Machinefabriek & Fever Spoor - Deviaties
(Anima Mal Nata AMNCD046)
CD-R
For the listener, there's a risk inherent in any split album. as you all know, with any new album there's always that moment of sweet, sweet trepidation. will this be a good one? With split albums this is magnified tenfold. You've had the 'moment of sweet, sweet trepidation' and it's paid off, the album is a corker but your pleasure is going to be short lived if the second half isn't up to it. Which means that you have the 'moment of sweet, sweet trepidation' all over again plus you have the possibilty of some nasty man taking your new toy away.
Machinefabriek provide two long tracks (one mellow, one harsh). the first, slowly transforming guitar and noise unfolding in waves of fuzz that you can feel washing through the recesses of your ears, the second an altogether noisier affair adding percussion and lots of old-school digital noise to the mix. I'd only previously heard one track by him (on the 'Wire Tapper 15' freebie cd) and had loved it. This triples my tally and, as they used to say on lame 80's quiz shows, everyone's a winner.
Fever Spoor happily gives my neurosis the kicking it deserves as he takes the ambience established by machinefabriek and moulds, twists and stretches it into his own vision. With a pallette that mirrors that used on the previous two tracks but with plenty of ideas of his own, Marcel (Fever Spoor) Herms employs drones and the vaguest of rhythms to fine effect. His audio textures envelop and caress, they grab and they prod, they claw and they spit and, when they're done doing all that, they rub up against you like a sandpaper cat.
Phil Maggi - Lucilia Caesar
(Hyperblasted HyRe006)
CDR
Phil Maggi, at least according to the accompanying press sheet, is a busy little beaver, being a member of 3 groups as well as releasing this his first album of solo works. It's a good listen too. Utilising samples from a variety of contemporary classical recordings alongside his own sounds and a variety of indeterminate voice samples Maggi is actively and methodically constructing a reality designed to his own specifications. A little overly repetitive in places and with an atmosphere that is almost unrelentingly dour excludes this from being something that I'd choose to listen to everyday but for the most part it's an intriguing piece of work that just needs the addition of that little missing something extra (maybe varying the ambience) to push it into being compulsive listening.
The Marshmallow Staircase - Planet Express
(Summersteps Records Handmade SUM-HM 002)
CDR
Pounding drums, crashing cymbals, noise guitar, metronomic bass. The Marshmallow Staircase come on strong as Confusion is Sex era Sonic Youth meets the jammier end of Krautrock. Personally I found some of the tracks a little samey and a bit more variation in the songwriting (or the editing) wouldn't have gone amiss but Planet Express has a low and heavy motorik vibe that spirals out from the slightly murky production to reveal a band who pretty soon are going to hit the motherlode of all grooves. Definitely worth a listen.
Andrea Marutti / Tommaso Cosco - Turra
(AFE 120mcd)
3" CDR
The 4th AFE release I've heard this month is this teeny seedee from label owner Marutti and collaborator Cosco. It's the shortest and also probably the least satisfying. It's certainly not a bad track. As a piece of dark drone it does all the right things, makes all the right moves and heads off in the right direction, unfortunately though it doesn't really go anywhere. The music seems (the press sheet gives little away) to be a processed (by both) set of impromptu recordings (by Cosco). As far as I can make out these original recordings are barely present as the music is an amorphous grey wash. Like I said though it's competently done and if you like your music slow, dark and impenetrable then you may well enjoy this but it didn't grab me and there are far more recommended releases on AFE for you to invest in.
Masonic Youth & Fever Spoor - Finis Terrae
(Anima Mal Nata AMNCD047)
CD-R
Masonic Youth, - weeeeee - as you can probably tell by the - weeeeeeee - name, don't take life too - weeeeeeee - seriously and god - opera bit - bless them for it! This wonderfully constructed - bonnnggg - dada fantasy had me grinning like a loon from start to finish.
As with the other Anima Mal Nata release that I've heard (Machinefabriek & Fever Spoor - Deviaties), Fever Spoor, otherwise known as AMN label boss Marcel Herms, sets himself the unenviable task of being the second act on a split cd. Again he doesn't disappoint. It's very much along the same sort of lines as that other album but as they are consecutive releases that's to be expected and not necessarily a bad thing. The textures are just as deep and the colours are just as vibrant but here (to my abundant joy) it is the ambience that has been given prominance and the set on the whole is much warmer sounding. The space is more open and the pacing is more sedate allowing the music to breathe and to expand until it fills the room. Heartily recommended.
Susan Matthews - Hope-Bound
(Sirenwire Recordings sw74)
CDR
Susan Matthew is a composer residing in South Wales who produces music filled with complex clouds of melody, harmony and ambience. Her rolling instrumentation and swirling vocals produce a psychedelic and esoteric folk music that occupies the perceptual hinterland between free-music and composition. There is an exoticism at the core of Matthews compositions that is infused with the aromas of unfamiliar herbs and spices. There is a familiarity, shades of Irish, English and Arabian music, present that is always slightly, and ever so tantalisingly, out of reach. Matthews introduces us to a world of dream, illusion, transience and flux. A world that is more often read than heard. A world that I will be revisiting often.
