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Here’s a two disc CD set that collections together a good selection of pieces for Piano & Violin composed by the master of sparse, pattern based, yet often highly atmospheric minimalistic/modern classical music Morton Feldman. The collection takes in both shorter works (between one & five minutes), mid-length (eleven to fifteen), and longer (seventy plus minutes) works.
Here’s another CD from the Another Timbre label; a gatefold card wallet, white, but for a cover image and the barest details. The photograph on the front depicts a small sail ship, foregrounded against a hazy dock scene, with larger ships, and a blurred, murky sky. Granberg has assembled nine other people to play his composition alongside him, I won’t list their names, but I will list their instrumentation: prepared piano, objects and percussion, objects and electronics, bass recorder, chitarrone, baroque violin, bass recorder, viola da gamba, analogue synthesiser, spinet and objects. As you can see, this is an incredibly varied palette, which mixes traditional instrumentation with electronic instrumentation. On top of this, it also mixes things in a temporal sense, using instruments from the Renaissance and Baroque eras - the viola da gamba, for example - alongside those modern electronic devices. (I had to research the chittarone, which turns out to be a large, bass lute.) The piece is one long track, 24 seconds short of lasting an hour.
Born from an album concept for a 4AD project Songs From Trhe Haunted South was originally intended to feature different singers and musicians recording songs that were both covers and originals. Old Fire features a myriad of exceptional musicians including DM Stith - piano and guitar, Christopher Barnes (Gem Club) - Piano, Warren Defever (His Name Is Alive) - Guitar, Thor Harris (Swans) - Drums, Christian Madden - Rhodes piano & Organ and Semay Wu -Cello.
Electric Sewer Age is the alter ego of former Coil, Psychic TV, Depeche Mode and Nine Inch nails producer Danny Hyde. Bad Corpuscle is the follow up to debut album “Moon’s Milk in Finale Phase” which featured guest performances from the much-missed Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson of Coil.
Cologne based artist Paul Wirkus returns with his newest, challenging ambient work, Disours Amoureux, from Edition Beides. A delightful mix of field recordings and laptop electronics, Discours moves and shimmers through time periods all from the safe prospective of Summer 2016. The combination of laptop recordings and processed field recordings adds a wonderful dimension to this soft, subtle work.
Ghastly Marshes is a collaborative dark ambient project between D. Finley (AKA Invercauld) and E. Lago of Black Mountains Chronicles. I am already a fan of Invercauld's surrealistic environments from releases a decade prior, but have never listened to Black Mountains Chronicles. This CDr "Ancient Spirits of the Fen" is their 2nd album under this alias. It contains 15 tracks 2 - 5 minutes in length.
As it’s title suggest this CD brings together a selection early examples of Philip Glass repetitive yet highly hypnotic brand of minimalism. And it’s all played by respected German pianist Steffen Schleiermacher, who played on the excellent three volumes of later Morton Feldman Piano works (also on MDG Scene).
Crippled Symmetry is one of the mid-length compositions from Morton Feldman- who of is course one of great and often highly moody minimalist/modern classical composers of the 20th century. Here we have a double CD release of the work from 1999, played by highly respected chamber ensemble The California E.A.R. Unit-who also recorded a great version of one of Feldman’s longer works For Philip Guston( also released on Bridge Records).
Dutch Futurismo’s Festival of Misfits is part of a series of releases by Hungarian-born artists and musicians Éva Polgár and Sándor Vály. Working with Nea Lindgren and Mikael Jurmu, Polgár and Vály constuct music from instruments built from scrap materials from the streets and waste bins, with slightly manipulated spoken word vocals.
This is the 9th release by Hungarian multi-instrumentalist Tamás Kátai, who now resides in that most ancient of cities, Edinburgh. Meta is the follow up to last year’s underground classic Sgùrr, and continues to push the boundaries, drawing influence from a diverse and eclectic range of musical styles to create something quite unique.
Pig & 1334 are two very arty & surreal horror films- connected with the life & death of Christian Death singer & avant-industrial sound artist’s Rozz Williams. Here is a duel (Blu-ray & DVD) format release of the films that comes in a numbered edition.
Cover albums are notoriously difficult propositions- going from highly mixed affairs, onto down right failures, or like this release near complete successes. They seemingly fall into a few camps: Bland & pointless re-treading by a popular name. A selection re-takes by a cult or respected figure. Or just about complete reinventions…Bobuck Plays The Residents mostly fits into the last camp.
Originally released in 1977 Martin’s Cafe is a mellow, tuneful, & memorable blend of country-rock, folk-rock, and light 70’s rock. Here is a 2016 CD reissue of the album on Uk label Talking Elephant.
Here’s a tape on Needle and Knife, the subsidiary of Palinopsia Recordings. Two tracks of noise from Servant Girl Annihilator, both weighing in around the ten minute mark. The project name is beautifully cryptic, and that extends to the artwork and titles too.
Everywhere man Steve Moore is back with another film score. Released by Relapse Records, Steve's soundtrack to Joe Begos' The Mind's Eye is 33 tracks of delightful synth work that is able to evoke feelings even without the benefit of having the visuals to go with it. Starting his musical voyage with Zombi, film scores make a very logical jump for this sonic powerhouse.
Dirt Road offers a collection of 15 untitled tracks for a violin & percussion. Sound wise this is mostly skeletal, stark & minimal fare- bringing to mind either Feldman at his more pared-back, barren & angular, or mournful European string music. This is very much autumnal, or winter music- so the monochrome picture of a empty country road on the front cover seems most apt.
The Magic Mushroom Band created a more accessible take on drug-influenced & tripped-out music blending together elements indie pop-rock, bounding ‘n’ chugging space-rock, and buoyant electronica, with sprinkles of sax, light world/ tribal music, and more pop/rock-bound genre blending. This recent two disc anthology brings together a selection of the bands work from the ten years between 1984- 1994.
Originally released in 1971 Camembert Electrique was the second album from Gong. The respected space rock, jazz rock, space ambient collective, who where centred around the talents of Daevid Allen & Gilli Smyth- who have both sadly passed in the last year or so. Here we have 2015 remastered ‘audiophile’ CD reissue of the album.
Paura- A Collection Of Scary & Thrilling Soundtracks is a recent CD that brings together 72 minutes, and twenty three tracks – dipping into both Morricone’s film & TV soundtrack work. The release also comes in a vinyl version, that only takes in 13 tracks- I’m reviewing the CD version.
Wolfram's "X" is an esoteric minimal soundscape record with symmetrically arranged dots on its otherwise white cover. This artist, previously unfamiliar to me, has sporadic output dating back to 2001. This 5 track, 40 minute album is his first in 4 years.
The Victorian Ideal is a two CDR set from this Danish walled noise project. The set offers up a mix of shorter (16-17 minute) & mid-length( 27- 36 minute) walls. The release appeared in an edition of 15 copies- released by respected Minneapolis based HNW/ ambient label Altar Of Waste.
Atroz is a Mexican serial killer movie that brings together grimy, perverse, and deranged found footage. With police procured ‘n’ corruption, and often jarring-yet-never lagging pace.
Since its inception in 2009, Grant Richardson’s Gnawed has propelled itself into the top tier of heavy electronics and death industrial. Pestilence Beholden is Gnawed’s third full length disc. You are dragged down into a dark space, surrounded by layers of foreboding atmospherics and foggy ambience over the 9 tracks.
Bit-Tuner's "A Bit of Light" represents a currently very 'hip' sound, pairing booming trap 808s and hip hop flavored beats with vintage soundtrack electro synth, bright saw waves and lush pads.