This can be regarded as the audio-supplement to Vital Weekly. Presented as a
radioprogramm with excerpts of just some of the CDs (no vinyl or MP3)
reviewed. It will remain on the site for a limited period of 5 weeks.
Download the file to your MP3 player and enjoy!
complete track and list here: http://www.vitalweekly.net/podcast.html
before submitting material please read this carefully:
http://www.vitalweekly.net/fga.html Submitting material means you read this
and approve of this.
* noted are in this week's podcast
JUNKBOY - THREE (CD by Enraptured Records) *
FELIX KUBIN AND DAS MINERALORCHESTER - MUSIC FOR THEATRE AND RADIO PLAY (CD
by Dekorder) *
AGF - WORDS ARE MISSING (CD by AGF Producktion) *
BALMORHEA - RIVERS ARMS (CD by Western Vinyl) *
FLUORESCENT GREY - GASEOUS OPAL ORBS (CD by Record Label Records) *
ELEKTRONISK KOMPILATION (CD compilation by Stupid Dream Records)
INCAPACITANTS - EL SHANBARA THERMINOSIS (CD by Segerhuva)
EDWIGE - THE INCONSOLABLE WIDOW THANKS ALL THOSE WHO CONSOLED HER (CDR by
Segerhuva)
AUTISTIC DAUGHTERS - UNEASY FLOWERS (CD by Staubgold) *
DINNER MUSIC FOR CLUBBERS (CD by Staubgold)
NOVI_SAD - MISGUIDED HEART PULSES. A HAMMER, SHE, AND THE CLOCK (CD by Tilt
Recordings) *
DEDO 3 - RESUMEN DE MOVIMIENTOS (CD by Hronir) *
VICTOR NUBLA - CATALEG D'USOS SIMBOLICS (CD by Hronir)
DOT TAPE DOT - TOMAVISTAS (CD by Other Electricities) *
BAJA - WOLFHOUR (CD by Other Electricities)
FESSENDEN - V1.1 (CD by Other Electricities)
HIJOKAIDAN - POLAR NIGHTS LIVE (CD by Pica Disk)
INCAPACITANTS - BURNING ORANGE (CD by Pica Disk)
TOMASZ KRAKOWIAK - LA CIUTAT ETS TU (CD by Etude Records) *
JOSE LUIS REDONDO - LA RESPONSE EST AUX PIEDS (CD by Etude Records)
ALFREDO COSTA MONTEIRO - EPICYCLE (CD by Etude Records)
YUI ONODERA - SUISEI (CD by And/oar) *
YUI ONODERA - RHIZOME (CDR by Gears Of Sand)
PETER NEWMAN - PAPERHOUSE (DVD by Demux)
WADE MARYNOWSKY - INTERPRETATIVE DANCE (DVD by Demux)
ST.RIDE - ANTOLOGIA DEL MEDIO MONGOHOLI NASI (CDR by Setola Di Maiale) *
KASSEL JAEGER - EE[ND] (CDR by Mystery Sea)
ROBE - TREPANATION (CDR by Outfall Channel) *
CAPITAL HEMORRHAGE - ATTEMPTED ABDUCTION (CDR by Outfall Channel)
TWISTED FAERIE TALES - A [WALNUT + LOCUST] COMPILATION (3"CDR by Walnut +
Locust)
GIANCARLO BRACCHI - UNIVERSAL SOUL ADAPTER (3"CDR, private)
JUNKBOY - THREE (CD by Enraptured Records)
From the department of music that is not strictly
for Vital Weekly comes Junkboy, a name that sounds like noise, but it's not.
Junkboy are two brothers, Mik and Rich Hanscomb with a handful of friends to
help them out. References mentioned are Brian Wilson, Elliot Smith,
Tortoise, Krautrock. Recording their intimate music at home, this is a heavy
folk record or a soft rock record. When they sing it's not so much thing,
like the recent Little Wings release (see Vital Weekly 608), with whom they
share a similar sound. But Junkboy play longer passages of instrumental
music than the aforementioned Little Wings (just to mention a recent
reference), which perhaps counts for the Tortoise influence here, which
makes this album a bit more enjoyable - in Vitals' more experimental terms -
and more experimental. Bells tinkling, horns, flute and lapsteel add a
warmth to the music. Even the wordless vocals of 'Held Inside' and the retro
guitar/flute solo in there may date back thirty-five years, it makes a
wonderful nice tune. A fine combination
of post rock, krautrock, folk and singer songwriter material, with enough to
love for even the more experimental heads at the Vital HQ. (FdW)
Address: http://www.enrapturedrecords.com
FELIX KUBIN AND DAS MINERALORCHESTER - MUSIC FOR THEATRE AND RADIO PLAY (CD
by Dekorder)
The wonder of modern German pop, Felix Kubin that is, hardly makes it into
these pages, which of course is a great shame. Armed with his organ and korg
he plays popmusic, but ever throughout his career as Kubin, he has been
playing music that he was asked to compose for film, theatre and radio. They
form an equally important feature in his work. However it's not the music
we/you might know him best for. From three of these pieces, the best parts
(why not the complete work?) are now released as 'Music For Theatre And
Radio Play'. Five pieces for 'Zufall', a theatre piece , six pieces for
'Hollywood Elegien', also a theatre play and eleven pieces for the radio
play 'The Raft'. Twenty two pieces in total with a total playing time of
thirty nine minutes, makes twenty two short pieces. No doubt dictated by the
rules of the theatreplay, but separated from that, it's a bit hard to figure
out what these plays are about. There is no extra information on their
content and pieces stand by their
self.
