Week 28

RUTGER ZUYDERVELT – THE WONDER OF IT ALL (CD by Machinefabriek)
APEX PARASITE – AGP WAFFEN (CD by 999 Cuts)
THE ERASERHEAD (CD compilation by Unexplained Sounds Group)
ZEROGROOVE – WHATWEARE (CD by Dissipatio)
ANDY GRAYDON & KLAUS JANEK – A BOOK OF WAVES (CD by Room 40)
MARILYN CRISPEL & THOMMY ANDERSSON & MICHEALE ØSTERGAARD-NIELSEN – THE CAVE (CD by Ilk Records)
S*GLASS – BENIGN NEGLECT (CD by Public Eyesore)
A MAGIC WHISTLE – THE SOLAR CELL (LP by Public Eyesore)
DEATH PYRE – CONCATENATION (cassette by Eh?)
RICHARD YOUNGS – ZERKELUS (LP by Fourth Dimension Records)
ARD BIT & RADBOUD MENS – MARKING A BOUNDARY WITH THE TURNING POINT (2LP by ERS Records)
BJNILSEN – TRUE THAN NATURE (LP by Ideologic Organ)
WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (2LP by Fourth Dimension Records)
RUBBER BUS – WELCOME TO KARMIC CITY (CDR, private)
MAZENTA Z – DOUBT THOU THE STARS ARE FIVE (CDR, private)
GRISHA SHAKHNES – FOR MOSES ASCH (cassette by Neus-318)
ILIA BELORUKOV – BEYOND THE LOWER HOVELS (cassette by Neus-318)
ERIC LUNDE: SHOULDA KILLED ME WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE (8 cassettes, USB drive by Ballast)
DANIELLE LEMAIRE – HET MEISJE EN DE KROKODIL (cassette by Barreuh Records)

RUTGER ZUYDERVELT – THE WONDER OF IT ALL (CD by Machinefabriek)

Unlike years ago, Rutger Zuydervelt releases a lot less music. I noticed this before. His ‘day job’ is in compositing music for film and choreography. The problem for the reviewer is, I never see any of these movies or dances, and no doubt that’s on me, not going to our art house movie centres (and there’s a big one in Nijmegen) or modern dance performances (or concerts, to make sure you know I don’t go out a lot), which, I believe, have Zuydervelt’s music. In the information, there’s not much about the dance by Daniel Lineham/Hiatus, except that, unlike previous work in this direction, where Zuydervelt composes segments, scene by scene, and then stitches the whole thing together, this was formed as one, 50 minute piece of music, which somehow ended up in two tracks on the CD. The piece premieres in October, and the CD becomes available in September. However, perhaps Zuydervelt was afraid it wouldn’t make these pages, so this is a very advanced copy.
Of the choreography, we’re only told that it “radiates joy and togetherness. From cerebral to wildly energetic, the piece feels like a ritual that slowly transforms into a euphoric dance party”. For Zuydervelt, this means returning to the 1990s, when he discovered electronic (dance) music. So, via spacious segments of sustaining synthesisers, he slowly slips in arpeggios, and in Part II, there’s a full-on rhythm piece. This is indeed something out of the 1990s playbook for ambient house music, think music on Silent Records, or Pete Namlook (and whatever else was on his Fax Records label). In the first part, this works well, not surprisingly, other that we may not have heard this done by Zuydervelt. Smooth and pleasant music, atmospheric, yet not very dark. In the second part, the rhythm is very present, pushing around, bouncing, but not, I would think, something that would attract many people to the dance floor; not if one is used to straightforward 4/4 rhythms. In that sense, the music is something along the lines of music we heard on early Warp Records compilation, ‘Artificial Intelligence’, and the like. Music that, as far as I’m concerned, didn’t stand the test of time very well. It’s great to hear it again after so many years, after years of thinking about such music. No doubt, it sounds great on a big system, but at home, it all gets a bit lost. (FdW)
––– Address: https://machinefabriek.nu/news/the_wonder_of_it_all_-_score_pre-order

APEX PARASITE – AGP WAFFEN (CD by 999 Cuts)

