Adverse Effect

As 2010 morphed into 2011, it was decided that Adverse Effect will no longer exist as a solely (occasional) online venture. Instead, although posts will continue here from time to time, and an archive has started to appear, Adverse Effect will once again manifest in paper form sometime during Spring 2012. The plan, presently, with this is to combine the magazine with a Lumberton Trading Company 7" (by William Bennett's astonishing Cut Hands, no less) and an A4 art print related to Cut Hands with the first 100. News on who will appear in the magazine will be announced in due course. In the meantime, however, it can be made clear that this proposition is proving to be a very exciting one and that more contributors are very welcome. If interested in being involved, please get in touch via the Contact Form. Likewise, please note that REVIEW MATERIAL IS ACCEPTED NOW but only in the original CD or vinyl form. We do not have the time or inclination to review music sent to us via links. Thanks.


ADVERSE EFFECT REVIEWS 2010

AABZU Rambo CD (AudioTong, Poland, 2010)
This is a well-timed release as far as I’m concerned, as I finally succumbed to watching First Blood only recently (following William Bennett recommending it to me last year), after years of avoiding it simply due to Stallone’s presence (and yet, suffice to say, he is excellent in it). Whatever, Rambo is the second album ‘proper’ by the Polish duo of Lukasz ‘Zenial’ Szalankiewicz and Maciek Szymczuk; both stalwarts of Poland’s underground electronica world and quite often otherwise found playing solo sets hunched over their respective laptops in their native land and far beyond. Slightly meatier than the previous album, Rambo, titled in honour of the film series of the same name, collects twelve cuts that cast one back to those heady times where a new record on Warp Records meant getting some fresh shapes in sonic architecture. Without doubt, the reference points can be found throughout, right down to the more trip-hoppin’ ‘Things With Molecular Structure’ or faintly technoid ‘Dreams of Freedom’, but Aabzu prove themselves masters of their game via both twists and turns more interesting than expectations may cater for and an enthusiastic attention to detail. The wonderfully titled ‘Bullets and Bombs (Fly In All Directions As the Indestructible Rambo Works His Way)’ is just one of several highlights, bringing together a rhythm akin to marching robots and a fine array of post-industrial textures, whilst the inclusion of remixes by Mauro Teho Teardo and Kika indicates clearly how wide this duo’s net can be cast. I raise my glass and look forward to the third one. (Richard Johnson)
www.audiotong.net

ALTAR OF FLIES Permanent Cavity CD (iDEAL Recordings, Sweden, 2010)
Seems as though this is the first CD proper by this prolific Swedish noise artist, Mattias Gustafsson, who has been operating under the Altar Of Flies alias since 2006 and has so far released countless cassettes, CDRs and even a couple of limited edition LPs (one shared with Sewer Election). Throughout the seven cuts that make up Permanent Cavity , we are treated to a high-voltage series of lo-fi rumbles, heavily distorted drones and gyrating tones that often pull back the attack to make room for a sinister form of psychedelic smog; the like of which certain New Zealand artists once cut their teeth on. Added to the movement clearly at work here is a perfectly tempered approach that demonstrates Gustafsson’s adeptness only to well. Very clearly, he is somebody worth watching. (Richard Johnson)
www.idealrecordings.com

AUTHOR & PUNISHER Drone Machines CD (HCB Recordings, Israel. 2010)
Tristan Shone is a genius and a slave. He attended the University of California, San Diego and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY, earning him an MFA in visual Arts and a BS in mechanical engineering but now spends his time trapped within a steel prison of his own design. He not only creates all the music herein but also designs and builds the one of a kind instruments used to make it. Drone music as it has come to be known has existed for hundreds, probably thousands of years. From Mongolian and Tuvan throat singing to Sitar and Tanpura and even Tibetan singing bowls. It is the universal pleasure of hearing different frequencies slowing oscillate and duck in and out of each other. Some find it meditative while others dismiss it as meaningless noise. Mr Shone has taken the drone elements though and used them to create something quite structured and at times tuneful within the context of noisecore. The album’s opening track, 'Sand, Wind and Carcass', is a beautifully sinister incantation that sounds like it could be a mantra playing inside the mind of a postal worker minutes before a killing spree. The song 'Skies O’er' clocks in at roughly 23 bpm and vocally sounds like Dave Mustain singing along to Black Sabbath while Toni Iommi relives his industrial fingertip slicing accident. 'NTG 2-Pressure' is I suspect a love song. Although the words are rendered meaningless polysquawks by the reverb and distortion there’s something about the melody that is universally recognizable as heartbreak. There are familiar sounding beats throughout the album reminiscent of Ted Parsons days with Swans, elements of Fantomas' heavier, darker material and Jim Thirlwells THAW-era distorted vocals but it has a tunefulness which is often lacking in music this heavy and repetitive. At times the bass sounds may change your neighbours' opinion of you or disrupt your living arrangements but then that’s the point, he didn’t build a tactile dual handled cross frequency steel bass machine for nothing. If you’re lucky and your hi-fi/room configuration is just right, you may see dust falling from the ceiling or a hairline crack race across the wall. This is a truly original sounding album which, while it won’t appeal to most worker bees, does have a lot going for it. His sound could lend itself well to film scores and if Clint Mansell and Graeme Revell can jump the shark and take their tunes to tinseltown then I'm sure Author and Punisher can too. Expect to hear more from Mr Tristan Shone and his magnificent drone machines in the future. (Andrew Dewar Ainslie)

FRED BIGOT Mono/Stereo CD (Holy Mountain, USA, 2010)
Debut full-lengther gathering tracks otherwise previously available on two 12” records by this artist whose blend of full-on proto-techno rhythms, stormy textures and heaving swells operate in the same timezone as Pan Sonic or even early Plastikman. It’s all agreeable enough and sounds poised to shake the pins out of any mutant dancefloor, but there’s no avoiding the very real sense of déjà vu peering throughout. Despite a blistering enough sound that still appears at least contemporary, in a positive sense, in these staid times where only production values mask so much of the retro shit going on about us, Fred Bigot’s album, at best, only hints at those places it could possibly lead us to that we’ve not previously visited. Taken on these terms alone, however, he’s done a good job. (Richard Johnson)
www.holymountain.com

OLIVER BLANK Karhu ja Tiikerini CD + DVD (Cocosolidciti, 2010)
Blank is an ex-guitarist for the backing group of indie/electronica Mancunian crossover artist, Jim Noir. On this debut, he fuses panoramic electronics, classical string swells, sparingly used field recordings (presumably taken from around his home in Helsinki) and melodic guitar refrains to a highly polished and accessible sensibility that very often comes over as too sickly-sweet and mannered for my rather ravaged palate. Although there’s no denying Blank’s obvious skills or, indeed, the scope of the work here, it is unfortunately fertilised with that same sense of smugness one gets from certain old prog-rock outfits. The pieces here, so clearly designed with future film scores in mind, remain dry and methodical and never relent to the merest hints of the avant-garde that are not only strewn throughout, such as at the very beginning of ‘Stars in Lapland’, but possess the potential to elevate everything to far more interesting places. Ultimately, Karhu ja Tiikerini is an easy-listening experience dressed as something cleverer. It’s music for young executives who think they’ve artistic leanings… The accompanying DVD features the film short Karhunpeijeset by James Martin and Jonathan Ben-Ami besides a score by Blank. It takes us on a boat trip into some animated interpretations of the Finnish forests and their secrets. Pleasant enough, but not particularly inspiring. Which makes it just about right, I guess, for its appearing with this album. (Richard Johnson)
www.cocosolidciti.com

BLESSURE GRAVE Judged by Twelve, Carried by Six CD (Alien8 Recordings, Canada, 2010)
Following a number of limited edition single releases and suchlike throughout 2009, Judged by Twelve, Carried by Six is the debut album by this Californian group founded by T. Graves and Reyna Kay. Apparently taking their cue mainly from early English post-punk groups such as Killing Joke, The Cure and Death In June, they seem to have managed a stab at a fairly contemporary slant on matters via high production values and a sensibility enriched by both neo-folk and a keen pop sheen. Whilst the songs themselves seem borne of a time now long gone, when so-called Positive Punk and goth was beginning to tighten its grip on the more art-stricken and disillusioned punk generation, it’s interesting for me, as someone who lived through this period in music, to see how it continues to hold court with successive 20-somethings. Not that I completely understand this, of course, as I found most such music tepid at best, despite a little wanton dabbling with it in my teenage years (the best such groups, for me, were those whose music could not be so easily pigeonholed). Blessure Grave’s music combines a post-Joy Division/The Cure melodic angle with Doug Pearce vocal stylings and an overall approach not far removed from that once found in the early records on 4AD or by The Chameleons. At times, a little neo-folk also adds to the mist and is enhanced by the imagery on the front sleeve (which also recalls Sunn0))), but we all know that there’s a line these drone-metallers like to share with such groups, don’t we?), too. Whether a contemporary pop production is enough to sustain this album in the same way as the outright originality of certain classic post-punk albums has remains to be seen, of course. But I wouldn’t place any bets on it. (Richard Johnson)
www.alien8recordings.com

HANNIS BROWN Oh Ah Ee CD (self-released, USA, 2010)
Like so much music presently emanating from the US, Los Angeles’ artist Hannis Brown’s debut draws from a wide range of sources yet ultimately sounds like the product of a mind twisted into as many directions. Over thirteen cuts that are occasionally augmented by other musicians (playing trombone, saxophone, flute, piano, etc.) and that, indeed, suck on the choppier waters of improvisation, free jazz, the psychedelic pop of The Beach Boys or The Byrds, avant-rock and modern classical music, Oh Ah Ee only remains consistent in its ability to surprise. A song such as ‘My Head Is Underwater’ merges vocal harmonies, mournful passages partly carried by a violin, post-industrial squalls of noise, melodic textures and an overtly oblique sensibility both playful and capable of stirring up deeper emotions. Alone, this pretty much sums up the erratic nature of the album and, whilst other tracks, such as the brief ‘Don’t Want to Go Anymore’, throw themselves around a more conventional pop approach (as opposed to throwing more conventional approaches around!), Oh Ah Ee mostly delivers as a highly accomplished piece of work brimmin’ with surprises, energy and restlessness. Whilst nods towards Brown’s beloved Charles Mingus are scattered into the fray, the music here mostly traverses that line where a tight rein on the proceedings appears poised to violently snap at any given moment. And it’s an exciting place that could so easily plummet if in the wrong hands… Although I can imagine only too many people will be quick to cast it alongside the likes of Animal Collective, Olivia Tremor Control, Battles and so many other contemporary exponents of experimental ‘indie’ music, Hannis Brown’s debut strikes a far more personal chord that I hope will be explored even further during whatever is to follow. As his first step into the world of commercially available recorded music, this is a truly mighty one. Invigorating. (Richard Johnson)
www.hannisbrown.com

CARTA An Index of Birds CD (Silber, USA, 2010)
Like several bands whose releases are championed by this enthusiastic and dedicated US label, Carta arrive from that mould where rock music is reconfigured into something more pastoral and atmospheric. However, unlike, say, Mogwai, whose music has forever retained an edge that can occasionally touch on those emotions some might deem ‘negative’ (count me out on that one, though, please!), Carta’s take on matters is mostly quite polite yet subtly bitterwsweet at times. Throughout the thirteen songs on An Index of Birds , tempered textures, shades of electronica and slo-mo rhythms, sometimes embellished with other instrumentation such as piano and strings, evoke a a rainswept and starlit world where beauty and dreariness merge like some kind of lost film about failed romance. On the surface, it is adept but feels a little too workmanlike. It is almost as though Carta are nodding towards their own heroes (which include Joy Division, as a couple of songs testify…) rather than doing what such music depends on and exploring their emotions. For sure, the promise to do just this arises from time to time, but it’s needs to be explored. Fully and, indeed, extremely. Great packaging on the album, though, featuring as it does a three-way fold-out cover with some enticing photography on by Charlene Wright. (Richard Johnson)
www.silbermedia.com

RAYMOND DIJKSTRA L’opus L’H LP (Dekorder, Germany, 2010)
The most recent release by a Dutch artist very much locked into his own personal mission to express himself via non-musical objects as much as instruments such as the harmonium and tuba. Since the beginning of the decade, he has been releasing low-run vinyl and CDr editions of his work, often in special packaging via his own Le Souffleur imprint and wholly dedicated to a pure artistic approach rarely found these days. Over the two sides of this entry in Dijkstra’s Opus series of releases, we are treated to a hypnotic yet wheezy harmonium and all manner of mostly subtle and perfectly suited scrapes, clanks and screeches sourced, it seems like, from glass and wood. Organic and rich in movement, the entire listening experience is a mesmerising one that leaves one gasping for more. Limited to 300 also, this has desirability stamped all over it. Beautiful. (Richard Johnson)
www.dekorder.com

DIRAC Phon CD (Valeot Records, Austria, 2010)
Dirac’s third album Phon sees the trio perform, produce, mix and master everything themselves while also recording the single track cd in one take. While this approach is becoming more common now due to the continued prolapse of the recording industry, it is still quite an achievement. The band are based in Vienna and this is their first release on the Viennese label Valeot. They describe their sound as 21st century chamber music, which given the one take approach, the use of acoustic instruments and the play for your own pleasure principle is not entirely inappropriate. The artwork is minimal to say the least with a simple diagrammatic line drawing on the cover. The album opens with the barely audible sounds of warped trumpets speaking to each other which eventually gives way to looped water sounds and backwards violin. In come the bass notes and then the horns which give the album a similar feel to Michael Gira’s Body Lovers. The volume swells with the sounds of guitar feedback and fuzz then ends with the sound of a running brook. The recording could definitely be described as eerie but It wouldn’t be accurate to call it ambient because it can’t really be played as background music and still enjoyed. It absorbs ambient noise rather than complimenting it. There is an atmosphere to this music possibly best described as ceremonial, with echoes of Biosphere and Gyorgy Ligeti. Best served over candles late at night with a hint of incense. Live recordings and more are available on their website as well as biographies of the members. (Andrew Dewar Ainslie)
dirac.klingt.org

LAURA GIBSON & ETHAN ROSE Bridge Carols CD (Baskaru, France, 2010)
Unfamiliar with Americana folk singer Laura Gibson’s solo work, I don’t know how this collaboration compares, but there’s no denying the Portland singer’s poetic musings both possess a fragility about them and are perfectly matched to the prolific Rose’s gentle backdrops. Embellishing the mostly string arrangements with piano, guitar, bells and little electronic flourishes, Rose has created an evocative setting instantly reminiscent of those wonderful sunsets over vales barely touched by man. Whilst a heavy veil of melancholy hangs throughout the nine cuts, one is also left feeling those pangs of hope best summarised in the title of a particularly beautiful song, ‘Leaving, Believing’. Overtly, Bridge Carols feels like the result of some tremendous investment in time and emotions; an album that encapsulates the idea of solace in the countryside, and one that commands being returned to repeatedly. (Richard Johnson)
www.baskaru.com

IDO GOVRIN Moraine CD (Interval Recordings, Israel, 2010)
A relatively short album by this sound artist (also responsible for running Interval Recordings, and one half of Duprass) comprising six pieces of shifting tonal works falling somewhere between Thomas Koner and, on the grainier cuts where the sourced cello and violins are more apparent, Stars Of The Lid. Whilst pleasant and engaging enough, I cannot help but feel that Govrin still needs to find his own voice in this medium, however. Like the very material this album is named after (coincidentally the name of an album by my group Splintered, also…), the music here appears as though it has been carried by some glaciers to some forms perhaps previously visited. It would be good to hear some new shapes manifesting in these rather frozen waters. (Richard Johnson)
www.interval-recordings.com

HOW TO DESTROY ANGELS eponymous CDEP (Null Corporation, USA, 2010)
Trent Reznor has been on top of his game since he began recording under the name nine inch nails in 1988. The game being to create noisy industrial tinged pop/rock for angsty teenagers everywhere. He's the go to guy to see what's possible in terms of modern production techniques and more recently modern advertising campaigns. However, what he does is still frowned upon by a great many who still remember the origins of the term "industrial music" despite his acceptance and collaborative work with bands like Coil and Foetus. HTDA is formed of Reznor, his wife Mariqueen Maandig (formerly of West Indian Girl) on lead vocals and Reznor’s studio right hand man Aticuss Ross and they take their name from an e.p. by Coil. The opening track, ‘The Space In Between’, is as dark lyrically as it is musically: “All our blood lying on the floor, sense the crowd expecting something more.” If you've seen the gruesome video for this song then you'll already know that this is a literal description of events taking place. When the chorus slices through the drone you know you're going to be humming it for days; there's something about the razor sharp vocoder effect on Maandig’s vocals that you can't help but want to hear over and over again. Next up is ‘Parasite’. All screeches and crunchy drums repeating the same rhythm and tune while Mr & Mrs Reznor mumble something about the aforementioned Parasite. It's decent enough but nothing special. ‘Fur Lined’ is a funky bass driven track reminiscent of NIN's song ‘Only’ and features an interesting technique whereby the vocals are muffled and sound like they're being sung through a pillow which actually works well to make this stand out from what could have been quite a pedestrian jaunt through a collection of loops and samples. ‘BBB’ is the ultimate electro soundtrack to a leather/rubber fem dom film. "Get down on the ground, don't move, make a sound - listen to the sound of my Big Black Boots.” It's sexy and sleazy and features the use of a machine called a Swarmatron (only 2 in existence) to produce strange drones. ‘The Believers’ brings to mind the undefined instrumental ethnic percussion sounds employed by Byrne and Eno on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and is pleasing enough. Finally, ‘A Drowning’ is the closing track and features the tried and tested piano hooks and ebow drones NIN fans will recognise from so much of his work. It's a decent song and the strange melting brass sounds a couple of minutes in are a nice touch. Overall, a pretty good listen. This project will definitely have its detractors and while I would have to admit it's just NIN with female vocals that's o.k. with me. Fans will say, "He's done it again" and haters will say, "He's done it again". (Andrew Dewar Ainslie)

JAMES JOHNSTON & PHILIPPE PETIT Fiends with a Face CD (Dirter, 2010)
It’s been a long while since I heard anything by Gallon Drunk founder, Johnston, outside his five-year stint with the Bad Seeds until 2008, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect on this collaborative album with French turntablist/electronic artist, Petit. Over the nine-song course, however, he uses an organ, guitar, piano, violin and harmonica to add hues either spooky or otherworldly to Petit’s own perfectly tailored embellishments. Sometimes, it seems as though a nightmarish church organ is caught in a miasma of textured sheets, dissonance and wavering spaceward-bound noodling, at other times everything comes over slightly more warmly yet remains no less enticing for this. A little carefully-hewn ragged blues guitar likewise nods into view from time to time, but ultimately Fiends with a Face adds up to the kind of listen that’d hold its own in those imaginary soundtrack stakes where beauty and something vaguely threatening merge to traverse new paths. Shame the nine songs are not quite enough. (Richard Johnson)

