VITAL WEEKLY
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number 646
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week 40
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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
your MP3 player and enjoy!
Complete track listing here: http://www.vitalweekly.net/podcast.html
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* noted are in this week's pod-cast
WHISPERING FOR WOLVES - LANGUAGE OF THE DARDS - TAUU AND TWILIGHT SING
100,000 SONGS OF MILAREPA (NOISE NARRATIVES PART 1) (CD by Boring Machines)
EXPO '70/BE INVISIBLE NOW (CD by Boring Machines)
GRETA HOHEISEL & NORBERT LANG - BUKAREST FRAGMENTE (CD + Book by
Gruenrekorder)
CARRIER BAND - VOICE COIL (CD by Deep Listening Recordings)
LOS ANGELES ELECTRIC 8 - PLAYS SHOSTAKOVITCH, MENDELSOHN, BRADDOCK, SIEGEL
AND KOHL (CD by Los Angeles Electric 8)
GREG KELLEY - SELF-HATE INDEX (CD by Semata Productions)
THE EPICUREANS - INTRODUCING (CDR by Semata Productions)
FRANCISCO LOPEZ - TECHNOCALYPS (CD by Alien8 Recordings)
AIDAN BAKER & TIM HECKER - FANTASMA PARASTASIE (CD by Alien8 Recordings)
CHEN SANTA MARIA (CD by GSSD/Shit On Records)
BLACK SUN - PARALYSER (LP by At War With False Noise)
ALDERDEEL - LUIZIG (CD by At War With False Noise)
SHIFT - CREATION & SPACE (LP by At War With False Noise)
STEVE RODEN - A SLOW MOVING BOAT (3"CD by In Between Noise)
NOSZTALGIA DIREKTIVA (7" by Enfant Terrible)
ADOLF FILTER - THE OTHER HAND ON THE KNOB (7" by Enfant Terrible)
Z'EV & BRYAN LEWIS SAUNDERS - DAKU (CDR by Stand-Up Tragedy Records)
JEREMY BIBLE & JASON HENRY - MARKER (CDR by Gruenrekorder)
SNAPPING TURTLE - APRIL THROW (CDR by Savage Yank Records)
TEMPLE MUSIC - THE GREEN MAN PROJECT BETA - GEDNEY - ST. MARY MAGDALENE (CDR
by Shining Day)
THROUROOF - WHALE BONES (CDR by Sentient Recognition Archive)
FABIO ORSI - THE WILD LIGHT OF THE MOON (CDR by Sentient Recognition
Archive)
RP COLLIER - LAMELLAPHONE (CDR, self-released)
D.D. NEWMOLE - THE EARTH TREMBLED (CDR by I, Absentee)
ALPHA AESAR (CDR by I, Absentee)
PLATFORM - EP 1 (CDR by Minimal Resourch Manipulation)
PLATFORM - DISTANCED (CDR by Minimal Resourch Manipulation)
TORTURING NURSE - 192171-200871 (CDR by Why Not Ltd)
JULIEN SKROBEK - VOLATIL (CDR by Why Not Ltd)
GOH LEE KWANG - CICADAS (CDR by Why Not Ltd)
DANNY KREUTZFELDT - ERUPTION (3"CDR by Tib Prod)
TERJE PAULSEN - NOVEMBER X (3"CDR by Tib Prod)
PUIN + HOOP - WAARSCHOONLIJK (CDR by TBFKAGNK Records)
KATCHMARE & ANTLER PISS - AUTOMATIC WEDDING (Cassette by Scissor Death)
SOUND CANVAS VOLUME 1 (MP3 by Mikroton Digital)
KENNETH KIRSCHNER - MARCH 20, 2007 ET AL (MP3 by Mikroton Digital)
PHIL RAYMOND - ABSENCE (MP3 by Mikroton Digital)
WHISPERING FOR WOLVES - LANGUAGE OF THE DARDS - TAUU AND TWILIGHT SING
100,000 SONGS OF MILAREPA (NOISE NARRATIVES PART 1) (CD by Boring Machines)
EXPO '70/BE INVISIBLE NOW (CD by Boring Machines)
When I reviewed Punck's 'Piallassa' in Vital Weekly 637, I mocked with the
label name and some of the band names on the label, including Whispers For
Wolves. Today I have the task of hearing the music and judging it. Melissa
Moore is the woman behind this name. She builds her own instruments,
installations and sculptures. For her music she uses field recordings, voice
and guitar and the label calls this psych/noise/folk, which I can second.
Its not noise for the sake of noise, I recognize bird twitter and voices and
in the opening track 'The Collective Darkness' a guitar. Three extensive
pieces that deal however with quite a minimal approach per track. Minimal
yet full of sound - every hole is cemented with sound here. No effect stayed
behind in the cupboard. When all the machines are set in motion, through
loops, playing or through layering the cake inside the computer, things no
longer evolve, just seem to stay inside what it is, and gradually change
color within the given frame.
Quite nice, this full approach. Throughout I thought this was quite a nice
work, an outsider that is, but doing a great job. Despite perhaps the hippy
undertones.
From Kansas hails Justin Wright, as Expo '70. He
started in 2003 by playing the guitar to create drones with delay and repeat
pedals. Be Invisible Now! is Marco Giotti from Italy, who does perhaps the
same, but has more rhythm to it. They met over the internet and release here
a split CD, two tracks each (divided over a side A and a side B on the
cover, but that was never idea that worked well, I think). With Be Invisible
Now! the drum computers bang their way through the two pieces, with the
instruments being loud and clear present - synthesizers, guitars and more
effects. Its a bit of randomized approach towards what he does, hovering in
a dark world. Maybe there is a cinematic approach to it, but its from a kind
of film I don't see too often. Expo '70 on the hand is much more
concentrated. He starts his 'Heir Of Serpents' with an organ drone and then
slowly an acoustic guitar sounds drop in until there is a solid e-bow solo.
