Another small selection of releases received here during recent months, this time reviewed by Andrew Dewar Ainslie as well as myself, Richard Johnson:

by Richo

For a considerable time now, I have aired my grievances regularly about downloadable music and the inherent laziness and general disrespect attached to it. Whilst this may well partly stem from my own love of physical formats (especially vinyl), a number of other factors remain rooted behind my argument that go way beyond the subjective parameters of one’s tastes and interests.

Firstly, as somebody directly involved with music myself via both my labels and the duo I’m in, Theme, I have felt the pinches afforded by the virtual medium in at least two respects. Because I prefer to release music on vinyl and CD, certain other people take it upon themselves to make it freely available elsewhere on their own websites, blogs or whatever without having had the prior permission to do so. This then affects the sales of my releases in the first instance and, in turn, means that I barely recover the costs of each one, never mind try and make that little extra to be divided equally between the artist and, indeed, label itself to go towards the next release. Subsequently, each release is the result of a combination of funds raised elsewhere (in my case, having a job, begging, borrowing and simply seeing whatever coins I can find on the streets), determination, sweat, frustration, enthusiasm and almost thankless hard work.

What’s especially frustrating about this is that I’ve, like so many others, now been pushed into a position whereby the struggle to squeeze a new release out is greater than ever. Which is a huge shame considering just how much music there is around that deserves to be documented on a format that’s neither disposable or plays directly into the hands of a culture sinking deeper and deeper into complacency. Perhaps the latter remark appears somewhat rash, but I firmly subscribe to the notion that our being glued to our computers justifies it perfectly. Downloads, for all of the merits that can be afforded them (such as their convenience and the fact they’ve helped make so much obscure or inaccessible material available), are ultimately symptomatic of this. They have just as much rendered people lazy and, beyond this, have fed the idea that we should expect everything not only without making a lot of effort but also without dipping into our bank accounts. We live in a world where everybody now expects music for free. And it is precisely this that is taking its toll on musicians, labels and, I would contend, those of us who operate at the truly independent end of the scenario and don’t have the capital or concomitant power to do anything about it. What was always already a real struggle has, during the past few years, become increasingly so simply because of the advent of the free download.

As with the fears of home taping from the radio once evinced by the music industry during the beginning of the ‘80s as a reaction to increased blank cassette sales over those of records, I do not believe everybody who downloads is somehow guilty of ‘killing’ the struggling artist or label. For every argument against those who download, there are plenty that support this opportunity to check things out before then buying records or whatever. But these people, the real ‘fans’ if you like, are in the minority and it is precisely because most people who surf the ‘net stuff their players with all manner of tunes obtained for nothing without caring that by doing so they are fanning the flames of a very real problem that we are now in this mess. Labels such as mine, Lumberton Trading Comppany and Fourth Dimension, are being suffocated by this pandemic. Which is a huge shame, as I would very much like to continue supporting and promoting music by artists whose work, I feel, deserves more attention. And on formats that allow for all of them to express themselves through their choice of artwork and packaging as best as possible, too. Formats that, equally (and in keeping with a point already made), encourage effort and, indeed, the sheer pleasure that can be gained from either hunting through racks of CDs or vinyl or even receiving a package in the post. Furthermore, and more importantly, these formats support the artists and the labels behind them directly.

Like so many similar labels, mine are driven by the same fundamental passion for music I’ve had since music first hit me during Punk’s aftermath. I do not overcharge for the releases and my main concern has always amounted to primarily recouping the costs for them. It is a simple premise that has worked until more recent times.

Because the dynamics are changing, however, I am forced into rethinking matters. Besides noticing that cassette labels have been springing up all over the place during the past two or three years once again (running adjacent to those dedicated to limited run CDRs that have long existed), I have observed that an increasing number of new artists are committed to self-releasing their music, too. Just one cursory glance at any so-called ‘noise’, ‘electronica’, ‘neu-folk’ artist on Discogs, for instance, can lead to all manner of new corridors presenting themselves. There are literally hundreds of relatively new small labels dedicated to CDRs, cassettes and low-run lathecut records; a reaction, if you will, to the burgeoning world of the free download and its close relationship to what I prefer to call the ‘quick fix’ culture. Not a huge reaction, of course, but one that is significant enough regardless.

Where all this leaves my own endeavours, I don’t yet know exactly. I was never massively into cassette releases or CDRs either, but I can now appreciate firmly what advantages these formats have over downloads (despite the laudable quality of cassettes and, indeed, not forgetting the fact that FD itself started with plenty of cassettes and even a couple of flexidisc releases). One solution is to collaborate all the way through with new artists, right down to the sharing of costs, or to devise schemes where new releases can be pre-paid and partly subsidised by those who are seriously interested in owning them (which, let’s face it, is exactly what certain artists with ‘cult’ appeal already do).

Another one is to simply hope that a few more people will acknowledge these sentiments and buy directly from the labels (mine and others) before they are forced to resign. Of course, I cannot speak for all small labels here, but I can honestly declare that even just 30 direct orders would make a difference enough to at least keep the wheels turning. Right now, I’m lucky if I reach double-figures. As a reflection of the music I’m championing, this is fucking dire.

