Music by Monos, Marc Behrens, Colin Potter & Paul Bradley,
Lars-Gunnar Bodin, Robin Hayward, Maurizio Bianchi, Chemins, Evan
Dorrian, Stian Skagen, Crepuscular, Mister Vapor, Bring Me The Head Of
Orion, KK Null & Deison
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.
MONOS - ABOVE THE SKY (CD by ICR Distribution) *
PAUL BRADLEY & COLIN POTTER - THE SIMPLE PLAN (CD by ICR Distribution) *
DEISON & KK NULL - INTO (CD by Silentes) *
ANKITONER METAMARS - WHO CARES? (CD by Autoreverse)
MARC BEHRENS - SLEPPET (CD by Cronica Electronica) *
JONATHAN BADGER - UNSUNG STORIES FROM LILLY'S DAYS AS A SOLAR ASTRONAUT (CD by MT6 Records)
ROBIN HAYWARD - STATES OF RUSHING (CD by Choose Records) *
MAURIZIO BIANCHI - YNOHPMYS (CD by Tourette Records) *
ARECIBO - TRANS PLUTONIAN TRANSMISSIONS (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
ISOLRUBIN BK - CRASH INJURY TRAUMA (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
AMY X NEUBURG & THE CELLO CHIXTET - THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF SUBWAYS (CD by Minmaxmusic)
MATT WESTON - SEASICK BLACKOUT (CD by 7272Music)
STIAN SKAGEN - THE INWARD RISING (CD by Prisma Records)
SEND + RECEIVE (double DVD by Send + Receive)
LARS-GUNNAR BODIN - JENSEITS-BEYOND (CD by Firework Edition) *
JEAN-PHILIPPE ANTOINE/MARCEL BROODTHAERS/LEIF ELGGREN - OBJET METAL ESPRIT (7" by Firework Edition)
AUN - UTICA (7" by Drone Records)
CTPEHIN - DUAD (7" by Drone Records)
MELANCHOLOLICS - MASKING MY MONKEYS (7" by Drone Records)
GERECHTIGSKEITS LIGA/GEHIRN.IMPLOSION CENTAURA CYANUS (7" by Versand Records)
ANIMAL MACHINE / C-UTTER KALIYUGA (CDR by R.O.N.F. Records)
TORTURING NURSE/ANIMAL MACHINE - STRESS OF HAVING NOTHING TO DO /
CYCLES OF CREATION, DESTRUCTION AND REBIRTH (CDR by Keep it Frozen)
CHEMINS - CDR #2 (CDR, private) *
FEDRICO BARABINO/KAZUYA ISHIGAMI (CDR by Neus 318)
CREPUSCULAR - DEEP SLOW MAJESTY (CDR by Black Drone) *
LIGHT & VAPOR - MISTER VAPOR (CDR by Black Drone) *
BRING ME THE HEAD OF ORION - COURTING LEVIATHAN (CDR by Black Drone) *
EVAN DORRIAN (CDR by Hellosquare Recordings) *
BRUNO MOREIGNE - ANEMOS VOL. 2 (3"CDR by Kaon)
M. OSTERMEIER - PERCOLATE (3"CDR by [parvoart])
ADVENT (Compilation 3"CDR by [parvoart])
DRIPHOUSE - ROMATI & GAINS (cassette by Baked Tapes)
WASTELAND JAZZ UNTI/(D)(B)(H) (cassette by Baked Tapes)
SLASHER RISK - CHILLERS (cassette by Baked Tapes)
STEPHAN MATHIEU - 10 MINUTES (download from Ash International)
New MP3 releases
Announcements
MONOS - ABOVE THE SKY (CD by ICR Distribution)
PAUL BRADLEY & COLIN POTTER - THE SIMPLE PLAN (CD by ICR Distribution)
As a point of reference its not uncommon for a reviewer to say
something like 'sounds like (insert another band name)'. For a lot of
drone like music I like to use 'sounds like Ora, Mirror or Monos', but
when I received the latest disc by Monos I realized its been a while
since I last hear from Monos (come to think of: Mirror no longer exists
and Ora is also quiet for some time). But here it is: after a four year
hiatus, Monos returns. The line up now is Darren Tate, Colin Potter and
Paul Bradley. In March 2006 they played an one-off concert together,
which was recorded, but not in a great shape. Various attempts were
made to re-create them, and then, a year later, it was decided to add
extra layers of sound and an additional piece was recorded. The new
piece being more sparse than the first (semi-) live one. Then a third
piece is unearthed and a fourth one recorded: these are on the limited
bonus disc. It might be no surprise, I guess, when I state I really
like this. I am a big
lover of drone music, and when in such capable hands as with these
boys, then nothing can go wrong. There are field recordings, shimmering
electronics and played acoustic (metal sheet? cymbals?), all quietly
sustaining in weightless space. Especially 'Cloudless Day' is a fine
one, since it all sounds a bit less refined than is usual with this
kind of music and has a nice, somewhat rough edge to it. The bonus
material seems to be a bit more focussing on the electronic side of
things, especially 'Perhaps'. This is all text book drone music: four
excellent lengthy pieces mixing field recordings, drones, electronics
and acoustics. Monos compares to nothing but Monos.
More music by Bradley and Potter is to be found on 'The Simple Plan'. A
full length CD and for those who can't get enough, another limited
edition bonus CDR with more material. For this new release they wanted
to create something simpler. Play almost live and then with some mixing
create a piece of music. Potter and Bradley both play guitar and
synthesizers here, Bradley for the first time on a keyboard. I like
simple plans. Especially when they are in the hands of musicians who
know how to shape a simple plan. Its hard to avoid when you release two
such things at the same time, but throughout I think Monos is the
better release. The ambient music of the Bradley/Potter duo is very
nice, but also a bit standard, perhaps. Good, sturdy music, played with
great care, beautiful and all that, but also nothing very new under the
sun. Maybe, and perhaps oddly, the interesting bits are to be found on
the bonus, which are reworkings of the original recordings, two by
Potter and one by Bradley.
