Vital Weekly 637

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VITAL WEEKLY
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number 637
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week 31
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Vital Weekly, the webcast: we offer a free-to-download weekly webcast as the
audio-supplement to Vital Weekly. Presented as a radio programme with
excerpts from some of the CDs reviewed here (no vinyl or MP3s). It is
available on the site for a limited period of 5 weeks. Download the file to
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* noted are in this week's pod-cast

MARKO CICILLIANI - 81 MATTERS IN ELEMENTAL ORDER (CD by Evil Rabbit Records)
*
PUNCK - PIALLASSA (RED DESERT CHRONICLES) (CD by Boring Machines) *
KEEP AWAY FROM HEAT - HELIUM BLISS (CD by Ammonite Records) *
MAURIZIO BIANCHI - METCTPYO BAKTERIUM/GENOCIDE O.T.M. (2CD by Menstrual
Recordings) *
BLOOD STEREO - THE MAGNETIC HEADACHE (CD by Bottrop-boy) *
FORERUNNERS - SWEDISH ELECTRONIC AND CONCRETE MUSIC 1955-65 (CD by Fylkingen
Records)
THE SONS OF GOD - ARE IN THE SERVICE OF CIVIL DEFENSE AND AIM TO INFUSE
ENERGY AND COURAGE (DVD by Fylkingen Records)
MARCUS MAEDER - THIS SHIP IN TROUBLE (miniCD by Domizil) *
MARTIN NEUKOM - STUDIE 18 (DVD by Domizil)
BERND SCHURER - PARALLAX (CD by Domizil) *
STEINBRUCHEL - MIT OHNE (CD single by 12K) *
OVRO - REVISITED (CD by Some Place Else) *
NIKO SKORPIO - HALF BORN IN HALF LIGHT (CD by Some Place Else) *
METAORGANISM - I:BAPHOMET (CDR by Some Place Else)
NO XIVIC - YKSITYISYYS (CD by Onyxia)
SUN STABBED (7" by Doubtful Sounds)
CHEVAL SOMBRE - I FOUND IT NOT SO/WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO (7" by Static
Caravan) *
CHEVAL SOMBRE - IT'S A SHAME/LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN (7" by Static Caravan)
BLACK CHEER BLUE SABBATH (7" by Static Caravan)
BRONNT INDUSTRIES KAPITAL - HAXAN (CDR, private/Static Caravan)
LYDHODE - FJORDGAP (CDR by Tib Prod) *
THEBY - OSLOPAKKE (CDR by Tib Prod)
HORNORKESTERET - ELEGI FOR ROALD AMUNSEN (CDR by Panot) *
ORIGAMI ANTARKTIKA - ACADEMIX MUSIC FROM BURAN (CDR by The Underworld
Heritage Series)

MARKO CICILLIANI - 81 MATTERS IN ELEMENTAL ORDER (CD by Evil Rabbit Records)
Only last week I said something about Marko Cicilliani, and that he seems to
be one of the few 'no input mixers' would sounds different from Nakamura and
this week I received a new work from him. And luckily I was right: it's
still different from the 'others'. '81 Matters In Elemental Order' is not
about elemental order, but all about disorder. Even when its hardly a new
concept - the CD which you can play in any, random order (Freundshaft, Jos
Smolders and Kapotte Muziek did this more then a decade ago), it's still
something that is fun (or get two copies and play on shuffle!). Cicilliani
uses the chemical elements and has translated them into very short tracks,
somewhere between thirty seconds and one minute. His playing technique has,
as said, not changed. Hectic, nervous, not always the controller of
feedback, quick moves and drone like sounds - they are all present here. Its
of course an impossible task to say anything substantial about this, as such
things as 'composition'
doesn't count here. I can say that this is a nice toy to play with, or even
one could try to actually compose with the 81 small elements a whole new
composition - if only I had the time... (FdW)
Address: http://www.evilrabbitrecords.eu