Very retro, very seventies, but very nice. The second piece has a steady,
slow organ pulse to start with,
and then thick slices of synthesizers come in. Klaus Schulze's darkest
nightmare. What Expo '70 does is not new at all, but it sounds damn fine
here. (FdW)
Address: http://www.boringmachines.it
GRETA HOHEISEL & NORBERT LANG - BUKAREST FRAGMENTE (CD + Book by
Gruenrekorder)
Its of course never easy to judge a release that deals with a city that one
has never been too, in this the Romanian capital Bukarest. But the extensive
and beautiful book (bound, bigger size than the average booklet) makes up
for this omission. It contains photography of the places where the
recordings were, with descriptive text in both German and Romanian. Many
sounds of life on streets: cars passing, people trying to sell toys, the
subway, street music (pan flutes of course), and sometimes the rumble
mechanics. It makes all a fascinating trip while flipping through the book
and looking at the pictures. Captivating stuff. Nothing is 'processed' here,
nor does it tell a 'story', it merely takes things as they are. Certainly a
major project for Gruenrekorder, and one of their best releases to date.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.gruenrekorder.de
CARRIER BAND - VOICE COIL (CD by Deep Listening Recordings)
The Carrier Band is a trio of Pauline Oliveros, Peer Bode, and Andrew
Deutsch, formed in 1998 when they performed three improvisations at Alfred
University. Later this music is released as the first Carrier Band CD on the
Deep Listening label, called 'Automatic Inscription Of Speech Melod'. Many
different disciplines are combined in this trio. Oliveros needs no
introduction as she is well-known for her electronic music and music for
accordion. Peer Bode comes from the world of film originally and developed
into an electronic-media artist.
Andrew Deutsch is a sound, video and graphic artist. Since 1998 he has
released over 14 CDRs of solo electronic music on his Magic If Recordings.
For their new cd they again recorded three length improvisations The first
one, 'Voice Coil' was performed in the fall of 2003 at the Deep Listening
Space in Kingston, New York. Pauline Oliveros performed on accordion and
computer based Expanded Instrument System, Peer Bode performed live text
with his Bode Vocoder, and Andrew Deutsch performed live mixing, archival
recordings from the Bode archive, samples, loops and electronics. In 2007
Andrew Deutsch added several overdubs in order to bring to piece more close
to what the audience actually heard in 2003. The piece takes some 40
minutes. It remained. 'Frozen Speaker' is an electronic composition by
Andrew Deutsch. 'Video Voice' uses sounds from Pauline Oliveros electronic
works V of IV, and 'Mewsak', as well as elements of Stephen Vitiello's
'Light Meter' recordings. In all their work they strive to combine analog
and digital systems. In their improvisational activity they introduce
already existing music, old recordings of spoken
word, etc. This way they communicate with other outings from the present or
past. In the way it takes shape however everything remains too amorphous for
my tastes, especially in long title track. (DM)
Address: http://www.deeplistening.org/
LOS ANGELES ELECTRIC 8 - PLAYS SHOSTAKOVITCH, MENDELSOHN, BRADDOCK, SIEGEL
AND KOHL (CD by Los Angeles Electric 8)
First thing that strikes us is the line up of this octet. I am used to
guitar quartets (Fred Frith Guitar Quartet, etc.), but this is an ensemble
of eight electric guitars. For their debut they arranged five existing
compositions that were written originally for organ, classical guitars,
strings and indonesian gamelan. Compositions from very different composers:
Felix Mendelsohn and Dmitiri Shostakovitch, minimal composer Wayne Siegel
and two young american composers Nathaniel Braddock and Randall Kohl. How
this selection came about I don't know, but together they make an
interesting and diverse collection. Also I haven't heard the compositions in
their original orchestration. I can't compare them, and make up my mind as
to whether these adaptations make any sense or not. So let's stay with what
we hear on this exceptional cd. Because of the instrument electric guitar,
the music has the air of rock music, but in fact it isn't rock at all.
Listening to 'Octet op.11' by Shostakovitch I
wished they played it more explicitly with a rock feel. Now it remains a
little academic and cold. Listening to 'Balinesa' by Randall Kohl one can
hear this is written for gamelan. For me their approach worked best for
'Domino Figures' by Wayne Siegel, a 22 minute minimal work of cascading
waves of music and sound. I suppose it is Ben Harbert the leader of this
octet who did the incredible job of arranging all these works for his guitar
octet. What was he aiming at? Maybe he wants to prove that the electric
guitar is fitted for performing classical and other composed music. He
surrounded himself with seven excellent players, and together they do their
job well. It really is a collective work. It is difficult to distinguish the
individual players with their own characteristics and style. All in all it
is a ingenious and impressive work, but not very moving. (DM)
Address: http://www.losangeleselectric8/
GREG KELLEY - SELF-HATE INDEX (CD by Semata Productions)
THE EPICUREANS - INTRODUCING (CDR by Semata Productions)
Trumpet player Greg Kelley's previous release was a LP for No Fun
Productions, and even I think Kelley produces some wonderful music, that
album was a bit too much harsh noise for me. I don't mind harsh noise at
all, but I prefer it to be mixed with something else. 'Self-Hate Index', his
fourth CD, is in that respect something that works much better. He returns
here to his trumpet, and works in a 'proper' studio, using pro-tools and
some post-manipulation. But Kelley's main interest is in placing the
microphones all over the place and then to create a mix out of the various
microphone recordings. Close by, far away. Sustained blowing, hitting the
instrument, scraping it, and then using a totally distorted channel which
was also made using an amplifier and a distortion pedal. Its all in here,
and it makes a great cross-over between noise and improvised music. Music
that ranges from the very soft to the very loud. Not a straight line in
noise, but a great balance between the two
extremes in sound. That is the noise that I like. Going from one extreme to
another, which is what makes things extreme and not the full on noise blast.