Small labels need support. By doing this, they can continue to help spread the work of interesting new artists.

Unauthorised free downloads are stifling such possiblities.

And this, quite literally, is the bottom line.

It has been a while since I posted anything here and, unfortunately (to a degree), it appears as though I am mostly posting reviews written by myself. However, I do plan some changes here in this respect. Besides a couple of interviews that will appear soon enough, I still anticipate the help of another contributor or two with both these reviews and, indeed, other submissions. Whilst I'm forever happy enough to clamber on my own rather weather-beaten soapbox in order to vent my li'l pearls about other people's work, the time spare for such matters is permanently stacked against me. A blessing, undoubtedly, for many, despite the towers of music I often personally find myself tripping over at home...

Whatever, again, changes will take place here at some point. Furthermore, I hope that I will gather a lot of this material (and more besides) for some kind of actual publication again one day as well. Much as I appreciate and enjoy the immediacy of blogs and so on, similar to my preference for vinyl/CDs, books and DVDs, I simply prefer to see the written word on paper. I like the tangibility of it, and the fact that, say, a magazine is more, uh, convenient in several ways. On another more personal note, I'm additionally fucking fed up with my feeling as though I'm practically chained to my computer whilst at home. Time once made for ploughing into my pile of unread books is now consumed quite heavily by distractions such as games of Scrabble or chess on the internet, for example. And I do not think this is altogether healthy.

More reviews will appear shortly, regardless. Plus, should anybody have anything they'd like to see reviewed here, please send via the address that can be found elsewhere on the website. Quite often, I am only too happy to even work on a small trade against my releases too.

Thanks.

Richo

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

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

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

BJ NILSEN The Invisible City CD (Touch, 2010)

Eight cuts from the 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.

A fantastic album, and 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

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

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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Zsolt Sőrés Ahad's Master's Garden III (2007 - 2009): The Harmonian Blues 1 and 2

by Richo

Sometimes or, rather, very occasionally, music will land at my place that rises above the shitstream so majestically and powerfully that I'm not only reminded of what it was that initially drew me to this art-form to begin with but also captivated to the point all those forever nudging doubts about it are turned completely upside-down fucking instantly. Of course, there?s a heap of material that plops before me that's okay, and it?s unfortunate we live in times when even okay can be enough to sustain its worth, but the days are few and far between when I'll place something on my hi-fi that'll send my spine into spasms so sharp and hard the mind can do little else but succumb accordingly.

Zsolt Sőrés, a Hungarian musician based in Budapest, is somebody whose performance in Krakow I unfortunately missed last year but somehow, luckily, managed to meet anyway. Typical to such situations, we got talking over a few beers and found ourselves healthily stuck on the very subject that had brought us together to begin with: music. Which is precisely why, a series of email exchanges later,  Sőrés' latest work ended up within my grasp. Having only previously heard a few glimpses of it over the 'net, I have to confess I wasn't fully prepared for it, either. Spread over two discs, themselves each dedicated to parts 1 and 2, we are treated to some of the most amazing journeys into transcendental or near-mystical ur-sound I've personally heard in a long while, themselves referencing Fourier's Harmonian Opera and some quotations by Hakim Bey. Commencing with a cut that plays around with what may or may not be traditional folk music from the Balkans blended with sinewy electro-acoustic touches vaguely reminiscent of some of Swiss duo Runzelstirn & Gurgelstock's forever enticing Dadaist antics, it very quickly becomes apparent that Sores' music at once appears poised for that area where the sensibilities of the outsider remain rooted in a salubrious respect for more standard forms. This itself becomes a recurring theme throughout the rest of the music, whereby a tendency towards a decidedly avant-strained take on tradition and established form takes possession. Not an idea in itself that is new, of course, given that groups such as AMM, Can and even early Pink Floyd explored similar themes, but Zsolt thankfully avoids falling into those same spaces through what appears to be a very personal engagement.

What comes across as the rest of the music unfolds is its sheer scope, too. From cuts that combine tranced-out rhythms the like of which have rarely been witnessed since the Taj Mahal Travellers with tidal waves of Lee Ranaldo-esque guitar to others where minimal piano melodies are allowed to twist and shimmer like phantoms in the moonlight or where murky moodiness is angled into more threatening shapes, The Harmonian Blues feels like an album whose rich abundance of ideas is both all-encompassing and measured enough to retain some of that all important mystery I personally believe is imperative to better music (a subject in itself I should expand on at some point, I think). Nothing is superfluous or outstays its welcome, and everything slides together organically yet never strays from the objective. On one hand, it's impressive for its purity and, on the other, the very fact it expresses so much via often minimal and simplistic means really cannot fail to pull the listener helplessly in. If Zsolt is exploring voids of his own making, which is precisely how things appear, then there are fair less worthy currents one could allow themselves to be snagged by...

I've stated this before, but music such as this arrives from an only too rare pool, and it'll be a huge shame if this release doesn't make it beyond the clutches of cyberspace. Powerful, emotional and driven by seemingly near-mythical yet firmly intuitive forces, The Harmonian Blues commands to be listened to and, indeed, will reveal so much along the way. Fucking incredible.

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