TROYER – ROSE DE SHIRAZ (CD by Deluxe)
NATHAN MICHEL – TREBLY (CD by Mr. Mutt)
FREDERIC NOGRAY – PANOTII (CD by N-Rec)
HELLER – .09..03. (CD by N-Rec)
LEVITATE – (CD compilation by N-Rec)
MNORTHAM – MEMOIRS OF FOUR DISCARDED OBJECTS (CD by Edition…)
NIKOS VELIOTIS – RADIAL (CD by Confront)
THE HAFLER TRIO – KILL THE KING (CD by Korm Plastics)
GANESH ANANDAN & MALCOLM GOLDSTEIN & RAINER WIENS – SPEAKING IN
TONGUES (CD by Ambiances Magnétiques)
THE HAFLER TRIO – NO MORE TWAIN, OF ONE FLESH: 11 UNEQUIVOCAL
OBSECRETIONS (CD by Nextera)
JASON KAHN – SONGS FOR NICOALS ROSS (CD by Rossbin)
MOCHIPET – COMBAT (CD by Violent Turd)
TROYER – ROSE DE SHIRAZ (CD by Deluxe)
This disc has been kicking around and around for a while and I just
didn’t have the words until now. Guitars, samples, clarinet,
multi-lingual vocal and lots of super loops make this an eclectic
mélange of cross instrumentation. With pop hooks aplenty,
Vienna-based Ulrich Troyer invites musical friends to join him in the
cut-n-paste merriment. “Rose de Shiraz” has both studio and street
savvy and drifts in and out of funky rhythms that are informed by
Miles Davis and world music alike. Troyer has taken a herd of
crunchy lounge-tinged vocals with field recordings and just sculpted
something quite insightful as heard on the laid back “Muhallebi”. It
is as if he just recorded the sounds of random cafes he traveled to
and seamlessly matched the warmth of the people to the sounds of the
music. On “Teddystep” I expect a Madonna vocal to emerge, only to be
more pleasantly surprised that he plays on territory in the air by
the likes of Basement Jaxx and Daft Punk, not to mention the past
influence of say Propellerheads. The electric diving pool that is
“Brunnenmarktremix: Sirine” incorporates the casual spoken
punctuation of Kurdish Naser Razzazi. For all its hooks and lines,
throughout “Rose de Shiraz” we are reminded of the power of bass, and
of how emotionally connected the low end is. On “Sono a Cozze”
Troyer presents, in part, allergic reactions in the form of sneezing
– now that was a first for me – and this disc is filled with so many
clever rifs and tricks throughout one wonders how his next effort
will fare in comparison. (TJN)
Address: http://www.deluxerecs.com/
NATHAN MICHEL – TREBLY (CD by Mr. Mutt)
Another limited edition in the ever-evolving, Mr. Mutt Live CDR
Series (200 count) is”Trebly” by Nathan Michel and it is a bit of a
departure from the earlier more cosmic-heady offerings from this
Italian label. Something of a cut-up fest of spring-like animated
samples with a fever for all is Kraftwerkian redux. Some rough end
percussion sounds flatly practice-like, but the dynamic electronic
sounds of 2001 (the future, not the year) make for a dreamy trip into
the retrosphere. This is an updated, sort of futuretron version of
Speak & Spell – like being at the Peppermint Lounge in 2025, ya know?
This has something in common with works by Taylor Deupree, and even
perhaps works on Sonig, but has its own personal vibe that dips
rather casually into both old school sampling and some early UK
techno. All tracks were opportunely designed exclusively upon a
computer, and it shows as Michel forms an endearing universe where
inclusive warm bubbly harmonies are harnessed by a dazzling digital
world. (TJN)
Address: http://www.tu-m.com/
FREDERIC NOGRAY – PANOTII (CD by N-Rec)
HELLER – .09..03. (CD by N-Rec)
LEVITATE – (CD compilation by N-Rec)
You may wonder if it’s really necessary that new labels arise weekly,
but it’s a pointless question: it just happens. Some will rise up and
others will disappear. I am not sure to which category N-Rec will
belong. I hope the first one, of course, but it will not be easy.
They have three releases so far but claim not to have a defined
aesthetic.