SARAH JUNE In Black Robes CD (Silber, USA, 2010)
In Black Robes follows US singer/songwriter’s debut album, This is My Letter to the World
, on the cult Hand Eye label in 2008. Featuring thirteen songs of a soft-focus, wispy and delicate nature that are built around simple home recordings of her with her guitar, it would be somewhat lazy to simply draw parallels with other female singer/songwriters whose work assumes a more stripped-down and minimal approach. Rather, Sarah June’s guitar style, originally inspired and still tainted by the classical jazz school, takes on a repetitive melodic slant not dissimilar to the twilight folk worlds Hand Eye themselves are especially known for traversing, although perhaps more refined. If anything, I’m reminded of some of Michael Cashmore’s solo work in terms of the way these songs are breezy and light in sound yet remain clearly personal. Sarah’s voice itself is gentle and lulling, which is perfect for this setting. The entire album adds up to the kind of soothing listen where one knows that broken dreams are never so far away. And, in my book, this makes for a good balance. The appeal of In Black Robes goes beyond the trappings of Americana and Neu-folk, so the very best of luck to this young lady and her clear-minded craft. (Richard Johnson)
www.silbermedia.com

RICHARD MARTIN Caste of the City Bee CD (AudioTong, Poland, 2010)
Interesting enough collection of four pieces by this NYC artist/producer whose work here represents an attempt to reflect and reinterpret his environment via compositions based around measured tones, subtle seismic murmurs and a pronounced melodic sheen. It’s all pleasant enough, in a kind of carefully mannered Eno-esque way, but I’d have liked to have heard more of the promised “ugliness” appear in what’s otherwise a perfect album for that next visit to the flotation tank. (Richard Johnson)
www.audiotong.net

NADJA Ruins of Morning 10” (Substantia Innominata, Germany, 2010)
Two side long versions of slow-motion drone-rock from Aidan Baker’s platform for such matters, here aided by Leah Buckareff on bass, vocals and accordian. Enriched with a nicely brooding atmosphere that complements the monumental bass-pounding perfectly, ‘Ruins…’ pours over you like a lava-stream. Pretty damn wonderful. Limited to 500 on purportedly ‘gold’ vinyl that’s more akin to being mud-coloured. (Richard Johnson)
www.drone@dronerecords.de

BJ NILSEN The Invisible City CD (Touch, 2010)
Eight cuts from the much lauded Swedish composer that were recorded and mixed in Berlin between 2008 and 2009 and once again adopt his proclivity for teasing a vast array of field recordings, sound sources and instruments into a series of obsidian textures, tones, shimmers and ringing sounds. Although mostly difficult to isolate the original recordings in what can only be described as a vast sea of gush that wavers heavily between being tranquil and occasionally invasive, every so often some submerged voices, trains or guitar, for example, make themselves discernible enough to steer the proceeedings away from being merely another drone-fest. Firm emphasis on movement and detail keeps The Invisible City far from becoming stale, whilst the very production itself pays witness to a sense of craft that usurps all similar-natured contenders I’ve personally stumbled on during recent times. Although the concept behind this album isn’t made entirely clear, what comes over is an album dedicated to either the nature or the very heart of a city, perhaps forever obscured by the objectives and lives of those who reside within. An idea itself that juxtaposes the extremely clear and concise manner of these recordings, yet never once belies the fact such contrasts and, indeed, contradictions are as much a part of a city’s core in the first instance. Ultimately, this is a strong and very cleverly prepared album. The fact the compositions are noted as being derived from everything from field recordings (culled from Japan, Iceland, Portugal, UK and other countries) to organs, piano, feedback, tapeloops of found sounds, “amplified chair dragged across the floor”, and so on would seem perhaps meaningless were it not for Nilsen’s justified desire to cast light onto the mechanics of this chemistry here. Say what you like about the prolific and rather vogue-ish Nilsen, this is a good album and, in turn, a real triumph for this entire genre. (Richard Johnson)
www.touchmusic.org.uk

DAVE PHILLIPS ? CD (Heart & Crossbone Recordings, Israel, 2010)
Swiss noise artist Phillips has been knocking away at his chosen means of expression for a fair while now (since the ‘80s, in fact, when he was once in extreme hardcore punk outfit Fear Of God), but this is the first solo one of his I’ve really listened to and cannot say how it compares to previous works. Instead of the kinda expected out and out ‘noise’ assault, however,? collects compositions built around all manner of field recordings, metallic crashes, babbling textures and, indeed, the occasional tidal wave of static white attack. What’s most noticeable is the pervasive sense of genuine unease and moodiness, though. Throughout the layers of breathy vocals, groaning, minimal piano keys, swirling rumbles seemingly beamed in from the ether, cracking sounds, accordian, dissonant tones, birdsong and so on, an alarming amount of space and restraint is given to retaining an atmosphere that soaks on all from sombreness to something more distinctly menacing. If anything, there are vague parallels with some of Andrew Liles’ work, but perhaps with a rather more sober edge. No bad thing at all, as there’s only one Liles and, well, ? suggests yet another artist whose back catalogue must be well worth exploring in its own right. So much for my expectations. Those HCB boys have gone and done it again! (Richard Johnson)
www.hcbrecords.com

ROTHKAMM Alt CD (Baskaru, France, 2010)
Following an introductory piece built around a menacing enough pulse befitting of an early John Carpenter film, Alt unfortunately descends into a mostly polite sedative ambient swirl far removed from the promised work of the avant-garde artist evinced by the press sheet. Over the course of the ten tracks, crystalline shimmer and sci-fi space babble work themselves together into neatly contoured rivers of sound that occasionally hint at more interesting shapes but mostly settle for the kind of less that can often be found housed on, say, Russia’s Electroshock imprint. As with so much music of this persuasion, the clinical air and penchant to nod towards those cloying regions likewise observed in Prog intros from time to time tends to induce the kind of palpitations curable only by shock therapy, but it’s not all unpleasant. The untitled seventh track proffers something slightly more mysterious only let down, really, by the brevity. Whilst the final piece, especially, despite still adhering to the sensibilities prevalent throughout, constitutes a touchingly melodic finale where accessibility and a starker austerity fuse in perfect fashion. Unfortunately, this alone barely compensates for what’s otherwise simply an average (and very easy) listen, but it does at least illustrate Rothkamm’s work is driven by some depth and focus. (Richard Johnson)
www.baskaru.com

STEVEN SEVERIN CODEX ASTRA Circles of Silver CDS (Erototox Decodings, USA, 2010)
Two cuts recorded in 2009 by an artist who, possibly partly due to his maintaining a highly active public profile via the ‘net, appears to finally be becoming more recognised as a composer of both electronic music and soundtracks rather than purely as an ‘ex-Banshee’. Which, I’m sure, from his point of view, can only be a good thing. Both these pieces, under his Codex Astra guise, swathe themselves in finely-hewn atmospheric drifts snagged somewhere between the acoustics of an ice cave and an old sci-fi film director’s idea of the announcement of a lurking, yet unseen, alien menace. Just a pity this only clocks in at less than eleven minutes total, as these pieces catch the man’s mission as a soloist ever more pronounced. (Richard Johnson)
www.erototoxdecodings.com

TREVONIC No Red Lights, No Red Lights CD (AudioTong, Poland, 2010)
Latest album from New York-based artist, Trever Hagen, who over the course of nine cuts delivers an often sombre and contemplative music worked mostly around trumpet and electronics. Using also a cornet, a spattering of field recordings and, on ‘Moszkva Ter’, some suitably moody and spacious piano courtesy of the only guest, Zoltan Dujisin, No Red Lights, No Red Lights succeeds in occupying that space during the day where red lights don’t even necessarily matter. Reflective and calm, this is perfect music to drive through the very early dawn to. (Richard Johnson)
www.audiotong.net

ROBERT HAMPSON/CINDYTALK split-10” (Editions Mego, Austria, 2010)
Nicely teamed-up release comprising a new piece each by ex-Loop/Main man, Hampson, and Gordon Sharp’s ever enticing Cindytalk. The former’s ‘Antarctica Ends Here’, dedicated to John Cale, is a molten electronic piece of shifting timbres, grizzled textures and subtle crackles far warmer in tone than the title suggests, whilst Cindytalk’s ‘Five Mountains of Fire’, sees them positively blazing back in a powerful full band mode. Bound by the kind of drums and percussion that’s akin to a ghostly train tumbling into the distance, sheets of eerie guitar, chattering electronics and piercing tones all add up to an almighty sting up there with the best of Cindytalk’s work. Just a shame the vinyl itself is slightly warped, really, but one cannot have everything. (Richard Johnson)
www.editionsmego.com

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ARCHIVE MATERIAL PREVIOUSLY POSTED AT BLOGGER (NOW NO LONGER USED): New Continent of Noise (Cut Hands in Krakow, 5/5/09)

Despite the fact a cold had just begun to throw me into its turbulent waters, I dutifully broke away from the murky subterranean confines afforded by one of Krakow’s few venues, Alchemia, in order to meet William Bennett from the airport and get him there. In doing so, I missed saxophonist Ray Dickaty’s duet with Rafal Mazur, but such things cannot be helped. Half hour back from the airport and we’re in the venue’s vague semblance of a dressing room, nursing drinks and chatting whilst Alan Licht, Aki Onda and Noel Akchote take to the stage. Never having been impressed by Licht’s recordings before, I wasn’t so bothered about catching him live really, but what I could see and hear of his own improvisations in this trio setting from the stage’s wing seemed okay. Occasional plumes of textural glaze bombarded by shards of crystalline distortion and spiralling sonic shavings penetrated all conversation well enough, sustaining my generally good mood that was only otherwise dented by my losing the battle with the germs. Another Coke for William and beer for me later and it was time for the Cut Hands DJ set. Only the fact it had to happen after midnight and, as such, being a weekday, the audience began to thin out really betrayed everything once the line check was out of the way…
Of course, there were a few people around who clearly wanted some Whitehouse, going by the few song requests I heard being shouted out, but the entire Cut Hands deal is a world away from Whitehouse’s often overblown theatrics-led dabblings with perception via sound, language, ideas and, of course, an image supported by a rich history itself awash in notoreity. Only William’s obvious ability to create vast shifting torrents of electronic sound as dynamic as the best structures to be found in rock music furnish one with a link between the two platforms, really. Beyond this, whilst delivering what he has long called ‘afro-noise’, he’s onstage and bears more similarities to other DJs given to only focussing on their craft whilst performing. And by DJs I don’t mean the kind who play other people’s music, either. Akin to certain artists who’ve arrived from dance culture (I’m thinking Richie Hawtin, for example, here), William’s notion of Djing amounts to him playing around with, sequencing and live mixing sounds he’s mostly prepared himself via a laptop. Onstage, nestled amongst the darkness he’s insisted on playing in, there’s very little engagement with the audience or even, come to that, the drink carefully placed nearby. Full concentration is the order of the day, allowing the music to completely shout for itself. And shout it does.
Dashing all expectations, there’s greater emphasis on William’s (personally played and, as he points out later, non-looped) djembe drum workouts. These alone form incredible polyrhythmic soundbeds that instantly transport many around me. I notice people sat down nodding their heads with eyes closed, helplessly locked into proceedings, whilst others take to the limited area there is to dance in. Then there are the electronic washes of blissed-out sound weaving in and out, cascading over or replacing the rhythm segues. Peaks and troughs again commanding the listener and clearly indebted to both William’s own background in such music and, to a far lesser extent, those live house or techno DJs who cut their teeth creating music destined to become new genres. On one hand, the ‘noise’ at work appears fully controlled and as carefully hewn as anything presented so far by Whitehouse’s ‘second phase’, on the other it is poised to the brink of going all Mount Pompeii on us and leaving everybody drenched in sonic sputum in its wake. What’s likewise noticeable is how the music which constitutes a Cut Hands set doesn’t pander to those whose bodies are firmly glued to it, either (mine included!). Anybody can be thrown off the scent at any time before then having to rethink a route back into it. As many doors are slammed violently in one’s feet as are actually opened for them.
But then, well, this is neither ordinary dance music or ordinary music to begin with. If it appears to be about anything then it may well be the basic premise of elevation or at least taking listeners to that very point where its both in their grasp and could be as dangerous as exciting for them. The place where possibilities, in all their guises, exist. And, yes, this might also be something which can be levelled at Whitehouse. I personally wouldn’t expect anything less from William Bennett’s music, though. Which is precisely what sets it apart from so much else…
(RIcho)

Footnote: I also caught the third of three Cut Hands sets here in Poland in Lodz a few days later. This time the venue was an art gallery and I am certain that the audience, much as some clearly wanted to, wouldn’t ‘allow’ themselves to move to the music for all the (supposed) inhibitions this brings. Behaviour can easily be influenced by the environment and all preset ideas one may have about that. Or maybe it was the fact William was backed by three short Jean Rouche films from the late ‘50s this time. Or the combination? Either way, I strongly feel dancing in art galleries should be encouraged. Well, to live music in them, at least!

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ARCHIVE MATERIAL: REVIEWS 2009

AARKTICA In Sea CD (Silber, USA, 2009)
Twelve songs make up the sixth album by NYC artist, Jon DeRosa, which, with its title already winking in the direction of Terry Riley’s own fantastic In C, stokes a similar furnace of cyclical melodies in terrain otherwise not so far removed from the tundras previously explored by Labradford and Mogwai. Whilst a little moodiness creeps in from time to time, most of these songs remain gently atmospheric, with drifts of melancholy fleshing out the proceedings accordingly. Using only guitars and a Bilhorn Telescopic Pump Organ, DeRosa weaves beautiful textural swells together with the kind of dimly-lit corners reserved for both contemplation and bittersweet pontifications. Occasionally, vocals lend a rather more traditional or accessible edge to these pieces, such as on the neatly titled ‘Hollow Earth Theory’, whilst the final cut, ‘Am I Demon?’ is a cover of a Danzig song so tempered it sounds more like something The Chameleons would’ve written. But, overall, the plaintive furrows express a sense of yearning for both times lost and better things to come (due, I’m sure, to DeRosa’s having lost his hearing in one ear a number of years ago), plus display a versatility often missing in such music. All told, In Sea is a fine and solid enough entry in the post-rock canon, whether it desires to be or not, although I can’t help but ultimately feel this approach to songwriting usually makes it sound old and weary before its time. (Richard Johnson)
www.silbermedia.com

PAUL BARAN Panoptic CD (Fang Bomb, Sweden, 2009)
Scottish composer, improviser and electro-acoustic artist Paul Baran has here assembled an album of pieces that play around with all of these approaches within often mournful or somewhat sombre song settings. Utilising all from organs, pianos, guitar, ‘objects’, voice and field recordings, etc. himself, and assisted by guests including Keith Rowe (prepared guitar), Sarah Whiteside (cello), Werner Dafeldecker (double bass, voice, electronics) and others, each piece is anchored to a restraint that borders on the minimal. Mannered tinkling, distantly bowed strings, indiscernible shuffling folds of sound, random bursts of non-explosive noise, carefully picked strings, dog-tuned tones and so on all lend themselves to a refrain inspired by notions of the underclass, constant surveillance, the mass consensus and the writings of theorist Jeremy Bentham. The feeling of space being steadily consumed by creeping yet increasingly abundant causes for paranoia and suffocation being only too apparent although, remarkably, Baran ostensibly succeeds here for side-stepping the obvious in terms of playing and, indeed, convention. (Richard Johnson)
www.fangbomb.com

JAMES BLACKSHAW The Glass Bead Game CD (Young God Records, USA, 2009)
It’s funny, and good, in a way, that some groups/artists can slip by unnoticed for so long and then suddenly leap out the dark with a sledgehammer . Blackshaw definitely falls into this rank for me, despite my good friend Hassni having mentioned him to me repeatedly for a considerable while. Whatever, the latter part of 2009 not only saw the arrival of this new album by him, courtesy of Michael Gira, but also an appearance at the Unsound Festival in Krakow in October which caught him, rather unfortunately ill-placed, in the Philharmonic Concert Hall (good a performer as Blackshaw is live, his protracted guitar tunings and slight awkwardness onstage are more appropriate to the beer-sodden world of pub backrooms and the like, I’d say). Over the years, Blackshaw has had a number of albums out, toured a lot and even, during the past eighteen months or so, become one of the key members of Current 93, so there’s no question concerning my having some serious catching up to do whenever the opportunity (read: spare funds) arises. Whatever, onto The Glass Bead Game itself and we are treated to five near-instrumental songs that stop at nothing short of being simply sublime. Aided by two other stalwarts of the circle revolving around David Tibet, Joolie Wood (violin, flute, clarinet) and John Contreras (cello), plus Lavinia Blackwall (vocals), the album commences at a high standard maintained firmly till the very last note sounds out at 49 minutes and 35 seconds. With the harmonic lilt of Blackshaw’s 12-string guitar, piano and harmonium providing the compositional hammock to all else, the songs suck on a wide range of elements that can be traced to all from minimalism to folk and even choral music. Without doubt, it’s invigorating work as enriched as it enriching, but the proclivity for repetition, as emphasised in particular by the closing 19-minute piece, ‘Arc’, is possibly where most listeners would find themselves jumping overboard, no matter how colourfully it’s actually executed. Not a problem for me, of course, as I’m partial to the odd refrain repeated ad infinitum, and love the work of, say, Steve Reich, with whom some of the ideas here compare, yet there’s no denying that Blackshaw succeeds in pushing the melancholic envelope to those realms many would deem uncomfortable. Having not yet heard his previous albums, I’ve no idea how this compares or how Blackshaw has developed as a musician, but The Glass Bead Game , with its beguiling cello flourishes and Blackwall’s wordless vocals augmenting certain passages, seems as perfect a place to begin yet another exploratory mission as any. A highly accomplished album from an artist very clearly guided by his own voice(s)... (Richard Johnson)
www.younggodrecords.com