Apex Parasite is a project from Sweden, and this is their fourth release, following two earlier CDs on Dunkelheit Productions and a tape on Nil By Mouth. That’s all there is to find about the project and their conceptual approach. The label releasing it is 999 Cuts from Israel, which Tamar, of Zeresh fame run, and Michael, better known under his Kadaver pseudonym. And this is CUT 033 of the 999; 33 down, 969 to go!
The project is abrasive and loud and very pleasing to the ears of this old fart (that’s me). Power Electronics in the best of the European tradition, the stuff you’d hear on Art Konkret and Tesco in the early 90s. Heavy Electronics, it was called back then, and although the time and year may have changed—and, okay, maybe the subjects of the lyrics—the sound is as heavy as it was then. The origin of the sound and the method of composition will very probably have also changed. Hell, because I don’t know who is behind it, maybe these guys weren’t even born when I watched Anenzephalia and Genocide Organ back in ’93 /’94!
The subject of the lyrics is in P.E., always a weird thing. So music-wise, I have nothing to complain about, but I personally always want to know what the concept behind a release is. In this particular release, I suspect (but I could be wrong) that AGP is an abbreviation of the German ‘Armeegerätepark’ (Army Equipment Park), because it’s the only link to the word ‘Waffen’ (weapons). No wonder it sounds as heavy as it does. Power Electronics, old school with layers of noise. You feel super oppressed and small … And THAT is what it’s all about.
And with these three paragraphs, I summarised what the promo text conveyed in one sentence: “AGP Waffen is a harsh and abrasive soundtrack to a world in chaos.” I guess I was enjoying the sounds too much and I got a bit carried away in a trip down memory lane … (BW)
––– Address: https://www.999cuts.com/

THE ERASERHEAD (CD compilation by Unexplained Sounds Group)

Just like the universe expands, the dystopian universe of the Unexplained Sounds Group expands too. With earlier releases inspired by the works of Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, and even W.S. Burroughs before them, it is now time to step into the world of David Lynch. While reviewing this album, I’m on Wikipedia reading about the story behind it, and well, ‘Eraserhead’ was Lynch’s first major project, completed in 1976. He once referred to Eraserhead as ‘his Philadelphia story’. With that, he meant that the movie was based on all the dangerous and scary elements he encountered in Philadelphia, which left a deep impression. “When those feelings came out, it became Eraserhead.”
My collection already has quite a few albums with references to this movie, which emphasises the impact this movie has made on people. Or at least, certain people. There is the cover of ‘In Heaven’ on the ‘Children of God’ album by Haus Arafna (’98), and Brume / Christian Renou, of course, released the album ‘In Heaven’ in 2013. Two artists who are entirely different from each other, yet… The movie did that much that they both felt the need to pay tribute to each other. And on this album, there are 13 more of them, from un- or hardly known to famous, so to speak. Grey Frequency, Adi Newton, Oubys, Richard Bégin, Sonologyst, Kabra, Mario Lino Stancati, Mark Hjorthoy, Wahn, Macrogramma, Bruno Dorella, 400 Lonely Things and Nikos Sotirelis. Some names we’ve seen before on the Gibson and Dick releases, some names are new, so here, too, it’s an expanding universe.
When we delve into the promotional text a bit further, it discusses the sound design of the movie. Alan Splet and David Lynch left the realm of traditional music but created what became perhaps the first dark ambient soundscape, where musique concrète formed the foundation. It can be compared to what Bebe and Louis Barron did in 1956, when they wrote the first complete electronic soundtrack for Forbidden Planet. Was Splet’s sound design in combination with Lunch’ cinematography of that order?
Looking back, one might concur. Dune, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, and Mulholland Drive are just a few movies with which Lynch proved that. And Splet – the man we all probably had never heard of before. With Lynch, he also worked on Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man, and Dune, after which he worked on perhaps even bigger ones: The Mosquito Coast, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and Dead Poets Society. And to emphasise his body of work, He passed away while working on The English Patient. And why were his ears and sound so good? Maybe because he was legally blind. And maybe that was why that soundtrack made an impact on all of us. He created the impact with what he couldn’t see by adding an extra visual layer to the sounds.
So, I’m closing the review with the words that this is one of the better samplers I’ve heard in a while in the realm of dark ambient/electronics-based music. But it’s just as with the movie ‘Eraserhead’. If you start reading about the content, it becomes less enjoyable to watch the movie. So here will my ‘no spoiler’ review end. This is one hell of an album. (BW)
––– Address: https://unexplainedsoundsgroup.bandcamp.com/

ZEROGROOVE – WHATWEARE (CD by Dissipatio)

Until this one, all previous releases by Dissipatio for Vital have been reviewed by others. I’ve read a couple and concluded that there are a few mighty fine ones on this label, but also that it is a very taste-dependent label. Meaning that it’s hit or miss depending on your taste of music or style, which interests you. However, this is something I thought of and wrote after listening to the new Zerogroove album multiple times.
Zerogroove is the project of Giuseppe Fantini, and this is his second album. For this album Giuseppe used voice, guitars, bass, synth, tapes and drum machine, and in the promo test it mentions “a retro-futurist musical vision”. So there we have it. Retro futurism is my very favourite style of movie. Movies that play in the past, where the future is already in our past. Take, for example, A Clockwork Orange, from the early 1970s (the book was published a decade earlier), and everything depicted as ‘near future developments’ is now a definite part of our past. A personal highlight is the proud presentation of the micro cassette, which was so small yet held superb quality. I mean …
With this in mind, I’m often eager to hear what the concept brings to a release. And while listening, I get occasional flashes of Alan Vega’s Suicide, but it’s not getting close to what Suicide was about. Maybe the instruments used or the use of effects … But the shock that I felt when hearing Suicide, that’s what I miss. The muffled trumpet and guitar sounds used here make it all ‘mellow’ (for lack of a better word). And then, after eight tracks in 23 minutes, I am left with an unsatisfied hunger for more or something different. It’s not bad at all, but it could have been much more. The best track (included in this week’s mix) is, in my opinion, “Many chances for us”, which best underlines my thoughts. (BW)
––– Address: https://dissipatio.bandcamp.com/

