K2 – METAL DYSPLASIA (CD by Cheeses International)
The name of K2 may not be as known as Merzbow or Masonna, mainly due to the
fact that his recorded out put is not as high as his fellow jap-noisists.
Apart from one or CD’s, one LP and a handful of collaborations, here is a
new work, recorded late 1995, mixed early 1996. According to the concise
cover info, K2 uses metal junks, friktor, voices, modulator and MTR
(whatever a MTR and friktor may be). Maybe MTR stands for multitrack
recorder, because the material from K2 is by no means improvised to tape.
There a lot of sudden moves and there is a lot of post production effects
used. It seems as though K2 records lots of noisy bits and pieces on his
4-8 track and then sets himself to mixing this into 3 long tracks. This
results in a some what more coherent musical result then usually is the
case with this kind of noise affairs.
Address: 783a Christchurch Road – Bournemouth, Dorset, England BH7 6AW
CRAWLING WITH TARTS – MOTORINI ELETTRICI (2×7″ by ASP)
>From the sympathetic duo Crawling With Tarts comes a new double 7″ pack, of
four pieces. To quote their press release: “The sounds are primarily the
noise of friction between the rotating shafts of small high-speed AC motors
and various large resonant wooden objects, a sheet of tinfoil, and a record
player”. These sounds are picked up by contactmicrophones. Each of these
pieces have a constant drive to it, but not, as one could have suspected,
an industrial feel to it. Like most of the CWT stuff this is more the
‘sweet’ side of experimental music, it never gets over the top. On the
fourth side it seems that slowed down voices play a game with a snare. The
sound of the motors is kept to a minimum, the sound of the objects being
played is the most important one. There is one thing though I didn’t
understand: since this was part of some continous performance, why didn’t
they release it as a mini CD with all tracks in proper order and indeed as
a continous flow? (FdW)
Address: <tart@sirius.com>
RLW/AUBE – ORGANIZED (10″ by Meeuw Muzak)
The organisation of sound is one of RLW’s prime interest, and this new
release is the result of a collaboration through mail by RLW and Aube. They
worked on eachothers sound material. Respectively RLW’s recordings of a
church organ and Aube’s recordings of an electric organ and bell.
RLW’s side is consists of sampled drones and short, interrupted sounds and
builts slowly. His side has a quiet, subdued feel to it, even had the point
where the sound gets loud (about 2/3 in the piece). This is a
well-structured piece. Aube stays in likewise ‘ambient’ moods, but it is
more monochrome in his approach, though this is still one of the finer Aube
pieces. (FdW)
Address: Weth. van Caldenborghln 22 – 6226 BT Maastricht – The Netherlands
MURDER CORPORATION/MPD (C60 Cassette by Perverse Series)
Murder Corporation is a name to watch out for, at least if you don’t want
to miss out on the new movements in old industrial musics. Distorted synth
sounds, ditto vocals, a bit of the go’oll Ramleh type of industrial music.
Not really my cup of tea. MPD is a greek trio, centered around the
legendary Nicolas Genital Grinder (who always has more plans in his head
then that he could realize in two life-times). The first piece they offer
is with factor X (I assume tapes by him) and is also likewise distorted
sound rumbling. The second part is more loops/sampling in true lo-fi means.
Again not really my cup of blah blah, but I’m curious to see what their
split LP with The Haters will sound like. (FdW)
Address: P.O.Box 62140 – 15201 Chalandri – Athens – Greece
OPTICAL MUSIC – VOLUME 2 (CD by Iamvos)
A CD that opens with traditional Greek music, but that after a minute or so
fades in sampled drumming and more traditional instruments. There is
stringed instruments and tablas. A voice recites a few lines, alledegly in
‘inuit’. The second piece opens with soft tinkling piano’s and synth lines,
almost in new age style. Then after 8 minutes or so, string (guitar?)
sounds are added. There is a hugh crescendo after 15 minutes. Hughly
reverbeted string sounds open the third track, which turns into the most
abstract piece. The final piece opens with a reading of Psalm 103,
including church bells with a lot of weird sounds underneath. You may
guessed it right: this is a strange album of traditional music (a lot of
which were sampled from records, including from countries such as Japan,
Tibet, Burundi, China). The religious connotations are not very clear to
me. This is a certain trance like thing in this record which is
fascinating, and which certainly appeal to those who like, say Rapoon or
Zoviet France, even though Optical Music stays in more traditional terrain.