From uptempo party like music (including
guestmusicians on guitar, saxophone, violin and percussion - the
Mineralorchester) to moody, sketch like pieces and semi orchestral pieces
like 'Drifting'. The sketch like character of the pieces doesn't make a
coherent listening affair and it's hard to tell the difference between the
various plays they were composed for. However if you see them a bunch of
songs, separated from their original context, this is wild gang of pieces,
joyful, sorrowful, funny and hilarious. It shows us a more experimental
Kubin who hasn't lost his wit and wisdom. (FdW)
Address: http://www.dekorder.com
AGF - WORDS ARE MISSING (CD by AGF Producktion)
Music by Antye Greie, also known as AGF, didn't make it in Vital Weekly for
reasons that will never be known. AGF was once a member of Laub, an
electronic pop duo and released solo work on Orthlong Musork, Asphodel,
Mixer and since some time on her own AGF Producktion. I lost count what she
released so it's a bit hard for me to place her new CD (her fourth solo)
'Words Are Missing' in the larger context of her work. Poetry, vocals,
language play an important role in her work, but for this new one words are
missing - she uses the voice to create sound and the computer to transform
those sounds. In the booklet every track gets a picture - sometimes a photo,
but it can also be words, letters or something that could something like
that. The music by AGF is highly personal music, in which she puts together
personal emotions, feelings and experiences. Yet this is no an entirely
closed work, the title of the pieces in combination with the visual aspect
give the listener an idea what they
are
about. 'KZ' (short in German for concentration camp) is based on a visit to
Buchenwald when she was sixteen. From her voice she constructs beats,
drones, cut up voices are looped and it might be best easy to say her work
is click n cuts. Not abstract as with many of her male counterparts, not
danceable as related to the dancefloor, yet strong on rhythm, moods and
atmospheres. Perhaps sixteen tracks is a bit long, but it's certainly a
varied work, sometimes heavy on rhythm, sometimes as quiet as poetry can be.
Very nice. I should check out what else I missed from her. (FdW)
Address: http://www.poemproducer.com
BALMORHEA - RIVERS ARMS (CD by Western Vinyl)
Last week we had the chamber ambient (chambient?) music of Mico Nonet, this
week another much alike band, from Texas this time: Balmorhea. They operate
from a somewhat classical perspective, using guitar and bass along with
violin, cello and some piano, but effectively the music is of similar
nature. The acoustic guitar is plucked nicely and the four strings strummed
carefully. Mood music of the highest kind. It's fits nicely along their
Icelandic counterparts of Sigur Ros or some of the other Fat Cat artists,
like Max Richter. When the piano kicks in, it reminded me of Wim Mertens.
It's all grey and great, this slab of atmospherics. So far so good. The only
thing that bothered a bit in the end was that fourteen of these sketchy
winter-like music pieces is perhaps a bit too much (nearly an hour in
length). After about two-third one (say the average old LP length) I had
pretty much enough and wanted to change the tune. That doesn't happen and
Balmorhea remains the same throughout, but
it's all a bit too much drama. Great, in a smaller dose, nice but a tiring
as a whole. (FdW)
Address: http://www.westernvinyl.com
FLUORESCENT GREY - GASEOUS OPAL ORBS (CD by Record Label Records)
It's been a while, a long while since we reviewed 'Lying On The Floor
Mingling With God In A Tijuana Motel Room Next Door To A Veterinary Supply
Store' by Fluorescent Grey, the music project of Jacob Harnigon from
California (Vital Weekly 419). Originally his next one was supposed to be
released by Isolate Records, who once brought us the debut of Venetian
Snares, but the owner Wai Cheng passed away in 2006, so it's now on Record
Label Records. In the four years that passed since the previous CD and this
new one, it seems that nothing much has changed: still tracks are quite long
for a start. When he starts, Harnigon doesn't how to stop, or perhaps it's a
strong desire not to stop. The music, as before, is highly rhythmic, from
drum & bass patterns to quasi ethnic music - the whole drumkit has been
used, wether or not analogue. Things work best when speed is pulled back and
elements from dub music come in along with some more experimental sounds.
Here too, again, a bit too long. The
music could be enhanced when Harnigon would apply more structure to his
music, make it more coherent/less chaotic and shorten things down to what he
think could be the essence of a piece. In a small dose not bad at all. (FdW)
Address: http://www.recordlabelrecords.org
ELEKTRONISK KOMPILATION (CD compilation by Stupid Dream Records)
Apparently Stupid Dream Records did well with some other acts on their label
and time has come to 'handpick' new artists for whom there might be also
fame and glory at the end of the road. Trust me: I don't know. When I
predict fame, nothing happens, while when I keep stumm all sorts of things
happen. Oh well. Stupid Dreams call this 'great, smart and experimental new
electronic music', but I mainly hear lots of techno based tunes, from every
angle (minimal, elektro, trip hop, dub, club etc) that are hardly
experimental. They are electronic for sure, maybe smart and sometimes great.