ANDY GRAYDON & KLAUS JANEK – A BOOK OF WAVES (CD by Room 40)

After years of playing music together and with other people, Andy Graydon and Klaus Janek decided to record an album together. Oddly enough, not together in one room, but long distance. That is odd, as they played many concerts together. But maybe that would have been too obvious a choice, a document of their live work, repeated in the studio. In contrast, the studio (or studios, when working long-distance) offers different opportunities. I admit that when I read this, I had heard the CD and couldn’t tell it was live or studio, let alone long-distance. That’s great, a job well done. Maybe it is within their profession of improvisation that I expect this to happen. Janek plays the contrabass and processing, and Graydo is responsible for field recordings, electronics, and the no-input mixer. Granted, not your typical improvisation set-up, but certainly one that offers a lot of possibilities for studio work. There were a few occasions when I checked to see if there weren’t any other players, as I sometimes thought I had heard saxophones or other wind instruments. There is quite a bit of variation to be enjoyed on this CD, from the very improvised-sounding opening piece, ‘Premeridian’, to the ambient, sparsely orchestrated ‘Postmedian’ at the end of the album. I enjoyed the album’s more reflective moments more than the more hectic and frenzied playing, which struck a delicate balance on this CD. These are two players who know each other very well and know how to interact with each other, doing a great job. (FdW)
––– Address: https://room40.bandcamp.com/

MARILYN CRISPEL & THOMMY ANDERSSON & MICHEALE ØSTERGAARD-NIELSEN – THE CAVE (CD by Ilk Records)