Here too perhaps not that much 'newness' around, but the darkness of
the drones combined with a bit more abstract nature of the material,
make this a great bonus. I am not saying that this is a lesser release
than the Monos one, but when comparing the two, the Monos is better. I
know lots of people who sign for the quality of Potter and Bradley! Two
fine releases - well, four actually! (FdW)
Address: http://www.icrdistribution.com
DEISON & KK NULL - INTO (CD by Silentes)
Quite an extended part of the work of KK Null deals with
collaborations, such as with Z'EV, Alexei Borisov, Zbigniew Karkowski,
Jim O'Rourke and loads more. His primary instrument was once the drums
(as with his bands Zeni Geva and Absolute Null Punkt), but in these
collaborations Null deals with electronics. Here he teams with a man
who met him fifteen years ago, when he was setting up concerts for Zeni
Geva in Italy: Deison. He has worked with Lasse Marhaug and Sshe Retina
Stimulans and ran the Loud! label. They collaborated, I guess, through
mail, sending back and forth sound material. If you'd expect some heavy
noise based stuff, then you are mistaken about the work of Null (and
perhaps of Deison too, but I must admit I don't know his work that
well). It moves these days from brutal noise attacks to very clean,
mild, almost ambient like works and this work is a fine example of
that. The closing piece is 'To' and quite brutal, feedback like. In the
nine pieces before this we have
been on a great journey of electronic music. Always abstract, always
electronic, but almost never the same thing twice. From soft passages
to loud ones, from clicking, rhythmic sounds to dense fields of waving
electronics. Its all there. A great variety is presented here, which
for once doesn't stand in the way: this remains a very coherent
release. It may not appeal to the pure noise heads, but it should
broaden their mind a little bit, I guess. Great one. (FdW)
Address: http://www.silentes.net
ANKITONER METAMARS - WHO CARES? (CD by Autoreverse)
Ankitoner Metamars is a project taking its starting point around the
Barcelona-based musician Anki Toner and compatriot composer Javier
Piñango. The album-title "Who cares?" gives associations towards punk
attitude, and this is not too far away from the fact: The album
composed back in 2006 first of all has its basis in electronic
soundspheres circulating around the experimental expressions of
industrial music and cut-up electronics. But strong elements of
avantgarde rock and punk music saturates the album that also has a
strong focus on the raw vocals of Anki Toner himself. The duo
themselves term the music as crooner electronics - not far away from
reality. Interesting album lying somewhere between retrospective
experimentalism and contemporary electronics. (NM)
Address: <http://www.myspace.com/autoreverse>www.myspace.com/autoreverse
MARC BEHRENS - SLEPPET (CD by Cronica Electronica)
Its been a while, I think, since I last heard music by Marc Behrens.
Perhaps he is not as active anymore when it comes to releasing records?
And perhaps more doing commissioned works by, say, German radio? Like
this one, which was made for Deutschlandradio Kultur. Unless I am
mistaken, I think I heard him play this material in a concert somewhere
in 2007, and with his witty introduction by him about he just could
escape some heavy block of snow falling. This work was recorded in
Norway, in early spring time, when snow disappears and birds return.
Both are heavily present in this piece. Seeing this coming in what
seems to be the harshest winter in The Netherlands in several years,
the sound of snow is now a familiar one. Just today I also noticed
birds are still present here and not all escape to warmer parts of the
world (maybe that's a climate change thing I guess). This is a pretty
strong piece. Water drops, birds, snow sounds but also motorized sounds
of a powerplant and a ferry,
along rumble of a kind I don't recognize. Things move from quite soft
to pretty loud, all in a great balance. An electro-acoustic work in
great form. Untreated sounds along with short looped bits and
computerized processing of the original sounds. A fascinating journey
throughout: warm music as it happens for cold days. (FdW)
Address: http://www.cronicaelectronica.org
JONATHAN BADGER - UNSUNG STORIES FROM LILLY'S DAYS AS A SOLAR ASTRONAUT (CD by MT6 Records)
Reviewing music can be an easy job. But sometimes its not. Not at all.
That's something I was thinking when listening to the CD by Jonathan
Badger. First let me say that I think this shouldn't be reviewed in
Vital Weekly: it has very little to do with experimental music - even
when its 'for the fans of Robert Fripp, Fennesz, Max Richter and
Remora' as stated on the press release. Jonathan Badger studied
composition at Duke University, worked with dancers and made his debut
CD 'Metasonic' in 2006. He mainly plays guitar along with custom made
soft- and hardware. For his second CD, short 'Lilly's Days', he brought
in violinists, cellists, pianists and singers to 'record every note on
their instrument, inviting them to play each note in multiple ways'.