Susan Matthews - The Silent Architect
(Siren Wire SW75)
CDR
Using the most fragile and lucid instrumentation and composition Susan guides us on journeys across the loneliest of landscapes. Her musicianship transporting us on a most melancholic distraction from reality. Beautiful.
Mattin, Gen 26, Batur Sonmez - Untitled
[&]
3" CDR
3" noise CDR from this new Slovenian label. These little CDRs are, for me, the perfect format for noise music as it's a genre that, while liking it very much, is one that struggles to hold my attention for long periods of time. A band gets very little time within which to impress or depress on a 3" disc. Appearing on a split or compilation 3" CDR means one gets even less time. not much more than an old 7" single. Of these 3 participants it is only Batur Sonmez that is truly up to the challenge throwing a great variety of sounds into the (cement) mix(er) and creating a fast moving and restless construction. The other two provide compositions that are just a little too static for my tastes.
mb, hue, fhievel - Erimos
(Digitalis Recordings digi048)
CD
The Maurizio Bianchi (mb) comeback trail continues unabated with this collaboration with Matteo Uggeri (Hue) and Luca Bergero (Fhievel) on Digitalis Recordings. The trio utilise a battery of electronic sounds to create a surprisingly warm and immersive mud bath of sound. I use 'mud bath' selectively - not to conjure ideas of 'murkiness' be it of sound or conception but as a way of conveying the stickiness and thickness of many of the sound-sources and the resultant album. The music on Erimos surrounds, flows and carries the listener in it's embrace. It is a mesmerising composition that steps outside the confines of it's soundsources through the craftsmanship of those involved who have built a beautiful piece of work that has not strayed far from my seedee player in the month that I've owned it.
Christopher McFall - This Heat Holds Snow
(Mystery Sea MS48)
CDR
American soundscaper McFall here presents a bleak and foreboding soundworld full of trepidation and disquiet. I'm uncertain as to the methodology behind what I'm hearing but what I am certain of is that much of the sound on display here is derived from processed field recordings made in and around his home base of Kansas City. Is the music he creates from these a representation of the place or of his feelings with regard to it? If so then it must be a hell hole of biblical proportions as there is not even the slightest hint of light or relief in the music he's composed. The five constituent tracks of isolationist noise-drone, rumble and grind establishing a sandpaper-sharp foundation that are accompanied by an almost insectile, skittering of sounds that one can almost feel or by organic belches of hazy noise that surge queasily from the speakers.
This is probably the darkest sounding album I've heard from the Mystery Sea stable and as ever it's an absolute corker.
Messiah Complex
(CREAMcropzine 2007b)
CDR
I like my noise albums short, fast and brutal. Around the 20 minute mark is good for me after that I'm elsewhere. So at over 40 minutes Messiah Complex had me flagging at around 25 minutes. The solution, turn it off, play something else, come back to the second half later. Hey Presto! Two shit hot, perfect length, short, fast and brutal noise albums instead of one (slightly too) long, fast and brutal noise album. Woohoo!
Moljebka Pvlse & Seventeen Migs Of Spring - Ravha & Electricity Gardens
(Topheth Prophet TP015)
CD
7 tracks, the first by Moljebka Pvlse, the second by both bands and the remaining five by Seventeen Migs Of Spring.
MP, from Sweden, meld elliptical, processed drones with an array of field recordings into a bewildering whole. Their 27 minute track has the feel of a journey to it. Small train journeys interspersed with brief conversations and hazy distractions. Track two's collaboration showcases the tightly controlled musicianship of SMoS given an extra (Nth) dimension by MP's judiciously used recordings.
The remainder of the album is taken over by Israeli group Seventeen Migs Of Spring who are a far more (but by no means stereotypically so) musical prospect. Over their five tracks they show the diversity of their oeuvre by weaving tapestries of drone, noise and rhythm. There is a playfulness to their music that is hard to deny as it softens the more wilful and oblique strategies they like to employ.
It's rare for a split release to work as well as this. usually one band stands head and shoulders above the other, whether that be through personal taste or through musical quality is often a moot point. Here however we have two acts perfectly suited to each other. My one complaint would have to be that i think it's a shame that there was only the one brief moment of collaboration as for me that is the absolute highpoint of what is, undoubtedly, a very fine album indeed.
Alex Monk - ep
CDR
Guitar and laptop explorer Alex Monk's first ep sees him embracing muscular drones and gentle soundscapes. Opener, Exchanging Chairs, is a huge great hairy mountain man of a track that howls and powers along for 10 minutes before giving way to the more relaxed ambience of the rest of the album. Monk shows a deft hand at creating and holding a vibe and maintains an easy, rolling flow throughout.
