STARFISH POOL – INTERFERENCE ’96 {CD by KK Records)
Most of the stuff KK puts out I really don’t care much about,
however they also have some excellent bands under contract,
like PWOG, Self-Transforming Machine Elves and more recently
Unit Moebius. Starfish Pool had Borne releases before this on
KK, which were a pretty monotonous affair. This one continues
their monotone style, but to what a great extent! The beats
are in some cases not danceable, but over the top distorted,
with vicious Bound processing. This new album can easily
compare with the best of anything on Sahko or PWOG. If you
like minimal danceable stuff, with a lot of power, then this
is the album. Address: Krijgsbaan 240 – 2070 Zwijndrecht –
Belgium
DEEPER THAN SPACE – :CURRENT (CD by Silent)
A few years back (1994) ambient was the keyword, and Silent
Records were taken their share. One of the better ones they
released back then, was ‘Earth Rise’ by Deeper Than Space.
That one combined both ambient with experiments on one hand,
and housy rhythms on the other hand. DTS released one more CD,
with remixes and now, or better late 1995, they release their
new studio album. DTS updates their ambient sound with
elements from trip hop and jungle. Most of the 6 tracks on
this CD take a rudimentary look at music, just one layer of
sound, with added rhythm on top. The first tracks ‘Currents’
goes into ambient-territory, whilst ‘Uncomfortable To Be
Alone’ is more dubby and trip-hop alike, and ‘Concurrent’
experiments with jungle rhythms. In all it’s a varied album,
not as great as ‘Earth Rise’ , but still very good. (FdW)
Address: <silent@sirius.com>
DROR FElLER & THE TOO MUCH TOO SOON ORCHESTRA – WHAT IS THE
POINT OF PARIS (CD by Fylkingen)
My first musical meeting with the work of Dror Feiler was on
the Anckarstrom series – and I was most disappointed with this
CD of saxophone music. So when this CD dropped on my doorstep,
I looked at with mixed feelings. On this CD the saxophones of
mr. Feiler are helped by the Orchestra, who perform on a wide
variety of instruments, such as drums, clarinet, synthesizer,
but also a chain saw, grinding machine and jackhammer. The
first piece is a fierce noise/improvisation piece, with
obnoxious sounds. I was reminded of Borbetomagus. The second
piece is much ‘softer’ , even though this is also in the field
of improvisation, with careful bangs here and there. The third
track is a continuation of the second… Not a bad CD, but not
necessarily really good.
Address: Fylkingen – P.O. Box 17044 104 – 62 Stockholm –
Sweden
JOHN ZORN -REDBIRD (CD on Tzadik)
Zorn is most known for his more extreme forays into the edges
of mostly improvised music. As stated on most of the sleeves
of the recordings he has been involved with and so far
released on Tzadik, his own label, his collaborations read
like a who’s who of contemporary music. Consequently it was
with a certain sense of trepidation that I read the words
‘ambient’ and ‘minimal’ on the cover of this CD. The music was
apparently inspired by the works of Agnes Martin, an
intellectual who seems to deny the intellectual process in
creativity, insisting that’ …the actions of all things are
guided by a growing awareness of life, called inspiration. ‘
This philosophical attitude is a rather strange inclusion on a
CD which contains a scored piece of music rather than an
improvisation. For me, written music implies a careful
consideration of the components. There are two tracks on this
disc -the first is a slow, deep composition played by Jim
Pugliese on Bass Drums, which despite it’s limited
instrumentation, effectively seduces the listener into a wide
open space. It is rather like a slowly opening door which,
because of it’s low frequencies, fills the air, removing
clutter like an effective banishing ritual.