From these samples he created this. Somewhere, sometimes I can see the
Fennesz influence, but throughout its more Robert Fripp's guitar
playing that I hear. Lengthy sustained notes, bowed, played with great
care no doubt, but somehow
forming an uneasy marriage with the samples. I found it very hard to
find a track here which I really liked. It all sounded a bit prog-rock
like, especially the sound of the guitar sounded very dated. Its not
really experimental, but then not really pop music either (or classical
for that matter). What can I say? Its not my cup of tea. (FdW)
Address: http://www.mt6records.com
ROBIN HAYWARD - STATES OF RUSHING (CD by Choose Records)
Elsewhere I write solo improvisers and that perhaps its not the best
idea in the world to have them solo on a release. Maybe that is not
entirely true, as proven here by tuba player Robin Hayward. Born in
Brighton but since 1998 in Berlin where he plays works by the likes of
Alvin Lucier and Christian Wolff as well as his own. Ok, so the word
'improvisation' isn't mentioned here, but it may sound like it is the
work of some improvisation? What doesn't work that with Evan Dorrian
(see elsewhere) works wonderfully well with this release. Hayward
manages to make the tuba sound like anything but a brass instrument -
well, in fact anything but a real instrument. It starts out with the
very soft 'Trailer', in which one needs to crank up the volume quite a
bit. You may think 'ah one of those soft improvisation releases', which
is perhaps true, until, after three more relatively quiet tracks
'Treader' kicks in - loud and clear. Its almost like a techno bass
rhythm being played here, but then
just as a bass thing. Like an acoustic Pan Sonic, but then much longer
and highly minimal. No electronic processing was used here. The next
piece is again also louder, following by the very soft 'Harc' piece.
Hayward makes his instrument grunt, rumble, crackle. An
electro-acoustic investigation of one instrument, stretching the
boundaries of his instrument beyond the ordinary - taking it into a
wholly new place. An excellent release. (FdW)
Address: http://www.choose-records.de
MAURIZIO BIANCHI - YNOHPMYS (CD by Tourette Records)
Recently someone mailed me that Maurizio Bianchi stopped doing music -
again. I am no journalist so I am not sure if its true (and perhaps too
lazy to find out), but no doubt the flow of releases hasn't dried out
yet. Again Sigmar Fricke is thanked for his 're-treatments', although
it remains a mystery what exactly his involvement is with all of these
recent Maurizio Bianchi releases. Bianchi does here what he does best,
well, that is in his second career, following the industrial music of
his first career (1980 era). He plays electronic music, but his
equipment is more refined now and thus his music is more complex than
before. Its not easy to classify this as industrial music anymore. 'The
Plain Elanif' for instance is more ambient than before, although not as
new age as his early come back albums. There is some harsher stuff on
this album, full of sound effects swirling about, vaguely rhythmic in
'Ortni' or sustaining industrially in 'The Inflammatory Sesor'. Its
quite an alright
CD, nothing spectacular new for Bianchi - although by now he deserves a
book about his work - but a good, sturdy new release. (FdW)
Address: http://www.touretterecords.com
ARECIBO - TRANS PLUTONIAN TRANSMISSIONS (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
ISOLRUBIN BK - CRASH INJURY TRAUMA (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
In the early 90s ambient music returned and this time as part of the
dance music scene. After a night of dancing you needed to relax in the
chill out room and preferable with your feet tapping to a slow rhythm.
The Orb were the masters of the new ambient house genre, with records
that combined all of that (rhythms, chill out, dub) together, often
with crazy samples. Space is the place, so a lot of voices dealing with
Nasa flight control were used (or 'Flash Gordon' of course). In that
slipstream lots of artists emerged playing similar music. It made
Silent Records big and Dark Vinyl from Germany, traditionally a house
of noise music, started a label called Atmosphere to release similar
ambient music. In varying degrees these records had rhythm (through
rhythm machines, loops or arrpeggios). Brian Lustmord, best known from
his project Lustmord (duh), recorded as Arecibo - an one-off occasion I
believe - this album for Atmosphere. Its a soundtrack about the
infinity of the universe, as
well as the fact that it uses sounds from space, such as quasars,
pulsars and such like. It might be synthesizers as well, for all I
know. I hadn't played this album in a long time, perhaps not even in
ten years, but once I heard it again, I was surprised how much I
remembered of it. The slow arpeggio's, the space voices sometimes
buried deep, the infinity reverb/delay to suggest more space. I am not
sure if its the genre defying album of that particular musical scene,
but I agree: its a nice one, that deserved a re-release. Had it been
also re-issued if this was from mister Nobody and not from B. Lustmord?
I am not too sure there.
And to remain on the issue of re-issues, from around the same time
frame as Arecibo is is the album by Isolrubin BK, another pseudonym
from B. Lustmord. Each music his own name. This album deals with
violent car accidents. Here I remembered mostly the strong opening
piece, with its pulsating heartbeat rhythm, deep synth and crashing
cars (plus lots of echo, I now note), but somewhere halfway this piece
the thing gets more and more industrial music like. It sounds almost
like two pieces stuck together. The rest of the CD I didn't seem to
remember, and it might be even longer when I last heard this. But now I
hear it, I think I remember why: apart from all the voice samples on
car crashes and death, the music is rather dull. Industrial noise based
in 'Cranio-facial Absorptions: Multiple Lacerations', but mainly more
rhythm based in the others. Banging, industrialized rhythms, a bit
heavy, techno based at times, but it sounds pretty dated. Maybe Arecibo
sounds dated too, come to think
of
it, but that kind of music is still being made today, and before
Arecibo also, so there isn't much new under the sun (either), but the
rhythm 'n noise of Isolrubin BK sounds very much like that early 90s
drum computers mixed with analogue synthesizers. Piercing industrial
music. And here is the same question again: Had it been also re-issued
if this was from mister Nobody and not from B. Lustmord? I am not too
sure there. (FdW)
Address: http://www.soleilmoon.com
AMY X NEUBURG & THE CELLO CHIXTET - THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF SUBWAYS (CD by Minmaxmusic)
A beauty this one. Let's say an album of "chamber pop". Dozens of
references were triggered: Fibonaccis, Kurt Weil, opera, Kate Bush,
cabaret, Laurie Anderson, Dagmar Krause, etc, etc. We have here a
collection of 13 very accessible songs, but too much avant garde and
experimental to reach a bigger audience I‚m afraid. The first time I
was impressed by the combination of voice and cello was through the
work of Arthur Russell many years ago. On this new work of Amy X
Neuburg we find the same combination. The classically trained voice of
Neuburg combined with three equally skilled cello players: Jessica
Ivry, Elaine Kreston and Elizabeth Vandervennet. Besides voice, Neuburg
also makes effective and sparse use of electronics and drums. Also she
uses the technique of multi-layering voices. It is surprising that this
music was created for a live performance, what makes this recording
even more astonishing as the role of technique is considerable. The
creator is Amy X Neuburg who wrote
all music and lyrics, except for the improvisation "Tongues" and the
closing track "Back in NY" by Genesis. After "Residue" by Amy X Neuburg
& Men, it took her about 5 years to return with a new CD, this time
as Amy X Neuburg & The Cello Chixtet. I don't know much of her
musical past. From what I understand she is best known for her live
solo performances, using MIDI drum kit, sounds and samples.