What can be noted is that many tracks have vocals! Lyrics! Catchy tunes!
Raps! No doubt, with the right promotion, good fortune and such like, there
is cash maker in this lot (Papercut? Discolor?), but throughout this
collection is too cheesy for the "real" experimental heads of Vital Weekly,
except for the noise of Olle Oljud . Potential would-be millionaires please
pay attention here. (FdW)
Address: http://www.stupiddreamrecords.com
INCAPACITANTS - EL SHANBARA THERMINOSIS (CD by Segerhuva)
EDWIGE - THE INCONSOLABLE WIDOW THANKS ALL THOSE WHO CONSOLED HER (CDR by
Segerhuva)
The Incapacitants release is of a 1995 cassette, which features theremins
instead of vocals. and before I continue - two things - anyone interested in
the noise genre should get a copy - and secondly - the Incapacitants fall
into a different category as far as I'm concerned - being located within a
genre which ensues traditional musicology and its associated aesthetics -
but anticipating the familiar questions "did I like it - is it good?" the
wrong answers would be "yes" and "yes". Anything this pure is beyond ethics
in the Nietzchean sense for one - which does mean the previous answers are
also not "no", "no". Given limited space, such a work could prompt a
book! - within the gestalt the theremins begin as ostensive features which
are embroidered into the overall object - which is not an object at all but
more molecular that molar - in the Deleuzeian sense, that makes for the
differentiation of noise in general, and this release in particular, as
being outside the western
(molar) hegemony of power, tradition, politics, ethics et al. (maybe that's
why punks "like" it too!) - and while still in this -"thousand plateaus"
much of the above applies to Edwige - (Mania, The Rita, Sewer Election) a
tribute to Edwige French the "erotic film star", this is a re-release of a
sold out vinyl- Perhaps "tighter" packed by being a joint collaboration the
term "erotic" only politely re-inscribes for comfort the "pornographic" -
which again - dismembers (makes the Molar Molecular) the female form as a
sex object(s) - or simply three organs (without a body) anathema to the
chattering classes' modernist/feminist cliques - reveals a contra -
powerful female exploitation of a male seminology. (This) Noise does not
communicate, pornography does not procreate. (jliat)
Address: http://www.segerhuva.se
AUTISTIC DAUGHTERS - UNEASY FLOWERS (CD by Staubgold)
DINNER MUSIC FOR CLUBBERS (CD by Staubgold)
Somewhere over the years Dean Roberts moved out of my sight. After his
releases for Mille Plateaux, his work as White Winged Moth and other
explorations of guitar and electronics, he started to play 'real' songs. It
wasn't a conscious decision to loose him out of eye-sight, but it happened.
I must have missed the first release by Autistic Daughters, perhaps because
it was vinyl only, also on Staubgold in 2004. As Austic Daughters, Roberts
(guitar, vocals) teams up with Martin Brandlymayr on percussion and computer
and Werner Dafeldecker on guitar and bass, plus a whole bunch of guests,
such as Chris Abrahams (The Necks), Martin Siewert and Valerio Tricoli. This
is singer-songwriter music, stripped to the very essence of music. Not a
note or sound too many and lots of silence. Not real silence, but just a few
sounds that go on. Imagine some of the more subdued moments of say Kapital
Band 1 or Trapist but then with lyrics, which are likewise sparse. The music
is played in what seems an
improvised manner, but also carefully planned when it came to mixing the
music. It's simply great stuff. I know I rant against the speaksinging,
singer songwriters and such like, but here it sounds lovely. Maybe it's the
grey rainy day that has put me in a melancholic state.
Also on Staubgold is a mix CD by one Peter Grummich, a DJ from Berlin who is
a party animal and records for Shitkatapult and Kompakt, but here takes hold
of the Staubgold catalogue to create a mix CD that can be played before
going to a party or after - chill out music. Which is the perfect thing on a
sunday afternoon - in my case - waking up, drinking coffee and get last
night's party - ending 5 o'clock this morning - out of my system. I have no
idea in what way the pieces are edited or changed. I put it on, drink more
coffee and relax reading a book - 'Who Killed Martin Hannett' - in my case.
Once the CD is done, I feel more relaxed, hop back to the computer and write
these lines. All the usual Staubgold suspects are here: To Rococo Rot, Sack
Und Blumm, Rafael Toral, Reuber, No Neck Blues Band, Alejandro Franov,
Kammerflimmer Kollektief and such like. A post party pill that you can't
swallow, but makes you feel good. (FdW)
Address: http://www.staubgold.com
NOVI_SAD - MISGUIDED HEART PULSES. A HAMMER, SHE, AND THE CLOCK (CD by Tilt
Recordings)
The underscore in the name Novi_sad marks the difference with the other
Novisad in the field of music. This is the work of a Greek guy that goes by
the name Thanasis Kaproulias, I believe his debut. It's not a recent
release, but due to some mix up it finally landed on my desk. Three long
pieces of what can be best (well, easily) be described as computer drone
music, made with field recordings. Thickly layered drones open up in
'Everything Looks Better Beside Water', that also carries some sampled
percussive sound. Somewhere towards the end a violin like sound is added
with irregular intervals. This is continued in the other two tracks,
although in the final piece there is also a female voice telling a story.