PUNCK - PIALLASSA (RED DESERT CHRONICLES) (CD by Boring Machines)
Of course I could investigate why a label wants to call itself Boring
Machines, but surely it's nothing of a program anyway, so I didn't bother.
They have bands like Satan Is My Brother, My Dear Killer, Be Invisible Now
and Whispers For Wolves which sound like awful band names (silly label names
is o.k., but a silly band name? get real). You could add Punck to be a silly
band name, and surely it is, but I happen to know Adriano Zanni as a serious
man of serious music, so things are forgiven at the start. In 1964
Michelangelo Antonioni made Red Desert, his ninth movie, in the industrial
area of Ravenna and in 1964 Zanni was born in Ravenna. This album is a
tribute to Antonioni and to Ravenna, a place I haven't visited, so all I can
do is believe his words about the 'huge, cold factories and the polluted
river'. But no doubt these are mentioned on the cover as to indicate the
nature of the field recordings used on this album. Its a long work
(seventy-one minutes) of slow moving sounds
-
perhaps like an Antonioni movie. Perhaps the strangest element thrown in is
the acoustic guitar. Its a bit hard to see why its there, other than perhaps
to provide us with a counterpoint with the field recordings. I guess that
might be it, as the field recordings part of this is water running, metallic
pipe rumbling and birds - field recordings of a rather 'industrial' kind -
present in your ears - unlike the microsound posse who would need lots of
plug ins to hide this. In Zanni's soundworld this is not necessary. The wind
produces the drone, metallic sounds the far away factories and water adds a
melody, or spoken word provide a narrative aspect. When this is done, the
acoustic guitar comes back in, forward, backwards, slightly processed. It
makes a rather odd combination, which my ears had to get used to. Somewhere
half way through the album, the thing gets more and more minimal, with a lot
less sounds and more spread out over the disc and no more acoustic guitar.
Its almost if
it's a second piece of music, although its indicated as one really. I have a
bit of a problem with that. The first say thirty-five minutes things were
nicely in tune, but the second half is like a different world. Why not make
two distinct pieces then? Both are nice, but both are different. Otherwise I
think this is a very fine work of field recordings and electronics, and oh,
a bit of guitar. Certainly something a bit different! (FdW)
Address: http://www.boringmachines.it

KEEP AWAY FROM HEAT - HELIUM BLISS (CD by Ammonite Records)
Earlier this year I reviewed a release by one Predrag Nedic from Serbia (see
Vital Weekly 616), which was a pleasant surprise, not because it was so
unique musically, but because it was so outside of Vital Weekly and yet so
nice. Filled with new wave like pop music but created for the new
millennium. Now Nedic returns with a new banner Keep Away From Heat. Again
with some help on vocals by Thanos Vavaroutas, a.k.a. Housework, but
musically finding new ground, and hence a new name. The new ground doesn't
mean new ground for Vital Weekly, as he comes here with music that has been
reviewed before and in all sorts of degrees: the rhythmic, melancholia
techno inspired music, touched with a bit of rock music. That last bit is
what sets him a bit aside from the musicians that linger around labels such
as Highpoint Lowlife or Boltfish. It seems to me, but I admit to not being
an expert really, that the popmusic oriented background of Nedic helps
creating tunes that are a bit more popmusic,
and less confined in the somewhat structureless music of his peers. What
seems to be counting for him is the form of the song, rather than the
piece - do you get my drift? Nedic seems to be interesting in creating
songs, largely instrumental of course and I would be certainly interested to
see how it would with a singer in every track and exploring that alley more
than just the instrumental part of it. His tracks are strong enough now to
keep the attention, but he could set himself really outside the flock and
expand more into the song area. Very nice debut album, certainly different
than PNDC, and certainly as entertaining. (FdW)
Address: http://www.ammonite.co.yu

MAURIZIO BIANCHI - METCTPYO BAKTERIUM/GENOCIDE O.T.M. (2CD by Menstrual
Recordings)
It's curious to see how often things get re-issued: the more mythical the
status of the musician, the more re-issues, or so it seems. And Maurizio
Bianchi is surely one hell of a mythical musician. 'Mectpyo Bakterium' was
already released in 1982 as a LP on the DYS label and it was part of the
first major re-issue campaign 'ArcheoMB' in 1998, when two 5CD box sets were
released. Now it becomes available again, and it's hard to think for whom,
since I guess many have this already? But since Bianchi re-launched his
career, it might of course very well possible that he won over some new fans
all along the watchtower and then I haven't said a word. The original LP is
a great one of not too piercing electronics, slow rhythm and distorted
sounds: cold music, a soundtrack for the post nuclear world. Especially in
the two long (LP only) tracks it shows Bianchi at his best - not the perfect
composed, but rather loosely played/improvised pieces of industrial music.
Here on CD joined by the two
bonus tracks that were also part of ArcheoMB CD set. Perhaps the more
interesting item in this package however is the second CD, which contains
seven tracks that were all issued on extremely limited pieces of vinyl in
the 90s without Bianchi's permission. Two of them were on a 7", one is from
Japanese LP version of Leibstandarte SS MB (not on the original Come
Organisation version) and four more from a LP called 'Anthology 1981-1984',
with pieces culled from previous compilation LPs and cassettes. Of course
the real die-hard has those, but the less fanatical collect-all miss out
(like me), so it's good to see them on CD. Here too, MB uses a similar
approach to composing his music, but there seems to be a more extended use
of scratchy vinyl and tapes that keep running at the wrong speed, which I
always assumed was a separate interest for MB in the early days -
synthesizer and delay based on one hand and tape/vinyl manipulations on the
other. This double CD shows both sides and are all
very fine examples of the unique sound world of MB. If you are new to his
music, this is a good place to start, and if you know the man's vast output,
then especially the second CD is a good addition for some very rare pieces.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.menstrualrecordings.org