The seven pieces on this are excellent examples of what is all possible in
this direction, and perhaps 'true noise heads' should take notice. So far,
the best and most complete work I heard by him.
The first release by Semata is a CDR by The Epicureans, of whom I never
heard, but which seems to be a trio of Dave Gross (saxophone), Ricardo
Donoso (drums) and Ryan McGuire (bass), and they hail from Boston. They have
releases on Tzadik, Sedimental and Hydrahead and their music is much alike
that of Kelley: improvised with a strong love for the dynamics of soft
versus loud, silence versus noise. With one difference: they play everything
acoustic with no electronic processing. It makes things perhaps a bit more
'traditional', but that might also be because their playing is a bit more
traditional. No explorations of the instruments as such, but free play of
the instruments themselves, playing their respective instruments as
instruments and not as objects. Quite strong material here with a great
dynamic range and a strong element of surprise. Great one too, but just a
bit lesser than the full blast by Kelley. (FdW)
Address: http://www.semataproductions.com
FRANCISCO LOPEZ - TECHNOCALYPS (CD by Alien8 Recordings)
AIDAN BAKER & TIM HECKER - FANTASMA PARASTASIE (CD by Alien8 Recordings)
You can't say Francisco Lopez always plays the same tune. There is a large
body of work by him which is perhaps 'along similar lines', the field
recordings, but there is also work which is totally different (and also in
the field recordings work there are notable changes - a book about his work
is overdue me thinks). Today's surprise is his soundtrack to TechnoCaylps:
'a three part documentary about transhumanism, an ideology assuming that we
approach an era where humans, as we know them, are no longer the driving
force of civilization. All technological developments seem to converge to
one main goal: to overcome humanity, to try and create something transhuman'
it says on the cover. The Belgium filmmaker Frank Theys interviewed many
people around the globe about this, and Lopez created the music to go with
it. Certainly something to watch one day, as the documentary sounds
interesting, but the music itself is also quite interesting. Its a Lopez
that we don't know. There are fifteen
tracks here, short and long alike, and while probably having the original
sound sources in field recordings, Lopez went to a great length to transform
them into a mechanical, post industrial music. The sound of what the world
may sound like after the apocalypse. Metallic rumble, sonic debris, stale
wind over empty industrial sites, flickering lights. All the cliche images
one could have while thinking of this pass in front of your very eyes.
Cliche's, but Lopez does a fine job here. With lots of imaginative sounds
depicting this new world of transhumans, and its certainly not something to
watch out for. Music that is hardly comforting, but more a warning. An alien
release.
Back to the current world, where things are more comfortable and happy. We
find two masters of guitars and electronics, Aidan Baker and Tim Hecker, two
busy bees also. The have seven titles printed on the cover, but it's divided
into sixty-six tracks on the CD (a nightmare for our podcast). No other info
is provided here, but it's a heavy beast of music. Lots of fuzzy guitar, in
overdrive mode, perhaps even in overkill mode, but Hecker and Baker also
know to pull the strings and enter a textured field, such as in the closing
title piece. Things move between these two extremes: the loud and the quiet.
Its hard to tell which prevails, but my feeling has it that the louder parts
prevail around. Heavy metal without drums, psychedelic noise. Exploding
organ like guitar drones. A short, thirty-six minute, release of hellraising
tones. Cascading and bursting, ripping speaker music. Very fine stuff.
Delicate like a heavy meal. (FdW)
Address: http://www.alien8recordings.com
CHEN SANTA MARIA (CD by GSSD/Shit On Records)
If you play 'outdoor guerilla' shows with bands like Yellow Swans, Hair
Police, Sissy Spacek or Burning Star Core you get probably influenced, and
perhaps Chen Santa Maria was, but only by Burning Star Core it seems to me.
Its a duo of George Chen and Steve Santa Maria, who play with
'electro-acoustic sound sources, samplers, synthesizers, drum machines and
guitars', which are used in seven improvised pieces. I must admit that the
guitar feeding through what seems to me an endless amount of reverb didn't
do much for me. The instrument is played like someone who touch the guitar
for the first, randomly strumming here and there, hit a string. The addition
of reverb makes that it sounds more than what it is. The rest of the
electronic devices also don't play much engaging music. The music is a
semi-noise improvised oriented thing, which sadly didn't do much for me.
