Week 31

VITAL WEEKLY ENDS WITH NUMBER 1500 – SEPTEMBER 2025

ILLUSION OF SAFETY – RVE (CD by Tribe Tapes)
ALIENO DE BOOTES – UNCONVENTIONAL RESIDENTS IV (CD by Klanggalerie)
P’DERRIGERREO – A/VERSION (CD by Zappak)
DAVID LEE MYERS – TERRENUS (CD by Cronica Electronica)
EMITER – ELECTROMAGNETISM OF THE CITY (CD by Cronica Electronica)
KIKUCHI YOSHIHIRO – VACCINE (CD by Yoshihiro Kikuchi Editions)
EUPHOTIC – CLASTIC (CD by Confront Recordings)
WILL BOLTON – STARI GRAD (CDR by Sound In Silence)
THE DEEP BELLS – LIBERTÉ (CDR by Sound In Silence)
PETROGLIFI SOLUBILI – TERRENI GOLENALI (CDR, private)
PETROGLIFI SOLUBILI – ANGIPORTO (CDR, private)
G LUCAS CRANE – THE SUDDERING YEARS (cassette by Artsy Records)
STOMACHACHE – PRESQUE VU (cassette by Activated Skeleton)
BERTIN – KANT B (cassette by Kringloop Kassettes)
COAGULANT – ADRIFT (cassette by Kringloop Kassettes)
NŸLAND – CONTINGENT OVERLAY (xassette by Kringloop Kassettes)
JEANS BEAST – MYSTIQUE (cassette by Kringloop Kassettes)
HYWARE – HYPERFORMANCE (cassette by Kringloop Kassettes)

ILLUSION OF SAFETY – RVE (CD by Tribe Tapes)

When I had an iPod, I needed some of my favourite cassettes on there, stuff that wasn’t available on CD, so I ripped a few of them. I no longer recall which they were, but one of them was Illusion Of Safety’s ‘RVE’ cassette. When they released the original cassette in 1991, IOS already had many releases on CD and LP, and, if I recall, ‘RVE’ was for a while their last cassette release. It was a time when I considered upscaling my cassette label to CDs and seeking out various projects. I asked IOS if ‘RVE’ was an option for CD, but word came back, along the lines of, ‘the quality isn’t great, and there’s nothing we can fix about this so that it won’t happen’. Luckily, technology improved over the years, and now ‘RVE’ is on CD; I compared it with the original cassette, and it’s a miracle.
Something I didn’t know, as the original cover has very little information, is that ‘RVE’ stands for “Robol Verification Exercise”. Robol is the legendary studio, if fictional, where the original experiments were carried out, which were later popularised by The Hafler Trio. In that sense, ‘RVE’ is a tribute to The Hafler Trio, especially the early collage work, which is heavy on the use of collage. Of course, the Hafler Trio did it all analogue, with reel-to-reel experiments, but Illusion Of Safety turned their heads to sampling wonders of the time, the Mirage and Emax II sampling. IOS at this time was a trio, Dan Burke, Jim O’Rourke, and Thymme Jones, with the latter playing a more minor role than the other two. The first ten minutes of the second part are all O’Rourke solo. It was a strong line-up, responsible for more classic IOS works of that time, ‘Probe’ and ‘Cancer’ (soon to be reissued on LP by Auf Abwegen).
The Hafler Trio may have been a massive influence on the music here, I think it’s also essential to view this in a broader context, in which the musicians labelled as ‘industrial’ discovered what became known as ‘early electronic music’ (50s and 60s) and musique concrète, which coincided with the arrival of affordable four and eight track recorders. In the past, much music was created by layering multiple cassette recordings together, and if something went wrong, you’d either go back to the start or leave it in. On a four and eight-track recorder, one could place segments very precisely (however, still a process of chance; the computer made that an exact thing), and subsequently think of the mix, try out what worked best and do multiple versions. All of this goes for Illusion Of Safety, adding machines that weren’t in reach for those who already spend their well-earned money on a recorder: sampling, and I mean sampling beyond the low-bit Casio SK samplers that were much used at the time.
‘RVE’ has all of that technology, and on the input side, we find much of what defined IOS in those late 80s, early 90s. Massive drones, sampled from machines, cut with voices, music samples (which were used extensively on ‘Historical’ and ‘Inside Agitator’, and which serve here as interruptions, intrinsic cuts to unsettle the listener, orchestral bits, sampled acoustic objects (which don’t play the same role as they would later do in IOS concerts, small amplified objects) or field recordings with hardly any treatments at all. All of this was sampled, stretched, pitched, cut short; very quiet or very loud. In the latter sense, IOS stays true to its original start as a group inspired by the early adopters of industrial music, say Throbbing Gristle or Einsturzende Neubauten. But it’s the quietness that brings new elements to the music, and ‘RVE’ is an excellent example of what we would call at the time ‘ambient industrial’.
‘RVE’ was remastered by Grant Richardson, and he did wonders to the material. Whereas the cassette always sounded a bit muffled, the music now shines through clearly. I don’t do end-of-year lists, but this would be very high on my top 10 of reissues. (FdW)
––– Address: https://tribetapes.bandcamp.com/

