Week 26

COSTIN MIEREANU – POLY-ART RECORDINGS 1976-1982 (6CD by Auryfa/Metaphon)
M.B. – MECTPYO BAKTERIUM (CD by Eighth Tower Records)
MASKHEAD – PAINFUL PERSUATION (CD + 3″CD by Aussaat)
IDLE HANDS NOISE COMPILATION (CD compilation by Alpha Morzel)
ANTHOLOGY OF EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC FROM AUSTRALIA (CD compilation by Unexplained Sounds Group)
QUENTIN ROLLET & JÉRÔME LORICHON – PLANISPHÈRE (CD by Prohibited Records)
MARCO FERRAZZA – AURA (CD by Zappak)
PSYCHIC TV – A PRAYER FOR DEREK JARMAN (CD by Cold Spring Records)
PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE – 5TH OF MARCH 2021 (CD by PNL Records)
PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE – 15th OF DECEMBER 2024 (CD by PNL Records)
STEFAN THUT & TAKU SUGIMOTO – ATWAIN (CD by Ftarri)
ĶÆ P. RUJHAAN – NADIYAAN (CD by Ferns Recordings)
PEEPHOLES – TEMPORAL RELIEF KEEPER (CD by Trouble In The East Records)
SUSANA LÓPEZ – MATERIA VIBRANTE (LP by Elevator Bath)
COMPACTOR – INSTITUTIONALIZED GENOCIDE (CDR by Waste MGT)
MARCIA BASSETT & CHUCK BETTIS – SUNVIEW (CDR by Yew Recordings)
COINHAMMER – ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA (CDR by Thinkbreak Records/Johnson Presents)
SPRUIT – GESTURES (3″CDR, private)
BLAKE EDWARDS AND SIMON WHETHAM – UNCULTURED MEDIA (double 3″ CDR by Ballast)
RNPNO2 (businesscard CDR)

COSTIN MIEREANU – POLY-ART RECORDINGS 1976-1982 (6CD by Auryfa/Metaphon)

To some people, the famed ‘NWW List’ is a holy grail: a list of records that inspired Steve Stapleton and which is part of the first LP. Because the record is a legend, so is the list. I never studied the list, as in the old days, I didn’t have a record, and there was no internet. When I saw the list, I lost interest in collecting obscure records, even if they were within my budget. One record on the list is by Romanian-born, French-based composer Costi Miereanu, ‘Luna Cinese’, which is not part of this box. As a composer of various modern music genres in the 1960s and beyond, like many of his contemporaries, he also had an interest in working with electronics. This resulted in a few privately released cassettes and LPs. Each release consisted of two pieces, so this six-CD set contains a total of 12 pieces. What is interesting is that each of these pieces was played more or less improvised, using such instruments as the Minimoog, Polymoog, PPG Wave, Prophet-10, but also piano and organ; one piece, ‘Musique Climatique’ also uses voices, layered, in French and English, talking about the climate.
I understand Miereanu set up his piece and then played it (perhaps a few times), retaining the live aspect of the music. I had no idea what to expect, but as soon as the first piece, ‘Finis-Terre’, began, I muttered, ‘This is great stuff.’ There is something quite experimental about that piece, drone-like, but a complex brand of layered synthesiser sounds. It feels like a piece from recent years and not from 1978. That first CD shows a ‘harsher’ Miereanu, as we learn from later pieces, his music takes a gentler feel. The label mentions the likes of Budd and Eno, David Behrman, Alvin Curran, and Laurie Spiegel, all of whom are true, but I think Miereanu has a unique voice. There’s something relatively light and gentle in these pieces, without losing an experimental touch. Sometimes a piece is a bit on the longer side, such as ‘Jardins Désertés’, losing some of its edges as it goes on, but that’s the risk of an experiment. I got this set right before some sweltering days, those energy-draining summer days, and without doing anything else, I sat down, played the whole set, twice in a row, and that’s before sitting down and thinking what to write. These records are an incredible find and an excellent reissue. (FdW)
––– Address: https://miereanu.bandcamp.com/album/poly-art-recordings-1976-1982

M.B. – MECTPYO BAKTERIUM (CD by Eighth Tower Records)