(FdW)
Address: <gerardpatawaran@gmail.com> or <rsztherland@hotmail.com>
BLACK SUN - PARALYSER (LP by At War With False Noise)
ALDERDEEL - LUIZIG (CD by At War With False Noise)
SHIFT - CREATION & SPACE (LP by At War With False Noise)
Popmusic has many disguises. One of them is metal, a musical genre I never
fully understood. 'I'm only interested in heavy metal when it's me who's
playing it. I suppose it's a bit like smelling your own fart', John
Entwhistle once said. Perhaps I don't like spending hours in front of a
mirror to dress up properly, or perhaps I don't want to be part of any
musical scene. The whole notion of being 'heavy' is perhaps something that
was never well-spend on me. The boys of Black Sun look heavy - tattoo's
yummy (I never understand those either to be honest). Their 'Paralyser'
comes in a 'prison of the cross' version, 'hammer the nails' (heavy, right?)
and a 'dub mix'. I have no idea why I get this. Its nothing Vital ever
writes about.
'Luizig' by Alkerdeel then. Previously released on a cassette in an edition
of sixty-six copies (oh spooky...) and I have no idea why it deserves to be
released on a real CD. The website says "some of the most filthy, disgusting
stuff I've ever heard", which of course is no sense in arguing about, but
it's quite a low range drum and bass rumble with fuzz and distortion pedals
on, recorded by the side with a stereo microphone. Oh, it's 'DOOM'. Why
didn't you say, so I could feel depressed. Its a ramble on instruments, some
radio/TV spoken word comes on, and that's it.
But not that things are all that unVital. Shift is... well, is... who?
Dunno. Its their second album and this is music that certainly fits these
pages quite well. A dark rumble, like various guitars on fire, stuck on
endless repeat and those who celebrate the burning are heard singing (?)
every now and then. Heavy stuff, what, superheavy load. If I tell you that
Lee Stokoe from Skullflower is part of the festivities, than you know what's
going on here. These boys (hey, girls perhaps), know how to put on a heavy
block of sound that is both drone as well as noise based, and then take
things down into a lull in 'Space', which just is crackle with small drone
underneath. 'Arrive' has chords to it, and seems to be played on an organ
with more 'voices' mumbling on the bottom of the ocean. Certainly one of the
stranger things I heard in quite some time and some captivating stuff. I may
not care for heavy metal or doom, but if the metal is as heavy as a rock as
it is here, then gimme more.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.atwarwithfalsenoise.com
STEVE RODEN - A SLOW MOVING BOAT (3"CD by In Between Noise)
It must have been an odd sight, in April 2007. Steve Roden fits on a ferry
in Norway and he is singing and humming along with the engine of the ferry.
Later on he replaces the engine sounds with that of a bowed banjo, and no
doubt layers his own voice in various harmonic constellations. Steve Roden
has a relatively simple tool at hand - just a few sounds, but as before he
very cleverly knows how to create a great piece of music with it. Minimal,
refined, delicate. His humming in various shades and shapes, with the bowing
of the banjo in the background, makes a nice piece of music that at fifteen
minutes has captured the right length. What else can there be said? A mantra
like piece. Elegant music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.inbetweennoise.com
NOSZTALGIA DIREKTIVA (7" by Enfant Terrible)
ADOLF FILTER - THE OTHER HAND ON THE KNOB (7" by Enfant Terrible)
Someone asked me not to mention anymore 'I am old, I did this or that, when
you still crawled the floor', so I must think of something else then, which
in the case of these two 7" singles is a bit difficult. Both Adolf Filter
(from Sweden) and Nosztalgia Direktiva (from Hungary) play music that is
mainly 'old'. Both use a steady rhythm machine, an analogue synth of two to
play melodies and there is a singer who sings with a dark, sombre voice. The
press text marks the finer differences between the two 'reminiscent of old
industrial music [...] to the elektro side of things' (Nosztalgia Direktiva)
versus 'synth pop influenced by cold wave sounds from the early 80s and old
style EBM rhythms' (Adolf Filter) - this as to show what I said many times
before. In certain, if not all, musical 'styles' the differences are small,
but once you are into it, you know the cold wave from the elektro. Not me,
actually. If I would go to a party where they would spin music like this
(which curious
enough is for people that are dressed in black), I wouldn't be able to tell
the differences, but all I would think is 'oh, that's nice, a bit like Ende
Shneafliet' or 'hey, when I get back home I should A Blaze Colour' again, or
to make things a bit more contemporary (I am not that old) the entire
Suction label catalogue. Of the two I liked Adolf Filter best. A bit more
pop music based, a bit less darker vocals than their Hungarian counterparts,
who weren't' bad either. And what I perhaps liked best: both 7"s had, in
good punk spirit, four tracks - now that is both retro and value for money.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.enfant-terrible.nl
Z'EV & BRYAN LEWIS SAUNDERS - DAKU (CDR by Stand-Up Tragedy Records)
Certainly one of the stranger releases I recently reviewed was Bryan Lewis
Saunders' 'N1-N4 Variations', of him talking in his sleep. Here he has
another set of spoken word - four stories and an introduction of the word
'Daku'. It can be love, time, god or anything. Its meaning is its use,
Saunders says. Saunders recites his texts, or rather tells his stories and
Z'EV uses his voice to create the music. Z'EV's recent outings in electronic
music, say 'Forwaard' and 'Outwaard', where he processes environmental
sounds and which are far away from his usual percussion based work (although
nothing new for him, as Z'EV also created text sound pieces in the earlier
days of his career). Even when following the text is something that I don't
always do, concentrating more on the texture of the voice in combination
with the music, this is a great story telling release. Saunders has a great
voice, telling stories about being sick and pain that grabs the listener,
while Z'EV provides a fine
soundtrack to it. The voices are transformed into animalistic cries and
whispers, adding scary elements to the music. I'm not entirely sure if it is
meant as such but there is an uneasy, horror like element that is part of
this music. Excellent radioplay stuff. (FdW)
Address: http://www.bryanlewissaunders.org
JEREMY BIBLE & JASON HENRY - MARKER (CDR by Gruenrekorder)
Following releases on their own Experimedia label, its now time to expand
the horizon. Music by Jeremy Bible and Jason Henry was already reviewed
before (586 and 638), exploring further what they already started: found
sounds, electronic treatments thereof, acoustic instruments. On 'Marker'
five long tracks, which seem to me be originating in improvisation, but
which perhaps could have used a bit more editing. Once the mighty wheel of
mechanical loops is set in motion, it seems that the end is reached of a
piece, except it goes on for some more time. Throughout it seems that they
are using more rhythm (or easier: repeated chunks of music) than on the
previous releases I heard. Its not dance music in any way, but just
continuos mechanical loops with sounds added to them. Interesting to see
them make this move, but the execution of the five pieces is a bit weak.