Monos - Landscapes
Not necessarily new but still available if you shop around. The Monos duo of Colin Potter and Darren Tate are here joined by Paul Bradley (of the Twenty Hertz label) and Robin Barnes (of Isolde) to create two very long, slowly-shifting, all-consuming drone and guitar pieces. No corners are left un-explored as the sounds rippling out from the speakers fill the room like slowly rising floodwaters...warm, dark red, friendly floodwaters with disembodied fingers that stroke and caress and tickle. Listening to this album is the aural equivalent of bathing in custard...warm, dark-red, friendly custard. You'll love it.
Monos - Promotion
(Twenty Hertz TH020)
CDR
Whilst recently being a duo (with Colin Potter) and a trio (with Paul Bradley) Monos in it's earliest incarnation was a solo vehicle for Darren Tate. Promotion is a reissue of the first Monos album and is a dramatic diversion from the more recognisable drone-based sound of the majority of Monos recordings. Darren has always had a love affair with field recordings, often made in the most mundane of circumstances (one of the tracks on his Ghost Guitars (I think) album features a recording of him making a cup of tea), and here this love affair is in full flow. A lonesome siren loops mournfully throughout but any overt musicality is virtually swamped by the clusters of sound dropping from the speakers. For the most part the origins of these sounds are indistinct or inconceivable yet they all feel perfectly suited to the recording and are used to conjure a grittiness that isn't often apparent in Tate's work but is very welcome here.
Thurston Moore - Trees Outside The Academy
(Ecstatic Peace E#91)
Thurston Moore ploughing much the same field as he did on Psychic Hearts just this time it's acoustic, there's a violin and some noise breaks. Mascis turns up occasionally and he's easy to spot. It's not going to set the world on fire but it's a diverting enough listen with a couple of standout tracks.
Phil Mouldycliff - Written On Water
(ICR 63)
CD
To me (and I suspect many others) the name Phil Mouldycliff is known through his collaborations with Colin Potter (my only previous exposure is their collaboration on the Twenty Hertz Drone Series #3) and with Keith Rowe. Mouldycliff uses a battery of sounds, textures and structures. On the whole it's an engrossing listen revealing a composer unafraid to play with his constructions but is let down greatly by the quality of many of the generated sounds. For me the 'midi-ness' of this predominantly synthesizer driven album is massively off-putting, 'A Speculative Atlas (For David Mitchell) in particular suffers from this. There is much to recommend this album for, and for much of the recording it is absorbing and transformative ('Spirit of Place' is stunning), but unfortunately these recommendations are tempered with some quite major reservations.
Mudboy - Hungry Ghosts - These Songs Are Doors
(Digitalis Recordings ACE005)
CD
When I was younger I used to have recurring dreams of three different places - none of them real. The most common was a mountain road. Sometimes I'd drive this road for hours stopping occasionally to do the things that you do in dreams. Sometimes the road would lead me to the second place, a labyrinthine indoor marketplace filled with the most wonderful shops and people. The third place though was the one I visited least often, a fairground. Well maintained, clean, bright and utterly deserted. There was never a soul to be seen or heard but this never bothered me. I like fairgrounds but not for playing in. I like exploring them and photographing them but I rarely ride on anything. They are to me wonderfully transient places where fear and fun merge, where kitsch collides with mundane and the surreal dances with the hyper-real. Which brings me to Mudboy. 'Hungry Ghosts' is the sound (note I didn't say soundtrack) of my dream fairground. The album is a metamorphic, psychedelic soundclash of the fearful, the fun, the kitsch, the mundane, the surreal, the hyper-real and as many other adjectives as one can possibly use especially positive ones. Heartily recommended.
Musk Ox - Musk Ox
CDR
Musk Ox is the alter-ego of Canadian guitarist Nathanael Larochette. He produces an almost medieval form of instrumental folk music that defies easy categorising. On the accompanying press-sheet Nathanael provides a short reference list of artists none of whom (although I'm not familiar with all of them) I can hear here. What I can hear though is reminiscent of Michael Cashmore of Current 93, particularly his solo album 'The Snow Abides'. Sparse guitar melodies sketching wistful, lonely vistas. Musk Ox though never fully gives itself fully over to melancholia and always somehow retains a sense of the clouds breaking through an overcast sky. The occasional singing is less successful but fortunately that is fairly scant as it only serves to ground Nathanael's playing which is a real shame. With musicianship and composition of this calibre Nathanael should definitely be in no rush to abandon the instrumental route.
Mute Lakes - mute lakes
(curve records 001)
CD
Mute Lakes like Coil. Mute Lakes like Coil a lot. Me too. Unfortunately for Mute Lakes Coil were very good at being Coil which makes the first 2 tracks on this 5 track cd all the harder to sit through. It's not that they're bad songs as such, full of portentious chords and droning vocals, its just that they're not Coil. On track 3 however (and tracks 4 & 5) we finally get to hear what Mute Lakes sound like and fortunately they sound really good. Long drawn out ambient pieces performed with a deft touch for both setting a mood and then tearing it apart again. It's still like Coil but it's stopped trying to be Coil.
