KONTAKT DER JUNGLINGE – N: AMSTERDAM, STEDELIJK MUSEUM 18-5-2002 (CD
by Die Stadt)
ASMUS TIETCHENS – BIOTOP (CD by Die Stadt)
SMOKE & MIRRORS – THE PERFUME OF CREOSOTE: DESERT EXOTICA PART ONE
(CD by Aural Fixation)
NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS – COLLATERAL SALVAGE (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
SCOTT HORSCROFT – 8 GUITARS (CD by Quecksilber)
SACK & BLUMM – KIND KIND (CD by Staubgold)
AF URSIN – 2ME FASCICULE (CDR by La Scie Doree)
ANDY McWAIN QUARTET – STARFISH (CD by Fuller Street Music)
KEN IKEDA – MERGE (CD by Touch)
TSUKIMONO – SKETCHES 6-27 (CDR by Mechanized Mind)
JULIEN OTTAVI – NERVURE MAGNETIQUE (CD by Sigma Editions)
DISCO DISCO VOL. 2 (CDR compilation by Absinth Records)
PALSECAM – ZENIAL (3″CDR by Absinth Records)
SCOTT TAYLOR – POSTCARD (CDR EP by Sijis Records)
MIL.ORG – ADMINISTRATIVE DEMO (downloadable MP3 from Tib Prod)
THE REMIX COLLECTIVE OF NORWAY (downloadable MP3 from Tib Prod)
ORGANUM – DIE LETZTE MUSIK VOR DEM KRIEG (7″ by Die Stadt)
FREEK LOMME/BAS SCHEVERS – DAYLIE (7″)
ANDERS OSTBERG – TONRUM (CDR)
J’EE-HAW! (2CD-R compilation by j’ee-haw!)
MOE! STAIANO’S MOE!KESTRA! – TWO FORMS OF MULTITUDES: CONDUCTED
IMPROVISATIONS (CD by DKM/PAX/Edgetone)
MARK SQUIRREL – MANOEUVRES (2xCDR by An Polarity)
FRANCISCO LOPEZ – WASPS (3″CD by Longbox Recordings)
FRANCISCO LOPEZ – ADDY EN EL PAIS DE LAS FRUTAS Y LOS CHUNCHOS (CD by
Alien8 Recordings)
DROPP ENSEMBLE – THE EMPIRE BUILDERS (CD by Longbox Recordings)
HEARINGS (CD compilation by Transacoustic Research)
HOWARD STELZER & JASON TALBOT – FOUR SIDES (2×7″ by Crippled
Intellect Productions)
THE ABSTRACTIONS – ARS VIVENDE (CD by Pax)
ROTHKO & BLK W/BEAR – WISH FOR A WORLD WITHOUT HURT (CD by Trace Recordings)
KONTAKT DER JUNGLINGE – N: AMSTERDAM, STEDELIJK MUSEUM 18-5-2002 (CD
by Die Stadt)
ASMUS TIETCHENS – BIOTOP (CD by Die Stadt)
After ‘1’, ‘0’ and ‘-1’ of course follows ‘n’? The titles chosen by
Kontakt der Junglinge (being Thomas Koner and Asmus Tietchens) are
not very clear to me, but I don’t think it’s very important either.
Each of the four releases so far have been live albums, this one was
recorded a year ago in Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum, who on a very
irregular basis organise concerts in their auditorium. The previous
albums were styled by their ‘submarine’ sound: dark sounds, like they
seemed to be recorded under water, but without sounding drowned out
in spacious reverbs. This concert in Amsterdam shows their refined
moments so far in their playing together (and I hasten to say,
playing live together, no studio album have been made yet – hey, what
about those, boys?). The aqua marine sounds work best here, stretched
out, fed through some filtering, but leaving the sounds enough air to
breathe. From the four releases so far the most ambient one. Whereas
especially ‘1’ sounded like Tietchens, this one sounds more like
Koner’s solo work. Isolationistic drone music, with dark touches,
tinkling bell like sounds and creepy ambience. Like said, their most
refined moment so far, and after four very nice to excellent live
CDs, I’d be curious to hear what they would come up with in a studio.
(FdW)
‘Biotop’ is the second release in the ambitious project by Die Stadt
to release all of Asmus Tietchens’ previous LP’s. After Nachtstucke
(see Vital Weekly 361), Asmus signed a contract with Sky Records in
1981 for four albums. Sky Records was then a big label for so-called
cosmic and electronic music. Tietchens’ interest in those days was
not entirely for that kind of music, but he found himself
experimenting with a small Moog synthesizer, composing ‘pop music’,
or at least by his own defintion popmusic. Unlike the ‘real’ cosmic
music from those days, Asmus limited himself to composing songs that
were no longer then four minutes, but in turned out most of them are
under three minutes. ‘Biotop’ was the first album to be released on
Sky and has sixteen short, sketch like pieces of rhythms and tunes on
the keyboard. Despite the attempt to make popmusic, one can’t say
that Tietchens succeeded very well on ‘Biotop’. The rhythms are
rather monotone, the tunes are not cheery or cheeky, but sounds like
a space craft that is going to land on Planet X. That makes ‘Biotop’
into an interesting album, because Tietchens fails to play popmusic,
but he comes up with a nice mixture of electronic music that could do
well as a sci-fi movie soundtrack. By current standards, taking the
retro electro music of current in mind, ‘Biotop’ is not an album that
is inspirational. The sound and tunes sound dated by now but a true
Tietchens afficinado will certainly enjoy getting this on CD.
