Vital Weekly 707
TobiasCHRISTIAN ZANESI - SOIXANTE DIS-HUIT TOURS (CD by Double Entendre)
Just like Bernard Donzel-Gargand last week, the name Christian Zanesi has been rarely seen in Vital Weekly. His 3" CD for Metamkine's Cinema Pour L'Oreille might have been, years and years ago, but I don't recall any other music by him. Maybe he too is not the kind of guy to release much. Which perhaps goes also for his latest (??) CD release, which has two pieces, both of them lasting fifteen minutes. Zanesi started composing electro-acoustic music after he heard much by Bernard Parmegiani in the 70s. Two pieces here, as said, of which the first one uses electronic signals from communication sources as well as 'non real time' computer sounds from the GRM studios in the 80s. The second piece deals with a 78 rpm record with lock grooves made by Pierre Schaeffer in 1949, which he used in 'Suite Pour 14 Instruments', which Zanesi in return uses in his composition 'Tours Et Detours En 78 Tours). Also alike Donzel-Gargand his music doesn't seem to work around traditional composition techniques used by other composers in this field. His approach seems to be much free. For instance working with loops of sounds, that run for a specific time and that have a very defined place in the piece. It seems to me that Zanesi is more along the same line of people that work with this kind of music, but then from an unacademic background, like RLW or Jos Smolders. I thought both pieces were great pieces of music. Concise and to the point, with that touch of industrial edge to it. Unlike Donzel-Gargand, who takes too much time here and there, Zanesi keeps his material to a minimum and makes stronger compositions. (FdW)
Address: http://www.vibrofiles.com
SEIJIRO MURAYAMA - SOLOS (CD by Zero Jardins)
The man who played drums in ANP (a duo with KK Null) and Fushitsusha (with Keiji Haino) returns to playing solo here, 'using one head snare drum with microphones, without sound effects', as it says on the cover (although the press text mentions a cymbal too). I assume he plays the snare drum with something, objects, sticks, brushes? Two pieces do rather sound the same: 'Ssei' and 'Llott' (if I read that well, its handwritten and not easy to read): rubbing sticks over the head and producing trainlike sounds, rolling faster and faster. In 'Aug' he plays the most 'traditional' piece of improvised music, hectic, nervous, but with a great control of the instrument, making it sound entirely different throughout this piece. In 'Ejie', the final and longest piece on the CD is an entire drone like piece. Hard to imagine how he plays this, but it could be objects pressed hard to the surface or perhaps some sort of bowing technique. This is the best piece of these four, but through I thought this was a pretty strong disc anyway. Excellent solo improvisation. (FdW)
Address: http://www.zerojardins.com
SEKTOR 304 - SOUL CLEANSING (CD by Malignant Records)
Texas label Malignant Records has a strong focus in the darker and more extreme areas of the electronic scene in their catalogue of releases. Present album is no exception. A couple of days ago I watched Pascal Laugier's price-winning and shockingly extreme movie "Martyrs"; a tale depicting extreme human behavior and depravity. As I shortly after listened to the debut "Soul cleansing" from Portugal's Sektor 304, I was brought in similar worlds of extremity and sheer darkness. In comparison to earlier reviewed titles from Malignant Records, Sektor 304's "Soul cleansing" doesn't move to the extremely harsh expressions of the contemporary noise or power electronics-scene. The extremity of the album more likely is based in the dark and destructive atmospheres. Sector 304 creates hardcore Industrial in similar territories to Godflesh (circa "Streetcleaner"), Saw Throat and Scorn meaning industrial noises and drones added guttural growls and painful guitar distortions. With "Soul cleansing" Malignant Records makes a step towards the metal-based Industrial scene with an excellent album that could be this decade's edition of Godflesh's "Streetcleaner". This is black art in its most beautiful form! (Niels Mark)
Address: http://www.malignantrecords.com/
DANIEL MENCHE - KATARACT (CD by Editions Mego)