BLIND CAVE SALAMANDER & PIETRO RIPARBELLI/K1I The Nietzsche Fabrik Sessions/Transmission CD (Radical Matters, Italy, 2009) Second album from the Italian group spearheaded by Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo and including excellent celloist Julia Kent in the lineup. Originally recorded live at the Nietsche Fabrik workshop in 2008, where the idea behind the concert was to incorporate the sounds of carpenters, machinery and suchlike at work at the same time as the performance, the four eponymously titled pieces have subsequently been reworked and re-edited. As with the first album, Blind Cave Salamander prove themselves to be masters of the molten drone, yet never remain content with just this. Other sounds of a more electroacoustic nature forever nudge their way into focus, or the always shifting morass of textures simply give way to the type of strums found on some of Ennio Morricone’s earlier work or the kind of noodling cooked up for ‘50s sci-fi film effects. It all delivers like Stars Of The Lid or someone of a similar ilk having spent a lot of time locked up in a mad scientist’s laboratory, anyway. Which is certainly not a bad thing, but I wish BCS would push this side of their sound more instead of keeping it at a manageable distance. The threat is good but, I feel, could go further. The lengthy fifth track is by Pietro Riparbelli/KII and pretty much amounts to a remix using sourced BCS material from the live broadcast of the show that stays in keeping with all else on offer until a slightly more dissonant climax. What with the addition of a video on the disc as well, this all makes for a decent enough release, but I would like to witness BCS delivering on the greatness always promised next time. (Richard Johnson)
www.radicalmatters.com

CHAPELLE NITRIQUE Piggi CDr (Bone Structure, Belgium, 2009)
I rarely succumb to reviews of CDrs but, occasionally, an exeption, or an example (depending…), has to be made on account of my latent fear of appearing more unapproachable than I actually am. Chapelle Nitrique’s Piggi is this Montreal-based group’s debut, arrives in a DVD box cover, and presents us with over half an hour’s worth of music spread between five cuts. Roughly-hewn and kinda soundtrack-like, it proffers post-industrial soup of the early Cold Meat Industry persuasion. Beneath a morass of doom-sized textures, dialogue excerpts and winding drones, we’re subjected to the sound of dripping pipes, basement creaks and what appears to be someone trying to start a rusted banger. Although quite effective, I can’t help but feel the lo-fi production goes against it somewhat. Music of this nature needs bringing up to date. Let’s hope the technology’s on their side next time around… (Richard Johnson)
www.bone-structure.blogspot.com

CINDYTALK The Crackle of My Soul CD (Editions Mego, Germany, 2009)
What’s especially interesting about this album, the first by Gordon Sharp’s Cindytalk platform since 1995’s astonishing Wappinschaw, is the departure from the often organic and piano-led sound of before to its firm handshake with contemporary software usage. Whilst Cindytalk has always delved into those places where abstract forms make the most perfect sense, The Crackle of My Soul cranks this side of Gordon’s interests up to the max. Throughout the ten pieces, all recorded between 2001 and 2009 in the US, Hong Kong and Japan, frosted and angular shafts of noise, splutter and hum emerge from waves recalling everything from what sounds like interstellar gloop (‘Magler’) to some of Basic Channel’s own hypnotic excursions had they been put together by a scientist having a nervous breakdown (‘Transgender Warrior’). Despite my feeling there’d be room amongst all of this for Gordon’s voice, guitar and piano to once again make their presence known, it’s good to see him back and, additionally, promising more releases to come this year. (Richard Johnson)
www.editionsmego.com
www.cindytalk.com

PIOTR KUREK Lectures CD (Cronica, Portugal, 2009)
Ten pieces originally composed by this Warsaw-based artist for a festival in the very same city in 2007, created in honour of Cornelius Cardew. Using previously unreleased sounds culled from performances, lectures and rehearsals by Cardew (and passed onto Piotr bh his son, Walter), Kurek has subsequently developed them during the time since to simultaneously pay respect to them and tease them into a context more his own. The resulting compositions are surprisingly accessible on the whole, often working themselves around repetitive melodic fragments, sizeable chunks of dialogue, tiny gusts of sax spurting, swaying tonal wisps, and hints of mannered jazz that wholly betray the clanging that greets us at the disc’s entrance. Rather airy and full of movement, Lectures is a perfectly hewn listen that I’m sure would have been worth hearing in its original form, live, too. Kurek has done a good and respectful job here and, if Cornelius Cardew were still alive, I’d like to believe he’d feel much the same way. (Richard Johnson)
www.cronicaelectronica.org

ROBERT PIOTROWICZ Rurokura and Eastern European Folk Music Research Volume 2 7” (Bocian, Poland, 2009) Ultra-limited pressing of this single by Poland’s Robert Piotrtowicz, here treating us to three cuts that, respectively, take up a ‘Wedding’ and ‘Funeral’ side via some recordings, purportedly, of a Greek Catholic School Boy Choir, the Molomotki Ocarina Orchestra and a School Girl Band subsequently hammered way beyond all recognition. Occasionally rhythmic, wound like tightly coiled metallic tubes and definitely and defiantly ‘out there’ in the best possible sense, this little pearl is one to cherish. The fact that nobody can ascertain for sure whether the source material is authentic or not makes little difference. Sweet. (Richard Johnson)

REMORA Derivative CD (Silber, USA, 2009)
Latest from US artist Brian John Mitchell’s pursuit, basically amounting to a collection of shapeshifting ‘n’ kaleidoscopic guitar-drone-led pieces that have all taken their cues from looped hooks lifted by favourite songs of his by, amongst others, Journey, Blue Oyster Cult, Pere Ubu, Bob Dylan, Joy Division and Warrior Soul. Whilst at least two of these sourced artists/groups may well leave you either cold or reaching for someone to hit (but let’s not forget he’s American, so don’t be too hasty), the songs themselves are more akin to some of the scorched-ambient works of early Kranky releases or even Fripp & Eno’s classic No Pussyfooting and Evening Star albums and, in turn, actually work for their being a homage that’s then teased into shapes the originals would never have imagined. Whether that’s a good thing in itself or not is something for the listener to decide, but I can appreciate the sensibilities and earnestness only too apparent here. And, in a day and age where most bands/artists blatantly display their influences through sheer unoriginality, such homages themselves are precisely the opposite. (Richard Johnson)

STEVEN SEVERIN Music for Silents CD (Divine Frequency, USA, 2009)
Ah, truth be told, I’d been waiting for this album to appear for a while. Ever since I put on a concert by him in Krakow in 2007, and then, the same year, caught him performing this very same music to the very same films in Edinburgh, actually. Whilst certain cynics around me at the time scoffed that the music was a tad too ‘easy listening’ and handfuls of goths and by now bald and pot-bellied ex-punks craved nothing but some classics by the Banshees, I always felt that, following the few solo albums and soundtracks prior to this release, his music was finally beginning to come into its own and move away from the more Philip Glass influences of yore. Furthermore, it was clear that his music had been worked at considerably for the films used in said live shows, knowing that it would have to work both in this context and, indeed, as a soundtrack. As such, there’s an incredible amount of movement throughout Music for Silents that, whilst still very much the product of the digital age, embraces all from tonal music to moody and abstract post-dancefloor constructions, avant-garde embellishments, Cluster-like space voyages and even a segment which sounds akin to Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells had it been originally scored with The Exorcist in mind. Once in a while, traces of Severin’s interest in Glass’s early cyclical melodies still pokes its nose into the proceedings, but the fact this is more contained now pays off perfectly. Beginning with the slightly over 30 mins score to Germaine Dulac’s 1928 surrealist film, The Seashell & the Clergyman (itself concerned with themes of sexual desire and repression) and then taking on six shorts commissioned, I believe, by contemporary filmmakers and video artists, it’s interesting to hear the music unfold without the images accompanying it, anyway. And, once again, it’s only too apparent it stands up in its own right regardless. Whether the constantly morphing and sometimes slightly unsettling shades at work in The Seashell … itself, the melodic playfulness witnessed in the accompaniment to Aura Saltz’s I Put A Spell or the suitably crafted descent into the nightmarish world of Bruno Forzani & Helen Cattet’s L’Estrange Portrait De La Dame En Jaune , Severin proves himself to be at the top of his game as a solo composer. If the generally blinkered balding punks and ageing goths can’t handle that, then the loss is entirely theirs. Beatifully packaged, limited and numbered edition of 999, too. What are you waiting for? (Richard Johnson)
www.divinefrequency.com

SUM OF R eponymous CD (Utech, Switzerland, 2008)
Debut full-lengther by a Swiss trio comprising Reto Mader (bass, piano, strings), Christoph Hess (turntable) and Roger Ziegler (harmonium). Together, they here create ten pieces of twilight-bound and often industrial-strength drone and shimmer splurge that sometimes aims at the same epic proportions as, say, Godspeed, You Black Emperor! . It’s okay, but the grainy production goes against it and the slightly predictable approach, not helped at all by terrible titles such as ‘Physically Deformed’, ‘Bones, Beer & Muscles’ and ‘Requiem for a Liar’, suggest that it’s either very much early days yet or that Sum Of R still have some baggage to shake out of their collective system. Stunningly packaged, though. (Richard Johnson)
www.utechrecords.com

URAL UMBO eponymous CD (Utech, Switzerland, 2009)
Another album from Swiss chaps Reto Mader and Steven Hess (with help on two pieces by guest, Roger Ziegler), this time displaying a marked progression from Mader’s Sum Of R outpourings. As with Sum Of R, however, vast drones and textures consume the axis to the nine cuts on offer, but there’s more clarity and, indeed, a wider scope of sounds that owe something to a shared interest in ‘60s horror film scores. To this end, on fifth cut, the intriguingly titled ‘Don’t Eat Carrots, My Little Ghost Horse’, the drones give way completely to some subdued amp buzz and a heavier focus on the otherwise submerged, virtually electro-acoustic, sounds whilst a plaintive guitar is hoisted to the frontline. The next cut, ‘Stumbling Upon Blood and Mercury’, even pays witness to some simple but effective spacious (and spaced-out) drumming coming into play and, over the entire course of the album, it becomes increasingly apparent that a maturer approach to their craft has taken hold. Together with some quite nice, slightly oversized, packaging featuring what appears to be trademark black & white photography, Ural Umbo’s debut adds up to an album well worth revisiting. It’ll be good to hear the next one. (Richard Johnson)

VLOR Six-Winged CD (Silber, USA, 2009)
Collaborative second album by Vlor, masterminded by Silber’s boss, Brian John Mitchell, and involving a host of other affiliated musicians from groups such as Aarktica, 6PM, The Wet Teens, Rollerball and more besides. Over the sixteen cuts, everything from sombre and contemporary folk-tainted songs, through Eno-esque whorls, progressive-ambient and slowcore, to the kind of punk-strained garage rock Billy Childish has churned out is explored. Unfortunately, although it’s clear that there are a lot of ideas here that Mitchell & co. are fully adept at handling, it’s this very same diversity that leads to Six-Winged’s undoing. If, perhaps, some of the only too brief, yet abstract, pieces, such as the fantastically titled ‘Statue of Jealousy’, had been allowed to take up more room here instead of the indie sensibility, I’m sure things would’ve been different. Whilst there’s no denying the sincerity behind all of this, the whiff of either trying to prove themselves or please everybody hangs a little too heavily… (Richard Johnson)


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BLASTS OF SILENCE (RESTRAINTS): MARTIN KCHEN live at Alchemia, Krakow, Sunday June 7th 2009
Not only afforded the pleasure of seeing Kuchen for my first time live in Warsaw late last year, I’d also been introduced to him before this particular night’s show by Marcin of AudioTong and was pleased to discover him extremely affable. Always nice to meet decent musicians, as I generally contend the vast majority are either dull or pretentious. Anyway, after grabbing a beer and heading downstairs to one of Krakow’s only venues dedicated to jazz, improv and related forms of music, I was surprised to find the place had several rows of empty seats available still. Good for me, of course, but not so good for those people who clearly had better things to do than join me in witnessing one of the best saxophone players I’ve caught for a long time. One of the best because, quite simply, his playing transcends all the usual barriers concerning the instrument. Although having arrived from a freeform jazz background (begininning, apparently, in a punk band many, many years ago), Kuchen’s own work centres around a different approach to the saxophone. Each of the compositions played tonight, similar to his set in Warsaw, concentrates on a breathy, occasionally almost silent, type of playing given to more textural forms that are akin to utterances from the beyond. If the wind could play jazz through the trees (and, heck, maybe it does!), it might come close to sounding like this. For all the obvious energy and exertion married to Kuchen’s style, what comes out is a series of murmurs, guff and near-impenetrable silence intent on perhaps picking at the notion of details lost to the everyday racket we’re generally bombarded by. It may be either a reaction to the latter or it may well serve as a reminder of those seemingly buried fragments of noise we at least think are obscured by those many bigger blocks of sonic debris, or it may indeed simply be open to subjective interpretation. In the end, it doesn’t especially matter when placed next to the music itself.
Playing six (?) compositions in total, each related to the overall context by virtue of the stealthy playing at work. Once in a while, more regular sounds associated with the instrument would make their pronouncements but, mostly, what Kuchen does is create a setting where restrained yet dynamic enough movements flesh themselves out amongst babbling that’s more like electro-acoustic work than anything immediately related to freeform jazz. Quietly employing some kind of shaker to the saxophone’s bell on one of the pieces, the emphasis on detail becomes even greater. Outside of this, he also uses what looks like an electric toothbrush on another piece, sometimes taps out little rhythmic flourishes elsewhere on the instrument and is capable of working it up to resemble either Indian chanting or pipes being blown. Ultimately, his tool of choice, the saxophone, is pushed completely and utterly out of its context.
I bought a CD after the show itself dedicated to the material in the set. Sad to say that it’s not quite as good as actually experiencing this music live, but I’ve always maintained that such music is best caught being sweated out on stage anyway. If this man plays anywhere near you, push any reservations you may well have about improv or freeform music, or indeed a sax soloist come to that, and give yourself a treat. Kuchen’s music is aimed at all open ears and can grease your mind’s tightest coils. Get to it. (Richard Johnson)


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ARCHIVE MATERIAL: ART OF DARKNESS - CocART Festival, Torun, Saturday March 28, 2009
Long, long time since I last embraced a huge journey for any music. In fact, the last time it happened was probably for Whitehouse’s show at The Garage in London around a year ago, if I’m to conveniently overlook the fact I since happened to be in Warsaw for a Human Greed show there in December. But that doesn’t count. No, last time was the trip to London for Whitehouse although, similar to this particular instance, there were outside factors to the music concerned. In London, I had not only a chance to finally meet Kate MacDonald but also a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and faces hardly seen for a considerable while (years, even, in some cases): people such as good pal Steve Pittis, Stephen Meixner, Justin Mitchell and Jo, Jason from Canterbury (coincidentally a partner of one of my stepcousins), and many others. A good music event can often serve as a great social gathering, too. An ideal way to at least meet people not seen for a long time, if not the best way to actually catch up with them properly.
Whatever. Fast forward. I’m ensnared by a similar circumstance as I travel to Torun by train. Alone. Following almost two weeks of deliberation during which my only friend from Malaysia Yin stayed with me for almost one of them. Whilst she was at my place, I made a decision to go to one day of the second edition of the annual CocART Festival in Torun and duly set about setting things up. A little groundwork conducted via old emails between Stefan Knappe of Drone Records/Troum and myself, plus my obtaining the festival organisers’ contact details, and I was in. With Yin on the plus-one. Only the train ticket and place to stay remained to be conquered, as well as the necessary finances for both, but Yin soon took care of the hotel situation and played her part in activating my otherwise latent decision. As such, several days after she left my place for Gdansk and following my usual couple of days teaching in a town 120km away from Krakow, I’m on my way to join her once more…
…Via a train journey that lasts over 7 hours and gives me a chance to not only catch up with some much needed sleep but also devour half of Ian McEwan’s incredible Enduring Love in fits and starts clouded by daydreams, idle contemplation and the occasional jotting of notes in a compartment that thankfully becomes my own after Lodz. If anything can justify travelling such great distances for me it’s the fact I rarely make time to relax or sit down with a book at home (most of my reading is done whilst away each week in the town I teach at, Polaniec). Even when I watch a film, I remain restless (at least at home, anyway).
Anyway. I get to Torun at 16.40. Tired and laden enough with a bag full of CDs to give to various people. It’s raining, of course, and once I’ve got to the hotel with the aid of a taxi driver who forgets to put his meter on till 2 minutes into the journey (I notice these things…), I am left with all of 40 minutes to settle into my room, freshen up and walk around the very heart of the city that saw Copernicus become the person we all know him as before I have to meet Yin in the reception. I feel tired, but good and at least content (I’m rarely happy, plus go along with Desmond Morris’ idea that true happiness amounts to mere moments and not a permanent state). Well, quite content.
Yin and myself meet and I’m pleased to finally talk to somebody who isn’t just a ticket inspector or a stranger attempting to make smalltalk with me on a train. We head for a restaurant and need a beer with our respective meals before heading back out into the downpour and a search for a venue which seems to magically and predictably evade its address. Fifteen, maybe twenty, minutes later, and we find it. Opposite directions always seem to make the most sense in such circumstances.
Whatever. Not too drenched and we are truly in. The venue is some kind of art centre and the festival itself takes place in its underground car park: a location perfectly suited to the first group for its notions suggesting escape. Yes, Column One are into their set as we arrive, and I’m instantly reminded of so many groups who think they’re something they are clearly not. I’ve never been really into such music a great deal, anyway, but their mish-mash of horror movie textures, farmyard sounds and intergalactic grunts coupled to a man strutting about in his underwear and a large cardboard tube over his head, plus others in Japanese masks, only succeeds in making me look for a viable alternative: another beer. I’m sure Column One spend time on what they’re doing, and maybe even take their slightly Dadaist performance art sensibility seriously enough to believe it means something beyond all the usual cliches, but their music moves in concentric circles to the point it becomes a powerless and insignificant dot. When it comes to music of this kind of faltering and wispy disposition, I am glad there are other things in life worth savouring far more.
Such as meeting decent people. Luckily, one of the festival organisers, Rafal, from drone outfit Hati (who performed the previous night), is there to greet me almost as soon as I make my way for a glass of beer. CDs are exchanged, lightening my bag, and I thank him for letting Yin and myself into the show for free before we tentatively discuss the idea of collaborating at next year’s festival. This idea of some kind of Lumberton Trading Company spotlight has been simmering away for a while now, actually. Another flash in the pan mooted for only too long by various parties that must be realised at some point. No question.
Also meet Agnieszka, a photographer who’s been in touch a lot recently. Always nice to put a face to some writing. We catch up a little, disagree over Column One and then watch The Magic Carpathians soon commence their set. When I saw this group in Krakow last year, I was mesmerised by their blend of folk and psychedelia strained with an avant sensibility, but the performance on this particular night started out like a hippie tea party in a church hall and ended as an excuse to get lost in thoughts so far removed from the proceedings it was impossible to return. I think I ended up surveying the audience instead, plus engaging in more beer and conversation with my various friends. I’ve absolutely nothing against music drifting through pseudo-Pagan corridors smothered by the stench of lentil soup and slightly stupid yearnings for ‘a better world’, but it needs to be backed up by something that may actually pull you in, even if briefly. These mountain folk just couldn’t do it, though. At least, not on this particular night. When it comes to so-called hippie music, I want Amon Duul or Can or whatever. Hippie music with bollocks. The Magic Carpathians may have been striving for that ‘transcendental’ level of music afforded by certain minimalist artists, such as Charlemagne Palestine or, better yet, Christina Kubisch, but nothing actually worked. When the female vocalist started playing around with her own capabilities, Yin remarked that it all sounded like Enya. Which just about encapsulated it perfectly. Hippie trance-out music for office workers isn’t quite what I want from my own listening experiences…
Thankfully, Frenchman Richard Pinhas was up next to save the night. Although, perhaps to my shame, I’ve not kept up with his solo work since Heldon disbanded (and didn’t he collaborate with Merzbow recently, too? Mind you, who fucking hasn’t…?!), certain people over the years have often mentioned it as being pretty strong still. And the show here clearly illustrated this. Aided by two other musicians and, between them all, utilising a guitar, laptop and various electronic devices set to some suitably bright and tantalising abstract visuals, Pinhas moulded a molten soundbed of shapes and textures into focus. Sometimes jarring and taking on an almost quasi-noise approach, the music mostly, however, remained anchored to a palette owing as much to his background in Tangerine Dream-inspired ‘70s electronics as its then stretching its tendrils out to more filmic concerns. Ultimately, Pinhas’ psychedelia successfully honours his past without sacrificing its potential stakes in the contemporary arena. On top of this, the moods constantly shifted. With enough abstraction woven in to keep us transfixed, melodic swells crumbled into ominous twilight pools as enchanting and exciting as being reminders of our solitude. This performance was worth the trip alone, and I hope I will one day get the pleasure of seeing Pinhas again.
More drinks, more talking and meeting people, such as Stefan of Drone Records/Troum. All is good, and the combination of alcohol, fatigue and having perhaps not eaten enough during the previous few days send me reeling to a space where Oren Ambarchi’s set doesn’t do so much for me. During his 45/50-minutes solo show of electronics, I keep telling myself I should be enjoying it more than I am. Stitching drones and fragments together, Oren’s music once again assumes a psychedelic stance that at least worms its way through some interesting corridors, but I find it hard to get as excited about it all as Yin. I put this down to my own state of mind rather than the music, though. Maybe I’ve just had too much electronic music for one night?
Once Oren finishes, I grab another beer and make my way to an adjoining room, where the smokers are allowed to indulge their habits, and catch up with Stefan and others a little more. My beer quota has reached the point where I need conversation rather than music, plus a little less noise disturbing it.
When I leave this room to return to the main one where the concerts are, a Japanese guy is banging out some techno hopelessly muted by the seated audience and its sounding not only out of place and awkward but slightly out of date.
It’s time to leave.
Yin and myself are asked along to an after-show party at a nearby bar. We tag along for a while, walk into the new venue and decide, after only a minute or two in this smoke-choked and busy environment, that it’s time to head back to the hotel.
I fall asleep knowing that my journey back to Krakow is going to be padded out by a monstrous hangover and that the notion of hell will once again consume me on it. (Richo)