Here we have more classic music by Maurizio Bianchi, also known as M.B. I have written about his work on a few occasions, most recently in Vital Weekly 1453. I also discussed the variations in some of these reissues, but I am not an expert to provide you with much more information. ‘Mectpyo Bakterium’ has a notable release history, starting with a private cassette, followed by an LP by Dys, a CD version included in the ‘Archeo #1’ box set, and various CD and LP versions, as well as a handmade MB cover edition released last year. I believe that the version copies the version with the box set, whereas this new reissue is a straightforward copy of the original cassette, lacking the two bonus pieces. I checked both the boxset version and this new one, as these are the only two I have, and this new one seemed (!) to have a bit more low end; I am not an audiophile. I love great, experimental and electronic music, and M.B. is an absolute master in that field. The two pieces of ‘Mectpyo Bakterium’ are bleak, dystopian affairs, and, perhaps, industrial. However, there’s more to that than just ‘industrial’. There’s a synth-bass line undercurrent in “Fetish Pinksha’, which adds a strangely musical touch to the music. On top of that, M.B. plays around with his electronic interjections, pushing in and out, and later on a bleak, slow melody. A drum machine holds ‘Stérile Règles’ together, with a bit of delay and reverb, and the synths are now in a more psychedelic mood, stabbing about. The influence of early Cabaret Voltaire is very much a presence on these recordings. It’s 49 minutes of dark music, slow and minimal, the soundtrack for a life after life has been eradicated by a virus, fitting with the word ‘Bakterium’ in the title. I’ve heard it before, many times, in this work (as both box sets are in regular rotation), and in many other works by M.B., and I never get tired of it. (FdW)
––– Address: https://eighthtowerrecords.bandcamp.com/

MASKHEAD – PAINFUL PERSUATION (CD + 3″CD by Aussaat)

We don’t know who he is, and it’s highly probable that no one, except a few insiders, knows. It is MASKHEAD and he (or she) celebrates its 10th birthday by releasing this. A combination of a standard CD, a 3″ CD and if you want, a special limited edition T-Shirt. All information is provided through the label Aussaat, for which the link is included at the bottom of the review. Happy birthday!
The CD has four tracks totalling 35 minutes, and the added 3″ adds 20 minutes to the total playing time. My only question here is why not put it all on the same 5″ CD? The space is there, and after listening a few times – because I played this one a lot – I couldn’t think of any reason why these tracks couldn’t have been on one album. Probably a conceptual choice by label and/or artist. Not all players accept 3″s, and I’m just grateful mine does. The artwork is bright yellow and black, six pages, and the shirt is in the same colour. It’s all very well executed, minus that one thought that keeps on haunting me.
The 5″ opens with “Flesh Fluidity”, which is a celebration of noise with a drony character due to a few added layers. It comes pretty close to an HNW, but it has a bit too much variation for that. I like it, though. “Hogtied” is, with its 7:18, the shortest track on here. Erratic contact mics and metal sounds over some super-saturated basses leave you with a feeling of oppression. The small part where the amplification is left to a minimum reveals what sounds this track is composed of and lends it even more power. “The Cellar” was recorded in the boiler room of an abandoned house and is based around some “metal junk spanking” (promo sheet). It’s the least noisy track on the album, yet the atmosphere remains intense. The closing “Lustpain” leaves you grasping for air. Harsh Noise, in combination with strong analogue sounds, sometimes hits HNW structures; yet, here too, enough is happening to avoid falling into that category.
The accompanying 3″ has one track, 20 minutes long, titled “Somno Petite”. This could very well be a one-take live recording, but it does have some excellent preparation. There is constant movement, no dull moments, pleasant moments of feedback, as well as massive bass. And I think I heard vocals (ok, a human voice) as a sound source, but they were manipulated beyond recognition. All and all, a very nice release if you like it rough. (BW)
––– Address: https://www.facebook.com/Aussaatundernte/

IDLE HANDS NOISE COMPILATION (CD compilation by Alpha Morzel)

In the past, I have had the pleasure of reviewing some of Alpha Morzel’s releases from Belgium, including cassettes by Igor Cavalera & Dwid Hellion’s collaboration, Psywarfare, and releases by Meketa. Some nice works that I still play regularly. So it’s safe to say that Alpha Morzel is there to stay. And to get you a little taste of their sounds and direction, they decided to release a FREE DOWNLOAD album, which is also available as a CD. The downloads aren’t limited; the CD is there in only 100 copies. So, act fast if you want it.
In 16 tracks and 71 minutes, your mind is being purified by some of the most extreme sounds I’ve heard in the last few months. On this sampler are some known names as well as some lesser-known gods. The artists are Skin Machine, Psywarfare, Vincent Dallas (Dries of Kindvriendelijk), Meketa Power Electronics, Rublev, YesYesYesYesYes, Government Alpha, Fellahean, True Deep, Corpse Meditation, Torturing Nurse, Hombre, Junta, Last Action, Panzram and Aske.
The tracks on this sampler aren’t restricted to one style, which is both good and bad in a way. The noise and power electronics on here are from high-quality projects we all know and admire. Some Steve Meketa-related works, including Vincent Dallas, Government Alpha, and Torturing Nurse… Yammie! Projects I hadn’t heard of are for example YesYesYesYesYes who presents some rhythmic/structured/experimental 8bit sounds, Rublev is there with a metal track (my knowledge doesn’t reach far enough to say it’s trash, black or death), True Deep has a track with slow beats and a bit of a death ambient feel to it, Corpse Meditation experiments with noise and structure and well, Panzram I just don’t understand. But that’s all okay because the largest part consists of stuff that makes me happy and which makes me want to play it again. And maybe skip that one track I didn’t like. Because that means 15/16 I did like 😉 (BW)
––– Address: https://alphamorzel.bandcamp.com/