Only 'Glacr' which sounded like the previous work worked quite well. Too
long, too many repetitions of ideas, whereas things
could have been much shorter and then it could be more interesting I think.
Brave to step away, but its not enough yet. Explore this route more I'd say.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.gruenrekorder.de
SNAPPING TURTLE - APRIL THROW (CDR by Savage Yank Records)
'This project brings the concept album to a different dimension in the space
music genre.' That's always good. Away from the epic twenty guitar and drum
pieces, Snapping Turtle brings twelve tracks in thirty seven minutes. The
snapping turtle is considered a nuisance since it consumes game fish and
ducklings, it says on the cover, but biology is a foreign language to me. I
have no idea how many people are in the band, if in fact there is a band at
all. They are from Honolulu, Hawaii. The twelve pieces dwell heavily on
drones played on organs, with taped voice material from radio or television.
Its because Snapping Turtle doesn't play space rock, just space music. That
is what we would call ambient industrial music. Music that is too soft to be
true noise, and too noisy to be real ambient. Atmospheric music with an edge
that is. The soundtrack of a horror film. Snapping Turtle, with its shorter
pieces does a nice job, but hardly a new one. Its part of a musical
tradition that has been
going since say twenty or so years.
From zoviet France and Illusion Of Safety right
onto say the entire catalogue of Drone Records. The shorter track approach
isn't new either. But it certainly adds variety to the album of Snapping
Turtle, even when some of the piece did sound a bit similar. Throughout a
nice album, not too great, not bad either. On a scale of ten, I'd rank this
with 6. (FdW)
Address: http://www.savageyankrecords.com
TEMPLE MUSIC - THE GREEN MAN PROJECT BETA - GEDNEY - ST. MARY MAGDALENE (CDR
by Shining Day)
Perhaps because this is the second of series that will eventually span seven
CDR releases, it is perhaps released as a CDR, and not like 'Volume 2' on CD
(see Vital Weekly 595). On the cover there is a large text, fine print only,
about the various locations this was recorded in, all dealing with magickal
places no doubt. The instruments used here include treated slide guitar,
various bits of percussion, bass, dulcimer, string machine, bow psaltery,
low whistle and much more. I can imagine these four guys in some cold cave
with their instruments, performing this ritualistik piece of music (see, I
use all the right 'c' and 'k' lingo), strumming their guitars, the bells and
the flutes. Like with their previous release their music is way too
experimental, I guess, to attract the gothic crowd to it, but I'm sure there
is a niche for them in that scene. And that scene is, unfortunately for them
I must say, not my scene. I surely liked what I hear, but churches and
temples are not my thing
but from a musical point of view, quite alright indeed. (FdW)
Address: http://www.shiningday.pl
THROUROOF - WHALE BONES (CDR by Sentient Recognition Archive)
FABIO ORSI - THE WILD LIGHT OF THE MOON (CDR by Sentient Recognition
Archive)
Recently we got various releases by Sentient Recognition Archive, which all
look cool - almost like a real CD. Musicwise they are in the corner of what
one could loosely call 'dark ambient drones', and these two new releases are
no stranger in this land. First we have throuRoof, as they prefer to spell
their name. I have no idea who they are but their release is an 'impro
recorded in Blissland - May 2008', and is divided in two parts, each around
sixteen minutes. Its not easy to tell what they do, but it seems to me a
blend of electronics, effects and guitars, and perhaps a reader's digest
recording of whales - they sound clear at the end of this impro. Things
bounce like the waves - bounce as when a whale is in the waves - mighty up
and down the waves, especially in the first piece 'Humpback Cemetery Blues'.
Maybe its just whale sounds anyway. I don't know. But the drones are high
and mighty, but not restricted to that. There is more happening around this
place, just as percussion
sounds - ok so no 'just' whale sounds then. Animalistic in approach this
music. Quite nice.
Fabio Orsi is more well known, although I only recall his releases on Small
Voices, who presents here one piece of thirty-five minutes. Again we are
left in the dark what he does or uses, sound wise, but it may seem to me as
a bunch of software plug ins to create a delicate piece of drone music. Much
more refined as throuRoof, he comes deceivingly close to the world of real
ambient music, certainly in the second part of his piece with its waving and
meandering synthesizer clusters. Here things too develop in a slow way,
which gives the piece quite a tranquility. I thought it was coming close to
the edge of being new age, but the darker undercurrent that remained present
throughout this piece make the die hard waterfall music lovers probably stay
far away - and that is a good thing. Majestically slow music that could have
lasted a bit longer. Perfect nightfall music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/sentientrecognitionarchive
RP COLLIER - LAMELLAPHONE (CDR, self-released)
The gap between his second release 'Deconstruction Of Twilight' and this,
his third release, is quite small, only a mere twenty weeks, which is
considerable smaller than with his first release, which was reviewed in
Vital Weekly 495. Maybe RP Collier gets more productive? Per album he seeks
one instrument to explore. Before it was thumb piano's and toy synthesizers,
then guitars, now with 'Lamellaphone' he is back at the thumb piano.