"The Secret Language of Subways" shows that Neuburg is open for many
influences, eclectic in a way, but her pronounced musical language and
vision binds everything strongly together following a convincing inner
logic. This makes it sound all very natural and undivided. Her songs
are carefully modeled and arranged. I guess it must have taken quite
some time to sculpt all this material. For sure Neuburg is a very
skilled composer, singer and performer. The narrative and dramatic
content of the texts are very precise and beautifully accentuated in
the music and its the performance. With each listening I discover new
subtleties. No doubt this will continue. (DM)
Address: http://www.minmaxmusic.com/
MATT WESTON - SEASICK BLACKOUT (CD by 7272Music)
As his new CD proves, american percussionist and composer Matt Weston
continues to built on his universe of music of gigantic proportions by
making little steps. Every now and then Weston releases a CD-single
through his label 7272Music. We have reported earlier of his releases
here as you might remember and because of this it may satisfy to
encounter him again in Vital Weekly. And yes, there is good reason to
it. Also "Seasick Blackout" is another outspoken statement by Weston.
With his newest CD-single he presents his newest compositions that take
about 5 up to 7 minutes. Three tracks only, "You're Not That's Right",
"I Just Saw Fog And Dust" and "This October, All Octobers". Everything
is composed, played, arranged, and produced by Weston himself. Although
these compositions underwent considerable manipulations, at the same
time the music has a strong live feeling, which is part of the secret.
The acoustics of his drum and percussion sound very spatial. The noise
and electronics
are of a raw quality. Experimentalists like Weston not always have the
talent to make music their music emotionally engaging and moving. In
the case of Weston it is. Another part of his secret. Like in his
earlier work Weston creates again big gestures and orchestral maneuvers
from unusual ingredients. For sure Weston opens a new dimension to
percussion-orientated music. (DM)
Address: http://www.7272music.com
STIAN SKAGEN - THE INWARD RISING (CD by Prisma Records)
'The Inward Rising' is an installation by one Stian Skagen (born in
1980), who recorded with Arabrot, Ryfylke and Nernes/Skagen. The
installation deals with an one year research 'in paint pigments
reflective and absorbing light qualities. LED lights was programmed to
change the colors reflecting from the painting. Various patterns and
color combinations build up a large painting that in constant change as
the lights are changing'. On youtube there is a video of this. The
music doesn't make this clear I think. The almost seventeen minute
piece starts out quite nice in a micro glitch manner, but then changes
(inward?) towards a heavy blocks of noise crashing into eachother,
which is not very interesting. I must say it stands by itself as a
piece of music, which is nice enough, even when I'm not entirely
convinced about the piece itself. (FdW)
Address: http://www.prismarecords.blogspot.com
SEND + RECEIVE (double DVD by Send + Receive)
Occasionally Vital Weekly may have printed the line up of the Send
& Receive festival, held yearly in Winnipeg, Canada, but it escaped
me that they have been going on since 1998. To celebrate the first ten
years a box was released with an extensive booklet about the artists
who performing there, one DVD with music and one DVD with a
documentary. The music DVD has no visuals, just music. And what an
amount! This is not a compilation with snippets of music, this is, at
least at time complete performances. Say Jason Kahn forty minutes, Oval
twenty six, Lee Ranaldo & Dean Roberts one hour, Tim Hecker
thirty-nine, Thomas Jirku almost fifty minutes etc? Altogether its
almost eleven hours of music. Not something you would digest at once I
guess. I'd recommend with starting with the documentary on the second
disc. Here various people involved in the festival explain what the
festival is about - experimental music in the broadest sense of the
word, which is nice, but also we get fragment
glimpses of concerts. We see Oval behind his laptop and devices (last
minutes of his concerts and immediately packing up, not noting the
sheers from the audience), Cindy with a cello, installation by Carsten
Nicolai, obscure mechanisms by Micheal Dumontier or David Grubbs just
with his acoustic guitar. Not a festival for those who do just laptop
concerts, although there are who do (Tomas Jirku, Duul_drv). Also we
see some people people not on present on the other DVD like Gert-Jan
Prins, Skolz Kolgen, Otomo Yoshihide and Kaffe Matthews. Great to see,
it gives the aspiring musician lots of ideas. From the live DVD its
good to hear David Grubbs (although with four minutes the shortest
concert here), Jirku's laidback dubby techno, the grainy textures of
Tim Hecker, Kahn always fine minimalist electronics and drumming, I8U
likewise minimalism of laptop processing and Oren Ambarchi's guitar
playing erupting. And that's not even half of it. The sound quality
varies from line recording to
microphone recordings, which makes changes quite abrupt, but altogether
this is a package that keeps you busy for an entire sunday, but what
else should you do on such a day anyway? (FdW)
Address: http://www.sendandreceive.org
LARS-GUNNAR BODIN - JENSEITS-BEYOND (CD by Firework Edition)
JEAN-PHILIPPE ANTOINE/MARCEL BROODTHAERS/LEIF ELGGREN - OBJET METAL ESPRIT (7" by Firework Edition)
The career of Lars-Gunnar Bodin (1935) started already in the sixties
when he was influenced by John Cage and David Tudor. His early works
were concrete poetry and later also electr-acoustic work and electronic
work. Apparently there is also a volume one of his work, as this is
volume two, focussing on sound art from 1989 to 2004. Six pieces here
from this period, and no concrete poetry. Each of the pieces is
described in the booklet, which is makes a fine read when listening to
the music. It shows his various fascinations with sound but also other
things, such as piece dedicated to his father. With seventy-six minutes
of music this is quite a heavy work - in terms of duration. I must
admit that I first played three, then put it aside for a while, and
then returned for the next three. This is great music, but perhaps at
times also a bit dry and academic. Sounds bounce up and down in and
outside the piece - in each piece that is. Like said, this is not easy
music to take in in one go,
but throughout very nice.