ANTHOLOGY OF EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC FROM AUSTRALIA (CD compilation by Unexplained Sounds Group)

The Unexplained Sounds Group is a label run by Raffaele Pezzella, a.k.a. Sonologyst. So far, they have released many anthologies from countries where we sometimes had no clue there was an experimental scene. Portugal, Latin America, Lebanon, Indonesia, China, India, Iran … In that sense, U.S.G. works in the same area as the now Berlin-based Syrphe, which is run by C-Drik Fermont. If exploring experimental scenes from other countries is of interest to you, I can only advice you to also pick up or check out the Syrphe ‘Uchronia’ triple CD as well as the highly acclaimed book ‘Not Your World Music: Noise in South East Asia’ which comes with a CD, of course. That’s one.
Another thing I want to reflect on is Australia (which can, but should probably not, be mentioned in the same breath as New Zealand). As you all know I am an old fart and I try not to use the ‘back in the days’ too often. Although… ‘Back in the days’ when it was still difficult or expensive to record music or generate sounds, and distribution was done by mail instead of download, I had a weakness for the project Lights in a Fat City. From what I understood—and I might be wrong, but in that case it’s a fun story to be wrong about—Stephen Kent, a member, learned to play the didgeridoo, which is full respect to the original. A bit in the way Carlos Castaneda learned about Mexican Shamanism from being amongst the people. And all tracks by Lights had a great ethnic (as I believe it’s called) feeling about it.
Thirdly, New Zealand had SPK / Graeme Revell, who created industrial music within a different reference than what English, European mainland, or American artists did. Yes, in my opinion, a country can have its unique style or scene. But how is it now with terminology like globalisation and worldwide connection through the interwebz? I am curious, before listening to this album, if it is still possible to make a sampler dedicated to a country. And my answer is: You have to decide for yourself.
“Anthology Of Experimental Music From Australia” is a splendid sampler, don’t get me wrong. The atmosphere is lush, there is a lot of ambient and minimal beats, and I don’t think I’ve heard of any of the artists before. So, because I love exploring new names, this album is entirely up my alley. Sgout out to Amby Downs with “Garrawang Biderap Black Field Cricket Mating Song (Excerpt)” and Tuonela “Underhouse” as well as Matt Warren, whose “(en)snaring the elements of here” really struck a snare … But for me, there is no ‘proof’ these are Australian artists. Or why they shouldn’t be releasing as ‘just great artists with great sounds’ because if minimal ambient with occasional repetitive structures and field recordings is what you like, DON’T WAIT AND GET THIS !!! It’s gorgeous and goes well with Steve Roach, Alio Die and O Yuki Conjugate. Just as a direction … (BW)
––– Address: https://unexplainedsoundsgroup.bandcamp.com/

QUENTIN ROLLET & JÉRÔME LORICHON – PLANISPHÈRE (CD by Prohibited Records)

Last February, this duo were invited by the Legendary Pink Dots to play as a support act. Quentin Rollet regularly performed and recorded with Edward Kaspel, frontman of the Legendary Pink Dots, and Steve Stapleton, better known under his nom de plume Nurse With Wound. Rollet plays alto and sopranino saxophone. Jérôme Lorichon, on the other hand, is a percussionist, bass player, synthesiser player, and trumpet player. He’s the other half of the duo Berg Sans Nipple, who made a few records in the first decade of this century. What we have here are two longer pieces. The title of the release refers to a rotatable star chart to help users become more acquainted with the stars. The music has two parts: a Western and an Eastern part. That is not to say that the music refers to our known hemispheres. The music sounds too otherworldly for that, almost cinematic in parts. That is not surprising because last year they released an edited live soundtrack for the silent movie Nosferatu. A partner joined them in the crime, Emmanuelle Parrenin. Back to the release: we have brooding and warbling low synth sounds, coupled with percussive sounds, long melodic lines on alto or sopranino, and to top it off, sections with electronically treated pocket trumpet. Treated in such a way that it sounds with a lot of sustain and no beginning of the trumpet sound. At the end of the second piece, the proper sound of the trumpet emerges, and the journey through the world of stars ends. There’s a lot to enjoy here. Rollet is a very proficient sax player and plays in a tonal and consonant idiom. The same goes for Lorichon. This may well be spouse-friendly. This is delightful music. (MDS)
––– Address: https://www.prohibitedrecords.com