Address: http://www.diestadtmusik.de
SMOKE & MIRRORS – THE PERFUME OF CREOSOTE: DESERT EXOTICA PART ONE
(CD by Aural Fixation)
Smoke & Mirrors is Michael Ely (keyboards) and Spider Taylor (guitar,
bass, recorder), who – according to their bio – have been
collaborators since the earliest days of L.A.’s underground. The
Perfume of Creosote is a collection of 23 soundscapes. Their
construction is simple: electronic generated loops of rhythm and
melody give proper background for a lush electric guitar to excel.
Each ‘song’ does create a specific vibe and brings the listener to a
different place on this earth. One can compare these cultural
coloured soundscapes with those Michael Banabila has been crafting,
although his are not that lounge-like. On the long run it’s the
simplicity that makes The Perfume of Creosote quite tiresome. The
role of music in society has changed with the years. What would’ve
been avant-garde in the eighties is your everyday sample pop twenty
years later. Therefore the excitement need come only from the
six-stringed one. Taylor’s playing resembles the so-called
progressive rock sound from the seventies and eighties, with names
you usually don’t see mentioned in Vital: Steve Howe, Ry Cooder, Dave
Gilmour or – even – Mark Knopfler. Smooth and perfect. Technically
high skilled musicians, that do touch my admiration, but seldom my
heart. This one didn’t do much to me. (RT)
Address: http://www.auralfixationrecords.com
NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS – COLLATERAL SALVAGE (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
Ever since the very early eighties, Nigel Ayers is a true player in
the underground scene. Best known as (the) Nocturnal Emissions, but
also working under his own name and Transjenic. Apperentely he has
released no less then twenty-five CDs as Nocturnal Emissions, and I
might be able to say that I heard at least twenty-four of them. That
doesn’t make me an expert, no way. I heard much of Nocturnal
Emissions and I enjoyed a lot of them (both old and new), and some
were absolutely no my thing (again, both old and new). But I very
rarely find myself pulling an old Nocturnal Emissions CD of the shelf
and play one – with the exception of ‘Viral Shredding’, which I
regard as a true classic. It’s been a while since I last heard some
of mr. Ayers, but ‘Collateral Salvage’ sounded alright, again.
Despite the title’s political connotation, the music is inspired by
Middle-Eastern culture. Sounds from two or three locations pour into
your household and blend together – that sort of thing. Nigel takes
samples from Middle-Eastern music and adds a drum beat himself. Some
of his past rhythm outings were not really interesting (‘Binary
Tribe’ for instance), but this album’s rhythm pieces is a fine
collection, if not a bit long – as a whole. The pieces are all quite
ok, funny samples, strange samples, ethnic samples, even a bit for
some alternative dance floor, but fifteen tracks of similar music is
maybe a bit too much. It’s one of those things were you think it
would have been a nice 40 minute LP (and in that respect, I was
reminded by that obscure DJ T-1-11 LP that came out of Soleilmoon’s
headquarters a couple of years back). Cut down to ten tracks a great
CD (make your own selection). (FdW)
Address: http://www.soleilmoon.com
SCOTT HORSCROFT – 8 GUITARS (CD by Quecksilber)
This is the first release by one Scott Horscroft from Sydney in
Australia. He composed this work for eight guitars which are patched
to a computer, which in return record and manipulate these sounds.
The guitarists are playing in a very strict, unchanging pattern. The
cover lists eight guitarists, but why not have eight samples running
if a strict tempo is required? Maybe there is a point of physical
interaction that is important. The results are indeed a work of
minimalism and overtones. Dense frequencies operate closely to
eachother, but the work is kept open and rhythmical. This is not
drone music per se, unless you use a wider definition of drone music
and the repetitious character of the music is drone enough for you.
Although there is some kind of processing going on, it’s also kept to
a minimum and seem to follow the guitar sounds and change sound
colour mostly – it’s not a radical change of sound going on here.