Perhaps some of the pieces are a bit too long and a bit more roughly shaped
than say Roel Meelkop or Marc Behrens, this is a missing link between the
current microsound trend and some of the 80s ambient industrial music. A
very promising start! (FdW)
Address: http://www.novi-sad.net/
DEDO 3 - RESUMEN DE MOVIMIENTOS (CD by Hronir)
VICTOR NUBLA - CATALEG D'USOS SIMBOLICS (CD by Hronir)
Music by Victor Nubla has been around for a long time, in my case ever since
I bought 'El Secreto Metro' cassette in the mid 80s and which I no longer
have. With long irregular intervals, Nubla still releases his music,
sometimes alone or with bands. One of them is Dedo, of whom 'Avatar' was
reviewed in Vital Weekly 483. The line up of Dedo has changed from Nubla and
Pau Torres to Nubla (sampler, electric clarinet), Angelica Sanchez (vocals),
Ignacio Lois (keyboards) and Txema Gonzales (ancient flutes and percussion).
More than on 'Avatar' there is now a unified sound for Dedo, incorporating
what seems to me (no expert here) ancient spanish music (mostly through the
singing, wind instruments and percussion) with electronic music, but unlike
Zavoloka and Akkord-I-On, the electronics is not updated to the world of
glitch and microsound, but stayed close to the world of dark electronic
music of the 80s - say Lustmord, Rapoon, Zoviet France. That's a bit of a
pity I think, since it could
have sounded a lot fresher if they would have looked for more new means to
create the music. Also the mix could have been more surprising: it stays too
much on one dynamic level now. A pity since there is more in here than what
is explored now.
On Nubla's latest solo offering, 'Cataleg D'Usos Simbolics', Nubla just
plays the clarinets (four different ones, not all at the same time) and
various multi-effects machinery (the ART multiverb EXT and Zoom 1204 and
7010, if you insist on knowing). Fifteen pieces, divided in five groups with
each three pieces. The sound of clarinet is an acquired taste, I think. It's
not always easy to tell what the effects do to change the sound, which at
times give the clarinet a rather dry effect. I must admit that I liked those
tracks best which had a lot of transformations to the sound, and less the
'dry' tracks (perhaps it's because a former neighbor of mine practiced this
instrument too much and I sort of a natural resentment against the
instrument), but when transformed Nubla plays quite interesting, abstract
pieces of clarinet and electronics - almost in a modern classical vein.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.hronir.org
DOT TAPE DOT - TOMAVISTAS (CD by Other Electricities)
BAJA - WOLFHOUR (CD by Other Electricities)
FESSENDEN - V1.1 (CD by Other Electricities)
My first encounter with the label Other Electricities is a most pleasant
one. It's the welcome of the first CD by Fessenden and the first encounter
with Baja and Dot Tape Dot. The latter to start with is a project of Daniel
Romero from Asturias Spain (and not to be confused with Damien Romero) who
wanted to create music and found he didn't have much money, so he decided to
use toy instruments and field recordings, which are all recorded in a lo-fi
manner. I am quoting the press text here, since I find this hard to believe,
as the CD doesn't sound at all lo-fi. "Tomavistas" collects pieces from the
years 2002 to 2007 and is a very nice release of naive, childlike electronic
music, much along the lines of Sack & Blumm or other German counterparts. It
has a great sense of popmusic, glitch and sounds lovely. Some of the pieces
could have been a shorter, but the somewhat crude composing methods give
this release quite a nice edge, that makes it a little bit different the
others in lullaby
land.
Baja is also an one-man project by one Daniel Vujanic and Wolfhour is his
third album. In some ways there is a link to Dot Tape Dot, but Baja is more
tighter, less naive, less abstract/chaotic and more straight forward in
composing. His music is held together by drums that are partly broken jazz
rhythms, poppy and techno. On top he layers the cake with guitar, organs and
electronics. Eclectic music this is, swinging - literally - all over the
place. Jazz, pop, rock, free improv even it all passes with great ease by
the listener. My reference book is a bit low here - although I don't see
This Heat and Faust fitting in, like the label tells us - but Sea And Cake
or Kammerflimmer Kollecktief: why not? Fun, feel good music in which a lot
of small surprises are hidden, but if listened to superficially, this can
make the listener quite happy.
Fessenden is last. This trio of Joshua Convey (bass, electronics), Stephen
Fiehn (guitar, electronics) and Steven Hess (drums, percussion, vibraphone,
electronics) do something different than Baja and Dot Tape Dot.
Improvisation is at the core of their music, but not at the end of the road.
They record everything they do and play around with the recordings before we
hear them. Composed from improvisation. So far they had a couple of releases
on Entr'acte, Chat Blanc (which they recorded with Keith Berry) and
Stasisfield, but 'v1.1' is their first full length CD release. Overall,
their music is highly atmospheric, even when there are outbursts in sound,
such as in 'Peak V/Z*sin', the final track of the CD, but that is a rarity.