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MORE ARCHIVE MATERIAL: REVIEWS 2008/2009

ALVA NOTO + RYUICHI SAKAMOTO with ENSEMBLE MODERN –utp_ CD/DVD (Raster-Noton, Germany, 2008)
Absolutely phenomenal team-up between Carsten Nicolai (aka, Alva Noto/raster-noton label big chief) and the multi-talented ex-YMO member that catches the former utilising piano works and other sounds by the latter in collaboration with film artists Ensemble Modern. Microscopic piano melodies and vague electronic signatures join hands with atmospheric tones, filmic haze and carefully woven flecks of digital debris to create an album where reflection harmonises with the very same visions of utopia hinted at by the title itself. The DVD features visuals from the original concert by the two of them as well as another dedicated to its process. (Richard Johnson)
www.raster-noton.net

APE SHIT Intravenous in Furs/Heavy Leather LP (Smith Research, 2008)
You pretty much know where you’re heading when you receive another slab o’ wax accompanying a hastily scribbled note from the Ceramic Hobs’ Simon Morris. The DIY/hand-assembled sleeve, complete with sticker proudly proclaiming that the record is one of 100 only, the photocopied insert that looks like it exploded out of prime ‘80s cut ‘n’ paste culture, and the white label record itself with stickers on all add up to something that instantly induces recollections of Amor Fati’s Body Without Organs LP via Rancid Vat and, more appropriately, the UK’s own ATV and, moreso, Blackpool’s The Membranes. The music, as with the Hobs before them, is of the homegrown, unadulterated and virtually self-destructive persuasion, all vitriolic poetry and cynical swagger bound to a load of live recordings that sound like they’ve been culled from a mixing desk stuck in some dingy pub’s backroom toilet. Beyond this, it’s all psychotic and drug-addled drum pummel, feedbacking guitars, audience shouts and quite possibly Speaker’s Corner-type rants about the general nature of things. It’s like a Bukowski story in sonic form. The sound of embitterment arriving from a heart with some passion. Apart from the fact Simon sings on one side of the LP, it’s difficult to ascertain who’s involved exactly. Names such as Watson Lewis, Jim MacDougall, Errol Hunter and ‘Sir Nigger’ are all embroidered to the insert, plus The Wire ’s Ben Watson’s name appears a lot…but I suspect as some kind of joke at the critic’s expense. Whatever, definitely not an album to be played if your biggest desire is to ward off evil spirits. (Richard Johnson)
www.ceramichobs.livejournal.com

LUCIO CAPECE & MIKA VAINIO Trahnie CD (eMego, Germany, 2009)
Following a somewhat disappointing opening track comprised of nothing but vast, industrial-strength textures, this collaboration between Argentina’s improv/jazz musician Capece and Pan Sonic’s Vainio comes over like a perfect match. Sax blasts are hammered to the point of becoming new, almost alien, sculptures given to changing shape according to Vainio’s monolithic proto-rhythms and hints of violence, and occasional sonic tendons are exposed to reveal an intricate underbelly to the proceedings as beautiful as they are awe-inspiring. Track four, ‘Hondonada’, with its combination of subtle knocking sounds and sparse bellows, may well shuffle quietly towards some of Capece’s own background, but the majority of the album sounds exactly like what I’d want from two such artists being thrown into a furnace together. Fair to say I wouldn’t expect anything less from Vainio, though. Both his work as solo artist and in Pan Sonic rarely disappoints, and this collaboration, perfectly illustrating how the gap between such disparate artists can narrow when likemindedness is afoot, only adds to the canon. Fucking wonderful. (Richard Johnson)
www.editionsmego.com

KASHIWA DAISUKE 5 Dec CD (Noble Records, Japan, 2009)
Third album proper by this Japanese laptop artist who has been operating since 2004. Following a rather lush and almost filmic opening track that wouldn’t be out of place on Russia’s Electroshock imprint, Kashiwa throws us into slightly more haphazard territory, where piano melodies soon get pushed violently aside by drum ‘n’ bass, Fennesz-type electronic gristle, broken operatic vocals that wouldn’t seem out of place on an old Prog record, rock guitar and cut-ups. It’s okay but, combined with other songs that delve into downtempo territory and post-techno manoeuvres that are all perhaps slightly overcooked, reeks of someone trying maybe a little too hard to demonstrate his obvious abilities. From what I understand, Kashiwa is a huge Prog fan too, and I think it’s precisely this that governs his own music. The ideas are more about him showing what he’s capable of in the studio than expressing anything deep or personal. Everything’s too polished and, due to the lack of real orientation evident here, often quite clumsy or awkward sounding. Fifth cut, ‘Black Lie, White Lie’, would, I’m certain, soon clear out those club spaces in need of a reason to go home. (Richard Johnson)
www.noble-label.net

MYRA DAVIES Cities and Girls CD (Moabit Music, Germany, 2008)
Spoken word by this Canadian mostly fleshed out by music from Gudrun Gut but also, on one piece each respectively, by Alexander Hacke (Einsturzende Neubauten) & Danielle de Picciotto and Beate Bartel. The stories, which are executed well and are infused with a salubrious modicum of black humour, range from being about resisting ‘stuff’, Berlin, hanging out with John Giorno, times of supposed innocence caught in a timewarped friend, family history and so on to one cleverly suffusing women’s independence with a need for a ‘drill’. The music backs everything up perfectly and arrives generally from haunting electronica indebted to its rudimentary roots in sound exploration, although Bartel’s employing a single-string Viatnamese instrument called the Dan Bau, serves as pleasant a detour as the use of old Irish melodies in Gut’s accompaniment to ‘Goodbye Belfast’. Altogether, everything falls into place well enough for you to either listen to it in the manner in which it was intended, with all attention paid to the words at work, or to enjoy as a glorious whole where Davies’ passages can be treated as very much a part of the music. Fair enough, considering the music was composed around the words and how, well, the collaborations even witness Davies singing on the ‘60s pop-inflected ‘My Friend Sherry’. Whatever, a wonderful album irrespective of how you choose to approach it. (Richard Johnson)
www.moabitmusik.de

THE DRONES Havilah CD (ATP Recordings, 2009)
Dear oh dear. Not the early UK punk group of the same name but a very ordinary rock music strained with an air of melancholy and the occasional savage spurt to, I imagine, balance things out. And a vocalist who sounds like he gets through two packets of cigs a day. Apparently, this Australian group have received heaps of acclaim during the past few years. In a world where just about everything new increasingly sounds like many other things before it, even a pub rock comeback is of no surprise... (Richard Johnson)
www.atpfestival.com

FIRE ON FIRE The Orchard CD (Young God Records, USA, 2008)
Having never heard Fire On Fire’s former guise as Cerberus Shoal, I don’t know how this really compares, but their purported art-punk approach still very much wafts through Fire On Fire’s debut album here, despite a switch from electric to acoustic instruments. Tucked amongst an impressive array of mandolin, fiddle, banjo, accordian, etc., the lilt of a good-hearted campfire song is nursed into the greater unknown of psychedelia via vast swells, dips and an acidic bent sharper and more poignant than most of those presently operating on the fringes of what’s often lazily called Americana or New Folk. Of course, the instrumentation alone will instantly conjure images of big-bearded folkers strumming their (broken) hearts out in honour of Mother Nature, but Fire On Fire’s music owes too much to their background and, at times, I’m reminded of some of David Thomas’ post-Pere Ubu explorations or even of Frank Black’s occasionally borderline psychotic yowling. Equally, a lot of this music isn’t exactly comfortable listening, even if often of a joyous, celebratory or highly melodious persuasion. Strummed textures and harmonised vocals join forces to create an earnest enough backdrop, but the melodic slant gives way to heaving passages of the sort designed to send each and every one of yr vertebrae pirhouetting into different directions. Like so much music of this nature, it could easily end up agonising if left to the devices of lesser mortals to tease into a wholly listenable and engaging experience. Fire On Fire succeed, however, and The Orchard , as the name so rightly invites, is a place well worth breaking into for a fix of instant goodness. Let’s hope this particular gang continue to expand their (mildly psychedelic) farming skills… (Richard Johnson)
www.youndgodrecords.com

GoGooo Long, Lointain CD (Baskaru, France, 2007)
GoGooo is, essentially, the name given to Gabriel Hemandez’s excursions to often melancholic frontiers. Using field recordings and voices alongside a wide range of instruments including guitar, melodica and piano, then aided by his laptop, he creates a warm and gentle setting more structured than so many others operating in similar areas. Sometimes, such as on ‘Affleurement’, the voices and delicately-strummed guitar are employed to dominate proceedings, but even these assume a vaguely pastoral quality in perfect harmony with everything else on offer here. Gently airbrushed textures and tones are augmented by little, unobtrusive swells of electroacoustic flotsam and jetsam, whispers, bells and clacking noises, while the guitar never once betrays its polite stance whenever it appears. Overall, it recalls the feelings generated by Pan American’s work and, well, if you’re partial to these hazy plains, you could do far worse than visit this album. Also included are videos accompanying the first four songs, but for some reason or other they don’t appear to work on my laptop. (Richard Johnson)
www.baskaru.com

HEAL Supernatural 12” (Sound On Probation, France, 2009)
Laurent Perrier has been responsible for both producing his own music and releasing work by others for a considerable while now. Since the late ‘80s, he has recorded under his own name and collaborated with others in groups such as Zonk’t, Cape Fear and, indeed, this project, Heal. He also used to run Odd Size before ceasing operations and moving on to Sound on Probation, which has moved away from the former label’s concerns with post-industrial music to often dance inflected electronics. Heal themselves fit in perfectly well with this, too. On Supernatural, their third release, they merge a wide range of percussion and string instruments with electronics in a setting not far removed from the worlds Portishead and Massive Attack have operated in. Pinned into place by some great double bass playing, violins sweep over an alluring array of soundtrack-ish twilight swirls perfect for these autumn evenings. Only odd thing, really, is the fact the sleeve states there are eight songs spread over both sides when it appears there’s only actually one song each side. I wouldn’t have been averse to listening to those missing six. (Richard Johnson)
www.soundonprobation.com

ERDEM HELVACIOGLU Wounded Breath CD (AuCourant, USA, 2008)
Possibly Istanbul’s finest electroacoustic music export right now, Erdem here delivers his third album and proves precisely how much he’s made a name for himself by dedicating it to five pieces collected from a selection of prizewinning pieces performed at international festivals. Unlike a lot of his other material, the guitar is not a focal point this time, either. Instead, like electroacoustic artists such as Eric La Casa or Eric Cordier, a variety of sound sources (such as marbles, fire, water, etc.) are utilised and teased into forms far removed from their natural forms, mostly creating an unsettled yet atmospheric setting where what might be otherwise readily dismissed ‘noise’ is afforded a smoother hue. Although a lot of conflicting sounds are lulled into view, and the overall effect is one of an uneven, haphazard soundbed of opposing ideas learning to live with each other in a calm environment, there are still, however, elements of both surprise and foreboding kept afloat. This music is not all about being easily swallowed, or sweetness and light. In a number of ways, it bears similarities with some work by, say, Colin Potter or irr.App.[ext.], for example, as much as those operating either at the more comfortable end of things or purely in the world of electroacoustic composition. I think the fact Erdem’s background also takes in rock music may be partly responsible for this, and indeed the deeper understanding of dynamics necessary to keep his own work alive must certainly owe something to this school of thought. Whatever, I’m all for it. I far prefer those artists who can bridge the gap between different worlds than those who close themselves off in their hermetic bubbles. Erdem’s work succeeds completely here, and I hope he continues to maximise what I personally feel is an extremely rare and adept handle on such matters. (Richard Johnson)

HURRA CAINE LANDCRASH Unanswered Questions CD (Split Femur Recordings, 2008)
Manchester guitarist Daniel Hopkins’ debut, offering six cuts whereby he creates glazed textural ‘scapes by dropping pebbles, shells and so on onto the guitar strings before shaping everything up on his, yes, you got it, laptop. It’s okay but like so much of this type of music just doesn’t navigate anything particularly new or interesting. Shifting banks of sound produced by objects dropped onto guitar strings has been done to death already. I need something more personal from such work. Something that may hold my attention enough to command repeated listens. It’s not a tall order. (Richard Johnson)
www.splitfemurrecordings.com

KENNETH KIRSCHNER Filaments and Voids 2CD (12k, USA, 2008) I have to ‘fess I’ve long loved the type of harmonic drone or tonal music evident on this latest release by prolific New York composer Kirschner. Throughout both these discs, fantastic and lengthy shimmering sound-drifts sweep and gently roll into each other, at once leaving room for each to breathe without losing sight of a clear objective to colour space and silence with a little meaning. All three pieces that make up the first disc assume a melancholic position where loss and absence are rendered positive via abstract forms, evoking a place where one can blissfully and peacefully contemplate the subjective and objective completely undisturbed, not unlike staring at a lake’s ripples on a remote planet. Kirschner’s main instrument, the piano, provides a clearer source for the fourth (and last) track, ‘March 16 2006’, but all 72.37 minutes prove themselves an exercise in a bleakness as healthy as one of Bela Tarr’s lengthy camera shots. Grainy and sparse piano chords rarely sound so downright absorbing and, if anything, the feel of this piece compares with some of William Basinski’s work; in tone and texture if not the actual execution. Over the years, Kirschner has released a number of albums and collaborated with 12k’s own Taylor Deupree. I urge you to investigate. (Richard Johnson)
www.12k.com

LEHN/SCHMICKLER Navigation im Hypertext CD (A-Musik, Germany, 2008)
These two established electroacoustic artists, Thomas Lehn and Marcus Schmickler, first met in MIMEO in 1998 and began collaborating outside them together soon after. Over the years since their first album, Bart, released in 2000 and catching them at some synth improvisations, they’ve toured extensively and have recorded fifteen of the shows now used as the source material for both this album and the simultaneously released Kolner Kranz (also on A-Musik). Lehn uses an analogue synthesiser to Schmickler’s digital one and, together, they meld battery-assault-sized blocks of molten sonic disturbance to rather more refined bridges of static carresses all, of course, arriving from that same tempestuous lake so much contemporary electronic music is drawing from. Although some post-production work has taken place here, it’s still interesting to hear how much scope these two instruments have when placed side by side by two people whose chemistry and imagination evidently equal each other. The dynamics keep everything afloat but, besides this, the very fact there’s so much happening every time things either peak or are pared back to calmer levels really maintains the appeal. Sometimes almost industrial and at others akin to being snagged in some kind of parallel universe, Navigation im Hypertext is precisely where I enjoy being taken by abstract improv music. (Richard Johnson)
www.a-musik.com

FRANCISCO LOPEZ & LAWRENCE ENGLISH HB CD (Baskaru, France, 2008)
In a way, I suppose it was only a matter of time before these two artists amalgamated their respective interests in both field recordings and relationships between normally hidden sounds and their being taken to new levels of perception. Whilst, however, Australia’s Lawrence English usually transforms his own interests in such soundworlds to heights often melodious or at least accessible, Spain’s Lopez has long had a reputation for crafting pieces that one must strain their hearing as far as possible in order to derive anything from. On this album, each artist contributes a field recording piece and then adds an additional reworking of each other’s piece whereby the source material is hammered into new forms that at once remain respectful of the originals and delve into more musique concrete realms. Birdsong, drifting hiss, chirrups, a buzzing fly, near-silent textures, occasional swells and various studio-concocted sighs and creaks all add up to four pieces that shake hands firmly together on the conceptual soundmap. Interesting to the usual point with such releases, of course, but lacking the necessary emotional attachment I personally crave. (Richard Johnson)
www.baskaru.com