The piano trio is a classic outfit for jazz music. Piano, double bass and drums. Piano for chords and melody, double bass for providing the basic chord progressions and rhythmic stability, together with the drums. That all changed with the Bill Evans trio in the 1950s of the last century. Three musicians with equal input in the music. It became even freer with the emerging free jazz, breaking the mouldy mould of strict chord progressions, melodies, and rhythm. Anything goes. Burton Greene uses the insides of the piano, and other pianists use John Cage’s ideas to prepare the piano by putting objects in strategic places to change the timbre of that note or tonal area of the piano. Piano trios like the one led by Brad Mehldau and the Bad Plus incorporate popular music or cover pop and rock songs. And not to mention E.S.T. (Esbjørn Svensson Trio), featuring a double bass player with a pedal board equipped with numerous effects. What we have here is a trio with Danish drummer Michala Østergaard-Nielsen, who provided the compositions, Swedish double bassist Thommy Andersson and American pianist Marilyn Crispell. The latter is a living legend in the world of jazz. Paraphrasing her biography on Wikipedia: Classically trained from the age of seven, with ultimately earned a degree in piano and composition at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston in 1968. In 1975, she developed an interest in jazz after hearing Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. Although she had a teacher in her childhood who insisted on learning how to improvise, she had to start from scratch when she took private lessons with Charlie Banacos. Transcribing solos, chord progressions, melodies, forms and structures in all twelve keys. Just to understand what was happening within a piece of music. In classical music, this is much easier because scores often include everything that needs to be written out. In jazz, not so much. Excluding the infamous Real Book series, of course. But even that is just a skeleton abstraction of what is happening in some pieces. In short, if you will, instead of a verbatim protocol. Saxophone player Charlie Mariano gave her to suggestion to visit Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New Jersey. Founded by Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso and Ornette Coleman, it was a centre for jazz and world music musicians, coining the term world jazz. She eventually moved to Woodstock, where she still resides. She was a member of the Anthony Braxton Quartet in the eighties and nineties. She played and recorded with numerous musicians, including a duo with Irène Schweizer, a trio with Fred Anderson and Hamid Drake. More recently, she played on a record with Jason Stein, Damon Smith, and Adam Shead called Spi-raling Horn. Also noteworthy is that she is on the roster for ECM, the record label based in Munich. Thommy Andersson is the double bass player of the trio. With a special interest in Swedish folk music, he has recorded and played with numerous musicians around the world (Yusef Lateef, Paul Bley, Kenny Werner, James Blood Ulmer, Daniel Humair and Randy Brecker, to name a few), across genres and in projects with a multi-disciplinary scope. He’s also a part-time associate professor at the Danish National Academy of Music in Copenhagen. His research has the following scope: “12 Musicians from Another Place examines the relationship between folklore, improvisation and score music based on the environmental diversity and cultural background of 12 musicians, and the synergy between notation and improvisation, hearing and presence in music that stems from the musicians’ individual starting points in their environments. The goal is to formulate concrete strategic models for the development of transparent works and collaborations through dialogic artistic experiments, so that a framework is created that can constitute a clearly defined starting point for further work within and explorations of the field. It is largely based on his own experiences that Thommy Andersson develops his understanding of the strategies analysed and compared in the project. Thus, it is the composer, teacher, and performing artist Thommy Andersson who places himself at the centre of the project. The broader anchoring of the project, and the resulting enrichment of the field of practice he moves within, is ensured by combining reflection on his practice with the study of other musicians’ experiences of artistic encounters with foreign environments, as well as personal interviews with the participating musicians. In this project, the key to creating music lies in the encounter between people. If musicians dare to stand firm in their background, while respecting others, they can bring each individual’s voice into the music without compromise. The reflection on a new sound creates creativity, but also decision-making problems. The desire to develop a tonal language and sense of form creates new compositional frameworks, further developing Andersson as an artist. It opens up new possibilities for creation. Folklore and human environmental interest, as well as acceptance in the broadest sense, are the fundamental elements of this project. Basic knowledge and expertise in innovative orchestration, form and notation are deeply integrated into the compositional process. As a professional arranger, Andersson will utilise his orchestral knowledge and further develop it, focusing on acquiring new insights into sound formation within this transparent orchestra. The notation itself will be new, as some musicians do not necessarily read Western notation, only play by ear, or have their way of notating music. The project invites diversity. Integration of musicians with atypical instruments who normally do not have their “voice” established in a larger orchestra.” On to the composer of the music on this release: Michala Østergaard-Nielsen. She is also classically trained, holding a master’s degree in drumming from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the Malmö Academy of Music. In 2018, she became the first Danish artist to win Sweden’s most prestigious jazz award, “Jazzkannan”, which is given to musicians who have made innovative contributions to jazz. She has her quartet, which includes the following other members: Norwegian Per Jørgensen on trumpet, vocals, and darabouka (an Arabic drum); Kasper Tranberg from Denmark on trumpet and cornet; and Marc Ducret from France on guitar. She is also a member of other groups. On to the music: this was recorded in a studio during their debut tour. Some pieces are fully composed, and others are composed with sections for improvisations. Only two pieces are fully improvised: one for double bass and the other for drums.
Apart from the drums, Michala also plays the vibraphonette, a miniversion of the vibraphone, and percussion. What we have here is eight gorgeous pieces of music in forty minutes. From the serene and simple, folk-like beauty of The Cave, which starts as a piano solo, with later single-emphasised notes in the double bass. Nine Tone Story is a different story, transporting us to the 1970s of New York with a more frenetic musical frame of mind. The longest piece is My Spirit Heart. Eleven minutes of pure bliss and joy. As I mentioned earlier, Crispell is on the ECM roster. This release also shares that same quality. Exquisitely recorded, mixed and mastered, and the music itself is timeless. Not by any means a cocktail trio going through the motions, but deeply felt music, and yes, mostly consonant and tonal. But not everything has to be atonal and fiery music. It’s only forty minutes long, and it has been on repeat many times now. I hope this excellent trio will release more music. (MDS)
––– Address: https://www.ilkmusic.com/

S*GLASS – BENIGN NEGLECT (CD by Public Eyesore)
A MAGIC WHISTLE – THE SOLAR CELL (LP by Public Eyesore)
DEATH PYRE – CONCATENATION (cassette by Eh?)

