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Vital Weekly 653

  Tobias

ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB - SIEBEN STAX (CD by Bottrop-boy)
Over the many years of career Neil Campbell has used a plethora of names, and with a catalogue that spreads over a million releases, of which I heard less than 1%, I am not sure if Astral Social Club is a fairly new moniker, or it has been around for some time. However what I do know, simply by listening to 'Sieben Stax' is that Campbell uses all his trademark sounds (noise, minimalism, guitar, effects) to a slightly different end and he creates something that is made with guitar, noise and minimalist influencing, but the end result is a bit more psychedelic than say his Vibracathedral work or the old Total music. Its hard to say where those differences are, but its simply gut feeling. Maybe its in the somewhat extensive use of phaser and flangers, or in the addition of sampled drums (drum machines) and the addition of synthesizers here and there. Quite rightly so, Campbell choses a new name when it comes to creating a new sound. What other option does he have? To the superficial listener, these small detailed differences might be not be audible, but after having heard only a bit of Campbell's work, I think these differences are strong. 'Sieben Stax' is a hypnotic work of repeating blocks of noise that make a wall of sound. A very fine release, highly recommended for noise heads who like an extensive trip. (FdW) Address: http://www.bottrop-boy.com

TILL THE OLD WORLD'S BLOWN UP AND A NEW IS CREATED (CD and mini CD by Mosz)
Inside the jewel case you'll find a full length CD (thirty-five minutes) and a mini CD, and the correct route seems to be to play first the mini CD and then the longer one. The source material was already recorded in 2005 by Christian Fennesz (electric and acoustic guitars, computer), Werner Dafeldecker (doublebass, tapedelay, computer) and Martin Brandlmayr on drums, percussion, vibraphone, computer and piano) at the legendary studios of Christoph Amann. each of the participants in this session then took the material home and reworked it - the mini CD - and then Brandlmayr reworked everything a bit further and that's the long CD. Curious enough I found this out after I played the long CD first, but once the concept was clear things made more sense. The three tracks on the mini CD stay, I guess, closer to the original improvisations, of slow guitar music, hiss and cracks. A bit jazz like even in Brandlmayr's shorter version, whereas in the long piece by him (he's the only who does two) the deconstruction model goes way further. Everything seems to be stripped here, and as the piece evolves things become more and more quiet. The computer as the tool for re-composing music in optima forma. Dafeldecker and Fennesz deliver their usual high quality pieces, whereas especially Fennesz does something we don't hear him do often: playing with the sounds of the instruments rather than having them consumed by the binary machines. A thoroughly relaxing work. (FdW) Address: http://www.mosz.org

./MORFROM/. - AROUND THE CORNER (CD by 121234)
The oddly named ./morFrom/. hails from Switzerland and is a duo of Julien Baillod (guitar and electronics) and Jeroen Visser (organ, electronix). I would be too surprised to know if Visser is actually Dutch, seeing a Dutch title among the eight tracks here. ./morFrom/. has an interest in combining improvisation with musique concrete, field recordings, computer processing, a bit of drones all thrown into a blender to produce something that is not easy to stick down to a certain genre (not a problem of course), but it also adds an element to the music that makes it hard to like. Its a highly varied bunch. Once you got into that guitar solo, it moves into that microsound bit of phasing organ like sounds recording in the shopping centre. And so it keeps jumping all over the place. I can imagine that its not easy to 'sell' this to any crowd, because who'd you be aiming at? The improvisors? the noise heads? The micromen? Unfortunately not enough people are open to embrace a good work when they can hear one. ./Morfrom/. made a great CD, but somehow I fear it will not get the recognition it deserves. Its a well balanced mix of all sorts of styles and musical interests, excellent recorded and mixed, and some wonderful pieces of music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.121234.net

