Top Bar
Musique Machine Logo Home ButtonReviews ButtonArticles ButtonBand Specials ButtonAbout Us Button
SearchGo Down
Search for  
With search mode in section(s)
And sort the results by
show articles written by  
 Review archive:  # a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Gäap - The First Chapter [Bored Bear Recordings - 2012]

“The First Chapter” is 9th in series of twelve monthly three inch CDR releases, which are been put out through-out 2012 by Ireland's Bored Bear Recordings. Each release in this new series offers up a debut release from one of twelve new projects that are been put together by highly influential & respected Texas noise artist Richard Ramirez.

Gäap brings Ramirez together with the rather mysterious Chanel Garcia, whom I’m guessing is a female noise artists from Texas. The only other release she is connected with, according to discogs, is The Red Lights Girls/ Amer split on breaching static from early on  this year- where she provided the source elements for one of the tracks. 

The sound on offer over the two tracks offered here I guess is best described as darkly surreal mixture of grainy/ grey noise drones, layers of all manner of murky dialogue, film samples, radio chatter etc, and churning noise bound industrial texturing.

The first of the two tracks is entitled “Ritual Lamentation”, and it comes in at just under the  seven & a half minute mark. The track starts with a  mournful ‘n’ grey mixture slo-mo chugging ‘n’ droning noise tone, buried foreign radio voices & jaunting accordion music, along with of slowed flicks of  industrialized noise sub-tones. As the track progresses more weird sample elements drift by like chicken sounds, weird amassed moans, and warbling old black & white movie soundtracks. At times there are amassed dense piles of noise tones, and at others the noise tones fall into a slow bouncing almost harmonic patterns, but mostly the track just drifts ‘n’ ebbs along


The second track is entitled “Dhuhr”, and this comes in at around the  eleven mintue mark. The feel here is slighty more urgent though there's still a muffled & aged  feel to the track. It opens with a looped juddering lo-fi semi-industrial noise tone, churning squawking like textures, crow like calls, and muffled amassed school class room voices. Once again as the track progresses more often weird sound elements drift by like: drifting harmonies, radio voices, chirpy 1950’s music snippets, & all manner of playful noise bashers ‘n’ knocks. Also you get sudden spurts of more intense seared noise tone, sudden  noise sustains & billowing rolls of hissing noise, but pretty soon it drops back down to it’s original grey trundling along pace.  The looped juddering noise tone stays pretty much constant through-out, but other the elements & sounds slow shifting in & out of view.

Both tracks here have a rather subdued & hazed noise vibe to them with a surreal & industrial edge running through them too, not the kind of thing you often hear from Mr Ramirez. All told this is an enjoyable little release that I can see appealing to those who like their noise more murky/ sludge with quirky/surreal samples mixed in.

Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5

Roger Batty
Latest Reviews

Gäap - The First Chapter
“The First Chapter” is 9th in series of twelve monthly three inch CDR releases, which are been put out through-out 2012 by Ireland's Bored Bear Recording...
050326   Fade To Black - Fade To Black...
050326   Westen Grey - After Hours I
040326   Westworld - Westworld( UHD/ B...
040326   Carlos Giffoni - Pendulum
030326   Cliff Tremlow - The Pike(book)
020326   HÉR - Monochrome
020326   The Pied Piper + Jiří Barta...
270226   Aberdeen Abattoir - Caro Nihi...
270226   JUANITO)))) - Ohrensuppe
270226   Vacant Algin - 22126
Latest Articles

Cliff Twemlow On Severin - Mancun...
One of last year’s real big surprises in the world of Blu-ray box sets was Bloody Legend: The Complete Twemlow Collection, as it was a wholly entertain...
030326   Cliff Twemlow On Severin - Ma...
260226   The Fall - Repetitious Histor...
290126   Crude ‘n’ Hope-corroding ...
231225   Creepy Images Books - Killer Art
221225   Best Of 2025 - Music, Sound &...
041225   The Spectral Sounds of The Pr...
281025   Michael Hurst Interview - Unb...
071025   Xiphos - The Rise And Fall Of...
030925   Third Window Films - A Label ...
130825   HNW fest- Barcelona- 12th Apr...
Go Up
(c) Musique Machine 2001 -2025. Twenty four years of true independence!! Mail Us at questions=at=musiquemachine=dot=comBottom