BLOOD STEREO - THE MAGNETIC HEADACHE (CD by Bottrop-boy)
Should you be in Berlin this summer, it might be worthwhile to seek out a
new gallery called Luettgenmeijer where there is an exhibition called 'The
Magnetic Headache' by Karen Constance and Dylon Nyoukis, who have also a new
CD out on Bottrop-boy with the same title. Dylon's name has been around for
some time, perhaps best known as Prick Decay. I have no idea what the
exhibition looks or what kind of art they produce - real art for sure
otherwise it wouldn't have been in this gallery, but their music can be best
described as 'noise - but not over the top'. Its a bit hard to say what
exactly it is they are doing here, but me thinks that the six pieces were
generated through improvisation with electronics, with no apparent
instruments, besides some voice stuff. Everything has a solid lo-fi touch to
it, which is alright, even if some of the pieces are a bit long, i.e. could
have used a bit more editing, or glued together like 'The Broken Line
Recorder', which they recorded with Neil
Campbell, but which seems to me to be several tracks stuck together in a
rather somewhat crude manner. But in its genre of lo-fi noise not too loud
music this is certainly a very nice work. I had good time listening to it,
which is sometimes the only thing one needs. (FdW)
Address: http://www.bottrop-boy.com

FORERUNNERS - SWEDISH ELECTRONIC AND CONCRETE MUSIC 1955-65 (CD by Fylkingen
Records)
THE SONS OF GOD - ARE IN THE SERVICE OF CIVIL DEFENSE AND AIM TO INFUSE
ENERGY AND COURAGE (DVD by Fylkingen Records)
So I might have said that I don't like compilations, but there is always an
exception or two, and compilations with historical material I always like.
Sub Rosa's 'Noise Anthology' series is a fine example of a great historical
series. I am not sure if 'Forerunners - Swedish Electronic And Concrete
Music 1955-65' will be a series also, but this is a very nice compilation,
which includes extensive liner notes and photographs of serious looking men
behind old tape machines. Of course included is the man who was the first to
create concrete music in Sweden, Rune Lindblad, who started experimenting
with film and sound in the fifties - and whose career has been well
preserved on CD. Of the other names I recognized only Sten Hanson and
Lars-Gunnar Bodin, who had their work released on Fylkingen before (well,
maybe the others too, but then I may forgot about it). All of these pieces,
eleven in total, sound very much like you would expect them to do:
oscillators, sine waves, tape
manipulations
and sometimes crude editing techniques make up some wonderful rough
electronic music. Leo Nilsson's 'Skorpionen' sounds almost like an
industrial piece of music, but its from 1964 - but created with the help of
Erkki Kurreniemi). Not always the compositions are that great, but the
sheer experimentation makes up wonderfully well. Nice text pieces too by
Hanson, Bengt Emil Johnson and Lars-Gunnar Bodin. Also includes work by
Ralph Lundsten, Karl-Birger Blomdahl, Bengt Hambraeus, Arne Mellnas and Ake
Karlung. Very nice, and hopefully more to come. And an example for other
countries too.
A slightly younger generation then the above composers are Leif Elggren and
Kent Tankred, both who are active as composers of electronic music in a
conceptual way, but together are known as The Sons Of God, which are often
also starting from a concept. Even when the releases so far have taken the
form of records and CDs, it usually found its starting point in a
performance. To release a DVD seems a very logical thing to do. In case you
might think otherwise, this is not a strict live DVD of a musical band. The
Sons Of God play their music in a studio and take the tape to the stage,
where its used as a soundtrack and the members perform. Only in a few pieces
we actually see them producing sounds, like on stage with a rake and other
gardening tools or a bunch of chairs. Even then I thought it had some extra
sound on tape, but I might be very well wrong. As someone who always loves
sound more than image, I prefer those films that deal with sound in a direct
way - the chairs moving, the
rake, and I can less relate to say the piece called 'Dance' - which is
indeed a dance around a table. Its with twenty-eight minutes the longest
piece here, but couldn't interest me that much - visually that is, as the
music is pretty strong. Like with most of the pieces The Sons Of God play
music that is best described as heavy drone based, derived from acoustic
objects and on top they play more acoustic objects, at times with a lot of
reverb, which doesn't stand in the way of the music. Furthermore this DVD
includes a film by Micke Pey and Robert Rif for which the sons produced and
stop motion movie produced themselves. In all this is a very complete
document of the various visual documents that has been produced by this
great duo. Two and half hours of musical and visual intellect. (FdW)
Address: http://www.fylkingen.se