The low lands of The Netherlands you hardly - well, never - see waterfalls. The one I saw were the Niagara waterfalls, on the Canadian site of the borders and it looked mighty impressive. I tried my hand at recording them but it failed - too many tourists openly sharing their enthusiasm. Daniel Menche captured waterfalls at the pacific northwest of the USA - no further specification - and added his own blend of electronics in this forty minute piece. If he wasn't satisfied with his recordings, I think, he well hides that fact in his electronic processing, but I am sure he is satisfied. Of course we know Menche as a fine producer of all thing noise, and that's the case here too. However its not the full blown thing of pure feedback and distortion (never a Menche game anyway), but a great merging of acoustic sound and sometimes piercing electronics. A loud release, but I think that makes it all the more interesting. For not a lot field recording are used with a lot of force. Usually its soft and not too outspoken in terms of violence, but of course nature can produce loud vicious sounds. And this is one such case. Menche does an excellent job at that. Whatever electronics were used is hardly relevant. After a short built-up, there is a long loud middle section, which has a constant, moving character, and then, the last ten minutes, a fine 'softer' ending. A most powerful statement on the case of field recordings. (FdW)
Address: http://www.editionsmego.com
SONAROPHON - DE FRIE ELEMENTER (CD by :Zang)
Behind Sonarophon are Line Hornland (vocals, electronics) and Alf Terje Hana (guitar, electronics), who recorded the free elements - as the title translates to - at the Kunst Og Kulturfestival in Ogna (Norway) in 2008. Almost twenty-five minutes of free play on guitar and vocals, but the electronics play an important role in this piece. I am not sure what to think of this release. Its of improvised music pur sang, but it seems to be mostly to be doing a sort of vaguely ambient texture. It seems to me that they want to create a moody, atmospheric sound texture through improvisation, but they do not entirely succeed in that. The music drifts around like it should be, there is a bit of a noisy element thrown in (perhaps due to the fact that this is a live recording, I'd say) but its a bit to thin to convince me that this is really moody music. The idea to create such music is nice however, a merging of two ends that almost never reach, ambient and improvisation, and that's the thing that I like about this short album. A somewhat daring move, that may not have worked out entirely well, but they tried. (FdW) Address: http://www.zang.no
PAUL BARAN - PANOPTIC (CD by Fang Bomb)
PETER BRODERICK & MACHINEFABRIEK - BLANK GREY CANVAS SKY (CD by Fang Bomb)
Paul Baran (1975) is a composer, electro-acoustic sound and improviser who is for his release 'Panoptic' helped by a whole bunch of people, including Keith Rowe, Werner Dafeldecker, Andrea Belfi, Rhordri Davies, Armin Sturm and many more. Among the listed instruments we see organs, grand piano, upright piano, prepared guitar, double bass, prepared harp, cello, acoustic guitar, euphonium, walkie talkie, voice and more. This is 'an attempt to soundtrack the lives of the creative people affected by such concepts as underclass, surveillance, and the dangers of mass consensus'. I am not sure how this was all recorded, all in the various studios listed, or whether some perhaps send in their sound material. Various compositions get credit by various composers. I was thinking about the premise that Baran set out while listening to the music. Maybe there is something wrong with me, but I fail to see it. The music is mostly, up to the ninth piece, 'To Protest In Their Silence' mainly about quietly improvised music. That ninth piece is by return then something quiet loud, for the albums standards, with lots of electronic outbursts, but still with that feel of improvised music. Hard to see it as the soundtrack mentioned. The music is quite nice, but hardly surprising. The instruments usually play whatever they play in a pretty traditional improvised manner, where the instruments can be recognized as such. Not the greatest of works in improvised music, not the worst either.