'Improvisations with electronic effects'. They surely look amazing (watch
them here: http://www.tinyurl.com/yt8f8j), but musicwise I was less happy.
It seemed more improvised than his previous releases, but Collier didn't get
the same amount of tension across as before, nor did it do much in terms of
ambient music, like with the previous release. The plink and plonk of thumb
piano, meeting up with various sound effects, bumping around a bit (the
effects hardly take over control, which is a nice thing) makes this for me
only remotely interesting. Nice
sounds as such, now we need a nice composition with them. (FdW)
Address: http://www.cdbaby.com/rpcollier2
D.D. NEWMOLE - THE EARTH TREMBLED (CDR by I, Absentee)
ALPHA AESAR (CDR by I, Absentee)
These two new releases on I, Absentee look nice, professional and they
continue the course set out by the label. D.D. Newmole we heard before on a
compilation on this label, and its the name chosen by Dan Petrarca from
Akron, Ohio. His music is inspired by drum & bass, one of the few musical
genres I could never ever get into. I think I called it digital jazz rock at
some point. However what Dan does with it, is not bad at all. Dan uses his
lessons in circuit bending and computer knowledge, along with broken beats,
and drum and bass influences to create music that I may still not like very
much, but at least it sounds 'different' to these ears. It side steps the
regular, dance floor oriented and adds sounds to the genre which I think are
pretty extraordinary. However, I must admit, I might be totally wrong: as
said, drum & bass is not my thing. So, let's say I can see why this is good,
without wining me over.
Warren Kroll and Carl States are behind Alpha Aesar, also from Ohio, Canton
this time. They were inspired by Suction Records, who were interested in
releasing some of the early stuff, but it never happened. They split up in
2002, but their name is still alive and now I, Absentee releases this
self-titled album, which has all fourteen tracks this duo ever recorded,
plus six remixes, including one by Lowfish, the Suction Records act, to make
the full circle. Apparently all tracks were recorded to cassettes, but it
still sounds fine to me. Now this is the kind of electronic dance inspired I
like. It brings back time. The early days when I played music like this on
cassettes, although never as good as its here, but also, oddly enough, the
music of Suction Records (do they still exist? [pause] Hard to tell), the
robotic rhythms, the bouncing melodies. Uplifting stuff, rather than cold
and distant. Robots with a hearth of gold. Fourteen great pieces. I must
admit that after this I didn't
necessarily need the remixes, but seeing the continuation in style, it might
almost sound like its also by Alpha Aesar (except Coppice Halifax). This
should have been a real CD and no doubt a real CD for Suction Records. The
best album I heard that they didn't release. (FdW)
Address: http://www.i-absentee.com
PLATFORM - EP 1 (CDR by Minimal Resourch Manipulation)
PLATFORM - DISTANCED (CDR by Minimal Resourch Manipulation)
From these two releases, 'Platform' is the most
recent one, 'Distanced' is from earlier this year. They are quite different.
The first one, the most recent one, sees them playing broken beat electronic
stuff. A bit of melancholy is employed here, but its kept to a minimum. The
beats in 'Dorsal' are just a bit more heavy weighted than what is usual in
this scene - think Boltfish Recordings. The closing piece 'What We Saw' is
entirely different, sampling apparently Anton Webern violin quartets with
very glitchy beats. That I thought was the best track here, sinister and
spooky.
'Distanced' on the other hand is much more abstract. Rhythms are present
here too, but not as straight forward as on 'EP1'. Here they are clutched,
clustered together, and fed through hungry plug ins. This makes much more
abstract, glitch based music that is not really ambient, but at times more
noise based. I must admit that of the two I liked this one better than
'EP1', which sounded more 'normal' to these ears. Having said that I think
that also 'Distanced' is not entirely original either, but at least its here
that all the glitch influences are bit more covered up. But both directions
certainly have potential to grow to something that can be more of his own.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.minimalsourcemanipulation.co.uk
TORTURING NURSE - 192171-200871 (CDR by Why Not Ltd)
JULIEN SKROBEK - VOLATIL (CDR by Why Not Ltd)
GOH LEE KWANG - CICADAS (CDR by Why Not Ltd)
As jamesy ignored the hun's Flugabwehrkanone he once again banked his trusty
Lanc over the enemy, though this time below him lay the cotton fields of the
deep south, he could hear the gentle strum of banjos as his bomb bay doors
opened... Three disks wrapped in colour Xerox A4 + commercially randed -
Life Tec CDRs - hopefully I haven't mislaid these as no identifying
writing - is this a phaleologocentric trope weeeeeeeeeeee! Booom! Or an
attempt to place oneself before the event, writing, encasing, screening, the
time before the first.weeeeee. boom! Broken bits of banjo and burning Jack
Daniels fills the air.. Volatil uses a picture of a bird -" it's kind of a
pun between "volatilisation" (like the sounds) and the bird, because the
lyrics in Vietnamese mean "I want to be a bird..." eh-hem! Nod nod say no
more- a strange concoction- mix of sounds - found maybe - and dialogue-
effects minimally strung out- like a charm bracelet of 60s avant garde?