MARCUS MAEDER - THIS SHIP IN TROUBLE (miniCD by Domizil)
MARTIN NEUKOM - STUDIE 18 (DVD by Domizil)
BERND SCHURER - PARALLAX (CD by Domizil)
There is a common link to be noted in these three new releases on Domizil
and that is their historical roots. It seems to me that all three artists
derive their music and concepts from the past - the post World War II
electronic avant-garde. Perhaps this is least present in the mini CD by
Marcus Maeder. His music has the smallest ties to the historical avant-garde
and lies more in the field of microsound. Six tracks which hoover more or
less on the fringes of hearing, until at one point things burst out. Most
likely these are processed field recordings (which is another difference
with the old world) which aren't easy to trace back into something we could
have heard in the real world, but composition wise this still has faint
traces of the serious avant-garde. Blocks of sounds gliding and passing in a
gentle way, with that odd burst at 'Andrea Virla'. Maybe there is some
aquatic theme to is, but it's a bit hard to see. However this is short
(twenty minute) release, but its very
gentle
and nice.
The strongest link to the past seems to me the DVD by one Martin Neukom, who
offers thirteen studies 'of sounds (that) are arranged regularly in space
and in the parametric space'. He uses the same sounds throughout these
thirteen pieces, but each of the pieces varies from the other - and I don't
even have a DVD set up but listening to this in just stereo format. Sounds
swirl around, stay static, are minimal, are hallucinating or are even
ambient. It sounds like a sixties computer music project, except that the
sound is now crisp and clear and it can move around in your space (providing
you have the right set up). I can imagine that this very consistent piece of
work is a bit too consistent, i.e. there isn't that much variation in the
sounds used, but I quite like this, certainly if you take the exact liner
notes in account - a highly thought out work, that is also great to hear.
The CD by Bernd Schurer sort of falls in between the Maeder and Neukom
works. If I understood correctly he deals with processed sine waves for this
'Parallax' CD, which is fed through the computer and make a bouncing up and
down the scale. As I played this almost right after the 'Forerunners' CD
reviewed elsewhere, its easy to make the connection between the computer
music of Schurer and the old Swedish masters. It has that same rough edged
feeling to it. Drone like but in a highly digital way, bumping sounds
around, piercing blocks of sustaining sounds underneath - a modern classical
record. It's quite interesting to see how the legacy of forty years can work
out in three distinct directions, Maeder being the most 'modern' one, Neukom
the most traditional and Schurer being the bridge between the two. (FdW)
Address: http://www.domizil.ch

STEINBRUCHEL - MIT OHNE (CD single by 12K)
More music for exhibitions (see also Blood Stereo elsewhere) is produced by
Steinbruchel and this is more like what you could expect from such things,
all multi and all media. Its an exhibition which you can no longer visit
since its from 2003 where Steinbruchel composed seven short pieces of images
by Yves Netzhammer. Its of course never easy to tell what they looked like
if we only get one side of the story. What's interesting to see of course is
that 12K now also moves into releasing CD singles as this is just 18 minutes
and 36 seconds. Tracks flow without pauses into eachother. The seven pieces
are trademark pieces for Steinbruchel - delicate, soft, glitchy, drone like
with a bit of crackles here and there. If you wouldn't know what microsound
is all about, then these 18 minutes and 36 seconds could exactly sum up what
it is about. It doesn't offer anything else which to some, perhaps me
included, nothing new under the sun, but these pieces of clustered tones are
best played on
shuffle and repeat, so that your room will be constantly filled with slow
moving sounds that change quite quickly, but will provide a constant ambient
sound. (FdW0
Address: http://www.12k.com