I only heard music by Peter Broderick from his 'Music For Falling From Trees', a LP released by Western Vinyl and reviewed in Vital Weekly 680, but he is quite active, either as a member of Efterklang and with his own solo releases. He hails from Oregon, but lives in Berlin these days (who isn't? well, the Vital people of course). He teams up here with that other guy whose work load always seems to be piling up: Rutger Zuydervelt, also known as Machinefabriek, who pushes out lots of collaborations. Following last week's release with Tim Caitlin, its now turn for Peter Broderick. Unlike last week, when it was clear that Zuydervelt was using sound material supplied by Caitlin, there is no information here on how these things were made. Did they sit together in the studio (like Zuydervelt did with Andrea Belfi earlier this year) or an exchange of sound files, or one working on sounds of the other. I somehow put my money on the exchange of sound files, where Broderick gets to say his say in three tracks and Zuydervelt in the other three. I can't say this is 'another' Machinefabriek collaboration, although partly it is. There is the well-known soft guitar playing and sound effects in full operative modus, but throughout I thought there was something altogether more 'musical' about this. Maybe its the use of vocals, even so sparsely as here, but also the addition of some clear piano notes (also sparsely) and likewise clear guitar parts that make this wholly more musical than some of the other collaborative efforts undertaken already. An excellent CD. (FdW)
Address: http://www.fangbomb.com
WOUTER VAN VELDHOVEN - MORT AUX VACHES (CD by Staalplaat)
Perhaps I told this before: one sunday afternoon two years I went out to see the farewell event of a band that I never heard of, Dagpauwoog, but I knew all of its members (including Rutger Zuydervelt) and was pleasantly surprised by at least two concerts: soccerCommitee use of voice and guitar blew me away (the female answer to Oren Ambarchi I thought) and Wouter van Veldhoven, who played some analogue synthesizer, a music box, an ancient tape delay. A silent concert, in which every crackle could be noted loud and clear (the presence of a wooden floor added a nice texture, I must admit). Since then I heard bits of his music, but not a lot (why? I wondered), but here he appears in the legendary Mort Aux Vaches series. I can't detect a date on the cover. Back then I had a closer look at the curious equipment of Van Veldhoven, but it wasn't easy to make any sense out of it. As far as I can remember the system contains of some sort of tape-loop or tape-delay unit, in which sounds are fed but not erased, so as the piece unfolds sounds are layered onto eachother. These sounds might be the aforementioned music box, but here on his 'Mort Aux Vaches' this can also be melodica, bells or other, more obscured sounds. There is certainly a link to be made with the work of Machinefabriek, but Van Veldhoven plays some highly nice moody music of his own. It sort of falls somewhere in between electronic and acoustic music. One can hear the electronics playing their part but there is also much intimate sounds coming from acoustic sources. An excellent blending of both ends, crafting together three lovely intimate pieces of music. Not yet reaching the same fame as Machinefabriek, but certainly on his way. (FdW) Address: http://www.staalplaat.com
BRIAN GRODER - GRODER & GREENE (CD by Latham Records)
After his first one, "Torque", with legend Sam Rivers and his trio, it is now with veteran Burton Greene with whom Brian Groder joins forces for another tour de force. To begin with, it is a long time ago since I enjoyed so intensely a jazz recording as this one. Great vibrant and spirited music. Free jazz by musicians who can handle freedom and demonstrate a strongly focussed operation, creating some fantastic and gorgeous moments. For me the fun already starts with the opening track "Landfall": the comical, seemingly a bit clumsy playing by Greene, with a delicious solo by saxplayer Rob Brown. Yes, Groder contracted an impressive crew for this date. Rob Brown played with Cecil Taylor. Burton Greene is one of the godfathers of freejazz. He lived (or lives?) in Amsterdam. In recent years he had his band Klezmokum, playing klezmer in a jazzjacket. The names of Adam Lane (bass) and Ray Sage (drums) didn't ring a bell, but fine musicians they are. The improvisations are much of a collective exercise, but Greene is often somehow in the center of where it is happens. Greene is also the writer of the only composition on this disc: "Hey Pithy, Can You Thropt The Erectus?" All pieces make the impression of being chaotic and cacaphonic from the outward, but if you dive into them, all is dazzlingly intertwined and connected. Very communicative ensemble work. "Nigh" circles around a simple melodic theme that sounds very familiar but I,m unable to identify it. Also it is driven by a straight beat, which is not what you expect in free jazz. Greene puts a lot of humor and fun in the music, like in "Amulet" where he distorts the sound of the piano by putting objects on the strings. It is the contrast between Greene's 'primitive' playing and the playing by the others that make this one a very enjoyable record. Must have been two blessed days when these recordings were done in october 2007. (Dolf Mulder)
Address: http://www.briangroder.com
GREG & TED - LOVE, WIND & FAILURE (LP by Feeding Tube Records)
KOMMISSAR HJULER & MAMA BAER - AMERIKANISCHE POESIE UND ALKOHOLISMUS (LP by Feeding Tube Records)
NO SOUND - OLD MAN LEE (LP by Feeding Tube Records)
Outsiders at work here. First we have two men with beards, Greg & Ted. They sign?, recite poetry?, are plain insane? 'Me, My Dick & Your Vagina', 'Hell Heck', or, oh 'Two Beards'. There is a bit of guitar playing? Percussive bits? But that might be something falling in the background on the floor, but then side B has drums and sound more musical than the other side (maybe even a live recording?). Not exactly the next Simon & Garfunkel (the only duo springing to mind right now, and it doesn't make much sense, but maybe the insanity of the record distracts me a bit). Maybe funded by institute in which they reside? Or perhaps just plain serious art? Musique brut that's what it is. Actually I enjoyed the total weirdness of it. Picture disc displaying men with beards.