ALIENO DE BOOTES – UNCONVENTIONAL RESIDENTS IV (CD by Klanggalerie)

Got friends who turn pale and wet themselves if you even dare to mention the name of your favourite band, The Residents? Well, a lot of the music by Alieno de Bootes could help them overcome their problem. (And it is their problem.) This is his fourth volume of covers of music by The Residents, and once again he’s accompanied by a highly skilled ensemble of musicians from Italy and the rest of the world who certainly know their chops and under his direction have produced yet another collection of songs that delight and amaze.
So, who is Alieno de Bootes? The splinternet says he’s also known as Alessandro Pizzin (b. 1959), that he was lucky enough to grow up in a musical family and has a long and interesting music pedigree (see Discogs, both names), and there seems to be a much-repeated bio of him online that includes this: ‘Starting with the situational improvisations in the second half of the 70s with the collective Fungus, followed by the foundations of the Ruins band, up to the complex multimedia realizations of the end of the 90s, his research path has always evolved in the awareness of the infinite combinations that sounds noises and images can organize to tell in turn new and ever changing creative illusions.’ So now you know.
I have volumes 2, 3 and now 4 of Alieno’s ‘Unconventional Residents’ project, and have been a fan since I first heard his reinterpretations. (I started with a good one, volume 3, with the best-ever version of ‘Moisture’. Ever!) This is what cover versions can be, what I want and like them to be, and is a major lesson in – and contribution to – ensuring that The Residents’ music will survive. The more people play the music and the broader the audience, the better its chances; this applies to so much of the music we know and love that is made by our contemporaries, who are now unfortunately popping their clogs weekly.
Alieno’s band of unconventional residents sneaks in through the back door and then lets rip with some of most surprising music I have heard since volume 3, and while the press blurb uses the phrase ‘a non-conventional reinterpretation’, the appeal of some of this music is precisely that it makes The Residents’ music eminently approachable. Also an interesting point about this music: it doesn’t hang around anywhere too long. Innocent beginnings often lead to unsignposted zones where instruments seduce and then sometimes thrash each other soundly (and loudly).
Did I already mention the contributing musicians, many of whom play on the three volumes I have (and probably volume 1 too). On flutes and sax, Ken Field – how lovely to hear a flute again, and played so beautifully! Christoph Godin on lead guitar – his magnificent solos don’t have the inconclusive angularity of those of the brilliant and much-missed Nolan Cook and are very satisfying for it. Nothing wrong with returning to the root. Wonderful to see Amy Denio contributing to this project, with sweet and sultry sax solos. Masha Galvan and Luis Gonzalez boss the bass, and volumes 3 and 4 have Brian Poole (from RATL) on vocals (I think there’s maybe too much of him on volume 4, slanting it too much towards RATL’s sound). And then there’s Alieno de Bootes… well, besides being the brains behind this project and having assembled all of the above musicians and many more besides, he plays keyboards, some guitar, but most importantly does the sound design, engineering and mix. Which come to the fore on especially his constructions: like some of the other tracks, these sometimes cross over into mashup territory with sprinkles of quotes and excerpts from … what was the name of that song again…oh, too late, we’re somewhere else already (I’ve heard Santana, Zappa, The Beatles…).
And that’s exactly what occurs 20 or 30 seconds into this latest release. Took me off guard and evoked memories totally unrelated to The Residents, and yet, it does belong here (you’ll have to listen to the track to find out). This happens in the exquisite first track ‘Phantom’, which is followed by ‘The Act of Being Polite’, with Brian Poole singing in his trademark voice and then there’s flutes, lovely, lovely flutes (I didn’t realise how much I’ve missed hearing them in the music I listen to), plus the CD’s second allusion to The Beatles. Track 3 is pure prog and features the first guitar excursions on the disc. Then we have one of Alieno’s constructions, based around The Residents’ big disco hit ‘Diskomo’, with wicked sax by Amy Denio. ‘Birds in the Trees’ is pretty similar to the original. ‘Fingertips’ is totally owned by guitarist Christoph Godin. In fact, all of the musicians are given chances to shine, and they all do, blindingly. Later on, ‘All the Freaks’ made me want to start DJ-ing again– sneak some of these tracks into the mix around the time people start forgetting who they are and take them somewhere they’ve likely never been before.
Expect the unexpected with Alieno de Bootes and his capable chums, knowing that it is superbly crafted music. I much prefer this to the latest release by The Residents (people, I know language is mutable, but we must be careful with words like ‘genius’!), which is basically a showcase of Residential themes and tropes that we’ve all heard before (thank you, Hardy!), but this time sometimes played and sung by other people and produced by someone important. For an overall superior sound and storytelling experience, listen to the ‘The Voice of Midnight’ instead.
Alieno de Bootes started releasing the ‘Unconventional Residents’ series in 2022 through Austrian label Klangalerie as part of the limited edition TOOK imprint (co-founded by Klanggalerie owner Walter Robotka with the late Hardy Fox). Hats off again to the label for continuing to sustain us with all things Residential. I would like to steer fans towards two other Klang releases that are also dedicated to cover versions of The Residents’ music: the wonderfully energetic ‘Aye Foreign Eye’ by Muni Aprile & Friends; and the truly unique ‘The 180 G’s Commercial Album’ (yes the whole record, acapella and body percussion only, blessed by Hardy Fox himself). (Check out everything The 180 G’s ever did, including their astounding acapella cover versions of some of Negativland’s tracks.)
Apparently The Residents are planning a world tour of their ‘Eskimo’ show (hope they don’t fuck it up). Alieno’s performing entourage may be large but there must be a way to have them playing in your town around the same time. (MP)
––– Address: https://klanggalerie.com/