Mystified vs Ghoul Detail - Split
(Roil Noise RNOCDR064)
CDR
It's taken me an insanely long time to get around to listening to this album as it arrived amidst a flood of other Ghoul Detail releases which I made myself ration out over the course of several months (and there're more still to come). Here we find the Northampton based sound abuser paired off against Saint Louis droner Mystified (or Thomas Park to his mum).
Jon (Bayliss - Ghoul Detail) as regular readers of WWR will know is a perennial fave around these parts. His massive, muscular, heavily tattooed, biker, bounty hunter, chain-smoking, beer swilling, night club doorman type noise drone extravaganzas are a joy to behold and as new releases arrive faster than relatives at a lottery winners house he's always welcome on my stereo. This is no exception as he layers slabs of fuzz and grind onto a bedrock of broken bottles, blood and teeth. Excellent stuff.
It's not often that one of the poor unfortunates twinned with Mr. Bayliss on one of these split releases can really keep up with the musical turmoil he unleashes but Mystified manage it with some aplomb. Parks' noise is much less earthy than Bayliss' growl as his buzzing grind soars and swoops and shakes and shudders like a light aircraft in a hurricane. Maybe a little too treble heavy for me to be utterly taken but that was easily rectified by sliding the graphic equaliser up. Recommended.
Mystified - Mellow Utility
(Ambolthue ambolt-19)
CDR
Mystified had previously come to my attention via his split release with Ghoul Detail this is my first experience of him on a full length release. Mystified deals predominantly in full on grinding noise attack. His sound palette is taken from the noisier end of the spectrum but he melds and folds and overlaps and attacks these sounds with a very restrained hand. Sometimes during the course of 'Mellow Utility' he may be accused of being a little too restrained in his creations as some of the sheer, uncontained and over-exuberant joie-de-vivre that is often present in the best noise compositions is missing but in it's place is a set of tightly constructed, concise noise pieces that are both diverting and an interesting 'snapshot' into what one suspects is truthfully a single part of a work in progress.
Mystified + Rabbit Girls
(Roil Noise RNOCDR063)
2X3"CDR
This split release on American noise label Roil Noise brings together two artists who have appeared in WWR before. Although when I say together I mean 'as part of the same release' not in the collaborative sense or in the sharing a disc sense for that matter as each is on his own separate teeny weeny CD. Mystified who on previous releases had felt a little too well-mannered - a noise artist you could take home to meet (as opposed to 'eat') your mother - kicks things off by being the disc I pulled out first and delivers 4 tracks of churning, sullen noise. In turn utilising grinding noise, processed voices and tones, scraping and blooping beats and finally adulterated field-recordings and buzzing effects. It's a strong set with an interesting array of ideas presented in a very limited (and limiting) time-frame, although I did find the choice of text on the second track to be a little cliched.
Rabbit Girls are a much noisier prospect. Their 4 tracks are considerably louder and more aggressive. Sounds are thrown about seemingly with abandon, spinning and spiralling before slotting into their appointed place in the grand scheme of the EP. It's not all as balls-out as the early tracks would have you believe as there are moments of relief scattered amongst the turmoil that can only add to the unfolding drama.
What is particularly nice about this album is that at no point do you feel the need to contrast the two featured acts. They complement each other very well by being different to each other whilst at the same time being equally as good.
(www.roilnoise.com)
Mystified - D-program
(Industrial Culture ICR012)
3" CDR
Mystified has become a staple feature of the WWR playlist over recent months and with each release I like his sounds more and more. His take on the whole noise genre can seem a little too well mannered but equally his is a sound that is always moving - always in flux and in flow. As such it's always worth a listen. D-program is a set of stately fuzz-laden drone-works that put me in mind of the recent solo release by Jefre Cantu-Ledesma (of Tarantel), 'Shining Skull Breath', it shares that albums love of grime riddled, fast moving drones but Mystified has added a healthy, and welcome, dose of round tonal drones that serve to add variety and extra textures to the whole. D-program is probably the most interesting thing I've heard from Mystified and is definitely worth checking out.
Mystified / Opium Farmer - Untitled
(Roil Noise RNOCDR093)
CDR
Split release featuring two regulars here at Wonderful Wooden Reasons. Mystified's contribution is a long 30 minute hissing drone piece. Of late he has been moving further and further in this direction creating some really nice music. This one however is a little too static for my tastes and I found it difficult to connect with.
Opium Farmer is more commonly known in these pages as Ghoul Detail in which guise he produces massive noise constructs. The Opium Farmer persona however gives him the opportunity to work in a much freer environment as samples are hurled forth at breakneck speed. There's a lot of humour inherent in this work mostly derived from the abuse of voice samples although also present is the characteristic tightly controlled noise work of the Ghoul Detail project. I think personally I'd have liked to hear a greater degree of autonomy between the two projects. On the whole it's a very entertaining listen but I do however find that plunderphonics ages really quickly for me as the rigidity of the construction fixes it at a specific point. It's fine for a few listens but then I find I've shelved the album. The good point of this however is that at the speed that Jon (Opium Ghoul Farmer Detail) works there'll be three more albums out by the time I've finished listening to this one.