The 7" deals with Marcel Broodthaers and his open letter to 'all
customers and anyone interested' in his fictional museum which he ran
from 1968 to 1972. It deals with the words 'object, metal, spirit'
written on a telephone. Jean-Philippe Antoine and Leif Elggren
interpret this, or rather keep the line open after forty years in the
five pieces on this 7". One is a sound poetry like piece for one voice,
or one with five voices and one is an organ like piece (by Elggren). A
highly conceptual little record that leaves much room to think about
rather than the pure entertainment a record would normally bring. A
different kind of entertainment, more a thought running through time.
(FdW)
Address: http://www.fireworkeditionsrecords.com
AUN - UTICA (7" by Drone Records)
CTPEHIN - DUAD (7" by Drone Records)
MELANCHOLOLICS - MASKING MY MONKEYS (7" by Drone Records)
Now that we are approaching the 100th Drone Records, the last bundle of
three arrive (DR 96, 97 and 98), and the first is by Aun from Montreal.
He has produced some CDs for Oral and this 7" is his first vinyl
release. Aun plays guitar and sound effects and his music can be soft
or loud, but always seem to operate inside the territory of drone
music. The title track is quite loud, and reminded me of Our Love Will
Destroy The World: an orgasmic explosion of drone music. 'Lelehudah' on
the other side is a more reflective piece of music. The distortion
pedal is used to a great effect: far away yearning in the background.
Two fine pieces, which made me want a bit more.
Ctpehin is a duo from Russia of SIF and Aedria Hughes, sometimes with
friends and their seven (!) children. Previously I reviewed a 3 CDR
from them. Here too the a-side is quite loud and vicious - a brain
splitting piece of drone music, but maybe a bit too heavy for me. Here
too the other side is much softer, and ultimately much nicer I think.
Some grainy, lo-fi guitar sound, field recordings of heavy rain fall
and obscured effects from the world of cassettes. An excellent piece.
I never heard of the Melanchoholics, which apparently is a trio from
Germany, who have a conventional line up of guitar, bass and electronic
sounds. They come from a background of death metal, grindcore and
industrial music - yet this isn't shown on this 7". The music is very
coherent here, with a great moody piece on the a-side, which fades out
- unfortunately as this could have lasted much longer (one of those
major disadvantages of the format). The other side has a like wise
moody tune, but here the guitar sounds out. Lots of reverb to create a
lot of melancholy. This works more as a song, rather than an outtake,
and makes a wonderful 7". Who are they I wondered? (FdW)
Address: http://www.dronerecords.de
GERECHTIGSKEITS LIGA/GEHIRN.IMPLOSION CENTAURA CYANUS (7" by Versand Records)
The name Gerechtigskeits Liga I remember from the late 80s. I did hear
them on compilation cassettes, perhaps even a piece on vinyl, but I
don't remember wether I liked them or not. Original member Till
Bruggemann teams up with one Ragnar and recorded a new piece. It seems
to me like it sounds as before. A heavy loaded synth with the darkest
of keyboards and rumbling percussive sounds. It seems like its missing
something, vocals perhaps? It comes across as the start of a new track,
but yet entirely finished. A fine trip however to yesteryear. On the
other side we have Gehirn.Implosion from Bremen, of whom I think I
never heard with quite a heavy piece of noise music. A dark rumble
brings on a storm of feedback and noise. They call it 'dark-emo-noise'
and while I may not see the emo part of it, its all dark and noise
indeed. Not entirely my cup of tea, but surely a record to use to empty
a dance floor. Limited to 199 copies. (FdW)
Address: http://www.virb.com/gehirnimplosion
ANIMAL MACHINE / C-UTTER KALIYUGA (CDR by R.O.N.F. Records)
Kali Yuga (as it should be) is a 38 minute track of harsh electronics
with (pseudo) screaming, explosive electro, oscillator and heavy drone.