It’s pleasent music, done well from begin to end, not too short or
too long, but I must say it’s also a repetition of ideas, dating back
forty years of minimal music. A good, sturdy record of somewhat
outdated music – there are worse things in life, I guess. (FdW)
Address: http://quecksilber-music.com
SACK & BLUMM – KIND KIND (CD by Staubgold)
I never realized that Sack & Blumm never recorded together! That’s an
amazing thing. Frank Schultge Blumm and Harald “Sack” Ziegler live in
Berlin and Cologne and record each at home and send tapes to
eachother and the other adds his parts. Their bedroom studios are
filled with a variety of ethno instruments (kalimba, tabla), toys
(piano, drums) and wind instruments (horn, tuba) and a bass guitar is
always at hand. I think part of their instruments is a cheap toy
sampler – maybe the casio SK-1, with it’s two-bit sample rate. Sack &
Blumm have a somewhat dark sound, maybe the resultant of their lo-fi
approach, but it’s one that fits the character of the music very
well. Sometimes the music is naively, childlike uptempo, but it can
also be melancholic like in ‘Maria Mbira’ – with a vague middle
eastern sound and a gong that chants in the back or the dub inspired
‘Bass Car’. Thirteen miniatures in sound – each is long enough to
express the ideas what it’s about and there is no bull-shitting about
here. Very pleasent music, very naive, very much the product of
sunday painters. (FdW)
Address: http://www.staubgold.com
AF URSIN – 2ME FASCICULE (CDR by La Scie Doree)
After I attended a concert by Af Ursin I got this CDR handed which Af
Ursin released to promote and pay for his Japan tour earlier this
year. I am sure copies are still available, as it contains pieces of
music which are not on his – sparse – releases so far. It was a true
pleasure to see Af Ursin at work on stage. Sitting on the floor,
surrounded by his toys (in some cases, literally!), some ancient
delay line and cassette players, he played some very subtle music of
close miking and that worked well in the intimate atmosphere of the
evening. Improvised music that was somehow close to some older work
of Zoviet France. In four of the five pieces I am gently reminded of
Af Ursin’s concert. The metallic playing, the bows and the cricket
and frog choir in the opening piece ‘Twilight Silhouette’ evokes a
similar feel. Dense and atmospheric: two terms that do Af Ursin
right. The only piece I don’t understand here is ‘Mistake Five’,
which is almost a free jazz improv piece of hectic playing and which
sort of breaks the CD (if insisted on being enclosed, it should have
been the last track, I guess). Even the jazzy ‘It’s Raining Clouds’
might not be the standard sort of thing one would expect from Af
Ursin, but it’s still a nice and not out of place piece here. So
except for that one miss, four hits. Get this while they last. (FdW)
Address: <tico111@pi.be>
ANDY McWAIN QUARTET – STARFISH (CD by Fuller Street Music)
Starfish comes straight out of the jazz department. In the centre of
it all is Andy McWain’s delicate acoustic piano work. He swaps easily
from being smooth and easy listening to a highly percussive and
persuasive style. While exploring this different manners of play,
conversations occur with passers-by: the notes from Noah Jarett on
the acoustic bass, Assif Tsahar and his tenor saxophone and bass
clarinet and Chris Poudrier behind the drums and on percussion.
Together they discuss fields like classical music, atonalism, chamber
music and obviously – all sorts of jazz. Starfish is an album that
works on multiple levels. At first it seems to meander, which makes
it of perfect use to simply free the mind. Repeated listening however
suits studying new music composition and getting stunned and
challenged by the technically high skilled musicianship and
interaction. (RT)
Address: http://fullerstreetmusic.com
KEN IKEDA – MERGE (CD by Touch)
Since this is Ken Ikeda’s second album for Touch, following ‘Tzuki’
(see Vital Weekly 256), I will once more state that he is not related
to Ryoji Ikeda, who happens to be also on Touch. Apperentely this new
CD is based on Ikeda’s own library of sound diaries which he has been
making since 1990. How he treats the sounds he doesn’t tell, but in
some Buddist way he informs us about the absence of hierarchy among
the sounds and that they are presented as they are. The CD opens with
‘Meian (Contrast)’ and is a piece of heavy loaded sine waves, which
didn’t turn me on really. But as the album unfolds, Ikeda treats more
common ambient grounds. In ‘Gate’ for instance has bell like sounds
over a nice tapestry of synthesized sounds. Ikeda presents us with
eleven tracks, which have a moderate length each. Each time I play
this CD, I am wondering if that’s a good or a bad thing. Tracks are
not really long means more variation, but it also means that pieces
can be too short to develop them in a good way and I think with
ambient music pieces should develop in some way and time is needed.
Certainly since not every idea on this CD is strong – ‘Usual Path’
for instance is a poor brother here – I have mixed feelings about it.
Nice ideas but not overal strongely worked out, this is a nice but
very average CD. (FdW)
Address: http://www.touchmusic.org.uk
TSUKIMONO – SKETCHES 6-27 (CDR by Mechanized Mind)
A new CDR label from Amsterdam, which start out with a release by
Tsukimono, the alter ego of Swedish Johan Gustavsson, who has had
releases before on Garmonbozia and Fukk God Let’s Create. His primary
instruments are the guitar, the piano and the computer. ‘Weak End,
Weekends’ opens up with a lenghty, untreated piano thing, which made
me think this guy was some sort of Harold Budd, but slowly processing
leaps in and we are in the well-known world of microsound. Of course
it’s easy to compare Tsukimono with somebody like Fennesz, but it
wouldn’t entirely justify him. Whereas Fennesz’ treatments are
usually more radical, Tsukimono’s always let you hear the basic
material: a piano still sounds like a piano, and a guitar sounds like
a guitar. On top of those recordings, you hear the processed
instruments. Another difference is that Tsukimono sound more
melancholic and has an overal more dreamy touch to his instruments.
