding a cut-and-paste style to the music, with some hard-cut changes in the music. The transformations have been extensive, and the level of abstraction is high. Yet, the music also has a lovely elegant style, reminding me of the last of the early phase of The Hafler Trio. Playful drones are sometimes cut short and replaced by something else: another drone, a cluster of electric sounds, or even some wacky organ doodling. There is a genuine love for sound and manipulation here, and there is something humouristic about this, even if I couldn’t explain what is funny about this. At 31 minutes way, way too short! (FdW)
––– Address: https://radicaldocuments.bandcamp.com/music
JUNTA – CANNY ALLEY (cassette by Rupu Tapes)
Rupu Tapes is a tape label from Jyväskylä in Finland and they uphold the DIY ethics up to a very high standard. I think (though I haven’t read it anywhere so that I might be wrong as f***) that it is run by the same person who is behind Circle of Shit. And a little reading and a game of connect-the-dots tells us that he is also the person behind the project Junta. So it’s no surprise that several of the releases on Rupu are by one of his projects. This one is, however, the first I see from this label and the first in the Vital Weekly.
“Canny Alley” is almost 40 minutes long and contains five tracks between 3 and 11 minutes. All were recorded in live situations, but that might also be read as ‘all tracks recorded direct to disc, no overdubs or manipulation afterwards’ which would fit the rawness and relentlessness of these recordings. So what to expect musically? Noise. Of the harsh kind, though never resulting in HNW. Loads of dynamics, scraping things with contact mics, distortion and feedback loops. A few ‘silent’ moments as in ‘gasping for air’. “Arkinen Hysteria” has what seems to be a sequenced part in the end, and it must have been bliss to feel those basses in a live setting. In all their rattling glory.
“Haku Päällä” is a harsh noise where it’s almost as if heavy metal constructions are thrown over the place. Because of that, I had to think of Neubauten’s early 80’s. It has the charm of the pre-Kollaps recordings. But my favourite track is “The Final Watershed”. Why? It starts with incoherent rattling, which slowly becomes coherent and a little melody line is added even. And then the noise hits. And then, in the final part, it’s as if the performer(s) did something wrong, and they’re actually hurt. Or something else went wrong. But, how much more honest could you get your noise? (BW)
––– Address: https://ruputapes.wordpress.com/
AI YAMAMOTO – LESS HYPE MORE HYPHAE (cassette by Le Mont Analogue)
GALLERY SIX – KISETSU (cassette by Le Mont Analogue)
Two cassettes by musicians I had not heard of before, on a label, also new to me. It turns out Le Mont Analogue is the cassette imprint of Russia’s Dronarivm label, available in the West through their office in Amsterdam.
Ai Yamamoto has had previous releases on Room40, Dragon’s Eye Recordings, and PITP; she is from Melbourne. “Her music style varies from soft melodic and shimmering abstract melodies to dark explosive tones. Her main area of interest is the dramatic structure and flow of music and gentle melodies with abstract texture, which bring atmospheric soundscape in her compositions”. She indeed went for the gentle side of her music on ‘Less Hype More Hyphae’. There is also a curious remark that “this album is the response to a fantastic fungi documentary. Let’s break the spell, and we are in the matrix”, whatever that means. She plays keyboards in her music, like the ones with black and white keys, and not the modular variation. As always, I might be wrong. She plays relatively simple melodic lines and slow arpeggio tones, with some strict in-tempo delay work, and it’s pleasant to hear. It is relatively light in tone and still atmospheric. Many pieces are about four to five minutes, an excellent length for these pieces of minimal changes—music for the upcoming spring season.