P’DERRIGERREO – A/VERSION (CD by Zappak)

The Japanese Zappak label is a curious label. There’s an interest in the improvised music fringes, but also some releases that lean on electronics and musique concrète-like montages. They don’t favour one or the other. Today’s surprise comes from a US duo, P’derrigerreo, a project by G Patrick Foley and Pierre Plantevin. They like a bit of mystery and worked for four years on the four pieces of ‘A/Version’. Their names don’t appear on the cover, just as there are no instruments mentioned. Long pieces, from nine to 22 minutes and if there’s one thing that ties these four pieces together, it’s that stream of consciousness approach. “What happens if we load our multi-track recorder with a bunch of sounds, voices, field recordings, electronic bits, improvised percussion, taped TV and radio conversations, plus whatever we can throw?” Then we take a blindfold to do the mix, judging by ear what sounds good and what doesn’t”. I made this up, obviously, but it could very well be the idea here. Much of the material may have been recorded using Walkmans and Dictaphones, but it lacks the kind of crudeness that sometimes comes with this. Zappak makes the obvious connection with Nurse With Wound, which is easy to hear. Yet more than the Nurses, P’derrigerreo take their time and a slightly freer approach, which reminded me of Le Scrambled Debutante, and there’s an unmistakenly hippy feel about all of this. Light the incense, light whatever you’re smoking, and have a drink and sink into this psychedelic audio world. ‘Lex Dura, Sed Lex’, the longest piece, closes the disc and is their freest exercise, bending from musique concrète-like montages towards free rock, sans guitars, but lots of percussion and flutes. We are in the free rock circles of 20 years ago, K Salvatore and No Neck Blues band spring to mind (although I haven’t heard them in a long time). I love it all the same; there are many connections to past musical interests, which I may not follow as much anymore, but now I’m hearing something along similar lines, and I enjoy it all the same. P’derrigerreo may be a bit different from anything they reference, but that’s for the best! (FdW)
––– Address: https://zappak.bandcamp.com/album/a-version

DAVID LEE MYERS – TERRENUS (CD by Cronica Electronica)
EMITER – ELECTROMAGNETISM OF THE CITY (CD by Cronica Electronica)