Each of the five compositions are worked out well and even when it’s
not something entirely new, I thought this was a pretty enjoyable
release that should definetly be heard if Fennesz or Stephan Mathieu
are names that means something to you. (FdW)
Address: http://music.mechanizedmind.com
JULIEN OTTAVI – NERVURE MAGNETIQUE (CD by Sigma Editions)
This name might not be very well-known but Julien Ottavi played with
people like Keith Rowe, Jerome Noetinger, Erik M and others. He is a
computer (read: laptop) musician from Nantes, France and this Sigma
release is his first solo CD. Due to it sheer length – over 72
minutes – and the sheer volume – mostly very loud, sometimes very
soft – it’s not an easy release to digest. The first of the two
untitled pieces open up in a nice drone like manner, but after some
ten minutes things explode and Ottavi starts working the volumes up
to an intense level. This lasts then for quite some time, but when it
collapses it is really quiet for a while. If you have turned down the
volume in the very loud bit, you won’t hear a thing for some time,
but beautiful drone music is hidden there. The second piece is even
more beyond the level of audibility, with very soft sine wave tones
(somewhere at minus thirty DB) but after twelve minutes it sounds
very abruptly at plus thirty DB – a true shock tactic, leaving the
listener unsure where to put the volume dial (best is to keep your
hand attached to the volume while listening to this). As abruptly as
it started, so it stops to continue at a nicer level with crackles.
Both pieces are extreme plays with the notion of silence and noise
and Ottavi does this quite well. My main objection is that he needs a
little too much time to tell his story and that maybe one piece would
have been enough. My pick would be the second piece, which is the
better worked out one of the two, offering the most varied sound
palette. (FdW)
Address: http://www.sigmaeditions.com
DISCO DISCO VOL. 2 (CDR compilation by Absinth Records)
PALSECAM – ZENIAL (3″CDR by Absinth Records)
Don’t get fooled by the title ‘Disco Disco’. I am not sure what the
assignment was that was given to the people on this compilation, but
it’s hard to imagine that it sounded like ‘give me your disco piece’.
Many of the sixteen pieces hoover around in the world of drone music
and only towards the end of the release there are some rhythmic
pieces. The gathering of like minded drone artists include people
that are well-known, like Steve Roach, Andrew Lagowski, Zbigniew
Karkowski, Helmut Schafer and Roel Meelkop, but it also introduces
people like Surparadial, Sunao Inami, Minuro Yonemoto and Stephen T.
Pope. As said the main portion of the beginning and middle part of
this compilation is filled with drone related music, mostly alienated
and spooky material by people as Roach, Lagowski and Yonemoto. More
noisy elements are brought in by Schafer and Karkowski and after
Schroth’s piece, the final ones are more rhythm related. But none of
these sixteen pieces really relate to anything disco – or maybe it’s
mutant disco from outer space.
Somehow the 3″CDR by Palsecam is related to this, if only because
there is a Roel Meelkop piece on this one which is related to his
piece of ‘Disco Disco Vol. 2’. The first two pieces use only text
files to create music. Both pieces result in a rather monotone
industrial music piece which sounded out of date to me. ‘Papa Dance
ZX’ plays around with sounds from an early ZX Spectrum computer, but
here the sounds come from a LP (as opposed to a cassette which was
common in the early 80s). The typical sound of computer software is
set to music, but again I am not really convinced by the quality. All
three pieces didn’t do much for me. The final track is a Roel Meelkop
remix of Zenial sounds. As usual he treats them beyond recognition
and builts a clever collage out of them. As with other recent Meelkop
pieces he plays around with similar sounds more, getting more out of
less. This piece saved for me the 3″… (FdW)
Address: <absinthe@interia.pl>
SCOTT TAYLOR – POSTCARD (CDR EP by Sijis Records)
Another new CDR label is Sijis Records, this one is from London, to
‘promote and enhance the international experiment music scene’. So
far four releases have been made available, each by one of the
founding members of Sijis Records. I have no information on Scott
Taylor, but it seems to me he is blending together (pop?-) music and
field recordings in the five tracks on this EP. Whatever it is that
he uses, he throws it into the computer and the results are five nice
tracks of microsounding electronica with an occassional dash of field
recordings (people talking, sea waves and fireworks). Unlike
Tsukimono (see elsewhere) it’s hard to say what kind of instruments
are processed here, that is of course if any at all. Pastoral
sounding in ‘Moonlight In Arabia’ there is an overal melancholic
touch in all five pieces. Pieces are kept short, ideas are ok: an
ideal introduction to Scott Taylor’s work. (FdW)
Address: http://www.sijis.com
MIL.ORG – ADMINISTRATIVE DEMO (downloadable MP3 from Tib Prod)
THE REMIX COLLECTIVE OF NORWAY (downloadable MP3 from Tib Prod)
Two more releases which are available for download from Tib Prod.
There is absolutely no information on Mil.Org, so we are looking at
seven tracks to download. The music by Mil.Org can be described as
rhythmical, but in a more industrial way than in a techno way. The
opening piece ‘Administrative Building (Store Studio)’ is related to
techno, but the strict monochrome character and the hellish sounds
over it are more industrial in the US manner (more Nine Inch Nails
like then Throbbing Gristle if you catch my drift). Per track Mil.Org
explores a limited set of sounds, mostly derived from the use of
synths and rhythms and limit themselves by only using those.
‘Morgenrote’ is the ambient counterpart of some of the other pieces.
The material is interesting, but sound at the same time rather naive
and not very well recorded (and in this case lo-fi doesn’t help!). I
have mixed feelings about this release. It’s nice material, but not
worked out well-enough, not much structure or organisation. The
potential is there, but the finishing touch isn’t.