The site describes as "harsh ambient".Kali - not to be confused with
'Kali-li' the Beatles spoof in "Help!" or maybe? = Wikki- " lit. "age
of (the male demon) Kali", or "age of vice") is the last of the four
stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas
described in the Indian scriptures" continues .. the age when. "Rulers
will become unreasonable. Will no longer see it as their duty to
promote spirituality, or to protect their subjects: they will become a
danger to the world. People will start migrating, seeking countries
where wheat and barley form the staple food source... Humans will
openly display animosity towards each other.. People will have thoughts
of murder for no justification and they will see nothing wrong with
that mind-set. Lust will be viewed as being socially acceptable, and
sexual intercourse will be seen
as
the central requirement of life, with the result that even 13 to
16-year old girls will get pregnant. Sin will increase exponentially,
whilst virtue will fade and cease to flourish. People will take vows
only to break them soon after. (sub-primes?) People will become
addicted to intoxicating drinks and drugs. Men will find their jobs
stressful and will go to retreats to escape their work. Gurus will no
longer be respected and their students will attempt to injure them.
Their teachings will be insulted and followers of Kama (as in Sutra)
will wrest control of the mind from all human beings." The problem here
is - to put it most blatantly - in view of the age - are they taking
the piss- 38 minutes to represent 4,000 years of decline seems odd at
the most forgiving. And if in reply the idea that subject matter is in
this case irrelevant then the whole thing becomes a double bind. The
indifference to the prophecy is supported itself by the same. The
taking on of some core Buddhist /
Hindu cosmology no more (or not) significant than the utilization of
child pornography and sexual mutilation. However to say this as nothing
to do with the music is itself contradictory- and we go on and on. So
you are either bothered by the textuality within this and all music -
or you're not reading this. (jliat)
Address: http://www.ronfrecords.com/home.php
TORTURING NURSE/ANIMAL MACHINE - STRESS OF HAVING NOTHING TO DO /
CYCLES OF CREATION, DESTRUCTION AND REBIRTH (CDR by Keep it Frozen)
T.N. is the Chinese group? Very much underrated IMO whose noise work
always sounds fresh, enthusiastic and alive, not hidden in either
abstract electronics or over-laden concepts. Here performing in such
manner a 16 minute piece, I'd recommend all of their work that I've
come across, including this, for its spontaneous élan vital. It seems
true that everything these days is made in china.. and I cant complain
about the quality. Animal Machine (from Poland) utilizes white noise
though eschews
HNW for a gradual intersecting of short staccato silences over an 8
minutes which perhaps is some kind of semitology, but doesn't seem to
relate to the titles referencing of the eternal return as the piece is
neither static (HNW) or circular (TEROTS) or completely teleologic,
its necessary to make up ones mind even if that is to realize it cant
be made up, I'm alluding to some kind of Heideggererian maneuver which
I think might make some more profound departure from even sound itself,
certainly production, in the idea of overcoming consumerism by
consumption as opposed to production - of in this case T.N.(jliat)
Address: http://welcome.to/kifrecording
CHEMINS - CDR #2 (CDR, private)
Back in Vital Weekly 707 I was pleasantly surprised by a release from
Chemins from Finland. One untitled piece of twenty minutes, and on
their second release they continue that: another untitled twenty minute
piece. Drums seem to have a more loose percussive role here, but
otherwise it continues the lines set forward as before. Improvisation
for a rock group line up playing some mood induced music, incorporating
field recordings. The piece here is in two parts (cut as one track).
The first is soft and moody, with repeating loops of sound, while the
second works its way up to some noisy climax, before dying out. A great
piece I think, and again: this should be picked up by one of the many
CDR labels, as this deserves more attention. (FdW)
Address: http://www.cheminsgroup.blogspot.com
FEDRICO BARABINO/KAZUYA ISHIGAMI (CDR by Neus 318)
The great thing about this release is the extended liner notes that
come with it. Everything you always wanted to know about Federico
Barabino and Kazuya Ishigami. The latter is the man behind the label,
and who worked with Billy?, Daruin and a whole bunch of others. These
days he is mainly into computer music. The piece he has on this release
is 'CARSAJ' (which is Jasrac in reverse, the Japanese mechanical rights
organisation). He uses as an input the sounds from a concert of last
year, which he feeds through some computer patch, depicted on the
insert. Its a nice piece of flickering sounds, microbes eating away the
notes, but also not the most original pieces in the world. Its surely
nice enough however.
Barabino's main instrument is the guitar, which studies and teaches.
His interest is in a wide musical field, but perhaps we only get to
hear his more experimental work which he releases around the world and
sometimes in collaboration with others, such Don Campau or Charles Rice
Goff III. In his piece here, called 'Solo En Vivo III', its hard to
recognize the guitar as such. The guitar (perhaps acoustic or
semi-acoustic) is used as a resonator to create a sine wave like
pattern, which penetrates straight into your brain if you play this
loud. It changes only in a minimal fashion over the course of the
twenty some minutes. Very much like a great Alvin Lucier piece. An
excellent piece. (FdW)
Address: http://www.neus318.com
CREPUSCULAR - DEEP SLOW MAJESTY (CDR by Black Drone)
LIGHT & VAPOR - MISTER VAPOR (CDR by Black Drone)
BRING ME THE HEAD OF ORION - COURTING LEVIATHAN (CDR by Black Drone)
On this for me new label we find for me also three new artists. The
first one is Crepuscular, also known as Angel JL who says on the cover:
'all droning atmospheres, sublows emanations, astronomical sonic
collapses and electric guitar sections' were recorded by his (her?).
Five tracks of great sonic depth, and there is not an untrue word in
the listing of 'instruments'. Music from outer space - not the
lightweight arpeggio's you may find on an average (semi-) new age
record, or perhaps the latest Tangerine Dream, but as the universe
itself: pitch black with not a single light coming through.
Hermetically closed, this is the darker than dark ambient music. If I
had a label called Black Drone, then I would release it too, I guess.
It weightless music that weighs a lot - if you get my space drift.
Nothing new, but it fits the black winter evening.
No information on Mister Vapor's 'Light & Vapor' release. Light is
present, at least more than on the Crepuscular release, but not a lot.