Sometimes I think Myers becomes a man machine; a man with machines and a man acting like a machine, one release after another. Sometimes the differences aren’t significant, and sometimes they are. ‘Terrenus’ is described by the label as ‘earth music’, in contrast to a lot of electronic music being ‘space music’. I couldn’t say if the nine pieces on this new album are ‘earthy’; what would define this as such, I wonder. David Lee Myers continues to explore the nature of feedback music; music in which the output becomes the input and, via all sorts of controls, that sound is processed over and over, and the result becomes the composition. Myers has a long career in doing this kind of music and has mastered the technology very well. This always results in thoughtful, intense music. Minimalism is never far away, and noise is. That may sound like a surprise, because for many, feedback equals noise, but not for Myers. Granted, to the untrained ear, this is alien music, but to my trained Myers-ears, these are the most delicate pieces of music. Slowly evolving, minimally changing, small shards of rhythm, traces of loops and with a very ambient feeling, yet not always easy listening music, there’s too much tension beneath the waves for that. Solid stuff, and as such, perhaps not much of a surprise, but not every work can be a classic masterpiece.
Behind Emiter is Marcin Dymiter. I reviewed some of his work, going back quite a few years, and yet his catalogue isn’t very extensive. On his latest release, he explores the sounds of the city, buzzing and whirring. To that end, he walked around town (I assume Berlin, for no reason; I believe this is where he lives) to record the inner workings of traffic lights, street lights, buildings, and whatever else he found on his way. With electromagnetic pickups, human life is absent, and we only hear the city and the sounds it produces. I’m not sure about the extent of processing here, but I assume there’s a fair amount of collaging involved, layering events rather than processing these sounds further. By collaging and editing, Emiter creates a new, digital map of the city, with long roads (drones) and small sideways (crackles, clicks, cuts). Emiter created two distinct works with the material, maybe intended for an LP release. First, there’ the first part of the title piece, 20 minutes long, and a collage-like affair. This is, perhaps, the kind you’d expect people to do with this kind of source material.
Emiter does a solid job here; dark, atmospheric, changing, and churning this stuff around. The other four pieces are shorter, almost like pop songs – this would have been the B-side of the LP. Here, Emiter works his material into song-like structures. There’s rhythm, sampled from the sources, a bit of melody, something reminiscent of a bass line, and there’s even vocals. In ‘Harmonies Of Noise’, Emiter uses Steve Reich-like phase-shifting with this material. Of course, the music never becomes ‘pop music’, even when the sensibilities are there, best exemplified in ‘Dusts And Fluids’. I think I like the idea of turning this into music rather than soundscapes more than the actual execution, which seems a bit ‘muddy’ at times. Still, as an idea, it is something quite lovely, and something that Emiter (and others) should explore further. There’s a world of ideas out there, literally on the streets. (FdW)
––– Address: https://cronica.bandcamp.com/

KIKUCHI YOSHIHIRO – VACCINE (CD by Yoshihiro Kikuchi Editions)

Many of the previous releases of music by Kikuchi Yoshihiro were reviewed by jliat, who, sadly, gave up reviewing some years ago. I did one, but I forgot about it. He has a new CD in which he plays an “electronic device that converts an analogue video signal into an audio analogue signal and vice versa, VHS video tape, video cassette recorder, cathode-ray tube television, effects pedals and mixer”. Last week, we had the project Bacillus; now, we have a release called ‘Vaccine.’ This could indicate that our medical-themed releases are growing. Yoshihiro recorded ‘Vaccine’ on 21st September 2021, and for some reason, four years later decides to release it on CD. The CD features a single piece, 47 minutes and 39 seconds long, and employs a very conceptual approach to its equipment. Loud humming noise, with a deep bass end, which changes, so I assume at least, as images change (a DVD would have been an interesting option too), and it changes throughout, mainly in the mid to high frequency range. It’s far from easy music, even in terms of noise music; there is something strongly unsettling about this, uneasy to derive pleasure from the pain. This is line hum, amplified and changing in what seems (on CD) randomly. There is quite a bit of variation here, and it’s a powerfully unsettling release. I played it with great interest, but at the same time, I wondered if I’d play it again anytime soon. (FdW)
––– Address: https://yoshihirokikuchi.org/SOUND/MUSIC_DEMO_VACCINE

EUPHOTIC – CLASTIC (CD by Confront Recordings)

‘Clastic’ is my second encounter with the US-based trio Euphotic, consisting of Cheryl E. Leonard (driftwood, rocks, shells, sand, bones, feathers, SOMA ETHER V2), Tom Djill (trumpet and attachments, Meng Qi Wing Pinger, Concat live sampler, electronics, field recordings) and Bryan Day (invented instruments, homemade synths, FM radio, amplified rainsheet). The music was recorded in two places, Albany and San Pablo, which made me think if this is a concert recording from two different dates, or maybe some long-distance recording. Given the nature of the music, that would be kind of strange. The music has an improvised feeling, even with all these non-musical instruments. As with the previous release, Djill’s trumpet undergoes significant processing, and with the multitude of sounds used, the trumpet disappears quite a bit. Still, the music feels quite improvised, with bleeps and blops, some longer-formed sounds, and it all fits the electro-acoustic nature of the music I heard before from Day and Leonard – more from the first than from the second. In their music, there is no dominant player, and everything stays on the same dynamic level. Unlike the previous release (see Vital Weekly 1257), which I compared to a jazz trio, this new one has less of that, and I attribute that the three players remaining on the equal dynamic level; in ‘Cipher’, the trumpet is best audible, and quite loud, so the rest responds in a similar loud way. I was playing this and thinking it would be great to see the action we hear, and what, for instance, ‘invented instruments’ look like and how they are played, but now there’s the option of imagining it all. All in all, another lovely release by this trio. (FdW)
––– Address: https://confrontrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/clastic