OVRO - REVISITED (CD by Some Place Else)
NIKO SKORPIO - HALF BORN IN HALF LIGHT (CD by Some Place Else)
METAORGANISM - I:BAPHOMET (CDR by Some Place Else)
NO XIVIC - YKSITYISYYS (CD by Onyxia)
Maybe Some Place Else also struck a pot of gold somewhere, seeing doing
three new CDs and one new CDR release. The first is a new work by Ovro, one
of the few female laptop artists. Since 2003 she has had some releases,
mainly on Some Place Else, but also (not reviewed here) on Kning Disk. For
'Revisited' she uses field recordings made during a 2006 tour through
Russia. The seven pieces which result from this are dark, spooky affairs of
ambient/drone music. All generated through (lots of) processing on the
computer, stapled together into some nightmare like music. Hauntingly dark
stuff, but I must admit not always the greatest around. Very fine, very
solid work, but sometimes one wished there was happening more in a track and
that it somehow didn't seem like one is hearing some very obvious time
stretching sounds. The dark trip doesn't fit the mood of summer day
entirely, but would do well at night, I think. Not bad at all, not great
either.
Labelboss Niko Skorpio has been around since a decade, also from Finland,
from where he releases his darkest nightmares as audio parcels to the world.
He calls his music 'Hermetic Fusion Musick', which might give you a clue as
to where this goes, the world of magick and 'ov' and all those nice things
Psychic TV invented. However I must say if you take Niko Skorpio's music
face value, i.e. as music, then its actually quite nice. It's also, like
Ovro, dark atmospheric drone music, based on synthesizers and field
recordings, bass guitar, sound effects and voice. The latter elements, when
used to invoke, chant or speak makes this less enjoyable, but luckily its
not done a lot. Throughout I thought that the more ambient pieces were much
better, with lots closed spaces, cold and frozen landscapes and other such
things. No summer music either, but quite nice.
Niko Skorpio can put on another hat, which reads Metaorganism and then he
plays different kind of music, although I must admit these differences
aren't the biggest in the world. One day he found himself in a studio with
sinewaves, oscillators and feedback, and with these elements he constructed
the 'I:Baphomet' release, which indeed is different than his Skorpio hat.
More electronic, more 'clean', no real instruments and no voice material.
Machines that interact with eachother, slowly change color or shape or both,
and which actually makes a very fine listen. Less hovering in the
'ritualisk' side of life (well, except for the title of course), this is
something that I enjoyed even more than the Skorpio release. Dark,
atmospheric, drone ambient - nothing new under the sun there, but he does a
very fine job at this.
Not released but distributed by Some Place Else is a CD by no Xivic, the
musical project of Henkka Kyllonen. The title of the CD means 'the quality
present in a thing of person that gives intense pleasure and deep
satisfaction to the mind, arising from sensory manifestations', which of
course one has to keep in mind when reviewing the music. No Xivic has had a
couple of releases before, on Drone Records, Taalem, Onyxia, Tinnitus, Milk,
and this is his second real CD. His pieces are long - the seven span almost
the entire length of this CD. Here its hard to tell what he uses. I think I
could detect voices, field recordings and synthesizers - be them analog or
digital. Also his music sits stylistically close to that of Niko Skorpio and
Ovro - stretched out ambient pieces, with occasionally a bit of sound that
leaps out of the fog. Like with Ovro, I thought that some of these pieces
were a bit long for what they had to offer musicwise. As a composition
things could have been shorter,
tighter or have a little bit more variation, but no doubt these are
objectives that do no fit the world of no Xivic, who rather aims for darker
notions in music. The good thing is the extended use of field recordings in
this music, which sets it apart from much else in this field. (FdW)
Address: http://www.someplaceelse.net
Address: http://www.onyxia.org