Definitely worth a listen.
Mystified - A Tribute to Forbidden Planet
(Roil Noise RNOCDR089)
CDR
Mystified has been an almost constant presence in this zine over the last year. His work is always worth a listen but here he has truly come into his own. This 23 track homage to the sci fi classic opens up his music nicely and lifts it above and beyond the slightly clinical feel that occasionally crops up on his albums. Using an all electronic template Mystified has kept very much in the spirit of the original Louis & Bebe Barron score and has produced an album that I have been returning to frequently.
Recommended muchly.
Mystified Vs. N.Strahl.N
(Roil Noise RNOCDR094)
CDR
Over the last couple of years I've reviewed a skip full of releases on the US noise label Roil Noise. They seem to have a distinct fondness for the powerhouse end of the noise field, lots of testosterone and scowling. Now, I'm all for a bit of chest beating machismo but really only in small doses as it does tend to become quite monotonous quite quickly. Luckily there is another side to the label that seems to be coming to the fore where they are releasing artists with a looser and (or) more relaxed attitude to the soundworlds they inhabit.
Mario Löhr (N.Strahl.N) and Thomas Park (Mystified) are two great examples of this. Both artists deliver a series of dense, abstracted, post-industrial noisescapes. Neither artist is afraid to let their sound sources do the work for them giving the music a nice airy feel as opposed to the bleak dystopianism of much music from this field. Löhr, on this release at least, is the more obtuse of the two sending his sounds skipping through a junkyard of metallic constructions to coalesce into a beautifully quiet noise. Parks takes a more meandering path that explores drones, shimmering noise and a rhythmic industrialism (often all in the same track) that I hadn't heard him do before. Both are essentially travelling the same path but each is doing it in very much their own way.
It's not often that these split seedees work as well as this but this one is a doozy that is undoubtedly worth tracking down.
Mystified / Swamps Up Nostrils - Monstro
(Krakilsk kra046)
CDR
It's been a few months since Mystified last graced these pages with his presence. This was a conscious decision on my part as his releases (along with several others) were becoming a regular feature on WWR. I'm glad I did it because coming back a couple of months later with fresh ears has helped me once again appreciate how good he's getting at all this quiet noise palaver. The abundance of voice samples on his contributions may preclude Monstro from being a regular feature on my seedee player as I find they struggle to retain my attention for long which is purely a personal taste thing - I just prefer instrumentals. So tuning them out and focussing in on the music reveals on Mystified's first track a lush, glacially slow rumble upon which he's constructed the voice sample narrative that drives the piece. His other contribution continues this idea but with a slightly more dynamic and mobile instrumental base.
Swamps Up Nostrils whilst having the worst name I've stumbled across lately create some fine lo-fi ambient noise. Very much in keeping with the mood established by Mystified on the opening half of the record SUN have constructed two fine examples of earthy, tectonic crackle. Both tracks are well worth a listen but they are probably too minimalist for their own good and end up feeling a little one dimensional.
Interesting contributions from both artists but not, I think, the best work of either artist.
Mystified - Pulse Ringer Pieces
(Droehnhaus #3)
LP
Mystified is by far the most prolific musician whose work I regularly receive for review in Wonder Wooden Reasons (even more so than Ghoul Detail). Prolific to the point that at any one given time I probably have three or more of his albums sitting in the pile next to my desk waiting to be listened to. So, firstly, my apologies to those labels who have sent releases by him that have yet to feature - I'll get to them soon - and secondly, so is this one - the first of his I've heard on LP - any good? Well, yes actually it's very good. Mystified releases always feel part of a larger project (not unsurprisingly given what I mentioned above) and this one is no exception. Here, as with the best of his releases, he isn't content to operate within any genre confines although he does have an affinity with the darker sides of music. The darkest of ambiences sit alongside muscular drones and the occasional almost danceable beats that in turn are bathed in hiss, noise and primary coloured flashes of sound. This is definitely one of the best Mystified releases I've heard and considering that they are always, at the very least, worth a listen then please realise that I am praising this highly. Also the fact that it's on vinyl is always to be applauded.
Mystified - SubDialogue
(Verato Project)
CDR
As a massively prolific musician there's always seems to be a new album lurking in the shadows from Thomas Parks' Mystified project and, as you'd imagine from so large an output, they are of differing quality. Let me be straight here, he's never less than listenable but occasionally it does feel as though he's not trying too hard. This one, I'm afraid, is a case in point. There's nothing here that I haven't heard him do before and do better. One of the things that made his 'Pulse Ringer Pieces' album on Droehnhaus so good was that he took the core elements of his sound (harsh noise, digital drone and industrial beats) and he forcefully evolved them into something new, something different. Here we simply have a return to those core elements which are, as I stated earlier, eminently listenable but ultimately a little unsatisfying. One for Mystified completists only I'm afraid.