More outsiders, but banging on the door to get in more and more are Kommissar Hjuler and Mama Baer, who never seemed more active than they are now (sort of defeats the idea of an outsider I thought, but more a conscious marketing thing - doesn't mind I guess). On side has 'Once Again concrete poetry', consisting voices of all kinds, some screaming 'Once Again' every now and then plus some feedback. Its not that concrete that I could say what it is about, and perhaps its a bit lengthy for what it is, but its surely a nice piece. The other is by Mama Baer and has two pieces, both dealing with the excess, or so I think, of drinking alcohol. A collage of spoken word, radio snippets, some loops. Maybe as overlong as the other side but also not as good as the other side. It surely beats me why that is, but the a-side seemed more attractive. So these things go, I guess.
More free madness on the Lp by No Sound, but this time without many words. Whatever vocals used around here is rather wordless, while No Sound does have sound, a lot of them. Recorded in a variety of places, its hard to say wether this is a band at work, or one person mixing together a whole bunch of sound sources, lifted from detuned radios, old records and TV signals. Mayhem galore here. Feedback is mixed in every now and then. That's the first side. The second side is different. Here 'vocals' play a part, a big part and the same musical madness, but then more stripped down to the bare essential. It says that one Ted Lee is responsible for this, and this might the same Ted from the Greg & Ted record. It carries that same outsider madness. A most curious record indeed - like all three are. No Sound is pressed on orange vinyl and limited to 100 copies - an instant collectors item to be discovered in ten year as a lost classic of musique brut. (FdW)
Address: http://www.feedingtuberecords.com/
TORTURING NURSE/VERTONEN (split LP by Rococo Records)
VERTONEN - THE EVAPORATION OF PANTHALASSA (3"CDR by C.I.P.)
VERTONEN - RODINIA'S DECLENSION (3"CDR by C.I.P.)
VERTONEN - NICKED (3"CDR by C.I.P.)
A highly limited split LP (100 copies) by Vertonen's Blake Edwards and Torturing Nurse, a duo from China. One Youki plays guitar and turntable while one Junky plays voice and noise. Its already an old recording, from October 2006. Although its not mentioned, I would I think this is a live recording of some kind. There is feedback, distortion, but also loops, vocal bits and all sorts of doodling coming from the turntable. I am reminded here of the music of Dustbreeders. It has that some rock inspired free improvisation that sometimes explodes into noise, but throughout remains a free improvised session of rock like sounds. Nice one. On the other side we find Vertonen's 'Allegiance Variance', which comes in four parts. An interesting piece as it sees Vertonen moving away from the strict drone music of lately and it opens with a drum machine! Then the second part is the drone bit, but in 'Shellacked Skull Exit Strategy' things become quite noisy and rhythmic, bringing back to memory the turntable experiments of his older work. I must admit that I didn't expect this turn by Vertonen. Well, its either that, or we are dealing with an older piece here (recorded, edited and mastered December 2006 - February 2007 it says on the insert). A bit of curious record I thought. Not fairly recent stuff and perhaps artists have moved on? However from a strict musical point of view, I thought it was a very fine record of nice drones and intelligent noise.
Vertonen may now then very well be best known as a merchant of all things drone based, but for a couple of shows in California he released a trio of 3"CDRs to be sold at those concerts and which offer three different aspects of his work. One is obviously filled a drone piece, and that's 'The Evaporation Of Panthalassa'. It opens on the soft, almost in audible site of the sound spectrum, but slowly builds up by allowing other frequencies to the table, mainly from the mid-range. Once it is there, it stays there. That is perhaps a pity: I could definitely see a move from there to another point within the given time frame. Not a bad piece however, I can imagine picking such a thing up after a Vertonen concert made of drones.