Frederic Norgay is someone whom I never heard of, but apperentely he
is well-known for his choreographs and video music. ‘Panotii’ is his
first album and he uses in each track only one sound source: a sound
generated by feedback processes from analogue devices (such as a
mixing desk) which is ‘then processed, sculpted and repeated until
revealing all of its emotional potential’. Producing music with the
use of feedback is nothing new (Arcane Device, 87 Central, Nakemura),
and Nogray stands in this tradition. Occassionally he slips into a
pattern of harsh feedback that is not pleasent for the ears, but in
general he comes up with quite a nice set of bubbling tones,
oscillations and what have you. His album is throughout an enjoyable
one, but more one that stands in the tradition then creating a new
tradition.
The second release is by Heller, which is the collaboration between
Sebastian Roux and Eddie Ladoire. The latter is unknown to me, but
apperentely he composes soundtracks for experimental movies, ‘with an
easthetic close to electro-acoustic music artists’. Roux of course is
more well-known through his work for 12K or with his band Oldine (see
Vital Weekly 361). Roux’ extended guitar playing through computer
processings forms his input for this album. This work, nine parts in
total, is one of refined ambient glitches. Things sizzle, click,
crack and cut, and are fed through a great number of computer
plug-ins and result in some nice warm, glitchy ambient sound. Rhythms
are there but never seem to be playing an important role here. If
they appear they are embedded in a tapestry of ambient glitches. Nine
nice tracks for sure, but also nine pieces that aren’t really the top
of innovative computer musics, unfortunally.
The final new release is a compilation with eleven pieces of various
directions in electronic music. There is of course a fair amount of
clicks and glitches here, such as Pep, Sogar and Sebastian Roux’
collaborative track, Cylens (the man behind the label), Plimplim,
Mokira, or are more noisy like E-di (which is the same Eddie Ladoire
as in Heller), JPE (which is Juan-Pablo Espinoza from Argentina),
Fabriquedecouleurs and Frederic Norgay or things move in a downright
ambient direction like Coh (who uses sound material recorded on an
airplane) or Main. Quite a nice mixture of known and unknown names
which may attract a few people to this or the label and certainly
this compilation can serve as a guideline for future music on the
label. Nice and varied bunch here. (FdW)
Address: http://www.n-rec.com
MNORTHAM – MEMOIRS OF FOUR DISCARDED OBJECTS (CD by Edition…)
The title of this disc with four tracks (varying in length from 10:05
to 12:32 minutes) is quite suggestive of course. It is easily assumed
that the source material for these tracks was recorded from four
different objects (there are some printed on the inside of the
digipack, most of them seem to be metal). The tracks are not very
different from each other: all have a great sound design and more or
less the same composition, which is actually hard to define, floating
somewhere inbetween ambient and structured noise. The general
atmosphere is pretty quiet and relaxed and asks for attentive
listening, but the music is not entirely able to keep the attention
span tight all the way, although it is not far off. A very well done
work of new music. (MR)
Address: fenton@stonehenge.wrek.org
NIKOS VELIOTIS – RADIAL (CD by Confront)
Veliotis is a cello player from Athens, Greece, and actively involved
in the new music scene there. His CD Radial is a recording of
Veliotis playing his cello without overdubs or editing. There are
three parts of sound and four parts of silence, all making up this
work. The piece is extremely minimal: the first sound part is a dense
tone being played swiftly and without pause. The duration is over
twelve minutes and this gives the part its strength, toghether with
the frantic playing. The second sound part is again very minimal, but
the atmosphere is totally different from the first, very gentle and
soft. The third sound part is somewhere in the middle of the former
two, but has a lightness that the other two lack. It says on the
cover that random play is encouraged and I can actually imagine this
having a good effect. It would certainly shuffle moods as well. In
all its bleakness, this work is so strong and forceful that one will
have to surrender to it completely or probably throw it out right
away. There seems to be no middle ground here. As the reader may have
noticed I surrendered and thoroughly enjoyed this work. Very well
done. (MR)
Address: http://www.confront.info
THE HAFLER TRIO – KILL THE KING (CD by Korm Plastics)
Being one of the heroes of new music, The Hafler Trio have had an
extensive influence on the work of many others, and not only because
Mr. McKenzie has chosen to share his experience through workshops.