MARCO FERRAZZA – AURA (CD by Zappak)

This is the third time I review music by Marco Ferrazza (see also Vital Weekly 999 and 1052), and there’s more information about the man and his work than previously. We learn Ferrazza is “an electroacoustic/objects sounds artist based in Italy. In the past, he has released works on labels such as Sound Against Humanity, Falt, and the emptiness of Hemisphäre. This album, ‘Aura’, is centred around pieces that he has performed at festivals and exhibitions in the past (‘Aeroplane and Other Useful Stuff’, ‘Gate Tale’, ‘Relative Present’), utilising electronic and concrete sounds constructed by subtraction. His work is inspired by early musique concrète and electronic music from the 1960s and 1970s. ‘Aura’ is a compilation of five pieces recorded for festivals and exhibitions, serving as an introduction to his work. The field recordings on this album are from Corsica, Sardinia, Spain and “several non-places and third landscape locations”, whatever that means. Then he applies digital processing to these sounds, and in the mix, he allows some of the original sounds to return. Thus, he creates a delicate interplay between heavily electronic sounds, sometimes evoking the sound of modular synths and objects being crushed, or the sounds of people on the streets; sometimes, even the original sounds aren’t discernible. His music is firmly rooted in the original ideas of musique concrète and acousmatic music, as exemplified by the Empreintes Digitales label, which I mentioned earlier. As noted before, Ferrazza’s pieces are shorter than his contemporaries on the Canadian label, which works to his advantage. In his concise approach, he works with minimal sounds, which he explores to the fullest, creating music of intense depth. Also, there are connections to modern methods of electronic music, with some of this material going into the world of clicks ‘n cuts, which roamed these pages in the early parts of this century. It works as a compilation, showcasing various sides of his work, but it’s also a fine standalone album. (FdW)
––– Address: https://zappak.bandcamp.com/

PSYCHIC TV – A PRAYER FOR DEREK JARMAN (CD by Cold Spring Records)

Honest story: when Psychic TV started, they were in all magazines and fanzines, and being already a Throbbing Gristle fan and Chris & Cosey’s ‘Heartbeat’ and ‘Trance’ favourites, I didn’t rush out to buy ‘Force The Hand Of Chance’ and ‘Dreams Less Sweet’. They were on big labels, and there was also a monetary reason. I think I had cassette copies of both early on, but I never got them on CD. I heard some of the later 1980s records by Psychic TV, bought the ‘Roman P’ 7″, hoping it would be worth a lot more later on, and saw them live in 1985 in Apeldoorn. I wasn’t blown away. I had a few CDs later, but kept only one, and, guess what, it’s one of Cold Spring Records’ now reissues. It states, ‘unavailable for almost 30 years in its own right,’ meaning it was previously available as part of the ‘Themes’ 7CD in 2011. Not owning more Psychic TV doesn’t mean I never heard anything else, or dislike the rest of the immense catalogue, far from it. I hadn’t listened to the original CD in some time, and now I’m playing this new version, and the obvious question occurs to me: what is it that I find particularly attractive about this release? It’s not that they serve as soundtracks for Derek Jarman’s films, none of which I have seen (from this disc). Mainly, it’s the connection of heavy, somewhat noisy drone pieces (‘The Loops Of Mystical Union’), weird free rock/lounge doodling (‘Elipse Of Flowers’), field recording loops, a bit of Jim Jones’ laughter, and contemplative piano music. Perhaps my current stream of thoughts is that this is everything Psychic TV was on their first records, but no longer confined to smaller compositions, rather elaborate gestures of experimental music. These pieces drift freely without much direction and are probably well-suited to experimental films as soundtracks. To find this one as the only surviving PTV disc is a mere coincidence; I’d buy a few others if I came across them. (FdW)
––– Address: https://coldspring.bandcamp.com

PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE – 5TH OF MARCH 2021 (CD by PNL Records)
PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE – 15th OF DECEMBER 2024 (CD by PNL Records)