YOSHIO MACHIDA Hypernatural 3 (Baskaru, France, 2008)
Japanese artist Machida’s third part of a triptych, which began with a release in 1999 and has witnessed a gap of six years since the last, continues his interest in collaging field recordings with real instruments and treatments. Spread over seven cuts dedicated to the theme of oblivion (in being a positive thing as much as a negative, he explains on the sleevenotes), we get to hear lapping waves, lagubrious miniscule pulses, undulating tones, carefully woven crackle, birdsong, what sounds like a TV recorded ‘neath some frequency noodling, Aki Onda on “cassette recorder”, glazed chunks of static white hiss, Buddhist nun sutras, shuffling machinery and what may be either somebody walking on gravel or eating a wafer. Waves as an obvious reference point aside, it’s hard to see where all of this fits in with Machida’s overall concept for these pieces exactly, but there’s no denying that a lot of work has clearly gone into their being realised. This, and the fact the entire album sits together as both a beguiling and thoroughly engaging listen, renders it one to return to repeatedly. And every listen seems to successfully reveal more and more of its charms. (Richard Johnson)

IAN MIDDLETON Aural Spaces LP (Swill Radio, USA, 2008)
‘S funny how some things turn out. I relocate to Poland a few years ago, lose touch with a whole bunch of people (due, largely, to my now being heavily dependent on the ‘net in order to maintain contact) and then still receive the occasiional surprising package out of the blue by one of these very same people that’ll knock me for six. Ian Middleton is one such person. Used to be in fairly regular contact, traded records with each other and then, well, a protracted silence until this LP was handed to me by one of my handmaids. Nice though it was, I then couldn’t actually listen to the thing until now, due to my turntable having gasped its last breaths at the turn of this year (I can’t afford new turntables and handmaids, you know!). Thankfully, some waits pay off, however. Not that I honestly expected much less from anything by this Scottish artist whose music is as enriching as his paintings… What we have are ten pieces spread equally over both sides of an attractive 180g slab perfectly matched for these sounds. With pieces either taken from the LP’s name itself (in three parts) or titled ‘Negative Space’, ‘Whirlloop’ and ‘Horizon’, etc., Ian successfully transports us to those places of wonder and magic so often missing in music borne of the lonely studio scientist. As with the previous work I have of his, Ian excels in crafting rich moraines of sound streaked with sparkling crevices and shimmering streams cloaked in mists of mysterious hues. Tones ripple with organic delight, oscillating hums take on the appearance of a language from another world, rhythmic flutters carress you hypnotically, and an overwhelming yet unspoken beauty forever breaks away from the nearby shadows. When contemporary electronic music can sound this good still, there’s no reason in the world to abandon any hope. Sublime. (Richard Johnson)

IAN MIDDLETON Time Building LP (Entr’acte, 2009)
Arriving from a certain class of musicians and artists whose dedication to their craft pays absolutely no attention whatsoever to trends or the demands of the listener, Ian Middleton has been forging his own path in the often enticing world of analogue synth drones and related areas since the mid-1990s. Although he now employs a wider range of tools to help realise his work, such as a pattern generator, ring modulator, various effects units and occasional acoustic sounds and field recordings, it has always aspired to reach heights so many others who’re similarly-inclined completely fail to arrive even remotely so close. Sometimes Ian Middleton’s work may flounder slightly due to various limitations but, mostly, it succeeds in being extremely natural, beautiful and mesmerising simply due to his possessing a very clear idea about his objectives here. On Time Building , which arrives in an almost plain white sleeve and with an insert explaining some of the reasons and processes behind both this and his previous material, there are six pieces evenly divided over both sides which are not only dedicated to the repetitive outdoor sounds Ian likes so much but capture them perfectly. In the past, I’ve generally likened Ian’s work to those rather more obscure or hidden places either around the world, or on others, and whilst this may be true to a certain extent, it’s also very clear he’s catching nature’s cycles closer to home too. Layered oscillating tones that forever metamorphose form the main body of these pieces, yet other sounds glide in, make subtle and brief appearances, and occasionally take over altogether, overtly resulting in music that feels alive. Always engaging and never once afraid to explore all the available contours that present themselves, Ian Middleton’s work is up there with everything at once extraordinary and inspiring. Time Building ’s only crime is that it comes in an edition of 250 that, I’m sure, will disappear fairly quickly. (Richard Johnson)
www.entracte.co.uk

Möslang/Wehowsky ‘Einschlagskrater’ 7” (Meeuw Muzak, The Netherlands, 2008)
Just when I was beginning to think things were going quiet on the Ralf Wehowsky front, a package containing several singles including this one from Jos of Meeuw Muzak arrived quite recently. Good news for me as I’ve been collecting whatever I can by the German musique concrete artist for a considerable while now. My old group Splintered even collaborated with him on an album back in 1996 that I’ll still tell anybody who cares is one of my proudest moments. Here, of course, he collaborates with Möslang on two cuts that are more accessible than most of his work, but I’m not complaining. Heaving drones that sound like they’re welling up from somewhere deep under the Earth’s crust cough out some electronic splutter and chattering sounds that’d sound agreeable enough alone. A great little record, from a great label dedicated to eclectic limited run 7”s deemed collectible almost as soon as they’re released. (Richard Johnson)
www.meeuw.net

NANA APRIL JUN The Ontology of Noise CD (Touch, 2009)
Five pieces by Swedish visual artist, composer and art magazine editor Christofer Lamgren intended to explore the “dark associations of post-black metal” via an entirely digital medium that employs no traditional instruments. As such, we are left with an array of cascading tones, frequencies and timbres that aim for a hallucinatory high yet aren’t quite well-formed enough to achieve this. Like so much of this type of listening experience, the result is too cold or detached and aloof. The filmic realms it aspires to are perhaps hinted at on the final cut which, as the title ‘Sun Wind Darkness Eye’ suggests, at least evokes a slightly warmer and more natural sound. Ultimately something of a misfiring, I feel, for the usually reliable Touch. (Richard Johnson)
www.touchmusic.org.co.uk

THE NIGHTINGALES Insult to Injur y CD (Klangbad, Germany, 2009)
Last time I heard this Birmingham-based group I was a teenager! John Peel used to play their records frequently and I once bargain-ought their ‘Paraffin Brain’ single (released in 1982 on Cherry Red, no less), although I think that went the same way as countless other records bought during this period. Whatever, it transpires that singer Robert Lloyd’s group have continued to remain active in one form or other over the years since then and reformed properly in 2004 with an assortment of others, such as members of pre-Nightingales group The Prefects, Aaron Moore of Volcano The Bear and Pram’s Daren Garratt, helping out or joining along the way. They’ve also released several singles since reforming and now, indeed, have this album both recorded by and on Faust’s Hans-Joachim Irmler’s studio/label. Although I’ve not listened to the group since their early days, I think it’s fair to surmise the twelve cuts here both perpetuate and expand on the ramshackle approach formulated then. Punchy-as-fuck rhythms cement an amalgam of cut-throat guitars, corridors of exploding melody, semi-spoken bridges of wry commentary, near-No Wave jazz-funk collisions, urban Country flourishes and deep dark delves into a kind of psychotic pop barely found these days. On ‘Big Bones’, both The Cravats and The Birthday Party spring to mind as meaty enough reference points but, ultimately, The Nightingales have skillfully embroidered their own sound, torn it violently apart and scattered it in several different directions. Fair play to them. (Richard Johnson)
www.klangbad.de

OFFICE-R (6) Recording the Grain CD (+3dB Recordings, Norway, 2008
) Improv is a form of music I’m, to be perfectly honest, rarely in the mood for, despite having enough interest in the medium to indulge in occasional concerts (of which there are plenty here in Krakow) and even pick up the occasional release. Mostly, I feel it’s music best caught live anyway, but there are plenty of justifications to it being recorded as well. In the same way as free jazz is best seen and heard sweated out in some flea-riddled bar, there are still plenty of times when those moments can warrant return trips…especially when, for instance, we’re talking about someone such as Albert Ayler, whose fantastic forays into his own soul-searching can now only be heard on recordings testifying his greatness. Improv falls into exactly the same trap, really, but some albums by these artists are more justified than others and, luckily, Recording the Grain , put together by six musicians otherwise found under the N-Collective moniker, happens to be one of them, especially in the sense it successfully bridges the gap between free jazz and contemporary improv like little else. Over the course of five lengthy pieces, a couple of saxophones, clarinet and bass are all reduced to an appropriately subdued relationship to some electronics also carefully woven into the setting. Little reed instrument signatures are fed into this and kept to a level where they rarely become obtrusive, whilst the electronics themselves are spatial and measured and yet as fluid in their execution as everything they’re up against. Space itself appears to be the key to this music as well, as absolutely nothing is allowed to dominate or consume proceedings and there’s more than a passing nod to the minimalist end of electro-acoustic composition. Gently swaying bridges of peeps, parps, poots and fragmented melodies give way to an undercurrent of tinklings, taps, shuffles and knocks that rarely assume forms outside the purely oblique. Swells sometimes loom into view, but don’t stick long enough to detract from the overall sound, and we’re ultimately left with an album as rewarding and comfortable to listen to as such apparent disjointedness could possibly hope for. Time to check out the N-Collective releases, I would contend… (Richard Johnson)
www.plus3db.net

MICHAEL PETERS Impossible Music CD (Hyperfunction, Germany, 2009)
Surely an album with such an inviting title should sound less downright ordinary than this? Composed of mostly piano fed through software this German artist himself devised called a Gumowski-Mira attractor (itself dedicated to an algorithim and named after the two CERN physicists who discovered it), the pieces mostly exude a faintly charming aura akin to a jaunty John Cage doing a jig. Lopsided keys bounce off each other, then pare down for a more sombre embrace before stirring themselves up again. Meantime, Peters inflects them occasionally with live interaction that, it would appear, wasn’t taken far enough. Whilst the idea alone is worthwhile enough, the resulting sixteen pieces suffer for their not actually delivering on the excitement of the promise. (Richard Johnson)
www.hyperfunction.org

REHAB Man Under Train Situation CD (+3dB Recordings, Norway, 2009)
Debut album by this new duo consisting of John Hegre (Jazzkammer) and Bjørnar Habbestad (N-Collective), with nine cuts of improv guitar and flute-led electronic works destined to pulverise your cranium’s toughest points. The guitar is as downright savage as anything old-timer Stefan Jaworzyn ever knocked us with, occasionally assuming almost rock forms before quickly spiralling into those unknown areas that are as alluring as the universe’s darkest recesses, and the accompanying bombardment of processed flutes and electronics weaves along with it all perfectly. Once in a while, the intensity subsides to make room for a little more breathing space. Track five, ‘Pankow’, in particular, sees everything whittled back to a more measured and subtle approach I’d personally have liked to have heard more of. As with so much of this music, though, I always feel it is best caught live. And if this release is anything to go by, I’m certain Rehab would make a commendable proposition. (Richard Johnson)
www.plus3db.net

ETHAN ROSE Oaks CD (Baskaru, France, 2009)
Third album by this Portland, Oregon, soundsmith whose work during the past decade includes soundtracking films, its appearance in Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park , a number of collaborations, and various sound installations. Here, he has employed a reconditioned Wurlitzer theatre organ to form the basis of his acousmatic explorations, resulting in a contemporary instrumental electronica approach whereby soft textures and unobtrusive tones are brushed with much attention to detail. Whilst pleasant and relaxing enough, it’s a shame the Wurlitzer was reduced to the level of a mere sound source rather than being actually utilised more directly (in, say, the same way as Eric Cordier’s Breizhiseled remained faithful to its own use of a 1960s reissue of a 78rpm record of traditional French music was). By reducing the sounds here to highly contemporary forms, the source has become irrelevant, and the idea itself has no substance beyond amounting to something reflecting a whim. Not a bad album in and of itself, although it doesn’t exactly jut out of the sea of such music in any great way, but it could have been so much more. (Richard Johnson)
www.baskaru.com

SEELAND Tomorrow Today CD (Loaf, 2009)
Following two singles on Stereolab’s Duophonic imprint during the past few years, Tomorrow Today
represents Birmingham group Seeland’s debut album. Spread over the twelve cuts you’ll find a summery pop that’s as wispy as it is dreamy and comprises the kind of electronic inflections their beloved Joe Meek liberally applied to his work. Amidst the standard arrangements of a pop song, tones waver and occasional sounds babble away that resemble old sci-fi film soundtrack effects, leading to an overtly nostalgic glow recalling an age when the idea of space travel was dominated by visions of people in bacofoil suits roaming the stars in search of little green men. Outside of this, the tunes themselves have arrived strictly from that part of the horizon still indebted to ‘80s giants such as The Smiths and New Order. There’s clearly a depth there, but it’s unfortunately not strong enough to punch with the same weight. Equally, the album’s simply not idiosyncratic enough to compare with other electronic pop albums of a generally deemed ‘classic’ nature. Whilst certain songs, such as ‘5 a.m.’, possess an infectious quality absolutely imperative to music of this nature, The White Noise’s An Electronic Storm ’s position at the top remains very much in check… (Richard Johnson)

TECHIX Monosymphonic CD (AntiClock Records, USA, 2008) Techix is the name given to Oklahoma-based artist Justin Jones, who has been dedicated to this project since 2001. Inspired by classical music as much as electronics and improvisation, the twelve cuts here appear imbued with a similar hue to Max Richter’s or some of Stars Of The Lid’s later delves into more heavily string-laden territory. Rich in atmosphere due mostly to the violins prevalent throughout, tempered electronic rhythms and textures likewise occasionally jostle alongside in an appropriate manner. It all sounds pleasant enough, but things generally tend to get slightly more interesting when, for example, other elements creep in. ‘Dead After All’, for example, with its guitar rhythm and synth whorls, and ‘Tear of Dust’’s being carried along by gentle folk-ish guitar strums and ghostly voices, add much needed moodiness to the proceedings. Ultimately, though, most of the pieces appear to suffer for their seeming to miss an ingredient or two. It would be good to hear Jones perhaps take his ideas into a collaborative setting. (Richard Johnson)
www.techix.com/www.anticlock.net
Note: The date on the sleeve states these songs are from 2004, but I only received this release last year. Either the mail from Oklahoma takes an exceptionally long time or this album simply collects work recorded from that year. Who knows? (Actually, a quick ‘net check has revealed this album was released at least a couple of years ago. Oh well, fuck it...)

UBIK Loop Finding… CD (Recycling Records, Poland, 2008)
Third album by this Polish artist, here joint-released with another from 2006 called Cut With the Blade that originally came in download-only format (see? It’s not a real album until it actually exists physically!). Featuring six tracks, it mostly hovers over loop-generated atmospherics territory not entirely original but still okay in an easy-listening kinda way. The downside of this type of music is that it’s not exactly hard to make these days, but it at least feels as though Ubik’s Mikolaj Trzaska’s heart is in the right place even if the execution of his expression isn’t quite there. Dunno though…I’ve always thought too much music is made by people who can make it instead of those who feel completely and utterly compelled to. Everything sounds fine on Loop Finding …, if somewhat functional and perfunctory, but it ultimately points to Mikolaj still trying to find his own voice in an ocean becoming increasingly deeper. Above all else, this album amounts to someone struggling to find exactly what he wants to do in relatively safe, and rather calm, waters. It’d be good to be knocked sideways from time to time, if nothing else. The very fact Cut With a Blade amounts to saxophone/electronics experiments absolutely nothing like the music on Loop Finding … compounds my point perfectly, although I must concede this music is more interesting. (Richard Johnson)
www.recyclingrecords.com

V/A Escaping From Colour :: Rapoon Recomposed & Remixed CD (Quasi-Pop Records, Ukraine, 2008)
One’s reaction to this release is likely to be determined by two factors:
1. How one feels about Rapoon to begin with.
2. One’s ability to distinguish sonic traits of artists working in what might be termed organic-influenced ambient music.
This release, on an almost unknown Ukrainian label called Quasi-Pop (their web site is an exercise in online futility), features artists using source sounds from Rapoon, the long time project of former Zoviet France lynch-pin Robin Storey, to create new pieces. It’s unclear whether the source sounds were created specifically for this project, or if they were taken from previously released Rapoon material. Given the artist’s prodigious back catalogue, there would certainly be plenty to choose from.
Many of the “re-composers” are better known in the field of art than that of music. However, there are some bigger “names”, such as Francisco Lopez, Troum and Aidan Baker. All tracks are created from Rapoon source sounds, although- with the exception of a couple- other elements have been added by the remixers. The shimmering depth, the glacial reserve and the organic texture of the Storey sound is evident throughout. Much of the album sounds very much like a Rapoon release (ironically, more like traditional Rapoon than Storey’s 2008 release The Library of the Dead ). Alternately, other parts sound like Shouting at the Ground or Shadow, Thief of the Sun -era Zoviet France. A Storey fan (and, while I don’t claim intimate familiarity with all his work, I do count myself as one), will find much to like here. If Rapoon material normally leaves you cold, then chances are these tracks will have no great appeal.
One of the things that struck me listening to this is that, while there are certain artists present- Lopez and Troum, for instance- who have a distinctive sound, that sound already meshes pretty well with that of the source artist. Some tracks- Tube’s noisier take on things, or Ronnie Sundin’s more stripped-down, raw approach- offer a bit of variation, but this is akin to choosing between desks made of various types of hardwood; sure, there are differences, but it’s not like you’re choosing between a ultramodern glass and aluminum affair and a Queen Anne escritoire. (In the live collaborative piece between Rapoon and Russian artist Cisfinitum, one could easily be forgiven for assuming it was a Storey solo track. The elements combine so effectively that the collaborator is entirely subsumed.)
Overall, this will be of interest to Storey fans. There are some moments of real beauty, much like those on “proper” Rapoon albums and the tracks remain very true to the spirit of the originator. (Kate MacDonald)
www.quasipop.org