Although there’s no other information given than the list of instruments and sounds used (“loops, objects, cassettes, fails videos, electric organ, location recordings, sound processing, bass guitar, voice”), we can assume it’s Seymour Glass, one of the excellent Bananafish magazine, founder of Stomach Ache Records and a musicians in his own right with such groups as Bren’t Lewiis Ensemble, Glands Of External Secretion, S.F. Seals, and Steeple Snakes. I looked on Discogs and was surprised to see the list of solo releases under the Seymour Glass name (a pseudonym, actually, from various short fiction stories by J.D. Salinger). I’ve only heard a limited number of these releases, and not many from his ‘band’ projects, but listening to this new CD, I believe I can see a common thread: the love of working with sound, whether it’s any sound, or any sound-making device or instrument. Multitrack recording, analogue or (more likely) digital, brings out the organisation, resulting in compositions. He does this in the best tradition of musique concrète, but not in the most traditional sense of the word. Here, Glass offers three lengthy pieces, each lasting 20 minutes, and in each of these, he explores a plethora of sounds, conjuring a multitude of images. One can probably label this as surrealist music, in which sounds are used to paint fever dreams, nightmares and other non-sequiturs. Anything to unsettle the listener, and yet also quite relaxing, an altered state of mind. I admit I was tempted to use some old Bananafish reviews and rewrite/collage them as a new review, as they were as weird as some of the music reviewed, or so I understood back in the day. These three pieces are best enjoyed as one long symphony of sound, without beginning or end, and not to be analysed in too much detail, but, like an altered state of mind, just be perceived and enjoyed.
On LP, there’s music by Andy Puls, his fifth release, and the first to reach my shores. I understand he’s a creator of synthesisers and sequencers, plays the guitar and uses his voice, yet doesn’t use lyrics. His album features no less than 21 songs, many of which are concise and to the point; some even adopt a more sketch-like approach. There’s a pop-like sensibility here, especially when he plays his steel guitar, electric guitar and bass, such as in ‘The Joy Of’. Yet none of these songs become actual pop songs, as they remain short and mostly instrumental. If anything, I am strongly reminded of the 1980s cassette culture, when it also included home-tapers who wanted to experiment with song-like structures, using four-track machines to record such ditties. Puls plays some lively music, and it’s a joy to hear, even when it’s also something less fitting for these pages. Even with its more experimental edge, the music remains pleasant and somewhat quirky. Should I be the type to care about music as a soundtrack for sunny days, I am sure the 2025 seasonal soundtrack would certainly include this LP.
Behind Death Pyre, we find Ampyre and Death Factory, the latter from Chicago and the former from St. Louis, MO. I reviewed an earlier cassette by them, on No Sides Records (see Vital Weekly 1474). I assume this new cassette contains further explorations of their guitar and synth approach, with the addition of voice material. On the previous ther was something they called the “spirit of the late 80s/90s era of gothic/ambient/experimental genre-melders while bringing 21st-century experience and sensibilities to interpret their aesthetics for the modern milieu”, which didn’t mean much to me (generational thing, I guess). Much like the previous release, I enjoyed the noise aspect of the music, but there’s something in this basement/garage set-up that muddies the sound a bit. I can imagine this is an aesthetic approach by the musicians, but I still feel that either something is lost in this music, or something is hidden, waiting to be released, given the right amount of attention or mix. Not bad, but also something that (still) fails to grab me. (FdW)
––– Address: https://publiceyesore.bandcamp.com/

RICHARD YOUNGS – ZERKELUS (LP by Fourth Dimension Records)

I’ll be honest: I always admire music by Richard Youngs (well, the man is also likeable), and while not all of his output is to my liking, that’s the reason for my admiration: you never know what he comes up with next. Youngs has covered many musical territories, from drones to singer-songwriter stuff to techno and noise music (I am probably forgetting something), and to be a fan is to be open to all of that. I may not be as interested in his singer-songwriter approach, but I do enjoy the fact that he plays these things anyway. I don’t know what ‘Zerkelus’ means, and the LP (a surprisingly small edition of 150 copies) has no information. The cover features Youngs’ face (eyes open and eyes closed) and has a single composition on each side. I am informed he uses voice, oboe and “indiscernible sources to create an otherworldly raga”, and both sides are of similar yet very distinct make. One label has the ‘eyes open’ photo and is on the first side. Here, Youngs is in an open and spacious mode. The music is dense and closely together. The flute and voice reminded me of Organum’s ‘Vacant Lights’, but the ‘indiscernible sources’, which may be guitars, add a slightly different and disturbing flavour to the music. It all sounds like the various collaborations Youngs did with Simon Wickham-Smith (and Wickham-Smith’s solo works), which is a particular favourite phase of mine. The Organum inspiration tops it off. The ‘eyes-closed’ side uses similar sounds, but this time the system is closed, and we find him in a noisier territory. The wind instrument adopts a slightly more exotic approach, reminiscent of Derwish flutes, and then a bass-like noise emerges, elevating the work by a notch or two. If the first side is some kind of spacious drift, this is a wilder ride, more rafting than canoing. This is a type of ritual music that evokes a spooky and unsettling atmosphere. This too is Organum-like in some ways, but also brings back to mind 1980s groups using wind instruments, such a 23 Skidoo and Metamorphosis, but without their rhythmic approaches. An excellent record by a remarkable musician – why make just 150? This deserves a broader audience. (FdW)
––– Address: https://fourthdimensionrecords.bigcartel.com/

ARD BIT & RADBOUD MENS – MARKING A BOUNDARY WITH THE TURNING POINT (2LP by ERS Records)