Hidekazu Imashige, aka Gallery Six, has had releases on Archives, Stereoscenic, PITP, and Neotantra, and he’s from Hiroshima, Japan. ‘Kisetsu’ means ‘season’ in Japanese, and in that country, there ” are many words for seasons other than spring, summer, fall, and winter. Every day is a season, and at every moment it is changing”. That might be a clue as to the music we are about to hear, and that’s ambient music. Gallery Six is also a keyboard player but uses field recordings in his music. Indeed it is, and he doesn’t disappoint with the eight pieces on this cassette, and the total length is 50 minutes. I fell asleep the first time I heard it, and if that’s good or bad, I don’t know. Maybe it’s a form of appreciation (and, yes, I know all about John Cage and sleeping during concerts). The music is slow-moving and minimal, with a strong emphasis on the drone aspect. Field recordings wave in from beyond as much as they do from your environment, which, in my case, is nothing more than the occasional car passing or some kids returning from school. It’s not music you haven’t heard before, but in an ever-evolving scheme of changing ambient colours, this is another mixture of the usual ingredients. Sometimes, not much is required. (FdW)
––– Address: https://le-mont-analogue.bandcamp.com/
THE HATERS – NIET HIER (cassette by Korm Plastics D)
Another one by The Haters? Hot on the heels of the previous re-issue, ‘Puinhoop’, which I discussed in Vital Weekly 1469, there is now ‘Niet Hier’, which means ‘not here’. Discogs tells me a couple of things, such as other releases from the same time called ‘Nirgends’ and ‘Nowhere’, so there was ostensibly a ‘negative’ theme sort of approach back then. ‘Niet Hier’, like ‘Puinhoop’, was released by Korm Plastics, and former label boss Frans told me he was a member of The Haters on both cassettes, containing live and studio recordings. He also informed me of a publication about GX Jupitter-Larsen’s work with The Haters, detailing various performances. The performance in front of an audience is described as “The word ‘big’ has many meanings. In order to create ‘a big mess’ one must first destroy discarded matter. Only by destroying waste can a so-called mess be genuinely and truly ‘big’. This is the meaning of ‘big’ in entropy; ‘violence’ as neither positive or negative. ‘Violence’ as the liberation of energy. ‘Violence’ as the disengagement of energy from the entanglement of any particular flow. Full on on-lookers, the stage was the basement of a cafe. While the pre-recorded sounds of car crashes were amplified for 24 minutes, two members of The Haters added to the performance by tearing up paper, breaking wood and shattering glass. Entitled ‘Puinhoop'”. Yes, I did check the date; this is about the recording on this cassette, not the ‘Puinhoop’ cassette. The recording is a bit shorter than 24 minutes (Sorry, that is the nerd in me acting up). The car crashes aren’t that audible, actually, but there is loud banging from objects thrown about and bottles being smashed, with a bit of electronic manipulation, adding a bit of delay to the material. Maybe there is also some glass rattling from the bar. Not sure. Fun stuff, though; it makes me feel like joining in and being part of this mess.
‘Adding Sounds Of Love’ is the other piece on side A, which Frans told me is the soundtrack to a video GX and himself made somewhere in The Netherlands of cars being demolished. The sound is relatively static, an early form of harsh noise wall music, except it is far from harsh. The ‘Radio Performance’ – again at Radio Rataplan – is the entire second side and a mix of car crash sound, white noise, feedback and GX reading a text (maybe the one enclosed with the cassette). The whole thing has quite a relaxing atmosphere. Perhaps this is the sort of positive violence or energy mentioned in the book. I found this quite Zen-like; I don’t know if that is something fitting the work of The Haters, and maybe I am just too postmodern. (LW)
––– Address: https://kormplasticsd.bandcamp.com/
PERMEATION – REPEATED CYCLES (cassette by Kringloop Kassettes)
By now, we all have read about the Kringloop Kassettes label run by Frans de Waard. So, instead of doing a batch review with all the new releases, we will treat them like every other bunch of promos we get. And in case you missed it: Kringloop Kassettes is a limited-edition cassette label where everything is released in editions of 26 copies, lettered from A to Z. All cassettes originated from a thrift shop and have been reused as much as possible in their original form. So, stickers and labels are left intentionally to make it all look used. Kringloop is Dutch for recycling so with artwork also in sync – recycled paper and rubber stamps – it’s a perfect match. And as long they haven’t run out of old tapes that are simply screaming to be reused, we will see new releases occasionally.
“Repeated Cycles” is by a project called Permeation, Egbert van der Vliet. He ran a tape label back in the pre-COVID years called Rotzooi Tapes, but as a label person, he was already active in the 80s with Interrupt Product (tapes) and in the 90s with Non-Interrupt (CDR). As a musician, he released works under his own name, Pool Pervert and now as Permeation. I have had the chance to write about him before, but somehow, Permeation seems different from his Pool Pervert output. In eight untitled tracks covering 85 minutes, Egbert takes you on a journey through drone and minimalist structures.
Sonically, it doesn’t seem too far from the release ‘Drone Swarm’ on NDWICM, which I reviewed in VW 1361. Manipulated field recordings and other source material, yet somehow, the tracks under Permeation seem to have a bit more body. Where the comparison material from 2 years ago was super minimalistic, these new tracks are a bit more controlling. Less open space, less headroom. It is a bit more descriptive and, therefore, less imaginary. But that’s not a bad thing. It’s probably another approach to creation, or maybe it’s due to the chosen source material. Here on “Repeated Cycles” there are a few melodic moments (“5”) which I can’t remember having heard on the ‘Drone Swarm’ release.
So an excellent addition to both the catalogue of Kringloop Kassettes as well as the personal portfolio of Egbert van der Vliet. Yes, remember that name. Egbert van der Vliet. (BW)
––– Address: https://kringloopkassettes.bandcamp.com/
JULIUS MÉNARD – ZEITGEIST (cassette by Kringloop Kassettes)
Another 90-minute tape by Kringloop Kassettes, with this time ‘just’ two long tracks of 40+ minutes covering a whole side of the tape. And this is how I like my drones and ambience … Holy Motherloving Gawd … But, that’s for later.