ROEL MEELKOP - AN EAR FOR NUMBERS (CD by Zang:Records)
How to have 'an ear for numbers'? I have been thinking about this, when I was playing Roel Meelkop latest CD with that title. Is it music about rhythm (counting the bars?), which seems unlikely for somebody who uses hardly any rhythm. If you have an ear for numbers, can you hear them? And how can we hear them? I don't know. Fact is that among the nine tracks, there is one that lasts 5:55, 1:11, 3:33, 2:22 and 4:44, not exactly a new idea (Cranioclast for instance did this), but there are also tracks that last 7:06, 9:28, 0:05 and 10:39 and unfortunately I am no mathematician to see the numerological significance of that. Meelkop thanks, in Norwegian (to honor the label who releases this), St. Elmo, and I am told they produce starters for lights which make a nice rumble. Meelkop, never a man of many words, does a rare thing here: he thanks someone or somebody who provided him with the source of his sounds. It made me wonder: are all the pieces generated from this source or does he also employ more field recordings. As that of course is what Meelkop does. But for him field recordings are not rain, wind and the sea, but as a man of the (big) city, he also has a deep interest for mechanical sounds, electrical sounds, motor sounds 'and human interaction. Easily someone who carries a small recording device everywhere. At home he builds his clever sound pieces, dealing with both the inaudible and the noise - and all that is in between. The ambience of the ninth piece versus the subdued rhythms of the eighth piece (see his dealings with Goem, Zebra or Slo-Fi). Crispy high sounds versus deep low end rumble. From what seems sea sounds to people talking to, indeed perhaps, the starting sounds of a light-bulb. I must admit I lost count (no ear for numbers I guess) with the Meelkopian CD world (although he's not that active as say Merzbow, Machinefabriek or Muslimgauze), but this new work is a fine work, even when the differences are in the detail: more ongoing sounds, rather than cut 'n paste collages of his previous work. More 'ambient', perhaps, but of an entirely different kind. Not a free flow work of spacious synths, but highly intelligent processed field recordings - of whatever nature. Another very refined addition to his catalogue. (FdW)
Address: http://www.zang.no

RACC0O-OO-ON (CD by RTB)
And then the called it day: Raccoo-oo-on from Iowa with a self-titled album. A massive tombstone of seventy-five minutes (here on CD, but there is also a 2LP set on Not Not Fun). I only heard the two previous releases by them on RTB, not their many other releases on many different formats. Its still in a very free mood, this rock band, and its still in a very noise based country. Loud music, if you put on the volume right, and I would recommend doing so. Otherwise there is hardly any true power in this music. Long tracks, hardly spacious, but foremost hermetically closed. Still the uncut diamond. I guess it would even better if you could hear this played live - I know various low ceiling clubs in which this music would come to its full blossom. Not fully noise based, but dirty and loud rock music, played with total freedom of whatever your guitar teacher told you. I guess I won't be seeing them live which is a pity, but this epitaph is written in capitals. (FdW) Address: http://www.releasethebats.com

3OFMILLIONS - IMMEDIATE (CD by Space Dairy Records)
The group exists since February of this year, has been once in the studio and this is their second release, following a twenty-minute teaser on Hellosquare Recordings (see Vital Weekly 633). 3ofmillions is Adrian Klumpes (piano, rhodes, piano book), Abel Cross (acoustic bass guitar) and Finn Ryan (drum set) - all of them members (not at the same time) of Triosk, Pure Evil Trio, Trio Apoleptic, The Nownow Splinter Orchestra. In April they were in the studio for many hours which are now edited into a sixty minute CD release, which finds itself at the cross-road of post-rock, jazz and a bit of electronics. Their first release of some months ago, showed a love for Viennese music along the lines of Radian and their many off-shoots, here things go even more into the field of jazz. At times I thought I should better be sending this to my colleague Dolf Mulder, but then something on this disc happened that captured me again and I kept on listening. The jazz like elements of 3ofmillions are not well spend on me, even when I can see its beauty. Once 3ofmillions start crossing the lines of jazz and venture into more (post-)rock like areas, or add a bit of electronics, its when things become more interesting, such as in the minimal opening of 'Her Subtlety In My Subconscious' or the very free 'The Hand Of God'. Nice, but somehow I am not entirely convinced about this. I think 3ofmillions will be, in the future, more jazz than something that I would more appreciate - let's call it the Viennese school of music. I wish they would bend in that direction, but somehow I don't think they will. Time will tell. (FdW) Address: http://www.3ofmillions.com

MAURIZIO BIANCHI - THE VALLEY OF DEEP SHADOW (CD by Menstrual Recordings)
On various occasions and for various reasons, I thumbed the bible, and I know that Psalm 23 is perhaps the best known psalm. The Lord is my shepherd, I fear no evil. Etc. I am not a religious person, but Maurizo Bianchi is. His faith, the bible and believe in judgment day are all part of his work. 'The Valley Of Deep Shadow' is a 'sacral sonorization for electro-spiritual keyboards, induced and regulated in the present theocratic year with the pressurized elaboration of Siegmar F', as it says on the cover. Bianchi, it has been noticed before, since his return to music, has operated in many styles of music, ranging from new age to his good ol' industrial music, comes here with a curious mixture of both interests into bleak sonic atmospheres. The valley doesn't know much warmth, as the synthesizers sound pale, cold and distant. Not exactly what one would expect from such as psalm, about love of the lord, his guidance through difficult times. This makes this quite a curious release. Its not new age, not ambient, not industrial, but it takes aspects of all three and makes something that is hardly heard before. What it seems to lack is the bass end - its all mid to high range sounds. That seems to be the intention of this, but it doesn't necessarily mean this is good. I must say I thought this was a hard one to get it into. The good thing is that once again, Bianchi has placed himself on the forefront of electronic music, with a work that leaves a lot for discussion. I for one need to do some thinking about this. (FdW)
Address: http://www.menstrualrecordings.org