Usually, I’d likely pass music by Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love to MDS, our trusted reviewer for all matters of improvised music. Still, Nilssen-Love left his drum kit on these two days to play Paiste gongs, woodblocks, tin plate, objects, bannister, shekere, and styrofoam—not all on both discs. Both are live recordings, but the oldest is without an audience. The gong is dominant in both, and I love the sound of the gong—the one percussion instrument that produces drone-like sounds. The first recording took place in a gallery inside an old water tower, which added to the spaciousness of the music. Nilssen-Love moves around various gongs, producing excellent low-end sounds with exceptional skill. Slow music, so sounds ring out. However, it’s not all quiet and low, as the other instruments are lighter and higher, forming a counterpoint or contrast with the low-end rumble. There’s still no swift action, as the slow pace persists. Sometimes the lower end rings on, and Nilssen-Love adds a few other sounds. The music has a somewhat ritualistic aspect, but that’s something I blame on the gongs.
In 2024, Nilssen-Love turned 50, and the day after the surprise party, he played a solo concert, similar to the 2021 recording, with a similar setup and along a score of sorts. This was with an audience, and he made it into a small spectacle. That’s the element we don’t have on a CD, but the music is similar, yet different. For one, the fragments are shorter, and Nilssen-Love moves around quicker. Thus, he loses some of his slow pacing on the other recording. There is also a different kind of directness in these recordings, sometimes even harsher sounding, for instance, with a bow across the cymbals. Some of these percussive instruments become almost electro-acoustic objects in his hands, but at the same time, the music also leans towards improvisation. More so than the other recording. The gongs’ spacious, drone-like quality is also on this recording, but less prominent and part of a bigger composition. It’s great to hear the different approaches, showing what a versatile player Nilssen-Love is. With my drone, I prefer the first option, but both are great. (FdW)
––– Address: https://pnlrecords.bandcamp.com/

STEFAN THUT & TAKU SUGIMOTO – ATWAIN (CD by Ftarri)

“One word—”atwain”—as a compositional seed to produce various forms of activities and appearances: “Atwain” is an archaic expression meaning in two parts and goes back to middle English “atweyne.” Thus explains Stefan Thut on the cover and Bandcamp, and best head over and read whatever else he says about this composition. It’s about “twoness”, and this composition is for two players. Taku Sugimoto plays guitar, tingsha (small Tibetan cymbals) and claves, and the latter are also played by Thut, adding to the psaltery. Along the banks of a river, they performed this 39-minute piece. The surrounding nature scenery adds a musical element too. There is the river, washing ashore, some cars passing, and they play their music with intervals, picking up instruments as they go along. They play for a while, be quiet, and continue. Music with a lot of silence, except it’s never completely silent; nature is always present in this piece. The two players are seated on benches with some distance between them, and perhaps that also contributes to the fullness of the recordings. It is a very contemplative piece of music, the sort of thing you never hear buskers play; I wish they did. I’m not sure if the two musicians move around; it sounds like that might be true. A most curious blend of sound art, improvisation, and field recordings creates a superb composition. (FdW)
––– Address: https://ftarrilabel.bandcamp.com/album/atwain

ĶÆ P. RUJHAAN – NADIYAAN (CD by Ferns Recordings)

The French label Ferns Recordings releases a mix of old and new music by the older generation of musicians, including Christoph Heemann, the Toniutti brothers, Small Cruel Party, and K. Mizutani. And sometimes, out of the blue, they come with a new name, one I’ve never heard of. Ķæ P. Rujhaan is today’s newbie. There’s no information on the Ferns Bandcamp about him, but Discogs tells us this: “Experimental, Noise & Field Recording artist from the Pacific Northwest, USA. Also runs the label Un Poco Fría Editons. His sound practices & studies are often characterised by crude & unprocessed recording techniques, usually sourced and recorded in situ, directly to tape – while also exploring natural, organic noise palettes par ‘musique verte’ – incorporating found, on-site objects and detritus into transient compositions; resulting in raw site-specific soundscapes and a gritty installation-esque Concrète narrative.” Including this new release, he has five releases from last year and this year, including this latest release.
There are three minimal, lengthy pieces, and something that could be straight out of the Unfathomless catalogue. To me, each piece sounds like one or two events, where Rujhaan sits down and records the sounds of the event. Wind in an open space in ‘Selah’, for instance, ending with running water (a creek). More water sounds in ‘Nadiyaan’ and ‘Timani’, though the latter also involves train recordings and is the only one that sounds like it blends a few (at least more than two) events together. Yet, these pieces are full of sound and life; it’s not very static. I guess there’s also some interaction from Rujhaan on the site where he makes his recordings, manually manipulating objects of some kind; also, I think he might be using various recording devices and glues these together on the computer, so he can move around and do a collage of the same, yet different material. Some of this, especially the first piece, reminded me of Jeph Jerman’s work, especially the sparseness and openness. The other pieces are closer miked and busier, which makes quite a difference—some pretty interesting stuff, if not a bit long, I thought. If you’re into field recording artists, this is undoubtedly a name to watch. (FdW)
––– Address: https://fernsrecordings.bandcamp.com/