VIOLET Violet Ray Gas and the Playback Singers CD (Zeromoon & Sentient Recognition Archive, USA, 2009) Violet is the name given to Washington DC veteran Jeff Surak’s latest guise. Operating since the early ‘80s and responsible over the years for a part in the homespun cassette label arena as well as collaborations with Crawling With Tarts, John Hudak, Frans de Waard, Kotra, Francisco Lopez, etc. and his own 1348, Sovmestnoye Predpriyatiye and V projects, Violet pretty much continues from where the V duo left off. Utilising found objects, prepared acoustic instruments, damaged discs, old record players and the like, Surak here heads for an exciting juncture where cinematic drones meet abrasive outbursts. Following the opener ‘All Records Collapse’, with its gliding metallic textures and spoken voices, we are treated to a good example of his capabilties. ‘Marionetki’, stretching for over 14 minutes, combines penumbric hiss the like of which The Hafler Trio are especially good at sculpting entire universes from with gentle whirs and flutters whose movements later fade away to make room for a savage machine attack. Afterwards, tracks mostly continue to work themselves around more dynamic gush, nods towards minimalism, carefully woven loops and enough attention to detail to keep things wholly engaging, but fifth piece, ‘Interior Ghosts’, makes way for a haunting violin drone-led setting that must rank as the album’s highlight. Whilst other sounds bubble away beneath the overlayed violins, visions of skinny black-clad types creating the perfect din in a New York loft hover ever closer, but it’s something that works sublimely when juxtaposed with all else on offer. An album I’ll certainly be returning to. (Richard Johnson)

JANA WINDEREN Heated: Live in Japan CD (Touch, 2009)
Using an array hydrophones, Norwegian sound-artist Winderen here collects material gathered from Greenland and Iceland as well as her native country to create a nearly 27-minute-long piece recorded live at Super Deluxe in Tokyo, October 2008. Concerning her work with the sounds to be found in lakes, oceans, glacial crevasses and generally beneath the world we see around us, she weaves together sonic blankets as haunting as they are beguiling or comforting. Mysterious underwater creaks, crackles and oozes converge with the atmospheric flowing and gushing to an effect as satisfying as that to be found on Nurse With Wound’s heavily criticised Salt Marie Celeste album. And, outside a limited edition 7”, ‘Surface Runoff’, released on USA-based Autofact label, some of her recordings appearing in Sigur Ros’ 2007 film, Heima, and a series of installations and collaborations (including a recent one with Chris Watson), Heated is actually her debut CD. I look forward to hearing more. (Richard Johnson)
www.touchmusic.org.uk

WINDSCALE Servitude CDEP (Fellacoustic, USA, 2008)
Four cuts very much indebted to early Whitehouse and various affiliates of the infant era Broken Flag Records. What, as ever, gets me with such artists is that they all appear to have missed the fucking point. ‘Noise’ has to have some depth that goes beyond all the hackneyed ‘shock horror’ reflections of the modern world. It needs to cut deeper and work with far more interesting agendas. It needs to be reconfigured, fucked around with and cast into new contexts where meaning actually dovetails with purpose. Windscale can only take some solace from the fact there are probably several handfuls of people scattered around the globe who will brainlessly nod their heads in approval of their work. Well done. (Richard Johnson)

ZONK’T Beat Wins You and Me MLP (Sound On Probation, France, 2009)
Another release from Laurent Perrier, but this time presenting his solo material on what must be his sixth under the Zonk’t guise. As with previous material, Zonk’t is given to melding colossal chunks of industrial pounding to electronica and techno. The five cuts here see this approach scaling new heights, and it’d be fantastic to hear this in a suitable environment such as club or a blasted through a venue’s PA system. My own hi-fi, good as it is, has to accept the huge compromise known as neighbours, unfortunately… (Richard Johnson)
www.soundonprobation.com


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MORE ARCHIVE MATERIAL: REVIEWS 2006 to 2008

ACOLYTES ACTION SQUAD Winkle Time CD (Early Winter Recordings, 2007)
Sheffield based duo A.A.S.’s debut album, Bust Of , surfaced 7 years before this follow-up, but it would appear absolutely nothing has compromised their often erratic and jagged swerves into the kinda terrain where idiosyncratic souls as disparate as NWW, Richard Youngs, Omit and The Gerogerigegege can also be caught stalking around. Throughout the eleven songs here a certain DIY aesthetic remains in check, but stealthily avoids the no/lo-fi trappings so often found attached, remora-like, to it. Instead, the production allows for the sounds and ideas to breathe. Which is a good thing, because there’s quite a lot going on here that commands it and would otherwise be reduced to sonic mulch. Mashed-up interludes greet spacious guitar passages, amp hum and electronic chattering gives way to solo female vocals, an Amon Duul-type ur-jam makes itself known, junk shop madness bubbles away, songs dissolve just as they’re beginning to form, languid flotsam coils around vague structures, and fragmentary noodling ripens the gaps. Fine stuff, skimming those places where the avant-garde is fucked around with even more and cast alongside different approaches to music without once either puffing on the air of pretension or falling into futile bedroom terrorism. Mysterious and quirky, yet never annoying, Winkle Time reveals much to hold onto without ever being obvious. A good thing in my increasingly battered book, f’ sure. (Richard Johnson)
www.earlywinterrecordings.co.uk

AND ALSO THE TREES (Listen For) The Rag and Bone Man CD (Indigo, 2007)
Before AATT’s singer, Simon Jones, sent me a copy of this album, I must ‘fess I’d not heard anything new by his group for a few years. Not sure why, either, as I always enjoyed their reflective and autumnal songs before, plus even had quite a good friendship with them once that included my first group playing with them twice and my staying over with various female friends of ex-bassist Steve Burrows in London a number of times. I suppose life can just take over at various junctures, leaving certain people, groups or whatever relagated to the wings. Still, if there’s one good thing to be said for the internet and, indeed, possibly cheesy social networking sites, it’s that long forgotten bridges can be traversed once more and, naturally, old friendships restored. As such, my tail is firmly between my legs as I now seek to investigate what I’ve been missing out on in the AATT camp during more recent years (but why does it all appear to be so expensive on, for example, eBay…?)…
(Listen For) The Rag and Bone Man hails from the tail end of 2007, actually, but warrants inclusion here simply because it deserves whatever little extra attention I can bring its way. Thirteen songs form this album and capture a sound that, really, can now only be described as AATT’s own. Whereas earlier work drew parallels with certain other post-punk contemporaries such as Joy Division, Nick Cave, Modern English and The Cure at times, AATT’s emphasis on the imagery in Jones’ words always took a bigger hold on the music and elevated it somewhere else entirely. And it’s now evident that this has matured to the point the songwriting operates in a landscape purely of its own: one where world-weariness converges with a lonely stroll along a river’s bank, lost thoughts, broken romance, the evening shade and times lost to the hungry jaws of the modern age. In the wrong hands, this very same world could end up fey and pastoral, like the very worst of so much so-called ‘indie’ music, but AATT anchor their sound to weightier stuff. Alongside Simon’s brother Justin’s forever evocative guitar work and the muscular basslines that always served AATT well, the generally contemplative and melancholic air gives way to occasional swells of bitterness and anger. A hint of danger, or of things not being quite right, stakes its presence perfectly amongst these songs…
From the opener, ‘Domed’, with its dynamics building up to a punchy finale, through the murderous tale ensnared in ‘The Legend of Mucklow’ and on to the beautiful combination of melody and cello of last song ‘Under the Stars’, (Listen For) The Rag and Bone Man makes for a successful celebration of both yearning and new passions like very little else. And with Cave having clearly laid songwriting ability to rest in favour of seeing out his mid-life crisis, only Tindersticks serve as AATT’s most obvious contemporaries. It would be nice to see them garner the same kind of recognition. (Richard Johnson)
www.andalsothetrees.co.uk

ANT Footprints Through the Snow CD (Homesleep Music, Italy, 2006)
Thirteen unassuming stabs at the kind of fragile songwriting guaranteed to either send you towards homicidal tendencies or reeling into a pit of introspection so deep nobody but the most meek will feel compelled to cast a rescue ladder into. Either way, it’s a lost cause. As such music goes, this bobs along gently enough, but it lacks the magic or cynicism that can salvage it and unfortunately strays a little too close to the domain of the bedwetter for comfort too much. Ant may well possess a talent for exposing his heart with the aid of his keen songwriting abilities, but he seriously needs to grow some balls. (RJ)
www.homesleep.it

AUTOMATED ACOUSTICS Love to the Dedicated Listener CD (Alternative Blueprint, 2007)
A label which says that it celebrates artists who are unique and hard to categorise is a good thing. And, despite some initial misgivings, this disc grew on me as it went along. I started off not too sure about it, but got swept up in the sheer unpredictability of the sounds.
It ranges from some clever, almost AFX-like songs to a grooviness that reminds me a little of Bad Seeds’ offshoot Crime & the City Solution, or a safer take on the sound of Xiu Xiu. At its strongest moments, it’s a breath of fresh air, something that really does defy comparison. At its weaker moments, it sounds a little too much like it’s trying to be music for art college students, striving for a strangeness that doesn’t come naturally.
The chief drawback of the album is that there is just too much of it. The whole project could have done with more whittling, to emphasise the potential of its high points.
A sort of wunderkind multi-instrumentalist, the character behind Automated Acoustics doesn’t seem to want for ideas, he just needs to refine a little more going forward. That said, he’s a young’un, this is only his first full-length album, and it seems that the future could be bright. (Kate MacDonald)

THE JOHN BAKER TAPES Volume One/Volume Two CD (Trunk Records, 2008)
Two fantastic insights to the (rightly) long revered and influential BBC Radiophonics Workshop via one of its three mainstays, the late John Baker, who, alongside Delia Derbyshire and David Cain, was responsible for creating some of the most amazing and visionary compositions to have arrived from true experiments in sound beyond those more self-conscious realms generally associated with them. Discovered by his brother, Richard, a large number of these pieces were considered lost until recently and an equally significant amount have never been released before. As such, both collections are invaluable on several counts. On the first volume, collecting 49 rare and unreleased works recorded from 1963 to 1974, John Baker reveals some of his production techniques in between themes, jingles, public information broadcasts and soundscapes, etc. originally used for BBC radio and television shows and commissions elsewhere. Nestled amongst an array of melodic signature pieces, stabs of strangeness and humourous oddities titled and indeed used for ‘Newstime BBC’, ‘Building the Bomb’, ‘Sling Your Hook’, ‘Man Alive: UFO’, ‘Barnacle Bill’ and so on you’ll find an electronic opening for the film classic ‘Dial M for Murder’, some non-broadcast cues, an interview for ‘Woman’s Hour’, and far more besides.
The second volume collects a further 39 pieces not used by the BBC and is no less captivating than the first. Homespun jazz, library music, feedback loops, electronic jingles from adverts, more demented electro-acoustic passages, test tones, etc. recorded between 1954 and 1985 converge to embellish John Baker’s evident genius further. A soundtrack for Ridley Scott’s debut feature, ‘Boy on a Bicycle’, also makes an appearance, once again illustrating a love of jazz but also somehow magically fusing elements drawn, seemingly, from classical music and a colliery’s brass band. Otherwise, titles such as ‘Electro-Suspense’, ‘Electro-Weird’, ‘Get Happy’, ‘Pots ‘n’ Pans’, ‘Piano Concrete’ and so on probably point to everything you may think you know.
At times, both volumes fold together like Joe Meek’s more quirky forays rubbing shoulders with Nurse With Wound and, elsewhere, they prove themselves way outside such lazy confines on my part. Mostly, and somewhat more paradoxically, the albums add up to something which exist outside easy frames of reference. And, whether amusing or created for more serious purposes, the sheer scope of the inventiveness and energy behind it, can only be admired,
Complete with rare photos and liner notes, these two collections come wholeheartedly recommended to everybody interested in truly innovative music. As archives go, this one can only command repeat visits that will never once disappoint. The lines between insanity and genius in sound have once more been drawn. (RJ)

BEEHATCH eponymous CD (Lens, USA, 2008)
Beehatch is the result of a collaboration between Mark Spybey (ex-Zoviet France, Dead Voices On Air, etc.) and Phil Western (Download and platEAU), following ten years since they last worked together in Download and its being realised via the increasingly popular (and more convenient) method of file sharing via the internet; something that, given their respectively residing in England and Los Angeles, they could only do anyway.
Over fourteen cuts, they straddle those filmic areas they’re already known to explore, cut-ups, mashed passages of psycho-mulch, gentle looped voyages through light and dark, waking dreams in sound, electro-pop, and songs that could comfortably sway alongside the likes of Holger Czukay, Jah Wobble, Michel Banabila and some of Mark Stewart’s work. Lots of different elements are pulled together and there’s no doubting Spybey and Western’s knack for at least keeping them pumped full of blood, but the whole album suffers for being a little too disparate or blurred around the edges at times. The attention to detail, and even those warts that reside amongst it, is impeccable, but it feels as they’ve lost sight of the whole they’ve created in the process. (RJ)
www.lensrecords.com

BLIND CAVE SALAMANDER eponymous CD (Blossoming Noise, USA, 2007)
I was given a copy of this album at the Wroclaw Industrial Festival last November shortly before the group’s appearance there by member Paul Beauchamp and must confess to having turned to it countless times since. The four-piece group also comprises Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo (of Larsen), Marco Milanesio (from the long-serving experimental rock group DsorDNE) and Julia Kent (Antony & the Johnsons, plus known for her collaborative work with C93 and, more recently, Human Greed, amongst others). Together, they weave a fantastic palette of brooding yet spatial textures that sometimes wind along the very corridors of slowly melting rock the creature of their very name can also be found lurking in. Over the nine songs on this debut album, it very rapidly becomes clear Blind Cave Salamander have a firm handle on their craft. Little electronic touches help lend a spaceward-bound edge to an otherwise deeply atmospheric descent towards a melancholic calm embellished perfectly by Julia Kent’s ever-wonderful cello playing, some occasional violin sweeps and huge melodies glistening like crystals upon a chandalier. Whilst the overall mood is generally retained throughout, the tempo does lift once in a while, such as on third song, ‘Ljubljana’, where percussion flavoured like an intro to a Turkish belly dance adds a more playful, if still hynotic enough, edge to the proceedings. If anything, there are similarities at work here with Fabrizio’s old group, Larsen, a project itself given to furrowing the same terrain as amorphous rock groups such as Labradford, Stars Of The Lid or even Sigur Ros whilst maintaining a grip on more exploratory sensibilities, It’s almost as though Blind Cave Salamander are the logical next step from Larsen; something that could easily unspool into realms of predictability if BCS’s heavily pronounced vision wasn’t pumping with more blood than most groups could wish for.
Inside the cover are some interesting notes about the rarely seen human fish. Let’s hope that Blind Cave Salamander don’t equally keep themselves hidden away. (RJ) www.blincavesalamander.com www,blossomingnoise.com

FRANK BRETSCHEIDER & PETER DUIMELINKS flux CD (Korm Plastics, NL, 2006)
Although both of these artists have a pedigree in experimental music, I hadn’t been familiar with either of them until listening to this CD. Consequently, if you are familiar with them, I’m not going to be able to tell you whether this release is a logical continuation of either or their work. What I can tell you is that this is a collaboration (as opposed to a split release) and that it was recorded as part of the Brombron series put together by Frans De Waard, where artists such as Main, Tore Honore Boe and Jaap Blonk are brought together to work on a project for a fixed period of time. This is the tenth CD that the larger project has generated (there have been three more released since).
The music is an extremely minimal but likeable techno, with an irresistible pulse lurking beneath its sparse surface. It helps that the production is particularly sharp, so that the resulting sound mix has every whir and click perfectly placed. A flatter style would have rendered the work bland.
It could be argued that this sort of music is a more stripped down variant of the kind of thing labels like Sakho were doing in the mid-nineties, but the fact that it is so engaging shows that there are greater depths to be plumbed in that ocean. (KM)

CRESCENT Little Waves CD (FatCat, 2007)
This is the second album I’ve heard out of their total of five by this Bristol-based group. The last one being, well, their last album, from four years earlier, By the Roads and the Fields, which has been something I’ve turned to on many a wintry night since reviewing it. Little Waves sees the group moving from analogue recording to digital but thankfully losing none of the rugged beauty of the previous album. Singer Matt Jones’ soft yet husky vocals once again recall a world-weary and (emotional) battle-scarred soul caught thick in the middle of a search for his lost self, whilst the music that backs it appears to be beamed from a time and space otherwise only to be found in dusty corners of record shops. No surprise then that Jones has cited 1930s gramaphone records, old folk and blues music, and even Indonesian Gamelan and the magnificent Pearls Before Swine’s One Nation Underground LP as being amongst the touchstones for Little Waves . This album possesses precisely the same feel of being from a slightly different place whilst neither compromising Crescent’s obvious songwriting ability or sounding unnatural.
Gentle acoustic melodies bind an array of instruments that include organ, horns, drums and homemade double bass together with a variety of environmental or found sounds which embellish the proceeedings perfectly. Combined with a very subtle nod towards contemporary electronica’s more adventurous plains, minute mistakes and a roughly-hewn edge likewise add to the setting.
As with the album before it, this is brimming with an earnest warmth, a rawness and bruised beauty impossible to resist. It suggests musty photo albums, walks along leafy paths after the rain has just cleared, staring out of a window of a derelict house, broken toys from one’s own childhood, buried dreams and well-thumbed pages. Such an air of sentimentality could so easily become trite in the wrong hands, but Crescent pull it off fantastically.
How it all compares to their lo-fi punk-inspired beginnings 14 years ago, I don’t yet know. Maybe it’s actually better I keep it that way? (RJ)
www.fat-cat.co.uk

THE DEATH RAYS Twelve Gauge Blues CD (DTK Records, Canada, 2007) Balls-out, punked-up ‘n’ tremor-inducin’ destructo-rock of the type first stoked by the likes of Black Flag or even Flipper, (un)healthily peppered with riffin’ Stooges cruncherama, vocals that sound mercilessly torn from their lungs, psychotic sax blasts and all the trappings of a band doubtlessly aware of their cliched trappings but’re intent on having a fucken good time regardless of what I, or anybody else, thinks. Actually makes a change to have something like this around here, too. A massive flip-off to all the chin-scratchers amongst us. (RJ)
www.myspace.com/thedeathrays

KEVIN DRUMM Sheer Hellish Miasma CD (Mego, Germany, 2007)
If you’re going to call an album Sheer Hellish Miasma , as far as I’m concerned, you’d better be prepared to back it up. When you consider further that this release is actually a reissue of a much-lauded 2002 album (with extra material added), there was already a lot for Mr. Drumm to live up to by the time I had broken the seal on its tastefully minimalist packaging. Perhaps if my expectations hadn’t been raised, this would have been a more enjoyable experience for me. Certainly, there are sections of the album that captured my interest, but nothing that truly won me over. The buzzy, layered drones of the first track oscillate and shimmer in a nice chorus effect, in a manner not dissimilar to some American power electronics, but without the PE spite. The second track is more rhythmic, with stuttering percussion hammering out an almost African cadence.
Unfortunately, after track two, which comes to an abrupt end, the album starts to drift. It meanders from tone to tone without much sense of dynamics and never builds on the energy of the opening tracks. This loss of direction is something I find Drumm shares with Jim O’Rourke, an artist with whom he has collaborated and to whom he has often compared.
Not bad, but not a sheer hellish miasma in either a bad or a good way. (KM)