Its however debatable wether concerts by Vertonen are all drone affairs. The second disc has four slices of 'Rodinia Declension' and contains two studio pieces and two complete (!) live shows, all within twenty minutes. If a few minutes is what a concert is, then why bother going out to say California I wondered. This is Vertonen's full on noise angle. No doubt this works live very well, with the right amplification and the right maniac lightening, but I am not Jliat, so it's hard to see a point to all of this, here at home. Its not the worse kind of noise, I must admit that, but perhaps noise is no longer my real interest, especially when it comes to this kind of noise.
The most odd ball in this lot is 'Nicked', in which he nicks music from others, plunderphonic, plagiarism, mash-up. If you like popmusic, like I do, this kind of music can be a bore, because you hear all your favorites mashed-up, or true feast as you will recognize all your favorites mashed-up. Sometimes I lean towards the first, sometimes to the second. You may touch E.L.O's 'Don't Bring Me Down' (even allowed by this particular big E.L.O. fan), but I think Vertonen misses a point: he plays a lot of music at the same time, but not always makes a composition out of it (that is: if we are to see this one piece as separate pieces), or a real Too Many DJs like mash-up. Loops run around of rhythm, guitars, vocals, but not necessarily go anywhere, at least, not all the time. (FdW)
Address: http://www.rococorecords.com
Address: http://cipsite.net
RCF - 0509 (CDR by Misengarde)
Along with this release I received an earlier release by RCF, who is one Ciro Fioratti from Brescia, in the northern part of Italy. I assume this is give some background. RCF uses a MC505, MPX 550 and UB 1204FX, whatever those may be. He writes that he records all his music without edits, overdubs and copy paste and calls himself a crossover between Keith Rowe and Asmus Tietchens. In a way I can see that, even when the music doesn't sound like either of them. It has that improvised feel of Rowe and the somewhat clinical sounds of Tietchens. The music is quite raw, almost industrial but with the absence of an ongoing rhythm. Elements return at irregular intervals. Its a pretty interesting release I think. It moves in various circles - noise, improvised music and even microsound at times - but RCF has found a voice of his own. The best piece is '21.1 (for rowe)', with a great interplay of silence versus noise. The older work 'Plateaux' is throughout a somewhat cruder affair, which however has its moments already. More minimal it seems, and also a bit more noise based. Altogether it seems a most promising new artist on the scene. (FdW)
Address: <misengarde@gmail.com>
CHEMINS - CDR #1 (CDR, private)
Quite some music from Finland this week (Uton, Kutomo), but also Chemins, who have no friends on myspace (which is great I think) and also no information. The CDR, simply titled 'CDR #1' has one piece that lasts twenty-three minutes and thirty seconds. So perhaps its a band then... I hear drums and a bunch drones played on guitar, maybe a bass, maybe field recordings. What they do sounds very interesting. A concentrated form of playing, perhaps (partly) improvised and sometimes remind me of 3/4Hadbeeneliminated. The music is slow and peaceful and unfolds in a majestic manner, without being over the top. A great piece, perhaps a few minutes too long. Its a pity they choose to release it themselves and it may stay in relative obscurity. Maybe they could have better find a second piece and release it on some of the more interesting CDR labels around. This music certainly deserves it. (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/cheminsgroup
SUJO - COLUMNS (CDR by 1000+1 Tilt)
B*TONG & PS STAMPS BACK (3"CDR by 1000+1 Tilt)
THE SWARMING OF FLIES (3"CDR by 1000+1 Tilt)
More music by Sujo, perhaps Ryan Huber of Olekranon and Iman Records, but here branching out to a label from Greece, 1000+1 Tilt. The music here moves more and more towards rhythm and noise, instead of the previous more noise based assaults. Sujo switches on a rhythm machine - slow and powerful is the pre-set of choice and then checks if all his stomp pedals work - they do - strums one chord and feeds it on through his stomp boxes, along the like wise stomping of the rhythm. Somewhere there may a voice sample, such as towards the end of the title track. Sometimes a bass loop gets looped around as a sort of basis. Nice one, this one. Indeed heavy duty music, firmly like a brick of concrete in the world of noisy guitar rock. Thirty minutes of guitar terror.