I think, based on what I hear, that at the core of the music lies
various field recordings, and many processed layers thereof. The
opening piece is very short, followed by a short piece that indicates
what it is about here, field recordings and processing. The third (of
course untitled) track seems to be recorded in a parking house with the
microphone pointing towards the streets outside. Its a bit long this
track, although the idea of using a natural resonating space is nice.
The fourth one is an attempt at producing a musical track, with a
rhythm loop of some kind or the other, set against highly reverberating
sounds. The fifth piece (which curiously starts with the same water
sounds as three of the four other tracks) seems to be repeat action of
the third, which was a pity. This one is even longer (twenty-one
minute), and perhaps a bit more on
the electronic process, but too long. A fairly unbalanced release I think, which could probably be have been a nice 3"CDR.
On the release of 'Bring Me The Head Of Orion' we find a lengthy quote
from the book of Job, which kind of eludes me. No information on the
music itself though. Of the three this is the longest release. A man,
his guitar and three distortion boxes. That's it. Its been a while
since I heard a release that I thought was so boring and lame. It drags
on and on, for fifty-four minutes and fifty-nine seconds. Endless
wailing of guitars and distortion boxes. Maybe its genius, but I am
missing the point entirely. (FdW)
Address: http://www.blackdrone.com
EVAN DORRIAN (CDR by Hellosquare Recordings)
Perhaps I already wrote this before, but slowly Hellosquare Recordings
develops into a label for all things improvised and no longer they are
concerned with all things microsound and laptop. The real instrument is
what we want here. Evan Dorrian is a percussionist whose work we
already heard with Spartak and Pollen Trio, as well as various duets
with like minded musicians from down under, such as Dave Brown,
Seaworthy, Andrew Pekler and Adrian Klumpes. On this self-titled
release he plays solo and listed are drum kit, percussion and junk.
Although I think it displays his qualities as an improviser quite well,
I must admit it wasn't entirely blown away by this release. Its a
pretty decent display of fairly traditional improvised music. The drums
sounds as drums, the percussion as percussion and the junk is alike
junk being played by a percussionist. Its good, its solid, and perhaps
not the biggest surprise. Its perhaps a very fine business card to drum
up some more collaborations.
That's where the power of such music lies: the interaction with others. (FdW)
Address: http://www.hellosquarerecordings.com
BRUNO MOREIGNE - ANEMOS VOL. 2 (3"CDR by Kaon)
Following the first volume of 'Anemos' (see Vital Weekly 706), here is
the second one. Moreigne, not known as a very active composer, again
goes out in the woods of rural France to record his sound material for
what will be a five part series. The usual elements are there, again,
like birds, water, insects rain and of course the wind. The wind is
what it also revolves (or rather evolves) about. It takes a while
before we are there, as we first hear a lot of other sounds, church
bells and such like included. It almost makes you want to a book a
holiday into that rural French areas. Although this is actually nice,
perhaps as nice as the previous, its not something we haven't heard
before. I wonder how this series will evolve. Will it be five similar
discs or will there be some sort of development towards the
compositional technique applied? This again seems a sequence of various
events, rather than a layered composition or a single event. We'll wait
and see. (FdW)
Address: http://www.kaon.org
M. OSTERMEIER - PERCOLATE (3"CDR by [parvoart])
ADVENT (Compilation 3"CDR by [parvoart])
In the days of icy temperatures and snow-white landscapes in the
Copenhagen area, the reception of two releases from microlabel
[parvoart] is like a gift from heaven. The name of the German based
label is unnecessarily to say, a dedication to Baltic contemporary
classical composer Arvo Pärt, but the term also refers to the latin
word for "Small" art. The basic part of the catalogue of the label thus
is released as a 3"-inch sized format and a limited playing time
approx. 25 minutes. This is also the case with the two latest releases
from the label. First album is a solo release of Maryland-based
composer Marc Ostermeier who has a background in the postrock-band
"Should". A fact that is easily demonstrated on this debut release on
[parvoart] with the strong emphasis on acoustic expressions of piano
and momentarily shoegazer-like guitar. The acoustic parts are combined
with electronic sound and downbeat rhythm textures always staying the
nocturnal and melancholic spheres. Truely
engaging album from M. Ostermeier who will also release another mini
album on the Hibernate label. Next album is a mini sampler of the
label. With the title "Advent", the label nails the fact that main
catalogue, counting 12 releases over two years, is soundtracks of
autumnal and wintry expressions. And the nine contributions present
album stays in the melancholic atmospheres of the dark winter period,
with the common denominator of being relatively short pieces with
average playing time of 2-3 minutes. The quality of ambience is very
high on this 25 minutes journey through the first years of [parvoart].
A main ingredient in quite a few of the contributions are acoustic
elements such as piano and guitar. So many great moments on this
compilation and not one single dull second, this is the perfect entry
for everyone to check out this amazing label. Essential ambient!
Address: <http://www.parvoart.org>http://www.parvoart.org
DRIPHOUSE - ROMATI & GAINS (cassette by Baked Tapes)
WASTELAND JAZZ UNTI/(D)(B)(H) (cassette by Baked Tapes)
SLASHER RISK - CHILLERS (cassette by Baked Tapes)
Three tapes from Baked Tapes, with a varying degree of information, but
no address on all of them for the label. Nice printed covers though. A
website is quickly found, but also doesn't tell much more about the
artists. It seems to be a mixed bag, music-wise this label. The first
one is by Driphouse, recorded straight to computer, using a Roland
Alpha Juno 1 and Electro-Harmonix Memory Man. This is exactly the kind
of stuff why I like tapes, still, after all these years. A simple
keyboard thing running around, a bit cosmic even, but also played with
a great sense of naivety. Improvisation, but not in a way that is
normally used here. This guy just fiddles about, makes mistakes, leaves
them in while the tape is still running. This could have been released
in 1985, I got it on a trade and thought it was very nice. Now its
2010, and I still am a sucker of things like this.