Now that Vital Weekly comes to an end, it is perhaps also good to mention that it has not been easy to separate the eviewer’s hat from the friend’s cap. Having been involved with Vital Weekly for 30 years, starting in the basement office of Staalplaat, where I worked in 1995, I have had the opportunity to meet many people. One of those who has been around for as long as Vital Weekly is Radboud Mens, who was a volunteer in the Staalplaat shop and a musician who played noise music, scratching records with a dog brush. After Staalplaat, we remained in contact, played a concert together (or even more; I am unsure), and Mens’ music took many different turns. He’s a technology enthusiast with a particular interest in both hardware and software. Occasionally, he records music with other people, such as Ard Janssen, better known as Ard Bit. I had reviewed some of his work before, but I had never met him (in reality, I met only a very few people whose work I had reviewed). I missed the original CD release of ‘Marking a Boundary with the Turning Point’ (apparently, I don’t know these people that well), but the two musicians got their money together and released it on vinyl. Looks great, but I leave it for the reader to think if such delicate music is best served on vinyl – the CD version is long sold out. Because, my goodness, delicate it surely is. I know both artists to play around with the notion of ambient music, and in these nine pieces, they do a great job. Do not think these pieces are nine variations of the drone variation. Using improvisation, electronics, and field recordings as a starting point, and through what I believe is an endless reshaping process, a piece emerges. Lengthy ones, as some easily become ten-minute pieces, but also in shorter time frames, they are right on the ball. It seems that at times, there are ‘real’ instruments, such as wind and string instruments, but it’s also likely that these are one of Mens’ creations. Sometimes the music reminds me of good old laptop manipulations, sometimes of modular synthesiser music and even a bit of kosmische music. Everything unfolds at a slow pace, with minimal movements, but it never reaches a standstill. Outside the world burns (especially Nijmegen this week), but happy to stay inside and listen to these relaxing music pieces. (FdW)
––– Address: https://radboudmens.bandcamp.com/

BJNILSEN – TRUE THAN NATURE (LP by Ideologic Organ)

Now, here’s a name we haven’t seen much in recent years, and if we did, it was mostly in works with Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson. The solo work by him that I reviewed was ‘Irreal’ in Vital Weekly 1324, which I understand was his last solo work until ‘True Than Nature’. Nilsen’s interest in this new work lies in natural acoustics, material resonance, and electronic processing. To achieve this, he uses recordings from various materials, including metal, stone, ceramics, wood, fire, and water. Some of these recordings are treated extensively, while others remain largely unprocessed in the mix. Nilsen doesn’t reveal where he recorded his sounds, not because he wants to be wilfully obscure, but instead because the listener can approach this in a way that suits them, making it a story of the listener. As expected, Nilsen offers a combination of field recordings (including numerous birds and water sounds), alongside vast drones and musique concrète-style treatments. Nothing here is in abundance. This is not two sides of massive drones and some birds twittering, but a collage-like, six-track album. Sure, Nilsen takes his time exploring his sounds, but there’s always movement. Not just animal-like movements, as there’s also human activity, such as hammering and fanfare music. I was reminded of childhood holidays in Austria when I heard this, but I’m sure other people will have different ideas. Nilsen employs collage-like techniques, incorporating abrupt and gradual changes, which bring a fine, if not abstract, narrative piece of music. An excellent record, with some surprising compositions, moving away from the slightly louder works of his previous record. Constantly changing, always good. (FdW)
––– Address: https://ideologicorgan.bandcamp.com/

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (2LP by Fourth Dimension Records)

When Third Mind Records began, they released a five-compilation cassette, ‘Rising From The Red Sand’, which remains a landmark of early industrial music (reissued by Vinyl On Demand on five LPs some time ago). Third Mind became a powerhouse with a subsidiary, Fourth Dimension Records, which, after one release, changed hands, and Richard (Richo for friends) Johnson took over. Ever since, it has been his label for over 40 years. Occasionally, he releases compilations, showcasing the various musicians on his label, or to promote label evenings, such as ‘Presently Untitled’ (Vital Weekly 1153) or ‘Low Expectations’ (Vital Weekly 1214). These were respectively on a double 7″ and a cassette. The latest compilation is presented as a double LP. We find the usual suspects, even when some may not have had a recent release on this album, such as Band Of Pain (consisting here of Steve Pittis and Steven Stapleton). Still, most have, and not present are Reverse Image and Richard Youngs (see elsewhere!), who recently had some releases and could fit right in—a broad roster and limited space on two sides of an LP.
Fourth Dimension Records isn’t a label with one strict musical interest, as proven here. In one corner, there’s Edward Ka-Spel with what we call a song, vocals, and rhythms, and in another corner, a piece (with subtle differences) of subaqueous tones and drones by Bass Communion. If you wish to see that as the scale in which the rest operates, you see one moving to the first. Ashtray Navigations has a lovely rhythmic piece, all instrumental, very psychedelic, and Final’s subtle drones are heading toward similar ground as Bass Communion. Atmospheric is perhaps a word that ties the majority of these pieces together, even though they are rhythmic (like Senestra and Splintered) or noisy (the short outburst by Kleiswahr). I thought this to be an excellent compilation, all great pieces of music and a brilliant showcase for this label. (FdW)
––– Address: https://fourthdimensionrecords.bigcartel.com/