FELLAHEAN Insignificant Scrap CD (Fellacoustic Records, USA, 2008)
Is this the very same Fellaheen [sic] whose records I chanced upon years ago who also, I understand, hailed from the US, but with a replacement vowel? Doesn’t really matter, I suppose. What we have here are thirteen pieces of full-on electronics noise fuckery emanating from the same camp that exploded into the likes of Daniel Menche, The Incapacitants and infinite others whose smacks around the cranium have been long endorsed by RRR, for example. There are some interesting twists, turns and textures hewn from what’s an otherwise immensely abrasive block of sound, lending the proceedings that all-important disorientating or vaguely ‘delic quality very much required in order to make it work, but I’m not so heavily into such music these days (I take time out for Whitehouse and a coupla old Japanoisers, but that’s about it), to be perfectly honest. Third cut, ‘Purchase’, stands out for its slightly more rhythmic tendency leaking violently like burst bruises all over the place. With bedfellows titled ‘Data’, ‘File’, ‘Return’, ‘Amount’, ‘Fees’, and so on, Fellahean appear to be furnishing us with some appropriate enough reflections on the present age, and it’d be unfair they stop there, that’s for sure. (RJ)
www.fellahean.com

FORMICATION Icons for a New Religion CD (Lumberton Trading Company, 2007)
Ah, this is what reviewers dream of and fear. A record that’s hard to describe. It’s a challenge, of course and you start off your review wanting to communicate something of the atmosphere that these two musicians draw from a diverse collection of instruments (guitars and synths on the mainstream side, djembe and “tooting horn” on the obscure side), except that knowing the instruments won’t tell you a thing about what the final product actually sounds like.
So, you start over again and try to think of words that might be evocative of the end result of all these processed guitars and tooting horns and such. Juxtaposed terms like “mellow psychedelia” or “undulating electronics” sort of help to approach the subject, but seem to miss the gracefulness inherent in it. It’s only after a couple of listens that it strikes you that there’s something a little bit familiar about the sound, something in the back of your mind with which it forms a continuum. Coil. Mid-nineties to early-whatever-you-call-this-decade Coil is the closest link in sound and mood, which is fitting, since Coil themselves were notoriously difficult to describe.
This is not to say that the music is derivative, far from it, but sometimes a comparison is worth far more than a reviewer throwing terms like “burbling” and “mysterious” and “morphing” at you. Well worth keeping a lookout for, now and in the future. (KM)

FORMICATION Agnosia CD (Harmful/Dark Winter, 2007)
Closely following their album for my very own Lumberton imprint, Formication bring us another handful of cuts that, this time, roll along a more pronounced emphasis on rhythms. Sometimes akin to a chattering alien computer or a funeral march past a foundry where a lonely worker sweats away, the rhythms swing nicely between being busy and more subdued whilst forever avoiding those more obvious beat trappings. Alongside ghostly psychedelic textures, distant wails, carefully woven torrents of amber hiss, finely-hewn pulses and equally measured minimal keyboard chord strikes, everything feels befitting of either a haunting film score or perhaps a chemically-soaked recess where nostalgia, lost days and reflection reign. Only the final, fifth track moves away from such anchorage towards the type of electronic interstellar gush they’re usually happy to fall adrift in, but it is still solidly executed and works perfectly. Just a shame the packaging (a black & white slipcase with sombre images on not so far removed from the approach adopted by many a dodgy goth group) betrays the music, unfortunately. (RJ)
www.darkwinter.com

FREIBAND Leise CD (Cronica, Portugal, 2007) Ten compositions based on recordings his then three-year-old daughter made, using musical and non-musical instruments/sound sources, represent Frans de Waard’s Freiband’s third album. As with other Freiband material, the emphasis is as much on computer processing as the original material used for it, but while the realms explored are of a chiefly electro-acoustic nature they are never rendered sterile as a result of the environment. Rather, all manner of interesting thuds, pops, crackles, scrapes and suchlike weave around each other to form atmospheric textures, mostly gentle patterns, occasional rhythmic snatches and the general digital palette that could only too easily be staid if left in the wrong hands. Once again, Frans proves that he has a firm grasp on his inventiveness, possesses an ability to shade it in many ways, and refrains from allowing it to plummet into the very depths of boredom so much music of this nature is guilty of. (RJ)
www.cronicaelectronica.org

ERIK FRIEDLANDER & TEHO TEARDO Giorni Rubati CD (Bip-Hop, 2008)
Thirteen songs inspired by the poems of murdered Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini feature on this trans-Atlantic collaboration by downtown New York improvisation cellist Friedlander and prolific Italian electronic composer, Teardo, known otherwise for his soundtrack work, involvement with several groups, and remixes for bands or artists as diverse as Placebo, Girls vs. Boys, Rothko and Lydia Lunch. Initially based on 8 multi-tracked or single track responses to the poems recorded by Friedlander, Teardo reworked the recordings while adding piano, electronics and guitar along the way. From the plaintive ‘Ricordi di Miseria’, with its haunting textures and the cello strokes given centre stage, to the alarmingly viable and vaguely electro-punk-gone-minimal cover of ‘Warm Leatherette’ that closes the album, Giorni Rubati both splits its seams with surprises and commands nothing but your full attention. Highly recommended. (RJ)
www.bip-hop.com

FUCK BUTTONS Colours Move promo CDS (ATP Recordings, 2008)
Imagine prime cut Spacemen 3 or even early Spiritualised sliced, diced ‘n’ sprinkled over a slightly more aggressive palette via some colossal mesmer-rhythms hewn like proto-industrial’s dancefloor cousin and ‘Colours Move’ may well hammer itself into focus accordingly. Dunno how this cut compares with the rest of this duo’s debut album, ‘Street Horrrsing’, from earlier this year, but it simultaneously reminds me Terminal Cheesecake and newer cousins in fucken fucked and celebratory fuckedelia, Holy Fuck. A nice and chunky Andrew Weatherall remix, ‘Sweet Love for Planet Earth’, seems as fitting as both the support slot to Mogwai and the fact this release can only otherwise be found on 12” or download. Apparently, the press have been creaming themselves over ‘em, but I rarely keep abreast of such matters. At least it seems justified, for once, anyway. (RJ)

GUY GELEM Works CD (Split Femur Recordings, 2008)
Simple, minimalistic electronic rhythms and sinewy guitar melodies fleshed out by some often suitably atmospheric cello playing form the basis to this debut instrumental album by London’s Guy Gelem. Because it only too often falls near those kingdoms already signposted by the likes of Mum or Fridge, it isn’t the elevatory experience it’d probably like to be, but Works makes for a pleasant enough, if rather perfunctory, halfway house to them. Shame there were no more of the Italian folk touches, as witnessed on fifth cut ‘Village’, peppered throughout, really. (RJ)
Split Femur Recordings Ashleigh, Main Road, Great Haywood, Staffs., ST18 0SU
www.splitfemurrecordings.com

GENERIC Torture CD (FracturedSpace Records, 2008)
Generic is the name given to Adam Sykes’ outlet for the type of tempered space mulch you may well actually expect when faced with it and likewise, of course, the title of this debut CD ‘proper’. Adam, formerly known as the guy behind the now defunct Iris Light imprint, here proffers six cuts spun from deep drones, slow machine rhythms, spiralling fragments of hiss and the kind of brooding malevolence that’s designed perfectly for the domain of the horror film or, indeed, those club spaces where the black clad amongst us tend to mooch about in. Whilst the work doesn’t really scale heights beyond so much else I’ve stumbled upon (more by chance than design) on various labels set up to promote post-industrial gloom-mongering, it’s neither unlistenable or disagreeable. Last track, ‘Torture Garden II’, is especially nice for its falling nearer H3o-type haze, but overall I feel Generic still has a way to go if it wishes to be as fully captivating as, say, Band Of Pain or even Biopsphere’s forays into such realms. (RJ)
FracturedSpace Records, 5 Serjeant’s Green, Neath Hill, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
www.myspace.com/fracturedspacerecords

ROBERT HAMPSON + STEVEN HESS eponymous CDEP (Crouton, USA, 2006)
Four collabs all spanning the four-to-six minutes mark from Robert Hampson, otherwise known for his work with Main and Loop outside various collaborations, and US drummer/percussionist Steven Hess, whose own credits include Pan American, Fessenden and others. Half-submerged creaks, skittering shimmers and what sounds like a computer protesting at the bottom of a mineshaft wander into ripples created by mild cymbal sweeps, fragmented pulses, sequences of minute pops ‘n’ poots and vaguely rhythmic whorls. Neither unpleasant or particularly unexpected but, rather, somewhat unremarkable. Sometimes wish Hampson would just squeeze some blood out of his pores again, to be honest. Whatever, limited to 500 and probably long gone, like you actually care… (RJ)
www.croutonmusic.com

HUNTSVILLE For the Middle Class CD (Rune Grammofon, 2006)
Pretty incredible long-player by the Norwegian trio of Ivar Grydeland, Tonny Kluften and Ingar Zach, who’ve long been involved with the free improvisation world already documented by Grydeland’s Sofa label on a number of releases since 2000. Here, however, they utilise all manner of instruments from guitars, double bass, banjo, tabla machine and various others originating from India to explore a more recent interest in drone, country, folk and electronic music. Opening song, ‘The Appearance of a Wise Child’, tethered to around 15 mins worth of driving, hypnotic percussion and snatching some random vocals along the way, largely sets the tone for the remainder of the release. Organic textures snake around each other, rhythms staple everything to that juncture where everything points to an apex of unadulterated ecstasy, and discernible ur-strums combine with frenetic bows and scrapes for that only too important raw effect so hard to find in this day of software-generated sterilisation. Only second track, ‘Serious Like a Pope’ loses its grip slightly as the pace is whittled back to a near Fahey-esque approach rendered better on fourth and final cut, ‘Melon’, which furnishes us with a comparatively stripped and gentle touchdown to the proceedings. Nonetheless, Huntsville sound like their experience within such realms of music is paying off. The product of people who know their game without having let their imagination or yearning to voyage to new places suffer. Fucken dandy in my book, I have to concede. (RJ)
www.runegrammafon.com

INCAPACITANTS El Shanbara Therminosis CD (Segerhuva, Sweden, 2007)
Reissue of a long sold out cassette (on G.R.O.S.S. in 1995) by this Japanese duo who really need no introduction. Incapacitants have long been at the forefront of the whole Japanoise scene and have, along with perhaps Hijokaidan and Masonna, maintained their position simply by avoiding the more or less ‘assembly line’ approach of Masami Akita. Of course, this particular release originally appearing when Japanese electronic noise music meant far more than it does now renders this reissue especially worthwhile. The original two lengthy cuts of theremin-led blasting are also accompanied by a third piece lasting some 20 minutes recorded in 2007 that takes on a more full-bodied yet slightly refined approach. The more uncontrolled earlier works capture a freshness and spontaneity missing from this last cut but, without doubt, this release ultimately serves as a worthwhile glimpse into a genre still more fascinating than the various equivalents from other nations. Limited to 500, too, but probably not so many left these days… (Richard Johnson)
Segerhuva, Box 9202, SE-102 73 Stockholm, Sweden
www.seferhuva.se

ZBIGNIEW KARKOWSKI/ATSUKO NOJIRI Continuity DVD/CD (Asphodel, USA, 2007)
Karkowski is a well-known figure on the international circuit concerning digital-noise, improvised electronics and audio-visual performances. Based in Tokyo for the past few years, he continues to travel the globe and play art and club spaces on a fairly regular basis, somehow successfully blurring the lines between his grounding in power electronics-inspired sonics and a more mannered, ‘academic’ approach en route. On this collaboration with Japanese video artist, Nojiri, he has put together a few tracks using source material originally recorded live by a number of musicians in San Francisco.
Various strings, guitars, wind instruments and percussion were deployed by three collectives who then had their work manipulated by Karkowski. Although it’s evident the sounds are teased and processed, the original forms also appear to have been handled with a modicum of respect, rendering a keen ear with a sense of balance to the proceedings. Or, if you like, an almost perfect melding of the organic with software via corridors padded with a healthy imagination…
The DVD itself features three mid-length pieces where, on ‘Float’, tempered drones, ghostly scrapes and knocks, soaring tones, minimalist percussion and subtle rattling are pushed into a dynamic range Glenn Branca would be proud of whilst accompanied by suitably hallucinatory yet relaxing colourful lines swaying about the screen. Second track, ‘Tritonal Rapture’, presents more of a quasi-industrial offering, with heavier emphasis on percussion and the general feeling that something unpleasant may be going on in the nearest basement, and last piece ‘Membrane’ is akin to an almost full-on attack of multi-layered voices completely unlike the sourced material or, indeed, the comparatively soothing visuals.
Two lengthier pieces go on to form the CD part of the nicely presented package, ‘Mass-Flow-Rate’ and ‘Perceptor’; the former resembling a flying saucer’s perhaps slightly malfunctioning engine during a rendezvous with a black hole and the latter nudging towards Aube territory. Not, therefore, quite as overtly absorbing as the work on the DVD, visuals or no visuals, but at least executed with the precision one would expect of a master within the genre. (RJ)
www.asphodel.com

KEPLERS ODD Strena Seu de Nive Sexangula CD (Fractured Spaces, 2008)
Trio from Sweden’s third album with seven untitled and largely agreeable slices of moody yet sinewy guitar-led instrumental pieces which gently nod towards The Cure’s classic Seventeen Seconds and Faith albums whilst sucking on the same air as comparatively more contemporary artists such as Stars Of The Lid and Labradford. There’s a heavier emphasis on the foggy swirls and post-industrial sounds buried way down, but the overall tone is one of minimalist melancholy and rather subdued despair. Everything mostly hangs together with both a meaning and intent that belies the ‘noise-drone-ambient’ angle heralded by the press sheet, anyway. Only the fourth and fifth cuts’ meandering into Skullflower-esque distortion-anchored landscapes gives the general effect a slight hammering, unfortunately, as they appear to be borne of an idea to prove Keplers Odd worthy of the ‘noise’ school more than anything more focussed or, well, rich in feeling. I’m all for noise, but it has to be harnessed or have direction. In the context presented here, it carries no weight and deflates an otherwise good album. All the same, worth keeping a half-mast peeper on, at the very least. And I certainly wouldn’t mind investigating the previous albums, either. (RJ)
Fractured Spaces Records, 5 Serjeants Green, Neath Hill, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK14 6HA.
www.myspace.com/fracturedspacesrecords

DAVID KRISTIAN Ghost Storeys CD/DVD (C0C0S0L1DC1TI, Canada, 2008)
‘Last studio’ album from prolific and highly revered Canadian electronic music composer, David Kristian, collaborating here with Ryosuke Aoike, Japan’s much vaunted Manga animator responsible for creating Catman and Perestroika, on five films based on Japanese ghost stories. The music itself veers through those spaces where appropriately drifting penumbral shimmers wrap themselves around distant knocks, crashes and taps like ectoplasm manifesting into menacing forms. While shades of Lustmord or the moodier textures behind Thomas Koner’s arctic explorations instantly leap out as reference points, we mustn’t lose sight of Kristian’s intentions here or, indeed, the fact that he conducts them perfectly. As a starting point to his newfound direction as a soundtrack composer, these thirteen compositions represent nothing but a mission firmly accomplished.
Aoike’s five silent shorts, working themselves through gloomy hues, never overstated abstractions, neatly hewn graphics and sequences often as haunting or evocative as the music itself are a sheer pleasure to watch despite what generally appear to be rather simple premises. If, like myself, you’ve not seen any Manga films in a long time, these may well just convince you that the time to redress the balance is way overdue. (RJ)
www.cocosolidciti.com

ANDREW LILES & JEAN-HERVE PERON Fini! CD (Dirter Promotions, 2008)
I have to ‘fess that I sometimes now baulk at the idea of reviewing material concerning my friends, and this particular release is a double-barrelled example in that it features Mr. Liles and is on Steve Pittis’ label. Thankfully, however, the former, despite my presently rather featherweight criticism of there simply being too much available by him now being completely at odds with my own endorsement of his work via releases on my own labels, has barely made a duff record yet, whilst Pittis’ Dirter Promotions is very much a kindred spirit to my own labels in that it’s never been hip, is dedicated to purely reflecting Steve’s own interests, and has indeed crossed over with mine at several points. Basically, our labels are in the same (possibly sinking but certainly stinking) boat, and always have been. Returning to the point about Liles’ work, however, I think my problem with there being so much output by him now stems from the belief that he’s going to slip up very badly at any given time now, but my fears are violently cast aside with absolutely every new record I hear by him these days. And this collaboration with one of Faust’s founders is no exception.
Beginning, as it does, with a welcoming Faust-type drum loop and Jean-herve yowling and protesting that, as the title suggests, ‘The Drummer is on Valium’, plus all from metallic clunks and scrapes to what sounds akin to an android gibbon deeply in pain and some rockin’ guitar, the tone is largely set for an album that appears to get better, and perheps more skewed, as the following thirteen cuts unspool their very guts. As the piece begins to plummet into some nicely hewn noise towards the end of its 8 minutes running time, we’re given the usual few seconds pause before ‘I Do Not Like To Get Wet’ assumes a posture dominated by Liles’ presence. Trademark flirtations with the carnivalesque and downright absurd bubble ‘n’ foam away, hinting at those cloud-strewn netherworlds Liles’ ouevre has continually poked its tendrils at since first crawling amongst the moonlit shadows. Only a rusty trumpet really seems s to bag the air trapped by Jean-herve, but rusty brass is welcome into my palace any day. Third track, ‘Shut Up & Sit Down’, sticking to the two-to-three minutes mark dominating most of the pieces and held together by the kinda plaintive enough guitar strums that wouldn’t be outta place on an early post-punk record, pays witness to more of Jean-herve’s vocals and all kinds of indiscernible, mutated noises spiralling from a Lovecraftian rift clearly exploited elsewhere. Whilst its only too apparent that the recent Faust collaborations with Nurse With Wound represent an inevitable meeting of minds, Liles and Jean-herve alone together mould far more fantastic shapes from the subconsciousness than you may’ve heard in quite a time. Not only that, but Fin! Really fucken, uh, ‘rocks’ in places, too.
Indeed. Work your way through the looped breaths, rasps, muted bass drums pounds and complaining horse of ‘Shake Your Hooves’ and there’s so much fantastic guitar fuzz to swathe yourself in you can almost hear early Skullflower battling it out with The Stooges. Which is precisely one of the reasons the instrument itself was invented for, as far as I’m concerned, and I vehemently advise seeing a doctor if you stupidly think otherwise.
Of course, guitars don’t cloak the album entirely, however. Other tracks, such as ‘I Lost Faith in Words’, consist of a haphazard yet playful collection of cut-ups, gadgetry and vocals, and ‘Congo Bongo La La La’ is virtually self-explanatory aside from the additional employment of a flute and gleeful speed-fuckery. Then, penultimate piece, ‘It’s Too Loud’ kicks off with a couple of layers of Jean-herve saying god knows what in German before we’re sent reeling spacewards with more six-stringed lunacy. The signs proclaiming there being two geniuses at work don’t have a solitary chance of remaining mounted…
Friends or not, this is a grand album. My objectivity forever rules regardless and, well, if any of you fuckers trust me, you can sure as hell count on me regarding this release. The only disappointing thing is the shitty, almost throwaway artwork. It looks like the kinda album one would find on RRR or a dodgy US noise label. The music deserved better. (RJ)