The music itself has done that, more than anything else. ‘Kill the
king’ is a rerelease, remastered for this CD. The remastering has in
fact been so thorough that we can now enjoy this work for the full 73
minutes. There is one single track on the disc, but there are
certainly parts to be distinguished (besides that, the separate
titles suggest seven parts). The music is quite what one would expect
from earlier Hafler Trio work: drony ambiences with overlays of other
sounds and rythmic elements here and there, most of these based on
loops. What is pretty amazing is the extensive use of FX, something I
seem to have forgotten in the past years, but is absolutely worth
catching up on again. One big advantage of this process is the fact
that the origins of the sound material vanish, leaving the listener
with only a more or less abstract result. The development of the
parts is rather slow, on the verge of becoming ambient, but the
timing is just right to escape this. So the music is doing the right
thing. As with all Hafler Trio releases, this one comes in a very
special cover with a booklet. Normally I don’t spend a great deal of
attention on this, but in this case I will have to make an exception.
The booklet is black with white text, but covered in half transparent
paper, also with text, also half transparent. I will not even begin
to talk about the text, but the result of the white text on the black
paper is almost identical to the one on the cover: after a while
everything starts to shimmer and fade away! This hallucinatory effect
adds to the music, so cover and content become quite entangled. Which
is very well done of course! The text also adds to this, by the way.
A must for every Hafler Trio fan (and all who are not, but simply
like good music and a nice cover). (MR)
Address: http://www.kormplastics.nl
GANESH ANANDAN & MALCOLM GOLDSTEIN & RAINER WIENS – SPEAKING IN
TONGUES (CD by Ambiances Magnétiques)
Several years ago Goldstein (violin) and Rainer Wiens (prepared
guitar) released ‘Chants Cachés’ on Ambiances Magnétiques. An album
of authentic free music and outstanding collective playing. Then they
were accompanied by John Heward on percussion. Now they are joined by
Ganesh Anandan (frame drum, modified tambourines, metallophone,
chneg, steel drum, kalimba, paou). Plus Frank Lozano playing sax on
one track.
Percussionist, composer and instrument builder Ganesh Anandan comes
from Bangalore city (India) where he studied Karnatic music. In the
70’s he settled himself in Canada where he further developped his
personal playing style, combining the karnatic method with finger
drumming techniques. Over the years he played with musicians and
groups like Glen Velez, Oregon, slide guitarists Bob Brozman and
Debashish Batacharya, Carlo Rizzo (polytimbral tambourine), etc.
Since 1998 he has his own trio of frame drummers ‘Fingerworks’.
Recently he released a cd with Patrick Graham as percussion duo GaPa.
One of the invited guests is Rainer Wiens. Wiens is an accomplished
guitarplayer in the context of contemporary jazz and improvised
music. As a composer he profiled himself with works for film,
television, dance and theatre. Malcolm Goldstein (Brooklyn,1936), is
a most fascinating improviser. He inspired composers like John Cage,
Pauline Oliveros, Hans Otte, James Tenney and Ornette Coleman,
composing for solo violin. For this I can refer to his solo ce
‘Sounding the New Violin’.
Since early 60s he has been active presenting new music and dance. He
is co-founder of the Tone Roads Ensemble and a participant in the
Judson Dance Theater, the New York Festival of the Avant Garde and
the Experimental Intermedia Foundation. Throughout North-America and
Europe he gave solo concerts and is involved as soloist in many new
music and dance ensembles.
Because of the very different backgrounds this trio really is one of
a kind. Especially the percussion techniques of Ganesh Anandan, and
the indian musical tradition he brings in, make this one different
from the usual western improvised music.
But it’s the playing of Goldstein that is most prominent and
impressive on this new cd. His playing directly goes to your soul.
But Wiens and Anandan are also very good and interesting players. So
their is a good interplay of creative forces here. Their
improvisations are very lively and emotional, and of a very high
musical level. They proove once more that improvised music really is
an art of it’s own (DM).
Address: http://www.actuellecd.com/
THE HAFLER TRIO – NO MORE TWAIN, OF ONE FLESH: 11 UNEQUIVOCAL
OBSECRETIONS (CD by Nextera)
This is the third part, completing a trilogy started with ‘Cleave: 9
Great Openings’ (see Vital Weekly 352), followed by ‘Part The Second:
No Man Put Asunder. 7 Fruitful And Seamless Unions’ (see Vital Weekly
373). The big question is of course: does it go into a new territory?