Usually their sound is more like a continuos stream, in which things rise
up, take shape and move away, like watching the sea. On the whole it looks
the same, but close by it has all sorts of different looks. In a piece like
'Mid-Swing' they give new meaning to
the world minimal techno, in a slow but moving shaker of a piece. Fessenden
has succeeded in making a great debut album with their original blend of
improvisation, composition, musique concrete and rock music. Very nice one.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.other-electricities.com
HIJOKAIDAN - POLAR NIGHTS LIVE (CD by Pica Disk)
INCAPACITANTS - BURNING ORANGE (CD by Pica Disk)
(Lasse Marhaug's new label released the above recorded live at All Ears
festival in Oslo - both have a mixed line ups - Jojo and Junko performed as
a Hijokaidan for track one (No Oslo No Harm ) of their disk - the
subsequent two being Jojo with guitarist Per Gisle Galåen (Book Of Changes)
and Junko with Sten Ove Toft (Le Rayon Verte), whereas the other disk has
Incapacitants - Fumio Kosakai and T.Mikawa on track one (Orange Smoke),
followed by (Out Of Schnaps ) by "Fumio Tommiakawa" who are- Kosakai and
T.Mikawa with Tommi Keränen.) Coherance (what I mean here is all at
onceness) cannot communicate, only difference can, whatever communication
is, if it exists at all - noise does not communicate - it is the
problematics of any communication system (Nyquist-Shannon law), it is
immanent - not delayed - not teleological, neither signifier or signified
ergo common to both these disks is a remarkable demonstration, both opening
tracks of Hijokaidan and Incapacitants are noise, and the
others in their interplay *are not* - do communicate, they are the arch
human tendency to represent (by interplay, recognition, pulse,
improvisation, desire, becoming, binaryism .) and so differentiate from the
"throwness" (a bad word) of noise. Remarkably both CDs demonstrate this gulf
and they are worth listening to for this apart from the excellence of the
performances - though excellence is of course a singling out -we can
predicate the non-noise works - even anticipate- as an audience member
obviously does! on Le Rayon Verte (almost classically silly!) - and can not
of course hope to represent the - un-representational of the totalising
presence of the noise works of Hijokaidan and Incapacitants - again -
ambiplasma - organs without bodies the Meer der Brustwarzen of the Ephesian
Artemis. (jliat)
Address: http://www.picadisk.com
TOMASZ KRAKOWIAK - LA CIUTAT ETS TU (CD by Etude Records)
JOSE LUIS REDONDO - LA RESPONSE EST AUX PIEDS (CD by Etude Records)
ALFREDO COSTA MONTEIRO - EPICYCLE (CD by Etude Records)
Three new releases on Etude Records from Barcelona, home of 'experimental
and obscure sound archives'. The first is by Tomasz Krakowiak who was born
in Poland but currently lives in Toronto, Canada. He is a percussion player
and composer/improviser, in the latter capacity he played with all the usual
suspects such as Kaffe Matthews, Gert-Jan Prins, Phil Minton and many more.
I am not sure, but it seems that this is a work of multi-tracking music.
Krakowiak doesn't limit himself to the percussion kit, but uses any sound
that can be applied in a rhythmical manner. At times it seems like Krakowiak
is scratching the surface and I mean this literally: rubbing the microphone
over the carpet in a rhythmical fashion along with playing percussion.
Krakowiak makes strong compositions, combining the kit with electro-acoustic
sounds and very few, it seems, electronic processes. He also manages to get
in a great amount of variation: from loud and noisy bits to almost
melancholic drone like in
'o_vbrdub'. An exciting work of resonating sounds, rhythmical explosions and
fine interaction.
Jose Luis Redondo is also a new name for me, and he plays string
instruments, like Dobro, banjo, electric guitar, piccolo bass etc. He is
from Barcelona and worked with local groups ranging from jazz/space/cabaret
to irish/funk music and 'La Response Est Aux Pieds' is his first CD. I must
say I found his CD less surprising. It reminded me of myself. Whenever I see
a guitar, an instrument which I have never ever mastered in any way, I must
pick it up, and pretend to be a guitarist, strumming whatever nonsense
accord I can think, plucking the strings what is not making a melody. I am
not saying that Redondo is the same, I'm sure he's an accomplished
guitarist, but his pieces aren't great. Especially in those places where
plays blues like schematics, in 'Devine A Qui Je Pense?', we hear the
amateur improviser, wanting to create sound, but doesn't know what makes a
fine improvisation. Some parts, which were more abstract were better, but
there is also seems he has picked up the technique
of improvisation, but not yet the imagination.
Sometimes entirely and completely different is the release by Alfredo Costa
Monteiro, who is more a composer than an improviser like the other two.
Perhaps composer is also not the right word, sound artist would be more
appropriate. His work sometimes deals with installations and take a concept
as a starting point. 'Epicycle' is 'for voice processing' - we read on the
cover as it's hard to imagine voices in the mass of sound. Deep bass, sudden
changes, high pitched sounds - nothing here that sounds like a voice.