BENGE - TWENTY SYSTEMS (CD by Expanding Records)
The synthesizer is a fascinating instrument: the buttons to switch, the plugs, the chords. Even if you don't know how it works, it can make great sounds. Of course not every attempt at knob twitching should be released, but if your name is Benge and you have access to a synthesizer from every year between 1968 and 1988 then you can. Benge plays a track per synthesizer, each for every year. Every synthesizer is photographed and talked about in the extensive booklet and thus we get a beautiful historic picture of the development of the synthesizer, from the pure analogue sound synthesis to the digital makes of the 80s. Certainly a project to make every gear freak jealous. Perhaps every electronic musician would love to stumble around with these instruments. I read an interview in Gonzo Circus where it is said that Ben Edward, nom de plume for Benge, recorded the sounds to his computer and created his pieces there. They aren't pure straight off synthesizer pieces. That's better, because it side steps the idea of pure knob twitting and actually creating pieces of music. One could all too easily think this leads to music that Expanding is well-known for, but in most cases the rhythm aspect is not there in the way we know it. Neither is the aspect of cosmic music in here: the long arpeggio's riding the sky. Benge creates rather small and delicate pieces of music, each with its own character, yet never losing the entire album out of sight. Its of course impossible to say if the sounds captured reflect the synths used, as I don't think I saw many of these in real life, but Benge knows what he is doing. Not a manual of how to play a synthesizer, but rather 'how create a fine piece of music out this particular synthesizer'. Excellent all around. (FdW)
Address: http://www.expandingrecords.com

GOH LEE KWANG - DRAW SOUND (3"CD by Herbal Records)
Despite the fact that there are 98 tracks on this 3"CD, it still lasts only 8.40 minutes. On the disc face there is a picture of the coin of 1 eurocent. If you listen to the music, you hear the sound of a coin falling on a table, or several coins, perhaps. I am not sure if there is some sort of electronic processing going here, but I don't think. Tracks are very short, obviously, and if you look at the CD player, it looks like a cash register going up. A fascinating, conceptual release. Which is hard to say about the booklet that comes it with, with pencil drawings by Goh Lee Kwang of a highly abstract nature, or perhaps a highly naive nature. Its what some people prompt to say: my 2 year old is better at this. The soundwork is great though, and not without humor: 'track 89 performed by Woody Sullender'. (FdW)
Address: http://www.herbalinternational.tk

ANTONI MAIOVVI - ELECTRO MUSCLE CULT (CDR by Seed Records)
Recently, thanks to the internet, I finally heard some more old Giorgo Mororder, which I thought wasn't always that great, but especially when his machines rock the disco, it was quite nice. That's probably what Antoni Maiovvi thinks, as he comes with 'Electro Muscle Cult', which combines the best of Moroder with touches of synth meisters such as Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream or even Harold Faltermeyer (its mentioned in the press text, otherwise I wouldn't have thought of it). Seven originals and two remixes (which exactly makes this CDR overlong - the remixes were alright, but not necessary) of Maiovvi's uptempo italo disco styled music. Dirty on the analogue synths, straight forward techno inspired rhythms, arpeggio's, spooky sound effects and light weight melodies. Recently I was impressed by the electro music of Alpha Aesar, but Maiovvi certainly does a job as well, or perhaps even better. Its a bit early in the day as I write to start the party and its perhaps to rainy, but this macho driven music calls for sunshine and cocktails and the all night party. Another of those things that should have been on Suction Records I think, or perhaps on Bunker Records' darker alley, and otherwise deserves to reach a bigger audience that the few who get this limited CDR release from Seed Records, but I guess such is fate. And like I said, seven tracks, forty five minutes, retro 70s design: perfect. (FdW) Address: http://www.seedrecords.co.uk