Nacre - Hier et Demain
(Burning Emptiness BE#30 single series one)
3"CD-R
3 inch 2 track cdr on the French Burning Emptiness label (also home to Empty fanzine). This three piece bring a variety of instruments (guitar, electrophone, saxophone & machines) to a beautiful, tuneless, cacophony of sound. On the first tune Emmanuel Mailly's guitar fidgets over a relentless pulsing backbeat while the other two players (Jyuri Remois & Arnaud Gorlier) add a variety of peeps, pips, squawks and swoops. Of the two tracks the second feels the most fully realised with each player dipping in and out of the spotlight with both ease and grace whilst the song swoops and weaves around them.
Absolutely no concession is made for the listener here, it is demanding and slightly ridiculous and as such it will appeal to a very select audience. This is unapologetically abstract and I unapologetically, and thoroughly, recommend it.
nahvalur - aboideau
(Mystery Sea MS46)
CDR
Nahvalur (where do people get these names from?) are operating in the field of drone music previously populated by Andrew Chalk & Christoph Heeman's Mirror project. Delicate, multi-hued, gently unfurling tones that are a little grittier (sprinkled with pops and crackles) and a little darker than those produced by those illustrious counterparts but that's not to detract from what's on offer cause what's on offer is very good. However (on track 3) when he adds the field recordings to the mix 'aboideau' lifts and becomes a mighty fine release indeed. One that has been haunting my stereo for many weeks and which I suspect will continue to do so.
New Juche Whores Of Leith - Bangkok Fanny-Rat
(New Juche NJ002)
CD
Whores of Leith made their debut by mixing recordings of Scottish prostitutes with multilayered noise constructs. This bold follow-up continues with that idea but this time the location is Bangkok and the subjects are, primarily, the clientele. I'm not a great fan of voice samples in my music as I find they soon become quite cumbersome and intrusive into the flow of an album however on Bangkok Fanny-Rat the voices are utterly intrinsic to the project and whilst the music upon which they occasionally sit is undoubtedly impressive it often disappears into the background which, I suspect, is, to a great extent, intentional. The voice samples it must be said are somewhat clumsy. As reportage they impart no new information and as voyeurism they are reduced to the level of the farcical by the efforts taken to disguise the voices of those interviewed. For me it is the instrumental tracks here that work the best (and the all dialogue tracks the least) as the music holds an admirable sense of place wherein it sounds like an untamed and riotous traditional Malay or Indonesian orchestra utilising all the crashing and clanging atonalities that are often associated with the musics of the region. In conclusion, interesting but not, I think, essential.
Ninth Desert - Zone
(Mystery Sea MS38)
CDR
I maintain that time is fluid. Time is in a constant state of flux that we move with, through, into, out of, above, below, around and inside. What we perceive as 'time' is merely 'timing', the act of marking time, of constraining it and interpreting it as ticks on a clock. The perception is everything. Slow your perceptions and you slow time. Just exactly how long is a moment? I ask because that is exactly how long Zone takes to play. In it's grip time, as a signifier of length, loses all meaning as Ninth Desert enmesh you in a vortex of complimentary, conflicting, contrasting, convulsive and compulsive sounds.
Nisei 23 - Milenka E.P.
(Northern Star Records)
MP3 Download
4 track EP of drone and drums from one half (?) of psychedelic dronesters Perfect Blue whose excellent split CDR with The Bordellos I reviewed here a couple of months ago. The music contained herein hovers somewhere between soundscapes and songs with the former winning out. Slow builds of sound are propelled by brushed rhythms whilst whispered vocals tease at the limits of your perceptions and field recordings and electronic tones swirl around cascading drones creating an interesting and immersive whole. It should be noted that two of the tracks (1 & 3) are a little too similar sounding for me to be entirely comfortable with their inclusion on a four track ep but generally this is a fine release that bodes well for the future and bears up well to repeated listens.
Nurse With Wound - Echo Poeme: Sequence No.2
(United Jnana 2005CD)
CD
I've been starting to resent NWW of late, simply due to the sheer volume of releases they are putting out. In the time between buying this cd and writing this review there've been two more. It's not the quality of the material that's at issue here. All the recent albums have been uniformly excellent and this one even more so. It's just that I need a break. I need the time, and the spare cash, to try someone new for a while.
This is quite wonderful though. Disembodied voices float wistfully around the room creating what is easily the most voyeuristic experience I've ever had. It feels like you're evesdropping on the speaker's most thoughtful and refelctive moments. Chilling and compulsive listening. Beautiful.
Objekt4 - floor 27 - specimen storage
(Burning Emptiness BE#31 single series two)
3"CD-R
3 inch cdr on the French Burning Emptiness label (also home to Empty fanzine). A long (20 minute) drone and effects piece marred early on by some poor mixing resulting in a couple of speaker threatening moments before it, thankfully, finds it's mix. From then (around the 5 minute mark) on it's a smorgasbord of warm tones broken up by explosions of shattering glass. An interesting and brave take on the drone concept and one I'd like to hear developed further.