Although divided in larger blocks of sound, the rapid changes that happen
every now and then, make this a surprising work. If you like Ilios,
Francisco Lopez or Carl-Micheal von Hauswolff then Monteiro's austere sound
collage of the voice being transformed into an electrical power plant should
be up your alley too. (FdW)
Address: http://www.etuderecords.com
YUI ONODERA - SUISEI (CD by And/oar)
YUI ONODERA - RHIZOME (CDR by Gears Of Sand)
In general terms there are two ways of approaching a new product when
starting to review. First is to take it face value: is the music good? And
take nothing else in account. The other is to take the rest of what the
musician in account and/or place it in a larger reference. Is it good what
he does now, and in what way fits this his work, and how does it relate to
what else is done in similar direction. If you paid attention over the last
twenty-two years (Vital started in 1986 as a magazine), then you know I am
very much a reviewer that searches for the second approach: is it new, how
does it relate to the rest of the work and the scene where we can find the
artist in. This is a long introduction, which could no doubt be longer,
about these two new works by Yui Onodera. We have reviewed him before and we
learned to know him as someone who treats field recordings on his computer
in minimal, sketch like soundscapes with little movements per piece. On
'Suisei' he has only one, forty
minute piece, 'composed from environmental sound and pump organ' and it fits
what he know of him. Despite being one piece, it has various parts through
he moves. Whatever environmental sound is in there is hard to tell, save
perhaps for some rain sounds and also the pump organ is heavily treated. In
the world of Onodera nothing new under the sun, and something can be said of
his role in the endless amount of 'field recording computer/microsound
artists'. When we look from it the first approach of reviewing, then this is
a great work. Calm, quiet, moving, atmospheric: non harsh ambient/drone
music of a refined nature.
About 'Rhizome' we can pretty much say the same thing when it comes to the
first approach of reviewing, except that it's divided here into seven
different pieces, like some of his previous releases. Shorter pieces, a bit
more loop based than 'Suisei', but throughout - again - no news. No big
deal, since it's beautiful too - the kind of music I play a lot. Onodera
here uses, besides the field recordings, piano, electronics, guitar and
voice - and some of these are clearly recognizable, unlike the pumporgan on
'Suisei'. A very fine work also this one, but for thrill seekers finding out
new movements in microsound, this is all perhaps a bit too much of
commonplace. (FdW)
Address: http://www.and-oar.org
Address: http://www.gearsofsand.net
PETER NEWMAN - PAPERHOUSE (DVD by Demux)
WADE MARYNOWSKY - INTERPRETATIVE DANCE (DVD by Demux)
Demux is a new DVD-label from Australia, devoted to "promoting live
audio-visual performance events, documentation and experimental works for
screen." The first two entries in their catalogue are from Australian
filmmakers Peter Newman and Wade Marynowsky, respectively.
Newman's "Paperhouse" presents highly atmospheric images, usually on the
brink of being non-representational, however with enough suggestive
potential to produce ever changing sets of haunting visual associations.
From the nerve wrecking flicker of "Rosebud" to "The Waking Instant's"
minimalist impressions of a tropical thunderstorm and the exploration of
minimal textures in "Mesh - P.I.V. 7", "Paperhouse" blends an interest in
abstraction and the material aspects of film with a romantic sensibility. In
some aspects Newman's aesthetic brings to mind the visual experiments of the
1960s and in particular the work of artists such as Stan Brakhage, but he
manages to add a digital characteristic to it, while maintaining the organic
qualities that are so typical of many classics of experimental cinema. The
soundtrack matches the visual part pretty well throughout. Mostly
drone-based and minimal, with a dark grounding and occasional held back
rhythms or noisy outbursts, it reflects both the
images' psychedelic character and their digital quality. Maybe it wouldn't
be that exciting on its own, but the images wouldn't be either, and that's
how it should be, after all. In "The Waking Instant" the music gets somewhat
pathetic in conjunction with the images, but that is still all right with
me. The only real dropout is "The 5.19", which is based on found-footage
from television. It doesn't go along well with the other films on a formal
level, and above all it relies too much on the visual attractions generated
by loads of plug-ins.
Marynowsky's "Interpretative Dance" collects mostly recordings from live
AV-performances. The first clip I saw was "Geek from the swamp" a parody on
people sitting behind their laptops and pretending to do something
interesting while they actually just rearrange preset sounds and images.