The second track, Redbird, slowly creeps in…it’s a whole
13dB quieter than it’s predecessor (and that’s an undeniable
indication of the composer’s intention, I think) and
definitely the most gentle composition I have ever heard by
Zorn. The instrumentation consists of harp, viola, cello and
percussion. Gentle clusters of notes fall like drops; what
starts with a harp is sustained by the cello while in the
distance the viola wails and moans like a strange creature
searching for something it lost in a past life, suggesting to
me the idea of something continually scrutinizing a distant
horizon, shading it’s eyes from the sharp sun. I was reminded
of the tonal colors and tints of Messiaen in his ensemble
pieces (e.g. Quatuor Pour Le Fin De Temps), except Zorn takes
much more time exploring and defining his crystal. Missiaen’s
work always struck me as an expression of the dynamism in
nature and this, by definition meant that he had to include
moments of intensity sometimes bordering on the brutal. This
composition by Zorn is comparable to the best Olivier ever
penned and I hope he composes a lot more in this vein. It is
an aspect of his character that I never would have thought
existed and I cannot get enough of it. This CD suspends
time… (MP)
GURU MEANS SLAYER OF DARKNESS (CD by Manifold)
Here’s a CD comprised of three tracks by three groups, all
with similar histories. In a way they deserve to be gathered
together on a compilation, but there is something about this
release that bothers me…it may be the playing order (which I
can redefine, of course), but I suspect that it has more to do
with the content of one of the tracks, as this review may make
evident. The first track is by Illusion Of Safety. It starts
with a familiar string drone with what could be synthesiser
accompaniment. It is full of rich, thick, swirling harmonics
which circle around the room before gathering together in a
swarm and surging to a crescendo. The sound sources are not
always apparent which is something I get off on (on off?).
This is followed by the odd one, for me at least.
It is a track by Hands To titled Remembering’, which is
appropriate because it comprises various location recordings:
pub noises, distant children, footsteps, machinery…
interspersed with what sounds like someone manipulating metal,
water, wood and possibly earth. These sources are also
included as straightforward recordings. It may be that this
was constructed as some kind of dream sound track. I find it a
disturbing inclusion on this CD, not because I don’t grasp the
content, but because it is too cluttered and I am unable to
detect any narrative. In a way it sounds like a bunch of
recordings stuck together in any order. It ends, after a brief
moment of silence, with a deep wave of noise which acts as
neat cross-over into into the frequency zone presented by
Dutch group Beequeen, who used recordings of closely mi ked
ventilation fans and a gas heater as the basis for this piece,
titled ‘Atem’ ( Breath). It is a subtle, slowly changing
rhythmic pulse…something like a sound track for a Mansonic
creepy-crawly session which undulates out of the speakers,
sighing, hissing and snarling like some huge slithering beast
dragging itself closer and waiting it’s moment. Two out of
three ain’t bad for a compilation…check it out especially if
you’re an IOS or Beequeen aficionado. (MP)
Address: <vince@ubdl.vdospk.com>
CAPTAIN BLACK -CRCKD (8″ on Korm Plastics)
CAPTAIN BLACK -MULTI-TONED MONO (10″ on Korm Plastics)
Here are two vinyl productions by the intrepid and tireless
Captain, both of which are based on appropriated (read
‘nicked’ ) sounds. The first is a result of sampling and
manipulating the work of PWOG, a band not unknown to regular
readers of this screen and the second is a remodeling of some
of the sounds distributed by the label ‘incoming’ when they
were commissioning remixes of the Unitone HiFi CD. Both of the
Captain’s records are limited editions. Now…here’s what I
think… over the past few years there has been a trend in
techno/electronica dance to veer towards the minimal end of
the sound scale. The best examples of this kind of music are,
so far, to be found on that naughty, high-spirited label
Sahko, from Finland. There have been many emulators, but it is
always the inventors of a particular style who are remembered
longest.
My favorite method of consuming this sort of music is to have
two copies of each edition, a double CD or record player and a
suitable mixer. I then cue up the same track, except I have
the second CD paused somewhere further into the piece, lying
in wait, as it were. Once CD number one gets to the designated
time, I then release CD number two, and due to the slight
distortions inherent in time and reflexes, the subsequent
combination produces some unusual and interesting effects.
Sort of like treating the sound carrier as an instrument, not
a new idea, but certainly one that is not exploited enough in
my book. Whether or not the Captain had this in mind when
composing these records is not known, but my goodness me, how
well these two releases are suited to this kind of treatment.
Of course they are minimal…this always helps, and the fact
that no two turntables ever really perform to the same
specifications makes playing two copies of the same record all
the more interesting. CD players are much more accurate. They
are also perfect for scratch-constructions and in my opinion
should be sold two at a time. (MP )
Address: Korm Plastics -P.O.Box 11453 1001 GL Amsterdam -The
Netherlands