I am not sure what The Remix Collective Of Norway is. A band? A
project? Who is remixing who? Involved are people who had their
releases on Tib Prod before, such as Jan Iversen, Chefkirk, Guignol
Dangereux and Koff Koff. In this seventy four minute remix piece all
of these and more come by, mixed by Tib Prod themselves I guess.
Although a track list is available, it’s hard to tell which piece is
which. It’s a nice showcase of music available from Tib Prod,
emphazing the more beat oriented material and the rawer edges of
ambient music, although I heard some pieces of improvised electronica
too. I guess it won’t be easy to download one piece with such a
length, but it serves as a nice introduction to the world of Tib
Prod. (FdW)
Address: http://www.tibprod.com
ORGANUM – DIE LETZTE MUSIK VOR DEM KRIEG (7″ by Die Stadt)
Over the years it has become harder and harder to distinguish the
differences between Organum and David Jackman. David Jackman =
Organum, but he releases under both names. This new Organum 7″
contains two tracks recorded this year and has only a vague hint to
the classic Organum sound. The drone material is there, but so is
some rumming about, slightly similar to The New Blockaders sound and
on top on side one there are random piano chords. On side two, called
‘Happy’, there is the distorted sound of Tibetan horns added on a
similar bed of sounds. It’s distinct break away from the pure Organum
drone sound, with an interesting addition of new sounds that
especially in ‘Happy’ works well. David Jackman/Organum still knows
how to suprise his followers and is a remarkable conceptualist. (FdW)
Address: http://www.diestadtmusik.de
FREEK LOMME/BAS SCHEVERS – DAYLIE (7″)
A split 7″ by two Dutch artists of which I never heard before. I saw
Freek Lomme a while ago presenting a film with Kosten Koper (of
Diskono fame) and he told me he was a poet. His piece on this split
7″ is a story – in english -, read by himself against a backdrop of
churchbells and bird sounds. A piece of isolation and alienation. I
have no information on Bas Schevers. His piece is a sort of singer
song writer song that just before the end breaks with a short
interlude of sinewaves. For me the strangeness of that thing in there
made this side into an enjoyable one. Strange work this is, really
sort of outsider music and poetry. (FdW)
Address: <dichterbijfreek@hotmail.com>
ANDERS OSTBERG – TONRUM (CDR)
This release is the soundpart of a light and soundinstallation which
will take place from October 25 to November 2nd at the Form &
Fargverstaden in Eskiltuna (that is in Sweden). Anders Ostberg is so
happy with the soundpart that he released a CDR of the music which
people can play at home. He asks you to replace the lightbulbs in the
space you are listening with green lightbulbs. I played it while it
was light outside and no artificial light was necessary, so I still
hope I captured the real idea. The music, a thirty minute piece, is a
minimal piece of lighthearted processed sounds. I don’t think it’s a
bunch of synthesizers, but some software interaction playing a highly
minimal piece of music. True ambient music that is. You can turn it
on, play it at nice volume (nice meaning here, so it’s present and
not demanding) and you can move about doing the things you like to
do, in my case I read a book. Thirty minutes of hardly moving sound
although microscopic changes can be noted, no big bang, no wild
outburst, but a rather pleasent piece of background sound. It makes
me wonder about the installation though, but my guess is that it’s
something rather minimal and green… (FdW)
Address: http://www.andersostberg.uni.cc
J’EE-HAW! (2CD-R compilation by j’ee-haw!)
Okay, imagine this: at a certain point a CD-R comes in the mail, with
the request to do a remix of one of the tracks or all or whatever.
Upon listening to it, one discovers that all the tracks are silent,
except for one single classic cowboy shout on each track: j’ee-haw!
This is very enigmatic to say the least, if not downright hilariously
minimalistic. After some inquiries it becomes clear that many dutch
artists of quite different but mostly electronic backgrounds have
been asked to make the same effort. The result has now been released
on two CD-R’s, that give a broad overview of the dutch electronica
scene of this moment (if possible at all, of course). I will go
through this track by track, spending a few lines on each. Freiband
has done his usual timestretching on the yell untill it becomes
something altogether different. Radboud Mens simply made one of his
funky minimal techno pieces without any overt reference to the
original. Jonx is up with a dubby track with acoustic guitars, the
yell on top every now and then. Parkside have done a mostly
understated drum ‘n’ bass version with some freaky outbursts and the
yell on top. Sasker Scheerder has done something quite
incomprehensible and mysterious with synth and voice cutups. Xaf have
done the obvious: they’ve turned the whole thing into a bluegrass
track, albeit a totally digital version of the genre and therefore a
very funny one. Stijn (mijn label) goes electro: I actually believe
he’s using a Casio VL-Tone 1! Humobisten (feat. Der Versucher) turn
the thing into a very dry, but funky tecno piece with excellent
breaks and the yell on top. Maga does something similar, but rougher
and freakier, less dance floor material. And he fucks up the yell on
the fly. Jesse Smale uses the yell to create a sound of cows mooing
and by layering these he creates a true herd of the digital beasts.