Oblivion Ensemble - Seraphim Hallucino
(Malignant Records TumorCD28)
CD
Oblivion Ensemble is the working name of the collaboration between John Bergstrom and Brannon Hungness and their latest album comes on like the soundtrack to a hysterical drug-paranoia movie - 'See the horror of young Johnny Wilks who 'dropped' LSD and had a BAD TRIP!!!!!!!' Cue the swirly, lava lamp-esque visuals. the camera rushing maniacally in and out of close-up whilst the music flails, rushes, jiggles and soars. Throwing itself around the speakers in an attempt to scramble and perplex your senses.
Propelled by a restless and narcotic logic redolent of the kind of deranged cut ups that Nurse With Wound used to do O.B. omit the absurdity of those creations to instead fashion a bleak and dystopian composition made entirely from tantilising fragments of Johnny's acid-fried mind...maybe.
Of - Rocks Will Open
(Digitalis Recordings ACE017)
CD
Of is the solo guise of Jewelled Antler’s Loren Chasse and Rocks Will Open sees him exploring hazy, lazy textures on a host of instruments too numerous to mention.
Occasionally bright, occasionally almost suffocatingly bleak, Chasse’s compositions are a sleepy affair but probably not conducive to what used to be referred to as ‘a good eight hours.’
Chasse doesn’t do anything as obviously crass as making his music ‘creepy’ instead the moods he conjures are distinctly ‘disquieting’. Sometimes his music, on the surface level at least, feels blithely innocuous but closer and more perceptive listens reveal not so much hidden depths as non-obvious nuances. The subtle overlay of contrasting textures that mask their presence by creating a third guise. The deception only revealed when one or other betrays it’s presence (deliberately or not) by a sudden shift in sound or timbre.
Rocks Will Open is a wonderfully complete and satisfying album that more than rewards repeated listens.
Olekranon - Cohesion
(Inam Records 21)
CDR
Olekranon is Ryan (no surname given) and Cohesion is an amalgam of three previous and very limited cdrs . This rather splendid album arrived and took up residence on my stereo with no fanfare. A mix of electronic soundscapes and full 'band' left-field, industrialised, post-rock compositions that slowly wormed their way into my head and stayed. For the most part the music on Cohesion seems to be formed from guitar, synthesizer and drum-machine. The guitar is Ryan's most successful instrument producing some blissfully cosmic melody lines. The slight over-reliance on electronics does get to be a little old as the album prgresses as it does rob the album of some warmth but as Olekranon is at this point a one-man-band that is understandable. I really would like to hear these tracks played live with a group of like-minded musicians but if that's an unlikely pipe-dream then this album certainly does the job in the meantime.
(inamrecs AT yahoo.com)
Olekranon - Gaitan
(Inan Records 29)
CDR
It’s been a while since new music by Olekranon graced my seedee player and as such Gaitan marks a very welcome return. As before Ryan (Huber) makes music that straddles various genres including noise, rock, industrial, and oh so many more. Ryan isn’t breaking new ground here. Musically there is much familiarity but he has taken and adapted well. A keen ear and a willingness to experiment has enabled him to create something that is his own within that familiarity. Certain parts work better - the symphonic goth noise of the title track didn’t really do much for me I must admit - but he flings ideas around with abandon which means that ideas never linger too long and outstay their welcome. His is a distinctly dark psychedelic muse. It’s a fungal psychotropic harvested from the darkest, dankest corners and it‘s quite addictive.
Yui Onodera - Substrate
(Mystery Sea MS43)
CDR
This is just wonderful. Japanese musician Yui Onodera operates in the realm of sumptuous drone populated by artists such as Mirror, Jonathan Coleclough and Colin Potter. His drones are outwardly simple yet his compositions are immeasurably deep. They pour gently from the speakers flowing over every surface in the room. Whilst sourced from environmental sources along with electronics, voice, guitar and piano there is often little clue as to the origin of the sounds you are listening to (track 8 being the notable exception) instead one finds oneself fully immersed in the flow of the music as it overwhelms all consciousness and transports one fully into Onodera's opulent and verdant soundworld.
OrchestraMaxfieldParrish - The Silent Breath Of Emptiness
(Faith Strange Recordings)
CD
Contrary to the suggestion made in the name this is the work of one man, Mike Fazio. 'The Silent Breath...' consists of a single solo guitar improvisation, subsequently edited into four discrete and cohesive parts and accompanied by a fifth reconstruction. It's a stunningly melancholic and hallucinogenic experience with Fazio's guitar often sounding more like a bank of synthesizers than a guitar. The use of 'Orchestra' in the project name is readily apparent in Mike's playing style which is described in the press notes as 'symphonic' and I can find no more apt word to replace it with. In style OMP is reminiscent of people such as Andrew Chalk but in sound is very much related to the ambient recordings of Eno, or Phaedra-era Tangerine Dream with lush electronic chords layered to create a sumptuous bath of sound into which you can submerge. I think I would have liked to hear more variety in the effects with which the guitar has been treated but equally I am quibbling over small things as this is a fine and recommended release.
