THU20 — Vroeg Werk
The first disc starts off rather unpromisingly, with a basic noise loop churning away, joined by someone haphazardly tinkling some percussion. This develops into a more frenzied affair, with the percussion processed and more grime added into the mix; but somehow, that first bare minute or so says a lot about THU20: whilst clearly operating in the “noise” arena, there’s also a sense of lo-tech exploration or “bedroom electroacoustics” guiding the group - noise as sound exploration, rather than “ugliness”. There’s, if not an academic edge, then a definite cerebral element to the proceedings; whilst the recordings are full of junk-noise and feedback, there’s never any sense of “chaos” or abandon. The “group” aspect is important here, too; the booklet lists six members across the recordings, and you can hear the overwhelmingly “collective” nature of the performances, in their space and development. The first few tracks on disc one see THU20 as a duo and whilst these are great in their own right, its the following tracks - with the group swelling to five members - where they create some unforgettable pieces. Some truly mesmeric recordings, covering the broadest range of sound-work; whilst still maintaining a sense of dirt or “noise”. The tracks explore a wide range of dynamics, pace and colour: I couldn’t recommend them more.
The second disc collects up recordings of early live performances. Whilst these don’t always have the precision of their non-live counterparts, they compensate by virtue of the obvious baggage that live recordings bring: a recreation of a specific time and place, and in this case, a little more grit in the sound. The same ingredients found on the first disc are evident here: primitive electronics, junk-noise, tape work, “found” sounds, icy drones and ragged drum-machine rhythms. Some of the tracks even feature vocals, which drag THU20 closer to traditional “industrial”; maintaining a nice tension in their work. Many of the live pieces carry the same measured restraint of the studio works from the first disc - no mean feat; although one of the tracks recorded in 1987, in Rotterdam, explodes with insistent drum-machine pummel and yelping screams and groans.
This is simply a great compilation of interesting works, from an interesting period in “noise”. There’s enough noise and dirt here for people interested in the evolution of industrial and power electronics; but also a general body of work to interest those concerned with “noise” in the broadest sense. Like all great recordings, these two discs contain so many layers, corners and side-alleys to explore; and its something that will need to return to my stereo many times. Its only fair that I mention the one flaw I found: my review copy of the second disc is scratched and sometimes loops - but even this seems strangely fitting.