RUBBER BUS – WELCOME TO KARMIC CITY (CDR, private)
MAZENTA Z – DOUBT THOU THE STARS ARE FIVE (CDR, private)

These two arrived together, but the connection isn’t apparent. I reviewed two earlier releases by Rubber Bus, the group around Saul Yarg, the electronicist of the group. He calls the groyo “ambient dub-influenced protest music” and also features Andy Roid (synths), King Razor (bass), loop guitarist Just George, and a few guests on vocals, tin clarinet, and percussion. Their first album (Vital Weekly 1255) was a pandemic reaction album, and at times, it was too lengthy. However, I quite enjoyed their second, ‘Noh Yogah’ (Vital Weekly 1297). Then I mentioned The Orb, and that’s the name that springs to mind again: that and dub music. You can’t tell from the thousands of reviews I’ve written over the last 30 years, but I immensely enjoy dub music. Not to the extent of being an expert, with favourite artists or labels, but whatever I find, download, or am given, I enjoy. I attribute it to the studio trickery in the music, where fiddling with electronics is accompanied by steady bass and drum rhythms. Rubber Bus mentions Gong, Tim Blake, Mad Professor, Azu Tiwaline, soundsystem culture, ambient music, Adrian Sherwood and much more. It’s all heard in these nine, at times lengthy, dub excursions, featuring lovely, slow rhythms, spoken word (though not in abundance, and cleverly paced), and soft, tinkling guitars. The soundtrack for the summer, even for the rainy day that is today. The Orb’s influence is massive, especially in the early 1990s, characterised by live drumming and a heavy reliance on sampling and electronics.
While I may not have heard of Mazenta Z, I am familiar with the music of one of its members, Paul Khimasia Morgan, who plays guitar and effects here. Usually, his music is even more improvised than in this constellation, which also includes Roger Harmar (keyboards, synthesisers, devices) and Paul Lewis (guitar, effects). Following the spacious dub drifts performed by Rubber Bus, this is more of the same, less the dub/rhythm element. The guitars truly space out in the best Robert Fripp sense (and, remember, Fripp did a CD with The Orb), with long sustaining tones, all bit more in the progressive music corner, and less in your usual drone/ambient chamber, this is something that easily fits the chlll out room where Rubber Bus is headlining on a different stage. Whereas Morgan’s more traditional approach is sometimes a bit too traditional for me, I immensely enjoyed these three lengthy excursions. Too early in the day to lie down and do nothing (as much as I sometimes love to do this), but even in the summer’s state of not always doing as much as I would love to, this is a great release to play for such, also, altering states of relaxing and working simultaneously. (FdW)
––– Address: http://rubberbus.bandcamp.com

GRISHA SHAKHNES – FOR MOSES ASCH (cassette by Neus-318)
ILIA BELORUKOV – BEYOND THE LOWER HOVELS (cassette by Neus-318)

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to hear a few works by Israel-based composer Grisha Shakhnes, and they fill me with both joy and curiosity. The pleasure is in hearing these works, and the curiosity comes from not knowing what he does. Information is always very sparse, and this new tape is no exception. When I initially heard music by Shakhnes, there was a certain denseness in the music, which gradually became sparser. For some of his works, I envisage some process in which he tapes his sounds in a room, allowing that space to become another instrument. That’s the sort of thing Shakhnes does on this cassette. Some rumbling from contact microphones, some obscure field recordings, and a hint of electronics, all kept to a strict minimum, were captured in an open space with a microphone. It all sounds very easy, and maybe it is, but is that a problem? I wouldn’t think so. It’s this not knowing what’s going on that results in 30 minutes of captivating music, making this an excellent release. It has a vaguely ritualistic element, a performance of some kind, but also some lo-fi electro-acoustic work, which is what I primarily associate with his work. Throughout both sides, the music shifts around, constantly moving yet remaining consistent in its approach to his sound.
Ilia Belorukov is also a returning composer in these pages. Oirginally he’s from St. Petersburg, Russia, based in Novi Sad, Serbia and uses a wealth of instruments: analogue and virtual modular synthesisers, snare drum, tamborim, hand drum, cymbals, percussion, objects, fluteophone, zither, contact microphone, software and hardware processing, field recordings from St. Petersburg, Moscow, Barcelona, Bilbao, Biel and Willisau. While much of his work focuses on improvisation, his primary focus is on composition. Using collage techniques, he blends sounds into musique concrète-like compositions. Gentle electronics next to the rumbling and shaking of objects, some people talking ext to the processed sounds of his instruments. Each of the four pieces (this cassette is also 30 minutes long) is an excellent example of this approach, and yet each piece has a unique character, being distinctly different from the others. As such, this new cassette is no different from his previous solo work. While this is some strong music, and among the best of his work, it is not the ultimate masterpiece, but rather one among many greats. (FdW)
––– Address: https://neus318.bandcamp.com/