I wrote that the previous two releases were based upon cello playing,
extensively layered, with small blocks being repeated through the
hours or so work. But if you have been a keen follower of the Trio
than you may be as aware as I am that it might not be a cello. The
Hafler Trio never list any sources, but in recent times an extensive
use of voices have been used on the newer recordings (like Brion
Gysin on ‘The Man Who Tried To Disappear’ 10″ or Blixa Bargeld on the
‘Normally’ double CD), so why not here, I humbly think? Maybe some
people will be disappointed to read that this third work continues
the sounds set forth on the previous two. Maybe I’d more surprised if
it didn’t do that. So is it more of the same? No, I don’t think so.
The first part had distinct movements, the second one seemed more
austere and monotonous, this third part is more like the first part,
ie various movements are to be recognized throughout. It seems some
more extensive sound processing took place on the sources. But for
the better and bigger part of this, this another majestic and austere
Hafler Trio disc. Low in key, melancholic in approach. I can assume
people will state that once is enough, but I am sure they miss a
point here. You need all three to enjoy the completeness of the work
(although enjoyment is probably not the right word: “all movement
directed towards the preparation of ground and its consecration” it
reads on the cover, which is rather a message of death than of
anything else really). A sad but beautiful work. (FdW)
Address: http://www.nextera.cz
JASON KAHN – SONGS FOR NICOALS ROSS (CD by Rossbin)
Maybe you, just like me, wonder who this Nicolas Ross is? I don’t
think it’s someone we know very well, since he is the child of
Alessandro Bianco, the owner of the Rossbin label. Jason Kahn,
reknowned drummer and laptop artist, made this CD for the birthday of
this young man, and has no less than twenty-six songs in thirty-eight
minutes. Although songs might not be the right word: they are
‘lullabyes’ as Kahn calls them, I’d say they are ‘sonic sketches’. In
each single one of them a small event takes place, or a picture is
drawn/a photograph is taken. Within these moments not much happens,
but are rather single-mindely focussed on the sound itself. I have no
clue how old Nicolas is, but I can imagine the impact that abstract
sound has on young children (having one around sometimes): they
fantasize on the sounds, and tell you what they hear. It would have
been nice if Nicolas would have drawn up names for the tracks (which
are now untitled) and see what would sprouted off his fantasy. The
music, in as far as we can talk of music here, takes Kahn away from
the clicks and drones material he is known for (with such releases as
with Repeat or his recent one with Steve Roden in the Brombron
series). Many outdoor, environmental recordings, car passing, cafe
talk and taking a child to feed the ducks. In between the soft rattle
and roll of sound sources unknown. A nice and intimate release, that
if you don’t have children (or do not care about them), could serve
well for a repeat play in DJ set or random play at home. (FdW)
Address: http://www.rossbin.com
MOCHIPET – COMBAT (CD by Violent Turd)
Allright, fasten seatbelts! For everyone tired of most mashups being
a mixture of well known hits (Destiny’s Child vs. Nirvana, for
instance) Mochipet’s Combat is pure heaven or ultimate hell. Forget
about the gimmicky opener Mochi vs. Soulseek, which features Mochpet
running amok in the mp3fields, destroying the works of Rod Stewart,
Vanilla Ice, Beegees and Queen (We will, we will Mo-chi!), to name a
few. The general idea behind the mashup is to combine songs in such a
way that a new one is created, containing emotions, ideas and
atmospheres that were not to be found in the separate originals. With
the exception of Evolution Control Committee (remember their Herb
Alpert vs. Public Enemy) most acts fail in this. Mochipet is
definitely the second to succeed. It should be highly forbidden to
even think about combining the harsh punk of Nomeansno with the
polyphonic harmonies of symphonic rock giant Yes, but Mochipet dares,
does and strikes. I hate Yes, but in this song the sugarcoated
high-pitched male singing fits in perfectly. The a cappela sung Well
from Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica is now backed by raw
electronic noise, gabber and IDM, which sounds like it has always
been intended that way. Other chaotic clashes are between Johnny Cash
and Cash Money Millionaires, They Might be Giants and Lyrical Giants,
Aphex Twin and Thompson Twins, Barry White, The White Stripes and
White Lion, and Neil Diamond, King Diamond and The Lion King (Elton
John that is). Most mashups do contain a lot of high-energy
breakbeats straight out of the Kid606/Venetian Snares School as well.
(RT)
Address: http://www.mochipet.com