PEEPHOLES – TEMPORAL RELIEF KEEPER (CD by Trouble In The East Records)

Peepholes is a quartet whose members are Liz Albee on trumpet (and possibly a real accordion or maybe a melodica), Antonio Borghini on (double) bass, Steve Heather on drums and Mat Pogo on voice and electronics. All four of them are accomplished musicians in the improv scene. Liz Albee was and is part of the following groups: Bogan Ghost, Forced Collapse, In Situ Ens., John Butcher + 13, Jon Raskin Quartet, Le Flange Du Mal, Murder Murder, Mute Socialite, Neung Phak, NoSugar, Schnüffler, SKEIN, Splitter Orchester, The Elks, Trokaan Project and the Weasel Walter Septet.
Antonio Borghini was or is part of Alberto Cavenati’s Treifekter, Anthony Braxton Quartet (2006), Aoa Impro Group, Cal Trio, Chant, Christian Marien Quartett, Cobalt Cluster, Cristina Zavalloni Open Quartet, Der lange Schatten, Die Hochstapler, Dimitri Grechi Espinoza Artistic Alternative, Domenico Caliri Violongerìa, Domino Quartet, Eco D’Alberi, Eponj, Great Sakata Quintet, Headless Cat, Henry Taylor, Hook, Line And Sinker and the Jeb Bishop Centrifugal Trio. Steve Heather is or was part of Y, Booklet, Dan Peter Sundland’s Home Stretch, Efzeg, ENTR’ACTE, Frank Gratkowski’s Entrainment, Heaven And, Mia Dyberg Trio, Mrs Conception, Orange Red Orange, PPP5, Ruby Ruby Ruby, Splitter Orchester, Strung, Susanne Abbuehl Group, The Still, The Understated Brown, Tone Dialing, Tristan Honsinger’s Hopscotch and Shelter. Mat Pogo is or was part of Jealousy Party and Pokemachine. All four of them come from different countries (Australia for Heather, America for Albee (Berlin, Vermont to be exact), Italy for Borghini and Pogo). All are now based in Berlin, Germany. The music here is strikingly original. Although Temporal Relief Keeper has a blues connection due to the use of bass and the back-and-forth call-and-answer play in the vocals. The tempo is pretty slow, and thus the groove is slow. In the other pieces, at times, there’s a hypnotising groove going on in the bass. Pogo uses his voice to deliver snippets of dialogue, gibberish and the like with a quiet finesse and inherent tension. The same goes for the trumpet. The bass is dominant in the mix, providing the foundation for the sound that these musicians conjure up out of their respective instruments. It’s a joint effort. And a great one at that. Listen to this on a good stereo sound system, preferably with the volume set on 8 or 9 or even higher. (MDS)
––– Address: https://lizallbee.bandcamp.com/

SUSANA LÓPEZ – MATERIA VIBRANTE (LP by Elevator Bath)

I reviewed some of Susana López’s releases (Vital Weekly 1190, 1343, and 1386, among others), and her work falls within the drone music genre, but she offers some variations. Synthesisers play a significant role- the kind with a keyboard, rather than modules. Sometimes, there is a long form and a more standard approach to playing heavy synth-based music. That approach, which I found in the previous one for Elevator Bath (see Vital Weekly 1343), is expanded upon in her new release, her first LP. She also uses field recordings, percussive sounds and her voice, all of which are heavily processed. López creates a delicate balance between the ominous, big washes from the keyboard and the smaller sounds from whatever else she’s using. There are four pieces on this LP, each about ten minutes, and within each of these is part of a constellation, the real world, “the alchemical power of art to shape reality”, life cycles and natural processes of transformation through expanded and ritualistic listening”, and “an ode to technological objects born of material imagination”. That makes it sound heavier than it is, I think. López’s music isn’t ambient per se, mainly due to the mass of sounds she uses, which gives the music a somewhat orchestral feel, but without sounding like an orchestra. This is dark, atmospheric music; maybe we can attach the word ‘ambient’ to ‘dark’. It sounds fine, but it’s also somewhat typical synthesiser-based music, not extending beyond what has already been out there for many years. Hard to say what it is, but something is missing here. (FdW)
––– Address: https://elevatorbath.bandcamp.com/

COMPACTOR – INSTITUTIONALIZED GENOCIDE (CDR by Waste MGT)