ERIC LUNDE: SHOULDA KILLED ME WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE (8 cassettes, USB drive by Ballast)

The first few releases I heard by Eric Lunde, from the late 1980s, made a significant impact. They were the first ones on RRRecords, and it was noise, but of a different kind. Voice manipulations, site-specific performances, a sort of ritual? It wasn’t easy to understand, and, to my delight, with many more releases by Lunde, including a wealth of written material, I still don’t understand, yet I am still fascinated by his output. I gather that a lot of it deals with language and communication. Following those early RRRecords releases, I became more familiar with his work, obtaining some directly, but also through Peter Duimelinks, who wrote for Vital when it was a fanzine printed on paper, and who would later release an LP on his V2 Archief label. Back then, in 1997, a compilation of Lunde’s earlier work, ‘When You Wish Upon A Scar’, was released; however, many of the older cassettes are now impossible to find. This box collects five old cassettes, a live recording and two previously unreleased cassettes. As a bonus, Eric Lunde is reading his 1991 book ‘LLND’, which is a bit much, even with Lunde’s compelling voice, plus a complete recording of ‘Infect Text, a live take on the cassette ‘Expositions of the Virus’, also part of this box. The other four cassettes are: ‘Scramble’, ‘Form’s Forced Surrender’, and ‘Operative’, while the live recording was also released in 1988 as ‘Censor / Censure’ (making it six old cassettes, even though the information mentions five). I sat down on a Sunday afternoon, exposing myself to six hours, 29 minutes, and 8 seconds of Eric Lunde —a feast of recognition. As said, the way Lunde treats his voice material is still compelling; he calls this his “reduplicative degeneration processes”. Another way to describe this is as a poor man’s version of Alvin Lucier’s ‘I’m Sitting in A Room’, and I mean this in the most positive sense. Playback of voice material from a dictaphone, recorded on another one, in a space, and this process repeats itself over and over, with the erosion gradually leading to mean noise, distortion, and feedback. Lunde also employs other sounds in similar ways, which is what makes this music compelling. It’s sound poetry, but also much more. The previously unreleased ‘Bruise Grind Kill’ cassette is all instrumental, which “electric motor apparatuses on bass guitar and drums”, which, so says Ballast quite rightly, reminds one of early Chop Shop.
I admit I put the reading of ‘LLND’ at the end, and I didn’t finish that one on this long Sunday afternoon. Partly because I was delighted with what I had heard from Lunde in the previous five hours, and also because listening to readings isn’t something I enjoy doing often. One remarkable set of early Lunde music for sure. Limited to 50 copies, so act fast! (FdW)
––– Address: http://ballastnvp.blogspot.com/

DANIELLE LEMAIRE – HET MEISJE EN DE KROKODIL (cassette by Barreuh Records)

In her practice as an artist, Danielle Lemaire works primarily with pencil and paper, creating drawings, but music also holds a strong interest for her. She was one of the sponsors for the repair of an EMS Synthi A, donated by Goodiepal to Worm in Rotterdam. To label Worm a venue is painting a tiny picture, as the building houses much more, inc a studio. The Synthi A required repair after an accidental stumble in a bath (it’s best to record your music outside bathrooms, which is what we take away from this story), which cost € 8,900. Sponsors were granted access to the machine, and Lemaire spent some time behind it, doing what everybody else would do: tape a bunch of sounds for home use. That’s what Lemaire did, and she has some surprising results. The two lengthy pieces on the first side (in the download, all pieces on both sides are combined into one, making it difficult to distinguish between them) feature harsh beeps and peeps alongside spacious synth music, and some frog sounds at the start of the side. This is an interesting collision between harsher sounds and more gentle ones, sounding at times very much like a test record and sometimes wonderfully composed.
The second side has five pieces, and sounds like one piece. In these pieces, we hear Lemaire discuss her practice, including making drawings, and she cuts up her voice, incorporating Indonesian gamelan sounds (from her family background) and her singing. The Synthi A may not play a significant part in these recordings, but knowing the machine (well, the digital version, that’s), I am aware of its capability to transform external sounds, so maybe that’s what’s done here too. It sounds like a radio play, and perhaps it isn’t easy to follow if the Dutch language is something of a mystery to you. I suppose it becomes something mysterious and poetic, with Lemaire’s voice not always at the forefront, which makes this a wonderful hörspiel. (FdW)
––– Address: https://barreuhrecords.bandcamp.com/