Funny in a double sense really. Duo Teplaky take care of the semi
acoustic french cover version, including bad playing. A true late
night version. DrBadVibes takes the thing to the next stage of
breakcoreany , as in: these are only breaks and destruction fx! Maga
again with the 2 steppin’ version; hardcore funky breaks of high
intesity. Ios Smolders closes disc 1 with a very eerie and
minimalistic track, based only on the yell. Scary stuff! Disc 2 opens
with Mr. Dion, whose track is slow, but groovy and rather short. Next
is yours truly with a very minimal, pseudo rhythmic piece that seems
to go nowhere, but does of course. Quench take off with a sloooow
psycho fx mix, without the yell it seems. Boca Raton pick up the
piece with feedbacks and distant voices, taking it into an altogether
different direction again. Smoking Oil Project are heading for a more
ambient version, with subtle beats and flickering sounds. E_minus is
kind of difficult to put into a corner, but it has a forceful drive
and a strong beat and would sound good on the dance floor. DJ Harco
has sampled the yell and turns it into a beat on the fly. Maga is up
once more, this time with a kind of ambient tribal acid mix, the yell
on top. DJ Smuthound & Dr. Auratheft present some kind of acid dub
electro, also with the yell on top. DL Pausa delivers a short kind of
cutup piece, as if the yell has been swallowed by a digital frog and
more. And again there is a track by Maga, this time the tibetan mix,
way over the top really, sort of Musligauze goes to the far east.
Erik en Arjen really go out west with their guitars and horses (the
horses are incredible!), Ennio should know. Kodi seems to have taken
the whole thing as an inspiration to make a new track, there is no
direct reference to the original and things seem more oblique. Edwin
van der Heide has sampled the yell and made an indonesian kadjak
choir out of it, quite incredible. Last is Peter Duimelinks with a
track consisting mainly of field recordings of in- and outside
spaces, except for the middle part that sounds completely electronic.
This track is probably just as enigmatic as the original. So, there
you go: 29 very different tracks by very different people. Of course,
probably nobody will like all of them, but it is certainly worth your
while checking this out. If only for the great cover! (MR)
Address: www.jeehaw.nl.nu
MOE! STAIANO’S MOE!KESTRA! – TWO FORMS OF MULTITUDES: CONDUCTED
IMPROVISATIONS (CD by DKM/PAX/Edgetone)
(Conducted) improvisations for a orchestra or a very extensive
ensemble are seldom heard nowadays. Zorn did it many years ago as
well as Butch Morris.
Problems for this format seem to me above all practical. It must be a
hell of a job to get all these musicians together at one time and
place for rehearsals and concerts. Most of the musicians are involved
in other projects as well, etc., etc. Anyway Moe! succeeded in
getting together some 25 musicians to perform his conducted
improvisations. So it must be someone with strong motivations and
enormous drive to realize his ideas.
Why such a large orchestra? Staiano explains: “A mass amount of
musicians playing in huge clusters in a dissonant array, forming a
wall of musical noise. I have always enjoyed working with al large
orchestra using multitudes of the same instrument. I love a large
sound or many playing all at once in a massive frenzy”.
Two of his works were this approach is manifest, found there way to
“Two Forms of Multitudes”, a co-release of Edgetone, Pax and DKM.
‘Musicians for Piece no.5’ (37:19) is catched in a live performance
at the Oakland Metro in Oakland on 21 november 2002. ‘Musicians for
piece no.4′ (40:05) was recorded live for radiobroadcast on KFJC onm
13th april 2002. Both pieces are conducted by Staiano who plays
percussion on the first piece as well. Percussive and rhythmic
elements are at the core of his improvisations. Playing short phrases
and riffs repetitively, both pieces have their climaxing moments
during their 40 minutes. Long notes played by the blowers make the
music multi-layered. Soft and slow pieces are interrupted by noisy
accelerations. The music has a overall rock feel so that from to time
you have to think of Branca.
By the way, who is Moe! Staiano? He works as a percussionist,
composer, and orchestra leader in the San Francisco bay area. He is
member of Vacuum Tree Head and associated with Sleepytime Gorilla
Band. Played with Ron Anderson, Tom Nunn, Amy Demio, etc.
I won’t list all the musicians involved here. Some do ring a bell
(Tom Djill, Willam Winant, Henry Kuntz), but most of them are totally
unknown for me. Besides, the line up of his orchestra changes
constantly. Comparing the instrumentation on both pieces we can say
that this is more or less stable. Instruments played are in both
pieces more or less the same: Saxes, clarinet, recorder, flute,
trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, contrabass, electric gutiar,
electric bass, theremin(!), piano, drums, electronic drum pad,
percussion, etc.
Both improvisations last about 40 minutes. Very long, but my
attention was captured throughout. These improvisations surely have
their strong moments (DM).
Address: http://www.edgetonerecords.com/
MARK SQUIRREL – MANOEUVRES (2xCDR by An Polarity)
There must be some joy in packing releases in such an obscure way
that it’s hard for the reviewer to say anything decent about it. I
think this release is called ‘Manoeuvres’ and that one of the CDRs is
called ‘Central Business District’ and the other is called ‘Rural
Economy’ – but the discs can’t be identified as which is which.
Likewise I can’t say anything about the artist Mark Squirrel. One
CDRs has cars passing, people walking but there appears to be no
sound processing for the first five minutes, then the piece changes
completely and an electronic drone pops in, which sounds like wind.