Label owner of 1000+1 Tilt plays his own music PS Stamps Back and as such travels the world or organizes concerts locally. Here, armed with his laptop, guitar and boxes, he teams up with B*Tong from Switzerland, in a recording made at Sokratous in Athens, Greece. B*Tong has by now a solid reputation for playing some darker than life ambient music, and PS Stamps Back glide easily along the glacier like tones here, with a nice uncut edge to it. In 'Not By Fire', there is even a bit of rhythm. Constructed from what seems to be field recordings, outside but also inside (a church perhaps) and computer processing, this fits along very well with the other releases so far by B*Tong, and though not entirely new in approach, it is quite a nice momentum of a concert recording.
Also a concert recording is the CDR by The Swarming Of Flies, with has one M on violin and one I on synth, strings, effects and computer and no doubt that I is the same person as the one behind PS Stamps Back and the label. Here we enter a much more rough landscape, also of long sustaining sounds that over the course of these tracks swell, rise and come to a noisy halt after twenty-two minutes. By that time the violin has disappeared from the scenery and its laptop a gogo. Much more raw than the work with B*Tong, this has however a fine power of its own. Nice on too. (FdW)
Address: http://tiltrecordings.org
HYSTERSIS - 8PMCITYSCAPES : A SOUNDTRACK FOR THE RESTLESS (3"CDR by Betontoon)
Hystersis is the name of a solo project established by Rotterdam-based sound artist who has a background in the black metal and the industrial scene. On this debut as Hystersis, the artist makes a slight change in expression with a more abstract electronic work taking its starting point in field recordings of city life. Despite the focus on concrete samples of recordings from cities such as Hamburg, London, Bangkok and Rotterdam, there are much melody and emotions hidden in the five tracks of the album, with a total runtime of 24 minutes. First of all the sound of guitar is an important source besides the field recordings. Stylish the guitar-passages range from postrock-gentle spheres to more fast and furious riffs of black metal-style as on third intersection titled "Streetpreacher". Main piece of the album is the 10-minutes running piece "Beacon 996", that sounds similar to postrock-legends in Mogwai due to the development from fragile strumming to more noise-rock-based textures towards the end. Only a limited edition of 50 copies, so listeners of postrock should hurry and get a copy. Highly recommended! (Niels Mark) Address: http://www.betontoon.com/
IMAGHO - THE TRAVELLING GUILD (3" CDR by Field Muzick)
PURE SOUND VS CARSTEN VOLLMER - AMERICAN TRILOGY (3"CDR by Field Muzick)
From France hails Imagho who travels his country
armed with a microphone and a guitar. He places the microphone in such a way that the nature around him becomes an instrument, all along which he tinkles on his guitar. The nature can also be an unused church, or the fruitmarket. Highly elegant stuff here, but even at this limited length of twenty minute are seven tracks well enough. The difference in guitar playing doesn't have much variation and also the nature of field recordings is quite similar. Not bad, but not that great either.
Much more is there to be enjoyed in the release by Pure Sound vs Carsten Vollmer. Pure Sound emerged a while ago with three CDs released shortly after eachother (see Vital Weekly 552, 575 and 626) based on field recordings and poetry recitation. Carsten Vollmer once crossed the paths of the weekly, but otherwise I know not much about him. Here they team together up in some collaborative form. Pure Sound have sounds from America (New Orleans, Chicago, Vicksburg, Minneapolis and St. Louis) with stories written by Vince Hunt. Three great pieces are produced as such, using field recordings, some bass and piano. You have to like the fact that there is a spoken text on top of these recordings and music, but then they are quite nice. I understand exactly why this coupled with the digital noise of Vollmer, whose music bears no resemblance with the original work of Pure Sound. Loud and vicious, mean noise. This sort of eludes but as at least a perfect antidote to the textures woven by Pure Sound. (FdW) Address: http://fieldmuzick.net
EXTRAFOXX - THE SADDEST (CDR by Bedroom Suck)
SWAMPLORD - MERMAIDS OF TAHITI (CDR by Bedroom Suck)
KUTOMO/ANONYMEYE (cassette by Bedroom Suck)
I can be brief about Extrafoxx, also known as as Conwae Burrell. He records music since 'long before anybody can care to recal. About thirteen years, but possibly more'. Ouch. Thirteen years! That's when everything was still in black/white. He lives his life and writes songs about them. He signs and plays a guitar, neither in a great fashion. Thirty-five tracks, but I managed up to track fifteen. There wasn't a single second I enjoyed or cared about. The press message says he 'listens to a lot of Pavement and New Order'. I join him, and play some New Order too.