WILL BOLTON – STARI GRAD (CDR by Sound In Silence)
THE DEEP BELLS – LIBERTÉ (CDR by Sound In Silence)

Vital Weekly reviewed various works by Will Bolton, but I am sure it’s only a fraction of his work. I admit I don’t know much about the man and how he works. Maybe I read this before, but it’s only now that I see he also creates installation pieces, “often enhanced with video or photography”, and he has works with video artists, choreographers and dancers. Also mentioned is ownership of Boltfish Recordings, which is an ongoing process, something I wasn’t aware of. He works with others under such names as Ashlar, Le Moors, Anzio Green, The Ashes Of Piemonte, Wil & Tarl, Biotron Shelf and others. In June last year, he did a residency at Radio Belgrade’s Electronic Studio, which is part of the area which gave the CDR its name. The streets provided him with sounds to work with, which he set against a wall of drones from the 1970s EMS Synthi 100 synthesiser. Back home, he added a bit of reverb. On ‘Stari Grad’, there are two pieces, both exactly 21 minutes, and both pure sonic bliss. On the first track, ‘Skadarlija’, there seems to be more field recordings than on the second, ‘Venizelosova’. Quite a few birds are twittering here, along with some street action sounds, which are hard to identify. The synth drones are in slow motion and are vast in size. I am told Belgrade suffered a hot summer in 2024, and the music has that slow feeling a hot summer’s day has. Everything is slow, and yet, there’s also a subtle change to be noted. You close your eyes, and just as the sun changes, shadows lengthen; similarly, this music follows a trajectory of minimalist changes. The first piece has an outdoors feeling with those field recordings, and the second is very much the indoor variation, with its stricter electronic approach. Variation doesn’t equal sameness here; both pieces are very different and together make for an excellent release.
The Deep Bells is a new name, and a collaboration between Yellow6 and The Corrupting Sea, “that has been 20 years in the making”. That was the time when Jason of The Corrupting Sea discovered Yellow6’s music, and he became friends with Jon. I don’t think I heard of The Corrupting Sea from the USA before. An ambient album rarely carries a political message. The cover depicts the crack in Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell, a symbol of the state of the world, where fascism is on the rise globally. This image also reflects the impact of Brexit and subsequent events on international travel. ‘Liberté’, of course, means freedom in French and one used in their revolution against the monarchy. No doubt follow-up albums could be called ‘égalité’ and ‘fraternité’. They recorded their music via the internet, using “guitars, synthesisers, VSTs, and a lot of guitar pedals”, and that resulted in 75 minutes of music, spread over eight pieces, four of which are between five and ten minutes, and three are 12 and 15 minutes. Spacious music, heavily on the guitars, playing chords, being plucked, bowed and looped, and there is quite some room for piano-based sounds (even when there is no piano mentioned, I assume it’s one). All of this comes with a healthy amount of colouring, sound effects, and computer technology. It’s a lengthy album, and the difference between pieces isn’t always that big, which gives the album a bit of a samey feeling, which is only a problem if you sit down with this and approach the music analytically. That isn’t the approach I took, but on this lazy sun-soaked Sunday afternoon, I went into slow motion and only reviewed these two Sound In Silence albums, playing them a couple of times, while catching up with reading, doing some computer chores, and even taking a power nap while this was playing. The samey feeling I only noticed when I sat behind my computer, and I went about writing these words. I know, I should have kept playing the music and dispensed with the review. Soon, soon! (FdW)
––– Address: https://soundinsilencerecords.bandcamp.com/

PETROGLIFI SOLUBILI – TERRENI GOLENALI (CDR, private)
PETROGLIFI SOLUBILI – ANGIPORTO (CDR, private)