Ethnic drums &tc- though once exotic
are now in shops everywhere selling pan-pipes and didgeridoos. so it's a bit
like being in one of those shops. with the kids playing about- only much
more silence on the disk - Goh Lee is echoey industrial, gongy droney single
track which ends in a high pitched thing?... moving on and T.N. - buy this!
It starts as a fairly laid back racket of feedback and clanging - live I
suspect - the guitar needs tuning and there is a serious mains loop hum
(joke) by track 3 they are beginning to wind themselves up - hell they have
what I think is called a groove going- its splendid stuff- the kind of noise
that brings a smile - you just know they are touching 80mph and there is
more power left - this is a fucking Harley Davidson of a disk- they ease the
throttle on 4 only to open it back up into more feedback (excellent) on 5,
6 eases out into a field recording??? Brilliant - see for yourself - and
weep. Chinas rising! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HT7WgvzfojQ (jliat)
(clear enough?)
Address http://www.geocities.com/whynotltd/
DANNY KREUTZFELDT - ERUPTION (3"CDR by Tib Prod)
TERJE PAULSEN - NOVEMBER X (3"CDR by Tib Prod)
'Eruption' is the fourth and final in Danny Kreutzfeldts 'Ruptures' series,
following 'Disruption', 'Corruption' and 'Abruption'. Kreutzfeldt plays
various kinds of electronic music, from deep ambient to noise and sometimes
even rhythmic stuff. Here it's noise. An eruption of noise, like the hot
lava bursting out of the core of the earth, coming towards us in various
waves. Things melt under this hot mass, but, going back to the music, is
great? This cascading, giant mass of sound? I must say I thought it was so
so, not really bad, but certainly not good either. One of those things that
could leave you quite neutral. Its there, its ok, and if it wasn't there,
then it would have been ok also.
In that respect the release by Terje Paulsen, the upcoming man from
Nor-noise land is more interesting. He plays guitar I think and manipulates
it through effects and adds some other sounds (flutes?). In 'November X' the
guitar pops up somewhere half way through the piece, when we heard highly
obscured sound sources rumbling about. Despite the fact that we have no clue
what is going on here, it sounds in all its obscurity and lo-finess quite
nice. A fascinating trip through rumble and debris. It turns out to be this
is lasts for the whole piece, including some of those guitar sounds. A small
captivating journey through the dust bin. (FdW)
Address: http://www.tibprod.com
PUIN + HOOP - WAARSCHOONLIJK (CDR by TBFKAGNK Records)
The third release by this Dutch trio this year. 'Headphone Sessions' was a
great start, but 'Tirtekl' didn't do much for me. Perhaps inspired by
Machinefabriek's way of giving song titles, they now have a twenty-four
minute track, which sees them on the way back. Starting out with some vague
loops and TV talk, guitars slowly come in and start strumming. Then slowly
the guitars takes over and Puin + Hoop find their roots in post rock
strumming. There might be something that we could 'drums', but it might also
be vague rumble on a table. Longer sustaining sounds come in, forming drone
like material, and making this into a very nice track which comes to
grinding collapse at the very end. Much better than the previous release,
less in a free spirit and surely a way to go. (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/puingeefthoop
KATCHMARE & ANTLER PISS - AUTOMATIC WEDDING (Cassette by Scissor Death)
Not much info on this release, but apparently its a collaboration between
Katchmare and Antler Piss, two bands I never of. They collaborated by
exchanging files through e-mail and the two pieces on this twenty minute
tape is the result. Two quite different results actually - I could easily
believe that each participant did his own version, but we don't know who did
what here. 'Kettles Of Horn' on the a-side is a distorted piece of drone
music. Not really over the top noise, but certainly quite a heavy beast and
not relaxing in terms of drones. 'Ancestor' on the other side has that
quality - it's drone based and ambient, and works much better. Its much
softer also with carefully processed sounds. Not that we know what it is
that they do, or what kind of instruments they are using, but certainly the
b-side is quite beautiful. (FdW)
Address: http://www.scissordeath.com
SOUND CANVAS VOLUME 1 (MP3 by Mikroton Digital)
KENNETH KIRSCHNER - MARCH 20, 2007 ET AL (MP3 by Mikroton Digital)
PHIL RAYMOND - ABSENCE (MP3 by Mikroton Digital)
These are the first three releases on the new Mikroton label from Moscow,
all three in the digital domain, although physical releases will follow
later on. They open up with a compilation, perhaps the programm of things to
come. Its a meeting of some well-known people in the field with some
introductions. I have no idea how he did it, but he managed to get new (?)
pieces by Alva Noto and Frank Bretschneider, and some more usual suspects as
Lawrence English, Heribert Friedl and Sascha Neudeck, Lawrence English,
Freiband, Sawako, Alexei Borisov and Anton Nikkilä, Kenneth Kirschner and
introduces Wouter van Veldhoven, Zenial, Knuf Aufermann, Sawako and Kurt
Liedwart (the man behind the label). As one can imagine, lots of digital
manipulations around here. Some without too many surprises, like Alva Noto
or Bretschneider, but its the variety of approaches that makes this into
quite a nice dish. Ranging from the noise of Borisov & Nikila and Auferman,
to the crystal clear beats of Alva
Noto, Bretschneider towards the more ambient approaches of English,
Liedwart, Friedl & Neudeck, Sawako, Van Veldhoven and the odd acoustic
guitars of Freiband. Kirschner is also ambient, and his twenty-six minute
piece is great and he steals the show by his sheer length.