SUN STABBED (7" by Doubtful Sounds)
You could wonder if the format of a 7" is suitable for the music of a band
like Sun Stabbed. Its a duo of Pierre Faure and Thierry Monnier from
Grenoble, France and exist since 2005. Both members play guitars, effect
pedals, electronics, amps and objects. The two pieces here are from 2006,
and on one side, 'De L'ambiance sonore dans une construction plus etendue'
is an ambient piece, using a large empty room with sounds from outside
(cars, people, birds) coming, mingling with the feedback like rumbles of the
two and other sonic events happening. An atmospheric recording, due to the
use of microphones. The b-side is taped from the mixing board and results in
a more clearer sound. Here they play a more nervous, hectic and a more noise
based piece of music called 'Toute L'Eau De La Mer Ne Pourrait Pas...' which
shows a good combination of improvisation within given limitations. Both
pieces, though very different, are quite good, but both may have lasted a
bit longer too. Perhaps next
time a 10" or LP? (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/sunstabbed

CHEVAL SOMBRE - I FOUND IT NOT SO/WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO (7" by Static
Caravan)
CHEVAL SOMBRE - IT'S A SHAME/LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN (7" by Static Caravan)
BLACK CHEER BLUE SABBATH (7" by Static Caravan)
BRONNT INDUSTRIES KAPITAL - HAXAN (CDR, private/Static Caravan)
Not much information on these new Static Caravan releases and from one I
even doubt its by Static Caravan but they mailed it, so I take that into
account here as well. Two 7"s by Cheval Sombre, 'produced by and featuring
Sonic Boom' it says on the promo CDR of both 7"s, of a man singing, playing
guitar and a bit of electronics. Its not a joyous product here as the
singing is quite sombre. Nick Drake alive, but it's certainly not my cup of
tea. Sunshine all around today so no time for a depression.
Now Black Cheer Blue Sabbath is no fun either - but the big fun here lies in
the fact that the music doesn't sound like anything I heard before on Static
Caravan. Both pieces on this otherwise untitled 7" are pretty noise based -
distorted guitars, a howl, bangs on metallic percussion and is nothing the
curious music this label usually releases, but hey it's a sunny day and I
could do with some noise right now.
The CDR by Bronnt Industries Kapital looks like a Static Caravan release -
nice carton sleeve, nice paper insert - but it doesn't say Static Caravan.
The twenty-seven short electronic pieces are used in the film 'Haxan' - the
cover says that the rest of soundtrack is available by Static Caravan. I
have no idea what the film is about actually but the music as an independent
soundtrack sound nice enough. Now its time to sit back and enjoy a cold
glass of something on the balcony and enjoy the at times light tunes of
Bronnt Industries Kapital, mixed with some darker shades. The pieces are
short and more sketch like, and its best be enjoyed as a whole rather than
the separate parts. (FdW)
Address: http://www.staticcaravan.org

LYDHODE - FJORDGAP (CDR by Tib Prod)
THEBY - OSLOPAKKE (CDR by Tib Prod)
Essentially these 'bands' contain the same musicians, but the concept is
different, so hence the names are different. Lydhode is a sort of open
membership band, which one this new release is Roar Borge, Terje Paulsen
(whom we met last week) and label boss Jan M. Iversen. Their 'Fjordgap' is
one fifty minute long piece of low rumbling ambient/drone sounds. It starts
out with a spoken word thingy, but quickly moves into long stretched ambient
patterns in which smaller bits come alive, take shape and disappear. Even at
one point there is small rhythmic features to be spotted. Maybe the piece,
overall, is a bit long and it could have been trimmed down a bit, but the
long textured piece works rather well. Easily one of the more interesting
that Jan M. Iversen is engaged in.
TheBy means The City and besides the three from Lydhode, there is also
Kjetil Hansen (also known as Torstein Wjiik) of Ambolthue label) and Willy
Kopperud (from Fisk Pa Disk). The concept is thought of by Roar Berge who
has an extensive archive of field recordings from the city of Oslo, which he
gave to his compadres to work out some music out of it. The very few
occasions that I visited Oslo, I thought the city looked nice and clean, but
seemed also a bit boring for a capital. There is no big tourist attraction,
a must see to go to. Apart from the opening and closing pieces by
Kopperud/Borge, which are short and use 'vocals' (?), the pieces are quite
long. Iversen made a slot of short samples, but his track is way too long
for what it is. Paulsen has a track that is even longer, about half too
long, of even lower sounds which hardly makes sense. Hansen is much shorter
and lives up to his noise reputation and makes a nice piece of deep end city
rumble. Perhaps the best track, but not
great either, is the solo piece by Borge of drone like sounds and sampled
noise from a construction site. Here the sounds of city are treated around
to create an interesting piece of music. Altogether not really a great
compilation, even when the idea behind it is quite nice. (FdW)
Address: http://www.tibprod.com