Following two previous releases, Loris Zecchin, also known as Petroglifi Solubili (see also Vital Weekly 1468 and 1480), returns with two more releases. On the cover of ‘Terreni Golenai’, he writes that the album was “conceived and composed between June and July 2025 in Trieste, Italy. Samples, contact mic, effects, synths”, while no such thing is mentioned on the cover of the other. Playing the three tracks on this release, I believe he also uses vinyl to some extent. These records can’t be recognised, nor the samples. In some ways, the collage style applied by Zecchin reminded me of Marc Spruit’s work, except that Zecchin uses longer forms on some of his sounds. Moving away from a stricter noise approach and incorporating the guitar more, the music now adopts a more musical approach, characterised by a faint trace of melody and rhythm. This is best exemplified in ‘Punta Dell’Isola’, with ‘Nuova Lingua Fossile’ applying a freer approach to the use of guitar and skipping records, providing the bare bones of a rhythm.
I assume ‘Angiporto’ is made with similar means, judging by the music. Here, too, we have three tracks, from 11 to 14 minutes, much like the rest of his work. I think field recordings play a bigger role in this release. Simple kitchen sink recordings are sampled, fed through some delay pedals, and the music takes a different tour (hence two releases), being less obvious musical, more abstract, minimal and a bit noisier. Yet collage and cut-up remain a form he likes to employ in his music. Perhaps a more digital approach could be used, utilising the computer to transform his sounds, as well as for mixing and editing. I don’t know as much as I would love to. Everything I say about this might be wrong. A bit more information would have been helpful, but with the end of Vital Weekly quite near, I doubt I will ever return to the music of Petroglifi Solubili; at least not as a reviewer. (FdW)
––– Address: https://petroglifisolubili.bandcamp.com/

G LUCAS CRANE – THE SUDDERING YEARS (cassette by Artsy Records)

I had not heard of G Lucas Crane before, “Brooklyn’s prodigal cassette DJ “, who, before working as Nonhorse, had been part of Vanishing Voice and Woods. I understand that cassettes play a big role in the works presented on ‘The Shuddering Years’, two side-long compositions of collage with sound, spoken word and electronics. It’s hard to judge if everything is found on cassettes, and if he recorded these himself on cassette, or if there is found sound on old, thrift store cassettes; maybe there is a bit of electronics on the side, a bit of delay, reverb or a drum machine. For some of this stuff, I am sure it’s Crane’s voice, but not all. So, there are a lot of questions or uncertainties here, and I admit that it somewhat clouded my judgement here. I found it not easy to grasp whatever spoken word there was (described as “where ghosts speak in machine language, crypto grannies cross state lines, petty jewels are heisted, dogs are licked, tubs are thumped, wizards are thrown from their carts, caves exude their swampy ichor, and a quivering host of live performances and radio remixes are finger-painted together like an adorable sound centipede”. It all sounds like a distorted radio program, with at times two channels emitting a plethora of sound and voices. No doubt, the lack of narrative is the idea here, hoisting us up, throwing us down, pulling a leg, stretching an arm, and I enjoyed it best when the voices became less apparent, in favour of a psychedelic collage of sound, chaotic and witty. It’s at times a bit too lengthy for me, but maybe there’s a subconscious stream here that I can’t tap into. (FdW)
––– Address: https://artsyrecords.bandcamp.com/

STOMACHACHE – PRESQUE VU (cassette by Activated Skeleton)

First things first. I reviewed music by Stomachache before, in Vital Weekly 1412 and 1477, and I mentioned that this is the music project of Grant Richardson. However, he’s not. He’s responsible for mastering, while Michael Ritt is doing the actual music. ‘Presque Vue’ is the latest release and is described as “tape-forward tape music on tape. Sound sources for this release range from field recordings, found cassettes, and records, to the hum of the reel-to-reel itself”. That’s right up my alley, both as a music lover and creator; the latter a bit less on the noisy edge than Stomachache. Ritt likes overload on his material and minimalism. I couldn’t help but think the title of this cassette has something to do with Luc Ferrari’s ‘Presque Rien’, condensing massive sound events into pieces of music, and that the ordinary sounds of everyday life deliver the bricks for such music. Condensing is not the only thing he does; he also plays around with the material, speeding it up, slowing it down and finding more inside to use it—crude and noisy music, but not within the realm of power electronics. I don’t think Stomachache plays noise music for the sake of playing noise music. I think it’s all about giving the notion of musique concrète a twist and turn, taking it inside and out, delivering the dirtiest version of it. Take not-too-clean machines with dirty playback heads, tapes that aren’t erased, and set it all to sonic overload. Rusty magnetic particles are shattered everywhere, and nearly blank tape is used to capture the results. Now, that’s what I like! (And, mind you, I am making this up; there’s no evidence here to suggest this, and now it’s too late to correct this in a future issue. This cassette isn’t too long, which is a shame, as I would have loved to hear more of this sonic overload. (FdW)
––– Address: https://activatedskeleton.bandcamp.com/

BERTIN – KANT B (cassette by Kringloop Kassettes)