Julius Ménard is no stranger to VW. As a label owner, he runs the amazing Grisaille tape label out of his home in Münster, which, by the way, seems to be an epicentre of experimentalism with Auf Abwegen and all the activities there. Julius has been making music under his own name since 2019, according to Discogs, but next to these ambient excursions, he was/is also active in numerous ‘normal’ projects. Actually way before his solo ambient activities as the first 7″ by Idle Hands in which he plays is from 2008. For me, this becomes interesting because a ‘normal’ musician becomes a solo artist in a completely different genre; that’s what happened to me, too. In a group setting, you learn everything about harmonics and working together with others, how to react and interact with different influences, but transferring that knowledge onto a solo project basically enables you to (forgive me, my choice of words) play better with yourself. And I honestly think I can hear that back in this release. But, that’s for later.
The promo text on Bandcamp states, ‘These two tracks were initially recorded for a film with the same title. The other party contacted me with the idea of a longish film with layers of eerie film material from old VHS cassettes representing the decay and change of times. […] Unfortunately, the film was never realised. After the request, I recorded these two tracks with layered guitar, voice and synths, directly to tape.’
And now going back to the previous remarks. Julius managed to record those layers and, while listening, interacted with his already recorded layers. This whole release is filled with beautiful harmonic structures, a question-and-answer game, and sound design pur sang. This is beautiful in all its aspects, depth and sometimes painful moments. But those painful moments – in my mind – relate to the concept behind this release. Because if a ‘Zeitgeist’ has ever been relevant, it’s now. While we should be careful for history NOT to repeat itself, I’ll gently take the cassette out and play it again … And after that: Again … (BW)
––– Address: https://kringloopkassettes.bandcamp.com/
AMANDA IRARRÁZABAL & MARCO ALBERT – ŌG- (cassette by Eh? Records)
Double bass, voices and modular synths are the basic ingredients on this release; add some processing on those basic ingredients, and you get ōg-. That’s the gist of it. Pun intended because all five tracks are named after distilled spirits or booze. All five of them share their source: grapes. Anyway, enough googling. Amanda Irarrázabal (double bass and voice) and Marco Albert (modular synth and voice) are the two musicians involved. Two longer pieces (twenty and twelve minutes) and three shorter ones of about four or five minutes. It’s a hypnotic piece of music with hints of early industrial music, pleasant voice work, a la Jaap Blonk and that Italian animation La Linea. The double bass adds a lovely timbre with fierce bowing and/or digital (?) processing. It’s not all harsh, and in your face (ears); at times, there’s a delicacy and tenderness, for example, in the first three minutes of Raki. The arrangement of the pieces is excellent; there’s a nice flow to them, in the pieces themselves and in the order of the pieces on this release. And ends with a kind of death cry. This would also be a good release to test a new sound system. All the frequencies are covered. I like this one a lot, but again, this is not for everyone and is definitely not spousefriendly. Because there are several creepy-sounding sections, this could also be a soundtrack to a Mexican slasher movie or a Korean ghost movie. Excellent stuff! (MDS)
––– Address: https://publiceyesore.bandcamp.com/
DAVID LEE MYERS – TIN DROP TEAR (book, private)
I love books. When I saw David Lee Myers published one, all independent, I wanted to order one without even looking at what it was about. I know some of his writing, as when I released a cassette from him (Arcane Device) in 1990, I pulled a quote from one of his texts to go on the cover. He said he had already mailed me a copy. I should have looked better, as this is a book of what he calls “NeoDada Plunder-Lit”, in which we find “cut-up poems following in the footsteps of Dadaist Tristan Tzara and flavoured by the sensibilities of rock icon Don van Vliet and others”. Oh damn. I love books, but mainly non-fiction. I do not know the world of poetry and rarely listen to lyrics. However, I set myself reading, and as a soundtrack, I decided not to play Myers reading some of this (also on his Bandcamp). Instead, I played a new online release by Myers, this time by Richard Chartier’s Line Imprint, called ‘Sensus’, which I found perfectly fitting this reading session. Quiet and dark music, with some deep bass resonances, which he recorded 20 years ago but never used anywhere. Especially in a low volume, this is a fine soundtrack. The poetry is a fine read, even when most of it goes way over my head. I can see some of these working very well as lyrics. I tried to sing them (no recording exists, mind you), and I can see that works, as there is some fine flow. I doubt Myers’ next career move will be singing, hearing his voice speak these poems, along with some sparse electronic tones. All of this is received with some mild yet pleasant confusion! (FdW)
––– Address: https://davidleemyers.bandcamp.com/
––– Address: https://lineimprint.bandcamp.com/