Since 2011, Compactor has been releasing music and performing live. Its goal? To unite and resist. Or to unite resistance. Or to simply make a point and get people to listen to the message, which is to join. And resist. And Compactor has done that in over 230 performances in 34 states and three countries. Live Shifts, as these performances are referred to, because The Worker does shifts. Each release or series of Live Shifts focuses on a subject, and for this one, The Worker sadly had to choose “Institutionalized Genocide” because, well, current affairs and the state of the world. The T-shirt, which features the artwork’s logo and the title of the last track on this release, states on its backside, ‘None of us are free until all of us are free.’ I’d proudly wear it!
So what does this release bring you musically and/or sound-wise? Twelve tracks of industrial rhythms, both old-school as well as new-school. All with enough noise surrounding the structure to make you feel you’re in a factory hall, and you want out. Moments that have less rhythm and more noise (“Real-Time Horrors”, “Ultimate Sacrifice”), moments with a more experimental approach (“Painful Adjustments”), things that reminded me of Test Department (“Martial Law”), and others reminded me of S.P.K (“Institutionalized Genocide”).
The SysAdmin, who is mentioned for tax purposes and plausible deniability, is Derek Rush. As written in October 2023, when I reviewed another Compactor release (the LEM one), he is known as a musician from projects such as A Murder of Angels, Dream Into Dust, and Loretta’s Doll. Someone should perhaps contact him to see if it’s possible to get The Worker to visit Europe and perform a series of shows on this side of the ocean. I mean, with how the world evolves and how right-wing tendencies slowly mess up this continent politically, we can sure use some innovative thinking here. Or perhaps the thinking is here, and we just need someone to articulate it for us. With us. Unite! Resist! (BW)
––– Address: https://compactor.bandcamp.com/

MARCIA BASSETT & CHUCK BETTIS – SUNVIEW (CDR by Yew Recordings)

As I play this new release by Marcia Bassett (Buchla Music Easel) and Chuck Bettis (Modular Synth), I think about this kind of improvisation, with two modular synthesiser set-ups, released on a CDR (in this case, but I mean any physical format). What makes these recordings, from 11 January and 23 March 2025, of particular interest for release? Providing, of course, this isn’t something very unique, of a rare occasion of two artists meeting and having the opportunity to play together. To the best of my knowledge, that’s not the case. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn they play more often; they’re both part of the New York experimental improvisation scene and played together in Hans Tammen’s Dark Circuits Orchestra and Gen Ken Montgomery’s Super Group. Hence, my question: what is it that makes these two recordings so strong that they warrant a release? The Bandcamp page says, “the synergy between Bassett and Bettis feels organic, moments and perceptions fragment into a composition of random patterns and tonalities blending with deep dronescapes and layered textures”. You may think I’m complaining here, but I’m not. I am interested in the mechanics behind these things. As with all things improvised and modular, it’s pretty challenging to distinguish the bleeps from the well-thought-out improvisation and the interaction between players. And, perhaps, wouldn’t it be more interesting to witness the action, preferably in a concert space? While there is some fine interaction between these two players, and, at times, there is sonically violent material at work here, I can’t get this thing out of my head. Whatever recordings the two made, why this one in particular for release? I am sure their answer would be: we think it’s the best of our recent recordings. I can’t argue with that. (FdW)
––– Address: https://yewrecordings.bandcamp.com/

COINHAMMER – ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA ZA (CDR by Thinkbreak Records/Johnson Presents)

This is the second release by Coinhammer, a duo of Daniel Knox and Nick Jones. I didn’t review their self-titled debut from 2021. There is no information on the album cover, except for the writing credits, and no additional details are available on Bandcamp. The album opens with the title piece and features ten additional tracks, totalling 35 minutes. On Discogs, it says for this album (and undoubtedly, the band/label supplied this information) about the style, “Dark Ambient, Musique Concrète, Modern Classical, Field Recording”, which makes for an interesting bunch of interests, and I guess it’s true. The opening piece features a vocal recitation of the title, accompanied by train sounds, drones, and chants. From there on, the music is very atmospheric, featuring a few piano chords (perhaps this is the modern classical part, reminiscent of Satie), some voices (whether found or otherwise, I’m unsure), a saxophone, effective use of reverb, and, throughout, a gentle touch. Field recordings are used sparsely yet effectively. The tracks seem to flow into each other, and there is a radiophonic aspect to the music. There isn’t enough voice or text to establish an overall narrative, so let’s say it’s a radiophonic drama of a more abstract nature. The music features several melodic touches, more than average in this genre, and the studio is the primary instrument here; that’s the musique concrète connection I’d say, as it’s not so much the electro-acoustic treatments of sounds. The pieces are relatively short, on average three minutes, which in some cases is a bit too brief. I sensed there’d be more to it, at times, and the pacing of the album could have been a bit slower. Then it would play its dramatic nature even better. But as it is, the album is excellent. Perfect late-night music, when you feel you want to switch off anything with moving images, and instead want to have a cinema for the ears. This is then something very worthwhile. Not spooky dark, but twilight dark, sitting on the balcony as daylight fades. (FdW)
––– Address: https://thinkbreakrecords.bandcamp.com/