(FdW)
Address: Iamvos – 41 Kalamon St. – 11147 Athens – Greece
MAIN – FIRMAMENT III (CD by Beggars Banquet)
The first few times I played this I was a bit unconvinced, but that can
probably be attributed to the fact that I was comparing it to Firmament II,
which remains for me the best release by this group so far – probably
because the sounds on it are all so mysterious. ‘This group’,
Main, has now become Robert Hampson solo, which gives him a chance to step
forward and fully express hisself.
Subsequent listenings revealed this to be very fine work though, quite
O’Rourkian in places , with beautiful (guitar) dones which are abruptly
punctuated by strange snapshots of sound. There seems to be more use of the
studio as an instrument too with the occasional ‘obvious use of effects’. I
got a feeling that the music was exploring my speakers, tugging them first
this way, then that as it went in search of musty corners, veiled behind
behind dust encrusted webs. Hints of Holger’s plight and premonitions for a
moment. Then Bobby starts stirring a pot of shale. Float music float on.
Apparently there’s five tracks on this CD, but it doesn’t really matter.
The cover is a gracious image of organic decay, and I was more than
surprised to a Frank Booth (There’s one inside all of us, y’know) (Bring on
the oxygen mask, mama) credited on it.
(MP)
KAPOTTE MUZIEK / BEEQUEEN – SPLIT (LP by Wachsender Prozess)
Split (har, har) LP with Franky De Waard as common factor. He’s one half of
Beequeen and a third Kapotte Muziek. I played the Beequeen side first, ‘cos
I generally like their stuff more.
Beequeen contributed three tracks…the first an insistent alarm ringing as
the bass bites deep. Rich, thick and syrupy. The second track is by far my
favourite of the whole record. It is a slow, sinister soundtrack for those
occasions when you’re being lowered into an as yet unexplored pot-hole. The
hell in your head tries to break loose as some large blind albino beastie
looms at you out of the dark. The protruding rocks are softened by some
archaic, glowing fungus. Basscreep which makes yer speakers twitch. The
third and last track on this side sounds like a big roar from a galactic
choir who shout at massive sheets of metal until they vibrate, then
levitate, become transparent and dissipate.
Kapotte Muziek supply a soundtrack of domstic activity. They settle into
‘Opus 16’ by stirring their coffee and uncorking a bottle. Somewhere a
fog-horn chimes three. An owl fails to hoot in the nearby copse. Marbles
roll around in a saucepan and the gas gets turned on. The hissing of
omelettes, the insistence of morse. The march of the sleigh bells across
heeland gorse. The sharpening of knives, the scraping of fish. Rattling
sabres in a pyrex dish. Someone chops parsley with a Japanese blade and the
hoover fades out in retrograde. (MP)
Address: Thomas Beck – Langenfelderstr. 56 – 22769 Hamburg – Germany
Charles Powne’s Top 10 for 1996 (in no particular order):
Dominique Petitgand “11 Petites Compositions” 3 inch
Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson “Children of Nature” CD
Twilight Circus “Other Worlds of Dub” CD
Stock, Hausen & Walkman “Organ Transplants Vol. 1” CD
Rapoon “Darker By Light” CD
Zoviet France “Digilogue” LP
Muslimgauze “Return of Black September” CD
People Like Us “Jumble Massive” LP
Loren Nerell “Lilen Diwa” CD
A Small Good Thing “Cool Cool Water” miniCD