GETATCHEW MEKURIA, THE EX & GUESTS Moa Anbessa CD (Terp Records, The Netherlands, 2006)
It had been a considerable amount of years since I last heard The Ex before this album, and I’d never felt particularly won over by their rather Gang Of Four-inspired delves into angular and sometimes noisy rock, but this collaboration both caught my attention and jolted it for six almost immediately on the very first listen. Getatchew Mekuria is a highly respected saxophonist from Ethiopia who, now in his 70s, has been playing in his own, almost free-leaning, style since 1947. Utilising typical Ethiopian signatures, his vibrato blasting takes its main cue from a war-chant that then spirals wonderfully into colourful melodies, blistering attacks and more mournful refrains. Alongside The Ex’s staggered rhythms, mannered anger, punked-up guitar cuts, buoyant (but not cloying) playfulness and the addition of a horn section whose own accompaniments swell everything out perfectly, the eleven songs barely contain a passion I’ve hardly heard outside certain Polish groups originally snagged in the ‘Yass’ circuit of the 1990s. Overtly, the album represents a highly spirited meeting of minds downright impossible to ignore. And, heck, if this illustrates what The Ex have been up to in more recent years, then those early misigivings of mine need to be retracted immediately. Likewise, as quite possibly my first (small) helping of Ethiopian music, it sounds like an entrance paved in gold. Would have loved to have caught this live, and no mistake. (RJ)
Terp Records, PO Box 635, 1000 AP Amsterdam, The Netherlands
www.terprecords.nl

DAVOR MIKAN Tauschung CD (Cronica, Portugal, 2007)
Four years in the making, the 28 miniatures (as, indeed, they generally are; only one piece goes over the four minutes mark, only a few hover around the two-to-three-minutes length, and the remainder range from eleven seconds to being barely much longer than a minute) here by Mikan, a Vienna-based artist given to combining algorithmic music with handmade sounds, resemble the type of scrunched-up electro-acoustic compositions RLW has perfected over the years. Balls of light and dark bounce against jagged and often jarring micro-patterns teased into something then invitingly teased elsewhere. As with other such works, this is not a place to turn to for comfort or to get dragged along by. Instead, Mikan creates a completely absorbing space where sounds are explored and pushed into new realms perfectly reflecting the whole gamut of emotions without the crutches served by convention. It is music designed to climb inside, and it works fantastically. (RJ) www.cronicaelectronica.org

GEOFF MULLEN thrtysxtrllnmnfstns CD (Entschuldigen Entgeoff, Germany, 2007) Combination of treated guitar drones, textures, electronics, banjo plucking and suchlike on a debut album which sucks on the already congealed juices of what certain people have been calling ‘Americana’ during recent years. Although it functions on an agreeable enough level, it is hard to imagine this work being capable of fulfilling those with more demanding appetites. Certainly, the multi-layered mininimalist drone pieces are okay, but they’re ultimately similar to only too many other processed mulch works of this nature. Put them next to any other such artist’s work and I’ll give a big bag o’ sweets to the person who can discern Mullen’s own endeavours from them. No lie. On other cuts not so readily anchored, a subtle folk-ish leaning can be occasionally whiffed between the patchwork of glitches, pops and micro-parps, but Leafcutter John’s throne won’t be toppled yet. Again, it’s all okay, but we now live in a world where only too much music is merely ‘okay’ when, let’s face it, more of it should be fucken gobsmackingly blinding. Kudos must be given for the handmade feel of the packaging, however. Each copy of the album arrives with digital prints by artist Sarah Powers glued to the front and back of the digipak, plus a cloth bag inside containing a photo and info sheet by Mullen. More artists/groups could learn from this, at the very least. (RJ)
www.entschuldigen.com

NEUBAU rymdmyr CD (Nonine Recordings, Germany, 2008)
Neubau is Arno Steinacher, who has been composing music since he was 12 and is known in more recent times for his work in the domains of improvisation and electronic music. The nine cuts here paint a remarkably alluring picture, allowing tiny melodic refrains to work alongside fragmentary whispers of sound, occasional pulses, field recordings, little digital poots and sighs, and electro-acoustic platforms to rather startling effect. Without doubt, Neubau’s work owes much to the whole scope of micoscopic sound exploration but, with the aid of more organic devices such as voice and even a cello at certain points, the focus appears to be of a far warmer stock and enriched with ideas usually barely touched on by such artists. If anything, it all swings towards those places Ralf Wehowsky’s explorations sometimes point to, yet with a sense of more obvious structure underpinning proceedings. Ultimately, it’s an album rife with nourishment and a satisfying, yet not smug, air of surprise that’s firmly capable of pulling us into its world and never once letting go till the very last note sounds out. Near perfect. (RJ)
www.nonine.com

NíD Plate Tectonics CD (Auf Abwegen, Germany, 2006) Posthumous release by this Swiss-German trio dedicated to mostly drone-bound sounds, noise manipulation, foggy samples and dialogue snatches. Here, three lengthy pieces encircle some fantastic voyages through muted hum, looped voices, gentle vibrations and the stench of noxious ooze. The last one, ‘35000 Feet Below the Ocean Surface’, clocks in at almost 22 minutes and hints at a leather-clad NWW surveying a desert of black ash. Which works a treat for me. (RJ)
Aufabwegen, P.O. Box 152, 50441 Cologne, Germany
www.aufabwegen.com

PURE SOUND Submarine CD (Euphonium, 2007)
This release advertises itself as "ambient, avant garde, experimental", but I have to say that this release doesn't really match up to these adjectives. The first track, ‘Breathe Deep, My Love’, comes on like an ersatz Can (complete with ‘Mother Sky’ bassline), and what follows is a bunch of acoustic guitar strumming and plunking, samples of World War Two-era monologues and quotes, submarine-like beeps and bloops (do you see?), some sardonic (and to be honest, tiresome) vocals, rumbling loops and drones, various bits of found sound, and so forth. There are some nice touches here and there, such as the atmospheric piano playing of ‘Get My Cutting Head Down’, however, but on the whole there is a lack of focus present, with the impression that Pure Sound are attempting to squeeze in as many sounds and ideas as they can, which don't always work well or hang together. In addition, they are treading a well-worn path in respect to what they are attempting, and I found my attention often drifting whilst listening to Submarine - a case of "heard it all before", perhaps? Mixing songwriting and atmospherics can work sometimes, but it's a tricky thing to pull off, and to be honest, I feel that Pure Sound have somewhat missed the mark. (Sacha Colgate)

RAN SLAVIN The Wayward Regional Transmissions CD (Crónica, Portugal, 2007)
Latest work from this Tel Aviv-based audio-visual artist, anchored to the fundamental premise of marrying sounds from the Oriental Middle East to contemporary glitchworks. It’s an idea bursting with a promise, however, which generally fails to live up to the album’s opening highlight of ‘Village’, which succeeds because it is carried along by Israel’s leading singer-songwriter Ahuva Ozeri’s three-steel-string instrument, the Bulbul Tarang. And, despite her appearing with the very same instrument on a further three songs, only ‘Hagalil’ and ‘Wayward Initial’ from these vaguely sniff near its warmth and immediacy. Between these pieces, we witness at least an edging towards the original idea, if not the fullest realisation of it.
The remainder of the album relies too heavily on the already stated software fuckery methods that now only seem incredibly lazy, easy and, of course, only too often employed by a grey and sickly tide of clueless bastards with absolutely nada to offer.
What could have been a truly enterprising venture turns out to be, unfortunately, yet another album that, certainly during its finer points, hints at a scope far wider than it possibly even originally set out to. Pity it’s swiftly cut short by its predictability.
A truly wasted opportunity. (RJ)

PETER REHBERG Kapotte Muziek by… 3” CD (Korm Plastics, NL, 2007) Digital-noise artist Rehberg, more commonly known as Pita, here works source material from Kapotte Muziek’s first workshop, recorded in 1997. Approximately 17 minutes of amorphous sonic buggery tweaked into something quite beautiful, with all the cut-ups and junkyard mayhem of Frans de Waard’s KM outlet buried, perhaps, like a corpse in the cellar that’s still making its fragrant presence felt. Such collaborations, I strongly maintain, should always subsist on the fundamental idea of hitching the original material to completely different points. Narratives, sounds and even the most vague of notions need to be both thoroughly explored and then redressed. And Rehberg understands this perfectly. Shame it’s such a stupidly short release, really. (RJ)
www.kormplastics.nl SHINING Grindstone CD (Rune Grammofon, Germany, 2007) Persuasive second album by a Norwegian rock outfit whose combined background in jazz, theatre, pop and film music clearly pays dividends if Grindstone is anything to go by. Despite a blistering assault into the crevice where Prog joins forces with what many tend to deem ‘Art-rock’ (as with most such terms, it’s so wide and variable that it cannot be pinpointed to any particular sound; rather, it’s a generic badge to be pinned on the lapels of those whose ‘rock’ dabblings are ‘clever’, ‘intelligent’, ‘sophisticated’ and simply steer clear of the ‘dunt’ trappings so many musicians in the area vy for…I’ve see ‘Art-rock’ levelled at all from Roxy Music, Magma and Pere Ubu to Peter Hammill, Wire, and Godspeed You Black Emperor!, and none of them bear many similarities. Nonetheless, I’ll run with it for now anyway), there are huge ‘n’ juicy dives into the domain of the film soundtrack via haunting or even bombastic sections, plus healthy dips into other waters altogether. ‘Moonchild Mindgames’ starts out like something you’d expect to hear emanating from a decent jazz bar before then getting itself entangled in some dark strands o’ wisp perhaps left by a recordist for an old B-movie. The bizzarely titled ‘Stalemate Longan Runner’ picks at medieval scabs also found elsewhere, and ‘To Be Proud of Crystal Colours is to Live Again’ is a short instrumental that wouldn’t be out of place on Danny Elfman’s fantastic score for Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands . Meantime, ‘ASA NISI MASA’ actually succeeds in making vocoded vocals seem acceptable.
At certain intervals it brings to mind fellow Scandinavians Circle and at others maybe Goblin if they’d been put together by Ozzy, but such parallels cannot realistically be drawn for too long. Above all, this is just a great, very lively and inventive album so stuffed with sonic protein it’s impossible to leave unattended.
Shining make rock music sound like the kind of banquet even unsociable ragamuffins such as myself would only too happily attend. Incredible work. (RJ)
www.runegrammofon.com
www.shining.no

SWARMS The Silver Hour CD (Vendlus, Norway, 2008)
Five compositions recorded between 2002 and 2006 by a group revolving around Kim Solve, Petter Berntsen and several others caught on those icy winds often found nestled amongst the fjords of their native Norway. Somewhere between The Hafler Trio’s blend of plaintive textures and Biosphere’s ventures into frozen gush, Swarms own take on matters, unlike so many others nestled amongst such folds, at least avoids falling into that awful and cloying cod-horror post-industrial fissure so many morose Scandinavians seem to lick their blistered lips into a lather over. Muffled voices, chains dragged slowly along distant floors, broken rhythmic rasps and sighs, ghostly yet enchanting nods amongst the static, and a very carefully measured approach to the matters at hand prevent Swarms from appearing like an unwanted guest at a party. This is a good way to drift into some stray thoughts. And I speak as somebody cloaked in heaps o’ reservations initially. So, yeah, take it as gospel, if you choose… (RJ)
www.vendlus.com

TROUM Aiws CD (Transgredient, Germany, 2007)
AIWS is the first full-length release by this German duo since 2003 and collects recordings from between 2002 and 2005. With a title translating as ‘eternity’ in gothic language or representing an abbreviation of ‘Alice-In-Wonderland-Syndrome’ (I have no ‘net access as I type, so haven’t the faintest idea what this is right now, unfortunately), it collects nine melancholic drone-orientated pieces drafted from guitars, e-bow, accordion, voices, Sufi-songs, flute and the forever enticing surface sounds from old vinyl. Everything is recorded in analogue and, as the cover itself proudly proclaims, no computer, sampler or synths were used, which is no mean statement in itself if you have a rough grasp of recording and production techniques but still gasps a welcome sigh when placed next to today’s Ableton-bound explorers into little sonic kingdoms. Overtly, Troum work with slowly shifting foggy textures where other sounds also get knitted in to add to the mood, though. At times, it draws from similar pools to certain minimalist composers or, say, some of Eno’s ambient works, but the atmospherics share a malignance or sense of gloom more commonly associated with the duo’s own post-industrial peers. Occasionally everything drifts into some beautiful miasmic patterns, such as on the opening ‘Amhateins’, and the following ‘Aggilus’, but elsewhere Troum’s handle is lost and replaced by a more generic and predictable approach. It is clear Troum possess the ability to create droneworks that are majestic and powerful, however. Let’s hope they continue to nurture it. (RJ) For more information, visit Drone Records: www.dronerecords.de

VARIOUS ARTISTS Audiotoop CD and 28pp book (Korm Plastics, NL, 2007)
A very curious release, this - it appears to be a spin-off from a series of live events (also called ‘Audiotoop’) that took place in early 2005 in the Netherlands. This CD and book package has the feel of being geared towards young children, with the book consisting of artwork and illustrations provided by each of the 10 (mainly Dutch) artists present. This impression continues with the initial track by Jana and Bertin (‘English Spoken’), which has both performers discussing some increasingly daft scenarios, whilst occasionally being interrupted by some seriously irritating bargain basement sounds. Henri-Chopinesque vocal manipulations are essayed on Freek Lomme en Remco van Bladel's ‘OERatiaudio Empir’, and much of the rest of this release features spoken word combined with either washes of electronics, or (more frequently) musique concrete-type juxtapositions. The most engaging moments come from the distinctly non-Dutch Bohman Brothers, whose ‘This Is Rocketscience’ combine their often-humorous whispering and ranting with their unique take on electro-acoustic sound manipulation. The CD as a whole is a pleasurable distraction, and a novel take on an area of music that can often be bogged down by the po-faced and humorless. It's not the sort of release I would find myself returning to regularly, but I do like its lack of pretentiousness and sense of fun. Worth checking out if you're in the mood for some Low Country shenanigans. (Sacha Colgate)

CHRIS WATSON – BJ NILSEN Storm CD (Touch, 2006)
Three lengthy pieces culled from a collection of recordings made over the course of several years of storm fronts on the respective shorelines of these two renowned artists. The first, by Watson alone, catches the lapping waves, gulls and suchlike from Budle Bay, the Forth and Tyne, etc. making for a natural setting that steadily drifts along towards something more enchantingly alien. ‘SIGWX’, the collaborative second entry, snares a cyclonic North East gale and thundery rain along with an air of Viking menace lifted straight from the Baltic sea, and the third and final piece, by Nilsen alone, catches various coastal locations recorded straight to DAT from his native Sweden. It all adds up to something simultaneously comforting and recognisable as well as faintly disconcerting. A fine balance not altogther removed from, say, some of Eric La Casa’s equally engaging work. Turn out the lights. Sit back. Ride those waves… (RJ)
www.touchmusic.org.uk

WoO Mobi Rock CD (rx-tx, Slovenia, 2007)
Debut from an improv guitarist from Belgrade otherwise known for his being a founder of the Belgrade Noise Society and one-time member of noise-rock outfit Off. Over ten cuts, WoO, as he now calls himself, casts his line into that space where gadgets and devices such as remote controllers, mobile phones, a computer mouse, radio receivers and a bow are employed as source material for sonic miniatures to rub alongside guitars and pedals. The results amount to a mostly melodic and atmospheric fabric of loops, drones, inconspicuous random clicks and shuffles, delicate sighs, melodic pings and twangs and suchlike over gently swaying rhythms. It’s all rather pleasant and slots readily alongside so much other material operating within the electronica spectrum but, unfortunately, like the vast majority, has little to actually elevate it beyond the homogenised morass it has trickled from. As with nearly all such music, there’s little to distinguish each of the artists responsible outside their being located in different cities or countries or whatever. Pleasant and very slightly interesting is all very well, but is it really enough? (RJ)
www.rx-tx.org
www.belgradenoise.com

Z’EV/FRANCISCO LOPEZ Buzzin’ Fly/Dormant Spores CD (Black Rose Recordings, 2007)
Sadly, this is music that some would describe as “ambient”, simply because that seems to be the going term for music that doesn’t have drums or traditional style guitars. The problem with that definition is that it is considered synonymous with “nothing really happens” and there is a world of chthonic wonder to be found in the depths of the sounds herein.
It’s virtually impossible that any fan of experimental or concrete music will not have happened upon the works of either Z’ev or Lopez in their travels. Each is prolific, respected and established within the community. The album is a split, rather than a collaboration (hence the divided title) with the first half, comprised of five shorter linked tracks, belongs to Z’ev, the second, a long single piece, to Lopez. The two halves are a nice match, with the almost blissful organic drift of the former leading nicely into the intense rise and fall of the latter.
This release is all about the texture and progression of sound, so if you are looking for something that truly is ambient- something inoffensive that meekly fades to the background- you might want to look elsewhere. If you’d prefer to throw on headphones for something that will reveal itself more with each subsequent listen, you could do a lot worse. (Kate MacDonald)


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More material (archive and otherwise) to be added in due course.

Comments (6688) 02.01.2011. 17:05