Aesthetically the other films continue in this vein, however it soon becomes
apparent, that they are not at all as ironic as the aforementioned. The
problem is that Marynowsky actually loves processing his images with lots of
plug-ins, without being too critical about the results. This sounds like a
hard verdict and maybe things aren't that bad if you aren't as prejudiced
against the bulk of digital arts as I am, but seeing the flashy colors,
1990s-like animations and digitally blurred footage in these films didn't
really convince me to watch them more than once. I did watch some of these
films more than once nevertheless, just to make sure that my first
impression was not all wrong. It turned out I
shouldn't have been so rude in my initial judgment, but still I either don't
get the point here, or showing a koala with multicolored rotating spirals in
his eyes is really not funny, just as presenting highly abstracted images of
quiet outdoor scenes, accompanied by soft ambient sounds is really not
engaging. (MSS)
Address: http://www.demux.org
ST.RIDE - ANTOLOGIA DEL MEDIO MONGOHOLI NASI (CDR by Setola Di Maiale)
It seems that St.Ride gets more and more active through releases. Also it
seems that there is now a third member: Mongoholi Nasi on guitar, vocals and
reeds, next to Maurizio Gusmerini on rhythms and effects and Edo Grandi on
rhythms and effects. This expansion has certain repercusions for their
music. Tracks are, here at least, very short, just somewhere between one and
two minutes, and are clearly improvised - perhaps so far nothing new, but
there is a stronger emphasis on using vocals and trying to play some sort of
crazy, almost pop tune but all in the strict boundary of improvised music,
which makes an odd combination, but actually one that also works. The vocals
are without words, producing sounds along the lines of say Jaap Blonk or
Phil Minton, but the chopped rhythms and effects make this less strict
improvised and more pop-like. At only seventeen minutes this is a most
curious little item. Quite a strong leap forward. (FdW)
Address: http://www.setoladimaiale.net
KASSEL JAEGER - EE[ND] (CDR by Mystery Sea)
Ah, a new kid on the block! I never heard of Kassel Jaeger, of whom I only
know he works as a sound engineer for GRM in Paris. I don't know if this
work was realized over there using the elaborate tools at hand, or perhaps
worked on it privately. I am no expert when it comes to software and such
like, but it seems to me that there is a fair use of what is developed over
there. I must keep on guessing, as to the sound input, which seems to me
field recordings, which are heavily processed. None of the sounds in any of
the five tracks can be easily traced back to it's original form. The end
result is what counts of course and the endresult may be heard! In trying to
change the underworld of deep sea life, Jaeger has something new on offer
that sets him apart from his peers. His music is somewhat louder and
grittier than others. A bit more noise based, although this is still far
away from Merzbow. At the same time it's not ambient industrial, but rather
more academic in approach, even
when the compositions themselves are not like serious computer avant-garde.
You get my drift? Jaeger's music moves between the lines, off side
microsound (too loud), off side noise (too soft) and off side musique
concrete (the pieces are too minimal). This all makes this a highly
interesting release. Rough and not entirely refined, this is certainly also
an odd ball for this label! (FdW)
Address: http://www.mysterysea.net
ROBE - TREPANATION (CDR by Outfall Channel)
CAPITAL HEMORRHAGE - ATTEMPTED ABDUCTION (CDR by Outfall Channel)
Both of these releases don't have that much information. Nothing on Robe
actually, except the tracktitles and the fact that is was recorded in 2006.
Whatever it is that Robe uses is hard to tell. My best guess is that he uses
radio waves fed through analogue synthesizers which are all tuned down to
the lowest bass possible, perhaps with the addition of some sound effects.
There isn't much difference in the six tracks on offer here. A slow sound
that rattles, seems to break and rumbles along the depth of the earth.
Ground sounds. Quite nice, but because of the lack of variety and the length
of it all, perhaps a bit too much of a repetition. The lengthy 'After Three
Weeks, Shiny Black 1' could have been skipped and saved the release. Nice
cover actually.
Capital Hemmorrhage is a guitar and percussion player, Jonathan Prunty and
Ryan Faris. It was recorded live to four track it says and it lists eight
tracks but there is one on the CDR. Twenty four minutes in total of
improvised music, crude, loud, quiet, soft. Capital Hemmorrhage move all
over the place. Hard to see it as eight separate tracks but as one whole it
is a concentrated outburst of energy. The guitar is scraped, goes out to
feedback and explored for tonal qualities. The drums support that and seem
to be less explored than the drums. It plays wild, free tunes. For those who
loved wild free and sheer improvisation, this is a fine stop. (FdW)
Address: http://www.outfallchannel.com
TWISTED FAERIE TALES - A [WALNUT + LOCUST] COMPILATION (3"CDR by Walnut +
Locust)
Following 'Delicatessen: A Taste Of [Walnut + Locust]' (see Vital Weekly
598, the label now produces another compilation 3"CDR from an altogether
different angle. The seven pieces here are more from a 'serious'
electro-acoustic music. Each of the seven artists takes a certain amount of
sounds and then transform them inside the bits and bytes of the computer.
The opening by Aidan Baker is quite strong, and also the piece by Alexandre
St-onge. After that it's all a bit less great I think, ending the almost
gothic approach of Seven Morgues, which reminded me of Ain Soph. Other
artists are .cut & Friends, Famecia, Pine Tree State Mind Control and
Whilst. Perhaps it's the brief character of the songs that makes it hard for
the listener to get into. But it could always serve as an introduction for
those on the lookout for new music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.walnutlocust.com
GIANCARLO BRACCHI - UNIVERSAL SOUL ADAPTER (3"CDR, private)
The name sounds Italian, but he's from New York and we came across him
before when reviewing his duo Thick Wisps. This release is too old to be
reviewed for Vital Weekly, so I'll keep it brief. There is just one piece of
guitar sounds, layered to drone nicely. Some parts are played in reverse.