The 17th release on the Kringloop Kassette label from Nijmegen is for a musician from the same town. In 46 minutes, Bertin van Vliet gives you a good feeling with happy minimal instrumental pop songs, 10 in total. Pop songs, you say? Yes, and I am not afraid to review these positively. Because Bertin does precisely what the music industry refuses to do: He does something people don’t expect, and he does not follow the herd. Experimentation, making statements and thinking outside the box is what people in higher places don’t want you to do. And as soon as you do it, you will be shunned.
Bertin can do everything all at once, and those dynamics reflect in his music. As mentioned, these 10 tracks, all simply numbered, incorporate basic elements of pop songs and are characterised by their minimalistic and experimental nature. Bertin’s personal Bandcamp (worth scrolling through as a Visitor) tells us about the background. ‘Outsider electronics […] made with Casio keyboards, analogue synthesisers and random electronics. Song-based pop music and instrumental miniatures. Sample-based electronics.’ So don’t expect highly overproduced works, but lo-fi pearls. The stuff that doesn’t get played on the radio, but should.
The amount of Casio is there, but I think I also heard guitar and maybe even banjo, glockenspiel, a recorder, and field recordings from the kitchen. This release encompasses a wide range of time measures and emotional layers, from happy to sad songs to even dancey thingys, making it everywhere. And Bertin knows precisely what he’s doing, THAT is what you can hear. There is one track with ‘vocals’ (“#9”), but I’m unsure if they should be classified as vocals; it’s more accurately described as samples forming another layer in the track. It is the most experimental (read: unstructured or chaotic) track on here, and it’s easy to be a personal favorite that way. But that’s composition-wise.
In 45 minutes, 10 tracks and no vocal parts, Bertin knows how to deliver a powerful message. Carpe fucking diem. Be who you are, do what you do and don’t restrict yourself. Because in the end, you’ll end up on the B-side while you know you deserve to be on the A-list. (BW)
––– Address: https://kringloopkassettes.bandcamp.com/

COAGULANT – ADRIFT (cassette by Kringloop Kassettes)

Fabio Kubic is at it again. Another release by him under the Coagulant moniker means nice drones and heavily treated field recordings, for which VW is a perfect spot to be mentioned. The fact that the origin of Kringloop Kassettes is also the same office is no surprise, but as I didn’t have anything to do with the tape being released, I get to review it. And it’s a welcome addition to my collection.
The two long tracks covering almost 50 minutes are all based on sounds recorded by Fabio on the Kent coast—day and night environmental recordings made with hydrophonic, geophonic and ambisonic microphones. And with FX and feedback, it all results in the tracks “At Forms” and “Interiors”. Two beautiful, lengthy dronescapes (it’s how I describe the combination of drones and soundscapes) with a strong organic feel. Recordings of water and waves will always result in the purest form of filtered noise with LFOs added. And that also goes for these tracks. But Fabio has proven himself to know what he should do not to be distracted by this distinctive sound. He knows how to adapt the sound, creating the feeling of standing on the shore of a river or sea, even without the sound. And that’s a compliment.
The other thing that struck me is how Fabio uses feedback as an instrument. The difference between feedback and resonance is, for many people in the noise scene, obvious. One of them is hard to control, the other is too subtle to have a big impact. But on these recordings, you can hear how feedback is controlled and the thin line between the two becomes audible. And if you write compositions as fragile as these, you simple need to be in full control. Which he is. A+! (BW)
––– Address: https://kringloopkassettes.bandcamp.com/

NŸLAND – CONTINGENT OVERLAY (xassette by Kringloop Kassettes)

Next to Modelbau – but it’s his label, so that’s more than okay – Nÿland is the second artist to have a second release on Kringloop Kassettes. The first release was ‘Modal Collapse’, which was based on experiments with a particular granular synthesiser. The result was to see what happens with sounds from his library that were unused for some reason. And see what came out of it, so putting the experiment back in experimental music, so to speak. “Contingent Overlay” should be considered the sister release to the ‘Modal Collapse’ album, and the only thing I couldn’t find out is whether this only goes for going through the library and finally using those little beauties he knew he had but just never used before. Or does this also include the use of the GR-Mega Granular Workstation by Tasty Chip?
On ‘Modal Collapse’, it was audibly that there was a lot of experimentation also in sounds. The recordings occasionally had a lofi feel, and occasionally a minor imperfection due to the experimental journey with an unknown machine. But on “Contingent Overlay” I wasn’t able to find any of those imperfections. Maybe going through the library is what connects these two. And if that is the case, it’s audible because of the much more crystallised compositions on this cassette. It’s as if they are much more matured in some way. Peter’s words: “I started with sounds and atmospheres from my library that I find inspiring on the one hand, but which somehow don’t seem to feel at home within the sonic realms of any of my main creative outlets.”
The resulting five tracks, which cover almost 50 minutes, should have been released on a CD or vinyl. None of Peter’s many creative outlets – really a lot as you know – might be the perfect spot for these tracks, but these tracks are great. And maybe he should consider another project where these ‘leftovers’ get a fair chance. You know, some foods taste better when you leave leftovers in the fridge. Maybe that’s why, I don’t remember… Just click the link and go listen. No favourite track in particular, they’re all favourites. (BW)
––– Address: https://kringloopkassettes.bandcamp.com/