Something entirely different is the split by Wasteland Jazz Unit and
(D)(B)(H), which in this case stands for (D)amaged (B)achelor (H)ood.
Both have been reviewed before. The first time (in Vital Weekly 676) I
heard Wasteland Jazz Unit I thought they were the grandsons of
Borbetomagus. The line up of Jon Lorenz on saxophones and one John Rich
on clarinets hasn't changed, but the music has a bit. It starts out
with some electronic sounds panning left to right, before exploding
into noise - ah the Borbetomagus sound revived. Like noted before, this
is actually the noise I like. Lots of infuriating power of two
instruments crashing at high speed and mucho energy. On the other side
(D)amaged (B)achelor (H)ood, of whom we recently heard two CDR releases
on Friends & Relatives Records (see Vital Weekly 710). This
floating membership band deal with improvised from a noise rock end.
Drums lack here, but there are three guitars, a bass, a floor tom,
cymbal (ok, perhaps there are drums) and
someone opening and closing a door (if ever you want to be a
non-musician: there is your door to fame). They play not as noise based
as Wasteland Jazz Unit, but perhaps that has to do with the somewhat
lower recording quality? When compared to the two previous releases I
heard by them, I think this one is closest to 'A Shredded Leaf Doesn't
Blow'. The music goes on and on, but throughout seems to lack attention
and detail, and was probably more fun to play as a musician (even the
one on the door) than it is to hear from the listener, divided by time
and place from the actual recording.
No information at all on Slasher Risk's 'Chillers' tape - but the cover
is a nice full color print. Unfocussed is a word that also applies
here. The music starts and then never seems to stop. A bit of a messy
sound of electronics, loops perhaps feeding through a bunch of stomp
boxes. It sounds all fairly simple (but albeit of an entirely different
kind than Driphouse), and no doubt its created as such, but its
strangely captivating, in a sort of lo-fi psychedelic way. It runs for
almost an hour, only separated by a break on the end of side A. One
long hallucinating sort of noise drone. Also very 80s, I guess. Very
nice one. (FdW)
Address: http://www.thebakeryfloor.com/bt/
STEPHAN MATHIEU - 10 MINUTES (download from Ash International)
Ok, the rule is that we no longer review online releases. I make those
rules, so I can also break them if I want to. I like to make this
exception for the release by Stephan Mathieu. Not only a highly amiable
man, but also a producer of all fine things music wise. The description
is clear: ""Nine webcam movies for handheld devices shot with my
laptop's camera between September and October 2009. The soundtrack is
basically what was playing then." Mathieu has a fascination for
flickering images, not man produced (well, not necessarily), but from
natural events. The wind moves the curtain and the sun tries to burst
in. Light on an old shellac (and incidentally picking up the sound from
the shellac). Images from the garden, shadow of trees. Simply process
like images and accidental sound, which however fits the image well (or
vice versa of course: the image fit well to the music). A short sweet
production, that, had I one, I would stick immediately on my
iphone/ipad/mobile. In fact I
wouldn't mind to have all of these as 10 minutes pieces each. (FdW)
Address: http://www.ashinternational.com/editions/ash_86_stephan_mathieu_10_minutes.html
Jassem Hindi (FRA/LEB): lo-fi electro-acoustic material: diverted
machines, amplified objects, contact mics, found tapes, no-fi field
recordings, no input mixing board.
Jakob Riis (DK/SWE): laptop, MaxMSP, real time processing.
Recorded at Mains d'Ouvres, Paris feb. 2007
it gives me great pleasure to announce the launching of a home concert
series for electronic and experimental music called one thousand pulses.
these exclusive events, hosting an eclectic mix of electronic and
experimental artists from across the categorical spectrum, will take
place in the office/library of my home in northeast new jersey, just
north of new york city.
a formal e-invite to our first event, this saturday january 30th, will be arriving in your inbox shortly.
- JANUARY 30th - Stone Document
- FEBRUARY 20TH - Pogus Showcase featuring If, Bwana (Al Margolis), Tom Hamilton & Jacqueline Martelle
- MARCH 6 - Richard Lainhart
- APRIL 24 - Don Slepian
- MAY 8 - Spyra
- MAY 15 - Robert Rich
- MAY 22 - Northern Valentine
- JULY 17 - Spitznagel
- AUGUST 7 - Gears of Sand Showcase featuring Ben Fleury-Steiner, Mikronesia & William Fields
- AUGUST 28 - Experimedia Showcase featuring Jeremy Bible, Billy Gomberg, etc.
- SEPT - tba
- OCT - tba
- NOVEMBER - tba
we still have three slots open for the fall season - i encourage all
artists reading this who might be interested in performing at one
thousand pulses to contact me at <thousandpulses@verizon.net> for all necessary particulars, questions, etc.
we look forward to seeing you, as either attendee or performer, at an upcoming one thousand pulses event.
Vital Weekly is published by Frans de Waard and submitted for free to
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All written by Frans de Waard (FdW), Dolf Mulder (DM) <dolf.mulder@hetnet.nl>,
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less regular basis.
This is copyright free publication, except where indicated, in which
case permission has to be obtained from the respective author before
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Announcements can be shortened by the editor. Please do NOT send any
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There is no point in directing us to MP3 sites, as we will not go
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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
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Lastly we have decided to remove the announcement section of Vital
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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.