After this the drones continue but get more interesting because they
are less distorted. I gather this is ‘Central Business District’. The
other CDR opens with a very low end bass drone which over the next
twenty minutes becomes a more coloured one, and also grows a bit in
intensity. Due to the absence of field recordings (or at least
recognizable field recordings) and the quiet character, I gather this
is ‘Rural Economy’ – hey, but maybe I am wrong anyway… Some more
information would have been nice. (FdW)
Address: none given
FRANCISCO LOPEZ – WASPS (3″CD by Longbox Recordings)
FRANCISCO LOPEZ – ADDY EN EL PAIS DE LAS FRUTAS Y LOS CHUNCHOS (CD by
Alien8 Recordings)
Maybe it’s my perception of things, but things have been a bit quiet
lately with releases from Senor Francisco Lopez – but here’s a 3″ CD.
Two things can be noted right away. It’s not called ‘Untitled’, like
97% of all of his releases and it’s an older work, this being from
1993, but remastered last year. This release being called ‘Wasps’,
one assumes the sounds of buzzing wasps. Lopez captured few in a jar,
and holding a microphone against it. Let’s see. After the usual
silent one minute intro (that has become another Lopez trademark),
things slowly start to vibrate, a massive wall of sound. It’s not one
or a few wasps, but millions. If this release was called ‘inside
ship’ or ‘near motor’ I would have believed so aswell (and therefore
it would have been better if it was called ‘untitled’? hmmm….). The
big question here, as usual with Lopez, is it audible? Yes it is.
Once the volume kicks in, there is no need for further adjustment.
It’s present. It’s a beautiful work of drone music, endless humming,
with small changes to be noted. Another damm fine Lopez work.
On the subject of older Lopez works it’s nice to see an older release
of his out again. ‘Addy’ was released in 1997 by the ND label
(whatever happened to them?) in an edition of 500 copies and was one
of the first Francisco Lopez CDs to appear and has been out of print
for quite some time. Like ‘Wasps’ this is Lopez on a mission. Many of
his ‘Untitled’ works are pieces of studio music, in which Lopez
doesn’t want to tell you anything about his sources or motivations –
it’s what ever you decide with them. In just a few works, ‘Wasps’ but
also ‘La Selva’ or ‘Buildings [New York]’ he lets us in on the
recorded subject; so is the case with ‘Addy’. Like ‘La Selva’ it
contains recordings made in the Costa Rican rainforest. It would be
easy to mistake this music for New Age, but it’s not. Lopez records
the sounds of the rain forest, but he treats them in the studio. In
the title piece he builts a collage of sounds, with sudden changes
(something that you won’t see him doing on his recent works) and
movements. The long piece ‘Piloconsor, Tres Mitocondrias Y Lucha Por
El Liquido Emporante’ forcasts the later Lopez work of sheer
inaudibility whereas the final piece sounds like a true Lopez piece:
dark drone like sounds of (maybe) wind blowing or a heavily processed
(probably not) rainfall. ‘Addy’ is indeed a great work, which is good
to see re-issued. It displays the various sides of Lopez’ work,
nature recordings and silence and should be a good introduction for
anyone. (FdW)
Address: http://www.longboxrecordings.com
Address: http://www.alien8recordings.com
DROPP ENSEMBLE – THE EMPIRE BUILDERS (CD by Longbox Recordings)
In Vital Weekly 384 I reviewed a CDR by Adam Sonderberg and Sam
Dellaria and mentioned that they used laptops on their recording.
Actually I was wrong, the two played clarinet, organ and styrofoam.
But they do play with computers in the Dropp Ensemble. This is not an
usual ensemble of people meeting. They invited several musicians to
send their basic sound material for them to add to their own playing.
These people include Brendan Walls, Wolfgang Fuchs, Alexander Wallner
(the latter two of Das Fax Mattinger) and Eric LaCasa. On this CD
they play music to the Empire Builders, a play by French absurdist
Boris Vian. For the live playing they are helped by reed player Aram
Shelton and percussion player Steve Hess. I am not sure what Vian’s
piece is about. The CD opens with a long piece, twenty six minutes,
called ‘Introduktion’ – which is half the CD! Low end hums,
organ/clarinet sounds with addition of percussive rolls on cymbals
and toms. It tries to evoke a spooky feeling, but it somehow looses
it’s tension half way through the piece. Track two, ‘Gra (1-3)’ is a
very minimal drone piece that works much better and in ‘Dessutom’
there is a fine interplay between field recordings (mainly rain) and
some far away percussive sounds. These tracks are much interesting
that the overlong ‘Introduktion’ piece. I have sort of mixed feelings
about this release, but maybe things work much better if one sees the
play… (FdW)
Address: http://www.longboxrecordings.com
HEARINGS (CD compilation by Transacoustic Research)
New labels seem to be arriving everyday and here’s a new one from
Vienna. Transacoustic Research want to occupy themselves with music
that is made with everyday objects and unconventional approaches. The
first release is a showcase of various approaches. Iftaf for instance
recorded a coffee machine for his piece called ‘Coffee’ and it seems
a pretty raw recording of what it is: a coffee machine making coffee,
but taped with various microphones and mixed together. Maybe this
track is the most clear example of what the label wants. A piece like
‘Crossings’ is a short minimalist piece of techno by Helmut Kahlert,
and it seems hard to relate that either everyday objects or an
unconventional approach. Overall is quite hard to see the everyday