HORNORKESTERET - ELEGI FOR ROALD AMUNSEN (CDR by Panot)
ORIGAMI ANTARKTIKA - ACADEMIX MUSIC FROM BURAN (CDR by The Underworld
Heritage Series)
The back cover of the release 'Elegi For Roald Amundsen' depicts four man
with reindeer's antlers - which is the main instrument of this release
(including a bass reindeer antler), along with vocals, drums, and an one
stringed violin. If I am right, Amundsen was one of those pioneers for new,
undiscovered areas, in his case the north pole, which he didn't reach, who
did while trying to rescue the crew of the 'Italia', who tried to cross the
North Pole by balloon (it's not long before Steve Fosset gets his tribute).
All the texts are in Norwegian and deal with Amundsen's travel.
Hornorkesteret plays their reindeer antlers with bows, plucking them and
adding a fair bit of delay and reverb - the latter not being really
necessary I'd say. Even when the Norwegian language sounds alien to you (and
me), it's surely quite a nice release of music that has been improvised
around a set of texts to evoke that coldness that is no doubt part of the
country as well as Amundsen's travels. It's kinda
short, leaving the impression that not the entire story is told, but it's
quite nice.
Out of the same envelope came a release by Origami Antarktika, which I think
is the solo release of Jonas Qvale of Hornorkesteret. Here he plays prepared
piano, microphone/tremolo/speaker set up, Ibanez and Boss digital effect
pedals and pebbles. The recordings were made after he completed his academic
studies and date already from 2001. I must say that this could be quite
interesting, but its not really. A bang on the piano, prepared or otherwise,
loads of feedback chirping in and out and lots of echo and reverb. Perhaps
sitting at the concert - both pieces are live recordings - might have been
nice to see the performer at work, but it simply doesn't work captured,
unedited on CDR. (FdW)
Address: http://www.hornorkesteret.no
Address: http://kunst.no/origami/uu

1. From: Sindre Bjerga <sindrebjerga@hotmail.com>

AUGUST 1

AN EVENING OF PARASITING ON MUSIC
Klang und krach presents:

SINDRE BJERGA
BIRDS BUILD NESTS UNDERGROUND
RUiNU

@ BUNKR PARUKARKA - 9 PM
PRAGUE
CZECH REPLUBLIC

www.klangundkrach.net
www.parukarka.eu

2. From: dirk markham <dirkmarkham@hotmail.com>

Microdisco presents:

summer splash 2008 - Europas only 8bit und Chip music festival
now for the 2nd time in Berlin.

Once again this summer the stars of the international chip music scene will
gather in Berlin from 31st July to 2nd August for film screenings, talks,
workshops, the worlds first ever micro parade and of course, loads of
concerts.

Heres the full line-up:

31.07.08 @ Madame Claude, Lübbener Str 19
<http://www.myspace.com/madame_claude>http://www.myspace.com/madame_claude

ab 21 h

Film: "8 bit generation" von Lionel Brouet

Live: Ben et Bene (da heard it records), Divag, Computertruck, Tony Light

DJ's: glafouk, flashbob & Schönberger

VJ: The C-Men

01.08.08 @ Tentstation, Seydlitz Str. 6, 10557 Berlin
<http://www.tentstation.de/>http://www.tentstation.de

Ab 19.30 h

Film " Die Welt in 8 bit"

Live: Nilsmusic, Die Moderne Welt, A boy and his Sid, Sidabitball

DJ's: Glafouk, Sista Data

VJ: The C-Men

02.08.08 @ Kantine Berghain, Am Wriezener Bahnhof

Ab 21 h

Live: Naomi Sample & The Go Go Ghosts (musikfladen), The Sputnik Booster
(retinascan), Eat Rabbit (Marseille), Frau Holle (aka firestArter), Sone
(505), Stu, Computadora, Sidabitball

DJ's: The Mighty Bomb Jack, Schönberger, Sista Data, N.E.D. (not enough
DJs), Glafouk

More infos at http://www.microdisco.de and
http://www.myspace.com/microdisco
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