PETER STENBERG - LE'S GO/SO FAR AWAY (CDR/MP3 by Merzbau)
To me the name Peter Stenberg is new, but so far he has three releases on the internet, and from what I hear here, it might be worthwhile to investigate this name further. Stenberg hails from Malmo, Sweden, and don't let the name of this label misguide you. It has nothing to do with Kurt Schwitters nor the Japanese artist of almost the same name, but Stenberg is a guitarist and field recordist - that is, perhaps he plays guitar in place with lots of background noise which he allows into his music. The music he plays could as easily be released on Hapna: quite melodies on the six strings, a harmonium, piano and in every street sounds, all bit a touch of experimentalism, more than perhaps on the Hapna releases. You can imagine him on his travels (I heard Dutch and German voices), playing whatever instrument at hand and making an on the spot recording. Very nice subdued music - folk meets electronics in a great way. (FdW)
http://www.merzbau-label.org

SWAMPS UP NOSTRILS - TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL (CDR by R.O.N.F. Records)
There are thematic variations, which resolve into and out of some pure harsh noise, (good stuff you know), however given such titles (An Aromatic Terpenoid, Endocannabinoid Synaptic Transmission, The Post-Synaptic Neuron, Dronabinol 11-Hydroxy-THC, Gastro-Hypothalmic Axis) and thematic developments suggests a Heideggerian "thrown-ness" of in-authenticity about the problematic of where to go next (in/with noise). Add voices and call it an opera. The problem of the present which alluded even the likes of uncle Albert and brother Jacques was the magnificent achievement of harsh noise, that is not pretense but a totaling fullness. Though noise might be data without meaning the roar in the jungle that is noise in post-cultural culture was once sufficient to place presence before presence. Nice work here but it needs to be obviscated as much as possible, the text erased and the whole thing put through the meat grinder that was the epoch. (jliat) Address http://www.ronfrecords.com

JLIAT - NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL NOISE VOL. 19 (CDR by Jliat)
Its 7.30 AM and I have about an hour to eat my breakfast and send out Vital Weekly, before going into work. I could (and should) listen to the radio, or perhaps play some popmusic, but in stead I play the nineteenth installment of 'Now That's What I Call Music' by Jliat. On headphones, because I don't want to disturb the neighbours, nor do I want this to be played soft. I don't think I ever played Jliat's noise music with headphones - not because its Jliat, or noise, I just hardly use headphones - at home. The loud crashes split my ear and feedback goes straight into my brain. I'm not sure if it was such a good idea to play this so early in the day. If I gathered anything at all, then it must be that noise music is not early morning music. Off to work. (FdW) Address: http://www.jliat.com

PAOLO IPPOLITI - VANISHING POINT (cassette by Nighthawks Tapes)
For many of our Italian friends the old CDR label S'Agita has a mystical sound, living legends. The people behind it, the duo Logoplasm however are still actively involved in music, except they are even more underground. Ippoliti is one half of them, and he says that this cassette is entirely made from snippets of sound he records almost daily on a microcassette. Later on he cuts tape-loops of this material, and the two fifteen minute pieces on this release is a collage of that. Sometimes multi-layered, but often appearing as they are. As you can imagine with such a crude method, and the format it finds its final form in, makes this all a very nice but very retro product. I still have some tapes from the early days and recognize very much the esthetic quality of it. The single minded approach to the music (I vividly remember a cassette of short radio snippets that also lasted thirty minutes) which makes one consistent piece of music in two parts. Nice time warp! (FdW) Address: http://www.nighthawkstapes.org

HAL MCGEE AND IRONING JOURNEY TO LIGHT AND PROGRESS (Cassette on Hal Tapes)
COMPOUNDEAD VISCERA (Cassette by Compoundead)
Hal McGee is a prolific electronic music improviser from Florida, and here he is accompanied not by his dogs but by Ironing in a short and flimsy cassette piece of stuff I presume was part of a tour. As per - information is lacking these days, Hal recently - well a month or two ago - caused a fuss on .chondritic sound's forum when he promulgated mp3 downloads as the only future for communication of stuff- after lengthy and dizzyingly circular arguments he has released this. Found sounds of conversations mixed with electronics which sound unusually (for Hal) distorted, maybe down to the over saturating of the cassette - which has now gained a vogue amongst many noiseniks , ever in search of redundancy and unplayability. And again another short cassette from Compoundead, crackling noise and tape echo. Both are fragile reminders that we are living at the end of time, sweet and nostalgic, though never apocalyptic... interesting pieces of lo fi flotsam. (jliat)
Address: http://www.halmcgee.com/
Address: http://www.myspace.com/compoundead

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