objects are work in most of these pieces. Usually they are too
transformed by computer means and they could be any other type of
computer music. This doesn’t mean that this CD is not a nice one. It
introduces some people that I never heard of like Gansterer/Geissler,
Sergej Mohntau or Matthias Meinharter. The pieces by Boris Hauf,
Nikolaus Gansterer and Paul Divjak (almost popmusic here) are very
nice. So despite the somewhat high brow expectations, it’s still a
promising start for a label. (FdW)
Address: http://www.transacoustic-research.com
HOWARD STELZER & JASON TALBOT – FOUR SIDES (2×7″ by Crippled
Intellect Productions)
In Vital Weekly 376 the first studio CD by Howard Stelzer and Jason
Talbot was discussed. In Europe they are not well-known
(unfortunally) but they have toured the North-East of America quite
extensively the last few years, playing their duo set, but also many
improvisations with others (Brendan Murray, Vic Rawlings). Howard
Stelzer is the man behind the cassette players and Jason Talbot
behind the turntable. Both play their instruments in a very uncommon
way. Due to their many live concerts, they have developped a great
sense of timing. Noisy bits and easily replaced by sheer silent ones,
in which small, isolated sounds play their own role. On this double
7″ they have captured two concerts. One from Mills Gallery, Boston
and one from Extrapool, Nijmegen (their second European concert
ever). I have had the pleasure of seeing the latter aswell as a lot
of other concerts by them, and I am surprised to hear it again. I saw
various concerts in a row and noted that they actually played songs,
rather then improvisations, with the Extrapool as an exception – that
contained entirely new stuff. Since this year Stelzer and Talbot go
for an all improvised set. They probably feel confident enough to do
so. A big leap forward. A highly improvised set of electronics – of a
very lo-fi kind – cassette players and one turntable, but they have
reached a great level of refinement. A great addition to their recent
studio CD and no doubt this 7″ will pop up in one of their future
live concerts. (FdW)
Address: http://www.crippledintellectproductions.net
THE ABSTRACTIONS – ARS VIVENDE (CD by Pax)
Here we have a couple of totally freaked out people making some of
the maddest jazz noise you can imagine. Let me introduce to you the
Abstractions: Ernesto Diaz-Infante-vocals (guitars, violin,
turntable, field recordings, etc.), Dina Emerson (voice, words,
bells), Phillip Everett (drums, autoharp, percussion), Sandor Finta
(voice), Lance Grabmiller (laptop, processing) Bob Marsh (cello,
voice, accordion), Jesse Quattro (vocals, words, bells), Alwyn
Quebido (electric guitar), Rent Romus (alto & soprano saxophone,
flute, voice, percussion, toys, CD player), Marjorie Sturm (lyrics)
Stephen Ruiz ( turntable sounds).
Although some of them are very good musicians virtuosity is not their
thing. Their improvisations sound as if they are played by
non-players. They create extreme and dark atmospheres, using a wide
range of instruments and other soundsources. Human voice plays an
important role in most pieces. Be it the recitating and monotone
voice of Ernesto or the totally over the top singing of Jesse Quatro
and others.
A piece like ‘The Lurch’ offers the same hammering wall of noise as
can be heard on Moe! Staiano’s disc. Instrumentation differs from
piece to piece. On the other hand, each track on this cd tells and
demonstrates that the ‘ars vivende’ is not an easy art for them. Life
is viewed from the dark here. This is evocated succesfully if you
want. Be aware of this when you play it (DM).
Address: http://www.paxrecordings.com
ROTHKO & BLK W/BEAR – WISH FOR A WORLD WITHOUT HURT (CD by Trace Recordings)
This collaboration is dedicated to the memory of the events of
9/11/01 and the debut of Trace Recordings. British electronica
artist Rothko (Mark Beazley) teams up with Washington DC artist and
sound bender Blk w/Bear (JS Adams) to establish a most moving and
harmonious sense of discombobulation. The title track plays like a
requiem, with a simple, lovely piano line. ‘I Feel Lost Without You’
addresses interference, amidst a parity of low frequency, but yet
chaotic lines criss-crossing, possibly referencing Adams’ sepia toned
cover images from his ‘Broadcast Interference Network Appropriations’
series. Repetitive highs and lows make this an air-raid vs. the
lovely crackle of old fashioned radio. Overall this recording is
pretty much steeped in an alegorical sadness, its concept, though,
never too top heavy for its output. Like midwestern dusty cinematic
memories, that may not automatically fit into the New York City
skyline, a reference to a larger world impacted by a single event, a
shift in the cultural paradigm. In ‘Declaration of Loss’ this is
established through samples of faded silences and warped guitar
lines. Throughout there is an overcast, shrouded in minimal tonal
flexes that keep a dramatic tension building. ‘Wish for a World
Without Hurt’ is a soundtrack of an impassioned sadness that captures
the stillness of the moment. Instantly I think of papers floating in
slow motion, as if I were still sitting endlessly by the TV set
watching the news reports of the missing from towers one and two.
The haunting bass just hits me in the pit of my stomach. As the
conclusion draws near ‘Lowering With Wolves’ reminds the listener
that this is not your typical Rothko disc and that the only dancing
you will do upon close listen is to shiver in your boots. The
procession seems endless and sadly necessary. (TJN)
Address: http://www.rothkomusic.co.uk, http://www.artbear.com