SPRUIT – GESTURES (3″CDR, private)

Marc Spruit is not affiliated with any scene, label, or similar entity, nor does he collaborate with any such entities. He continues to do his own thing; by my calculation, his music appeared in at least 13 issues of Vital Weekly. “All sounds were recorded, severely edited, arranged, and improvised in 2024 / 2025. Headphones or a good Hi-Fi Set are strongly advised.” That’s all he cares to tell us about his latest 3″CDR release, stuck on thick cardboard with a full-colour print. I know from his previous releases that he uses various media, including turntables and CDs, to record and manipulate his sounds. Curious to read the word ‘improvised’ at the end of the line, as one would expect this to be the start. But maybe that’s part of the Spruit mystery, the lone warrior of all things digital and cut up. His music is a radical cut-up treatment of sounds already spliced and fragmented. Spruit creates a dialogue with these sounds and arrives at an almost song-like musique concrète narrative. There is, perhaps, more organisation here than I would expect from him, as if Spruit even more tried to wrangle his material into songs/pieces (or whatever word he prefers). It’s a dynamic release with high- and low-end sounds, so the recommendation to use good speakers is advisable. There are five pieces, spanning 20 intense minutes of collage-based music, and while I wouldn’t mind some more (but maybe I was too lazy to get up and write the review). (FdW)
––– Address: https://spruit.bandcamp.com/

BLAKE EDWARDS AND SIMON WHETHAM – UNCULTURED MEDIA (double 3″ CDR by Ballast)

Two discs in a petri-styled dish: that’s how Blake Edwards and Simon Whetham present their release. As the music deals with electric equipment on the verge of collapsing, that sounds like a most apt packaging. For Edwards, it is rare to see him working under this name and not as Vertonen, but maybe working with Wetham made him don the band name. I know Whetham is a man who loves his apparatus near breaking point – I see on Facebook his calls for such machines to be used in installations and music pieces around the world. I didn’t know Edwards shared a similar obsession. Simon requested to use some of Blake’s sounds in a performance, which led Edwards to send new sounds, along the lines of Simon’s love for “equipment breaking down or malfunctioning, small motor and mechanical sounds, electroacoustics, and found and salvaged objects”. They call this “an old-school through-the-mail style collaboration, sending each other snippets of audio to play with”, which is unclear if the old school refers to the mail part or the snippets of audio. I’d love the idea of cassettes going back and forth, maybe being damaged by X-rays at customs. The music is excellent, everything I hoped it would be. I love lo-fi sounds, malfunctioning equipment (well, to record instead of experiencing it), and how they blend into musique concrète-like compositions, again of a more lo-fi quality. The music has a cut-and-paste quality, like tape breaking and being glued to another tape. There’s also a very quiet and beautiful drone segment on the first disc, so it’s not all broken coffee machines or the death rattle of a toaster. This double 3″CDR comes in a petri dish and is released in an edition of 24 copies; now that looks beautiful, but it’s worthy of an LP release, with the vinyl adding to the decaying quality of the music. This is a wonderfully release. (FdW)
––– Address: http://ballastnvp.blogspot.com/

RNPNO2 (businesscard CDR)

Ah, the business card CDR! The poor man’s variant of the 7″. With its five-minute run time, it is the ideal format for a song, an idea, or a joke. RNPNO.2 from Finland is a group/project that loves a mystery and avoids information when possible. Their website doesn’t shed much more light on the subject. No title is provided for this four-minute and 16-second piece, which revolves around a repeated slow sample of unknown origin, accompanied by some rumbling in the background, which is what makes this piece distinctive. Perhaps one could label this as a song, but I’m unsure why it was released separately. An idea, then? Also, a possibility, to get something out of the way, but it might not be a joke. I can’t say why this is not a joke, but it feels slightly more serious. I had this song on repeat for a while, which didn’t feel like it was on repeat, so that worked quite well. It’s short, too short, as these things go, but it’s lovely, in all its miniature approach. (FdW)
––– Address: https://rnpno2.itch.io/