If you are a member of a band called The Swamplords, your solo project would easily be called Swamplord. That's what Jeremy Hidmarsh did. He pays homage, the label tells us, 'to the great psychedelic music of the late 50s-70s', not a field in which I am a particular expert on. That's makes it quite difficult what to think of this. Many guitar solos, some wacky vocals, distorted percussion bits and perhaps that fits indeed the idea of psychedelic music, which can be quite without much structure. What is nice however is that the sound is all dirty and gritty, distinctively lo-fi, homebrew stuff. That's where the great power of this release is: a real garage like piece of music. Though not a daily digest for me, but still quite nice.
I have no idea why the cassette gets a poor black/white xerox presentation, why not a nice color xerox as the CDR? The music surely deserves that. Kutomo is from Finland and plays flutes and a bunch of looper devices that create a nice flowing ambient backdrop. It wasn't necessary to use a voice in this material, I'd say, but its not bad either. Hard to say wether we are dealing here with one track or more, but let's say its cut into various section; the cover lists various tracks, but they sound frigtenly similar. On the other side we have Andrew Tuttle's Anonymeye project, who does very much the same, except that he is using guitars and loop stations. He too crafts some nice atmospheric music together, which has bit more bite than Kutomo. Both artists do a rework of eachother, which turns out to be a pleasant combination of either artists' input. I'd strongly suggest to re-issue this on CDR and get them to do more collaborative stuff together. (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/bedroomsuckrecords
REVERSE MOUTH - OF THE CLOTH (cassette by Abandon Ship Records)
Starting inauspiciously enough with some sparse guitar diddles, Reverse Mouth gradually builds 'Of The Cloth' into a caustic, scrappy wall of guitar noise. Not as abrasive as the keener Japanoise efforts, this is instead more piecemeal and jagged, with crusty swaths of noise continuously driving at the listener. At their most vicious moments, Reverse Mouth's Panagiotis and Sofia really deliver a hellish cauldron of an album - the macabre black and red of the cover paints an
appropriate picture of the sound contained within. There is some sort of Christian theme going on here, what with the cross on the front and side B being baptized "World's Most Significant Christening," but as with most instrumental experimental chaos, all associations must be inferred by the listener's intuition alone. My preference sides with the demonic second half of this tape, which commences with a dirty, ritualistic feedback pattern before untying into liberated mayhem of the grimy, grisly sort. Summed up objectively, 'Of The Cloth' will appeal to most dedicated noisehounds, slyly traipsing the wire between noise and free improv. (Michael Tau)
Address: http://www.abandonshiprecords.com
PEAT RAAMUR / PERSPECTIVES - SPLIT (cassette by Rotifer Cassettes)
Two newly-ordained purveyors of understated, droning weirdness have joined forces for this magnificently designed C18. As far as I can tell, neither Peat Raamur nor Perspectives have any other releases out, so this EP had a mysterious allure about it as I first popped it into the stereo. Beginning the affair on side A, Peat Raamur brings us a sort of subaqueous soundscape, replete with a nautically shimmering drone, distant drum taps, and what sounds like whale calls. It is a deep and meditative composition that becomes more and more involved as it wears on - an obscure, reverb-heavy whirlwind of mystery. Perspectives' side, on the other hand, is a more chaotic beast. A throbbing haze of sound is initiated, with bubbling synths and disjointed detritus laid over top, culminating in a frankly noisy second half. It's a building, hectic furnace of sound with certain industrial underpinnings. Taken together, this split is a titillating sampling from two budding sound projects. (Michael Tau) Address: http://rotifercassettes.blogspot.com
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