Orchestramaxfieldparrish presents AERA - To The Last Man / Index of Dreaming
(Faith Strange Recordings fs8&9)
2CD
The last time I had the distinct pleasure of hearing a Faith Strange release it was the sublime ‘Silent Breath of Emptiness’ by the rather unwieldly named Orchestramaxfieldparrish. Now a year later the name has grown with the addition of ‘presents AERA’. It’s a mouthful and a half isn’t it. In order to work around this I’m going to refer to Orchestramaxfieldparrish presents AERA by his given name of Mike Fazio - it’s much easier to type.
The two halves of this album are individually named possibly as an indication of content or possibly as a thematic device for Mike’s overarching driving concept. Either way they encompass a sumptuous and engrossing set of ambient music. Utilising, slow snowfalls of drones, showers of micro-tones and (if you’re lucky enough to grab the limited edition with the extra third disc) some well chosen field recordings Mike has created a set that fills a room with a cushion of sound
It’s difficult to give you a straight and easy description of the music. It is, by turn, the purest of ambient - like Eno at his best - before morphing into the most uncomfortable of atmospheres - dripping with discomfort and trepidation. His music is as slow and stark as the winter months and as lush and vibrant as the summer ones. Always recommended.
Taiko Oroshi - Bleeder Locked Attack
(R.o.N.F. Records RNF-026)
CDr
Speaker, and eardrum, shattering shards of broken digital noise are the forte of Danish musician Claus Haxholm. Bleeder Locked Attack is a littered with fast moving and uncomfortable shards of sound that Haxholm tosses around with a wonderfully blase disregard for his listener. The tracks are, for the most part, nice and short so long before a sound or an idea becomes entrenched or passe it is has been discarded and we are all happily ensconced in the next track. My one real complaint is in the similarity of much of the textures he uses. There is a grittiness to many of the sounds that is interchangeable as though he has used the same effect (be it pedal or processor) on each track. That however is a quibble as this is a fun noise release that while not really offering anything new to a very full genre is still a fun listen.
Orphax - Sand In Boxes
(Verato Project)
CDR
Orphax is S v. Erve and he or she is responsible for everything contained within which apparently consists of field recordings, piano and melodica. It's a fairly sedate affair. Gritty crackles propel the initial track along whilst slow tones swell and break like ghostly breezes. Track two sees Erve allowing his / her sounds to soar a little sounding like layer upon layer of recordings of passing highflying aircraft. It's a little one dimensional though and a dip in quality after the auspicious opener. Track three though sees the album back on track with an excellent, but short, track of warm drones and the return of that nice gritty crackle from the first piece. It's a bit of a sudden drop into the fourth and final track on the album but it quickly builds in a crescendo of looping tones punctuated by stabs of granite sound. It maybe builds a little too far as the tones start to lose definition and had me reaching for the volume knob to help them regain a comfortable level. This is though the psychedelic centrepiece of the album. Sounds swirl, throb, circle and tumble throughout and it's wonderfully absorbing. A fine end to an always interesting and ultimately thoroughly enjoyable album.
Orpheo 5 - A Year on the Ice
(Wordhoard whcd003)
CD
Orpheo 5 are an electro-acoustic duo consisting of saxophonist Keith Jafrate and Shaun Blezard on electronics. I've really struggled to find the words to write this review. I've deleted, I think, three rough drafts before starting this one. I'm doing this one 'blind' so to speak, the album's not even playing as I type (the new Sonic Youth one is). I'm going to stream of consciousness this review and hope it's readable and says what I want to say.
Inspired by, amongst others, the Evan Parker's Electro-Acoustic Ensemble, the two members of Orpheo 5 have created an album that has haunted my seedee player this last month. You can hear their influences (especially that of Parker) but not in any way that's distracting or demeaning to either party. Jafrate's saxophone alternates between atonality and lyricism with sublime ease and Blezard's noises can be both unobtrusive and leading depending on the particular compositions, and I'm pretty sure they are compositions as nothing here feels particularly improvised. Both players interlink almost seamlessly with things only hiccupping once when they try their hands at a more restrictive, almost dance music like, format. let's just say it's not a great success and leave it at that as it really is my only complaint with what is a mighty fine melding of breath, circuitry and oodles of ideas. Recommended.
Fabio Orsi - The Wild Light Of The Moon
(Sentient Recognition Archive SRA 005)
CDR
This is my first sampling of the music conjured up by Berlin based musician Fabio Orsi but his is a name I've been hearing mentioned alongside glowing adjectives for a while now. So, with all preconceptions and expectati9ons put aside (at least as much as possible) I was keen to give a listen to his long-form drone album for US label SRA and he does not disappoint in the slightest. 'The Wild Light of the Moon' is a single track of nicely immersive Kosmiche drone complete with cool sparkly bits glittering around it's edges. 'TWLotM' is a genial and glowing sunrise that with the gentle addition of field recordings (birds) into the mix flows around you warming you in it's glow. Think Phaedra or Rubycon era Tangerine Dream but with a more contemporary sound bank and you won't be far off the mark. A very good album.