He also delivers four long pieces on the second release by Mikroton Digital.
In the pieces 'March 20, 2007' and 'December 18, 2004, he uses his trademark
piano sounds with lots of hiss, which is nice but also common ground for
him. The other two pieces (all between thirteen and twenty-three minutes)
are more interesting, since they sound like something which I haven't heard
from him. 'January 13, 2007' is a rhythmic piece, full of sampled sounds,
forming a heavy (for Kirschner at least) piece of phase shifting sounds.
Maybe a bit too much in the field of computer work here. 'September 10 2006'
is a very soft, ambient piece built around sine waves from all over the
frequency range. Great stuff, fine release.
For me Phil Raymond is a new name, and he presents two pieces of a total
length of seventeen minutes. He too works with sine waves and crackles in a
more ambient direction. Not too outspoken music here, not bad to hear but
also something that is a bit too much in the middle. Certainly someone to
keep an ear open for. (FdW)
Address: http://www.mikroton.net
1. From: Eric Mattson <oral@videotron.ca>
OCTOBER 28 & 29 /
Montréal, Québec
Please Welcome
Oren Ambarchi
(Australia)
ANGEL
(Dirk Dresselhaus (Schneider TM) + Ilpo Vaisanen (Pan Sonic)
Germany/Finland
+ Guests :
Aun, Edgar Olivier charles (Pas Chic Chic), Érick Dorion, Michel Langevin
(Voivod), Alexandre St-Onge,
+ en première MONDIALE : Martin Tétreault, le Quatuor de tables tournantes
et Michel Langevin (une ouvre commandée à Martin Tétreault par Eric Mattson,
avec l'aide du Conseil des arts du Canada)
2 days of concerts, SOLOS by each artists + stunning collaborations
TICKETS pre-sale : 12 $ (1 show, 1 night), 20 $ ( 2 shows, 2 nights)
At the door : 15 $
at Atom Heart, Cheap Thrills , Casa del Popolo
Presented by Minute in collaboration with the Canada Council for the Arts,
Sala Rossa, Send+Receive festival (Winnipeg)
2. From: Sindre Bjerga <sindrebjerga@hotmail.com>
SINDRE BJERGA & HOH (individual sets)
"STRANGE COMBINATION" - UK TOUR OCTOBER 2008
OCT 4TH - Ashley Road Methodist Church, POOLE (7PM, FREE ENTRY)
SINDRE BJERGA
HOH
NO CONTEXT
OCT 6TH - Red House, SHEFFIELD (8PM, £4)
SINDRE BJERGA
HOH
CAM DEAS
FOREST CREATURE
OCT 7TH - Bar Santiago, LEEDS (7:30PM, £4/5)
SINDRE BJERGA
HOH
LANTERNS VS SPOILS & RELICS
JOHNNY SCARR
OCT 8TH - Boathouse, HULL (8PM, DONATION)
SINDRE BJERGA
HOH
ELEKTRODIESEL
OCT 9TH - Telegraph, NEWCASTLE (8PM, £4)
SINDRE BJERGA
HOH
FORDELL RESEARCH UNIT
WAZ HOOLA
OCT 10TH - At War HQ, GLASGOW (8PM, FREE ENTRY)
SINDRE BJERGA
HOH
REJECTAMENTA
CHEER
(email bringmecoffeeortea@hotmail.co.uk for details)
OCT 11TH - 13th Note, GLASGOW (8:30PM, £4)
SINDRE BJERGA
HOH
LANTERNS
NOMA
OCT 12TH - Canon's Gait, EDINBURGH (7PM, £4)
SINDRE BJERGA
HOH
JACK WEIR
PLAYGROUND MELTDOWN
3. From: Yiorgis Sakellariou <yiorgisakellariou@yahoo.gr>
MECHA/ORGA
Concerts is Russia
@ Long Arms festival
Moscow (2/10)
Alexandrov (6/10)
Nijni Novgorod (8/10)
Yaroslavl (10/10)
@ Aposotion festival
St.Petersburg(4/10)
http://www.longarms.net
http://www.aposition.org
http://www.mecha-orga.com
4. From: o*tannenbaum <herrkock@gmail.com>
Tuesday 30. September (Concert: psych. experimental blues)
Ignatz + LSD March
+ DJ Insultor
open 20.00h starts at 21.00h
http://www.myspace.com/ignazt
http://www.myspace.com/lsdmarch
Thursday 2. Oktober (film + dj)
open 20.00h starts at 21.00
Friday 3. Oktober (elektronic music and Accordion)
Erich elektrifiziert
+ Cirkus Apraxie
http://www.myspace.com/cirkusapraxie
Alle reden über Energie und Erich ist wieder unter Strom.
Sein neues Programm ,elektrifiziert' setzt sich mit alltäglichem (Barfuss
durch die Hölle), politischem (Mir doch egal wenn der Wald verreckt), sowie
urbanem (Endstation Krefeld) auseinander. Mittels Akkordeon, Synthesizer,
sowie einer ganzen Batterie von Effektgeräten werden die Themen musikalisch
verarbeitet, und für den musiktheoretischen Laien mittels einprägsamer
Geschichten vorab kurz erläutert.
open 20.00h starts at 21.00h
O Tannenbaum, Pflügerstrasse 79a, Neu Kölln Berlin, U8 Schönleinstrasse.
http://www.o-tannenbaum-berlin.de
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