JEANS BEAST – MYSTIQUE (cassette by Kringloop Kassettes)

Julian Flemming is Jeans Beast, and I had never heard of him before. Yet here he is in my cassette player with two 45-minute tracks. He is the man behind the Econore label, and a light sparks. I recall reviewing something… Yep, in Vital 1440, I reviewed the Modelbau Cassingle “Myths Of The Near Future,” and I remember loving it. But that’s all I have, clutching at straws here. Why not let the music speak for itself. But there too there is a problem. Let me explain.
“Mystique 1” on the A-side of this tape is a drone in its purest form. It is based around a palette of a few sounds – maybe even one – and it’s in a constant state of instability. There is movement throughout the 45 minutes of syncing, volumes, interpolation, and for some of you, it sounds boring. But it’s not. It’s actually very hard to create tracks where there is constant movement and where, for the rest, not too much is happening. The tension is very very high and the thing with this track is that you just don’t know if it’s a few random signals creating the landscape, or if the creator is constantly twisting and tuning and fading and … And … Fact is, that this track might seem minimal on the outside, but there is so much happening.
The reverse side of the tape is simply called “Mystique 2”, and even if at the beginning the track seems to develop in the same vein, there is a big difference. At the midpoint of the track, another layer gets added, and simply said, it’s a mystery what it is. It sounds like a modular system going puking all over itself, but only Julian knows for sure. The background layers seem less random or ‘interactive’ than the first one, and the spaciousness reminds me a bit of ‘How to Destroy Angels’. Though in no way are those tracks comparable. It’s just the space.
So, a very nice first acquaintance with Julian Flemming, of whom I hope to hear more in the future. Perhaps a bit more interactivity could help maintain the full tension in a 45-minute track, but while listening, I found myself engaged and entertained throughout. Hypnotising and concentration. Those are the keywords. (BW)
––– Address: https://kringloopkassettes.bandcamp.com/

HYWARE – HYPERFORMANCE (cassette by Kringloop Kassettes)

In the few years I’ve been writing for VW, I’ve mentioned Radboud Mens twice. Once because was as a contributor to a sampler CD and once with a release on a DAT tape from the label Now DAT’s What I Call Music. Which was also run by Frans de Waard, by the way. But feel free to browse the archives, which have improved significantly since we transitioned to the current service.
So, a new release by Radboud Mens. Way, way, way back, I think I have seen Hyware perform live somewhere in a basement in Amsterdam with a vintage oscillator and distortions. It was loud as f_*_ and from that moment on I knew I had to remember that name. But through the years, there haven’t been many Hyware releases. Between 2008 and this year, there was exactly one – relax, that’s just as Hyware. As Radboud Mens, he released a lot. But one Hyware release is not a lot if you hear what he has to bring musically.
The names of the tracks are weird, and I can’t see any correlation between tracks to get to the origin or meaning. The musical styles are as diverse. There is a track called “TR605” recorded with Nathalie Kuik in which they are banging on an oil drum, and they’re playing with the resonances of the setup. There are a few harsh noise explorations, for example, “Hyperdition” and “404_No_Technoise_found”. “Hypercieve” is closer to power electronics with a touch of death ambient, and “Snaarwiel” and “47_CEM01” are more sound experiments. So the release is all over the place, and for its 90 minutes, that is a lot to take in. The closing “53_604” with its 20 minutes of noise, including loads of feedback and high-pitched noises, isn’t making digestion any easier, by the way.
With somewhere between 40 and 45 years of experience, Radboud created this album. For a listener new to the genres of noise and experimental music, this is about the same as trying to read the complete works of Shakespeare when you’re in primary school. Sure, you can hear (read), but do you understand? So, my verdict is that this is a fantastic release, but it has moments that are so intense you shouldn’t try to digest the full 90 minutes all at once. Amazing. (BW)
––– Address: https://kringloopkassettes.bandcamp.com/