There may be the addition of a loop of a synth. Once the train is going
there is not much change anymore, until the sixteenth minute break when the
guitar plays starts to play solo's. That was a bit of a pity. The whole
thing is about half too long. It could have a stronger impact when kept
around ten minutes. (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/giancarlobracchi
1. From: "incite@gmx.de" <incite@gmx.de>
Hörbar Hamburg presents:
Mosaique (PT, DK)
Riyaz Master Project (F, ES)
Hoerbar@ B- Movie
Hamburg St.Pauli
Brigittenstr. 5 Backyard
Friday, January 25, 21:00
www.hoerbar-ev.de
2. From: "> vertigo" <herrkock@gmail.com>
Olé Records/ O Tannenbaum
sa. January 26: Opening of Artspace O Tannenbaum with:
Frans de Waard, LEM, Titmachine, Mahmoud & Boombastik, djMeeuw, djPatric
Catani, djHitmachine en djBravo!
fr. February 1: Robert Curgenven (Recorded Fields, Australia), Optical
Machines (live cinema performance, NL)
sa. February 2: 4THE LADIES (NL)
su. February 3: Orient Press Booklet presentation by Özlem Altin with
Wolfgang Mueller, Olivier Maarschalk, Inox kapel, Pieter Kock and animal
movies.
address: Pflügerstrasse 79 a ,Neu Kölln, Berlin
www.myspace.com/olerecords
www.o-tannenbaum-berlin.de
3. From: Joachim Nordwall <joachim@nefertiti.se>
iDEAL is TEN in 2008! A decade of sound and pleasure. We are starting the
year-ong party in AARHUS Denmark with our good friends over at LJUD. Come
celabrate with us.
STEPHEN O'MALLEY (US)
PRURIENT (US)
THE SKULL DEFEKTS (S)
SEWER ELECTION (S)
DEAD LETTERS SPELL OUT DEAD WORDS (S)
Dj Jean-Louis Huhta
at MUSIKCAFÉEN, MEJLGADE 53.
http://www.ljud.dk
http://www.idealrecordings.com
Other actions:
jan 31 Whispers From The Forests, Screams From The Mountains
w/ The Skull Defekts, Dead Letters a.o. at Debaser Slussen Stockholm
march 2 iDEAL 10 w/ Earth, Henrik Rylander, Mats Gustafsson, Sir Richard
Bishop, Tony Conrad at Nefertiti Gothenburg
march 21 iDEAL 10 w/ Wolf Eyes, The Skull Defekts, Audionom, Mattias
Petersson,
Christine Ödlund + more tba at UKK Uppsala
april 12 iDEAL 10 w/ Mika Vainio & Joachim Nordwall, O.S.T., Henrik
Rylander,
Jean-Louis Huhta, Dimitrios K, Death Dub at Maria am Ostbahnhof Berlin
and more to come!!!
4. From: Justin Bennett <jb@bmbcon.demon.nl>
This coming Friday 25th January I'm performing a live soundtrack to Vertov's
classic experimental film, Man with a Movie Camera (1929).
The screening/concert is part of Event#11 at Netwerk art centre, Aalst,
Belgium.
starts at 20hrs.
also featuring
Exhibition: Rik Moens, Karel Breugelmans, Aleksander Komarov
screening: Pieterjan Ginckels
Presentation: Cabinet Magazine
Performance: Olivier Stévenart
Concert: Mieke Lambrigts
more info:
http://www.netwerk-art.be/nl/events/event11.htm
Justin Bennett
http://this.is/justin
http://spore.soundscaper.com
http://www.myspace.com/justinbennettsoundartist
--
Vital Weekly is published by Frans de Waard and submitted for free to
anybody with an e-mail address. If you don't wish to receive this, then let
us know. Any feedback is welcome <vital@vitalweekly.net>. Forward to your
allies.
Snail mail: Vital Weekly/Frans de Waard - Acaciastraat 11 - 6521 NE
Nijmegen - The Netherlands
All written by Frans de Waard (FdW), Dolf Mulder (DM)
<dolf.mulder@hetnet.nl>, Robert Meijer (RM), Niels Mark (NM), Jeff Surak
(JS), Craig N (CN), Boban Ristevski (BR), Maurice Woestenburg (MW), Jliat
(Jliat), Freek Kinkelaar (FK), Magnus Schaefer (MSS) and others on a less
regular basis.
This is copyright free publication, except where indicated, in which case
permission has to be obtained from the respective author before reprinting
any, or all of the desired text. The author has to be credited, and Vital
Weekly has to be acknowledged at all times if any texts are used from it.
Announcements can be shortened by the editor. Please do NOT send any
attachments/jpeg's, we will trash them without viewing.
There is no point in directing us to MP3 sites, as we will not go there. Any
MP3 release to be reviewed should be burned as an audio CDR and send to the
address above.
Some people think it's perhaps 'cool', 'fun', 'art' or otherwise to send
something to Vital Weekly that has no information. Don't bother doing this:
anything that is too hard to decipher will be thrown away. Also we have set
this new policy: Vital Weekly only concerns itself with new releases. We
usually act quick, so sending us something new means probably the first
review you will see. If we start reviewing older material we will not be
able to maintain this. Please do not send any thing that is older than six
months. Anything older will not be reviewed. In both cases: you can save
your money and spend it otherwise.
Lastly we have decided to remove the announcement section of Vital Weekly
that is archived on our website that is older than five weeks. Since they
95% deal with concerts that have been, it's gentle to remove the
announcement and more important the e-mail addresses coming with that.
the complete archive of Vital Weekly including search possibilities:
http://www.vitalweekly.net
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий