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One phenomenom that the Nineties brought us is the producer as artist. Of course this is nothing new, as there are forebears from as far back as the 60's in the form of Van Dyke Parks and in the 70's (Jack Nitzsche, Eno). But the nineties was a turning point for producers, especially with the commercialization of hip hop, the huge popularity of techno, and the love of the remix.
This new project managers a reward balancing act between improvised and composed material, falling somewhere between psychedelic space music, bizarre world music, off kilter Country/folk & avant rock ‘n’ wail. The project brings together the impressive talents of Tom Carter(Charalambides), Robert Horton, Lisa & Ann Lee Cameron.
Impure Drought is a textured and complex sound torture cut into six screaming whirlwind, psychedelic fired sound eruptions of high level noise craft.
Pebbles is a haphazard & rough around the edges mix of punky avant guitars, droning wish washy-ness, folk with the odd hit’s at outsider pop, and interesting yet rudimentary rhythmic work–outs.
Panic paints this strong emotional sate at it’s lowest mostly hopeless ebb, you can almost taste the despair and dried sweat in the richly atmospheric audio air as Jazzkammer paint a wonderful long form piece, which mainly utilizes the guitar scapes of John Hegre with subtle and cinematic noise and sound edges added by Lasse Marhaug.
The last release that I had the pleasure of reviewing on the Utech Records label was the Vulture Club's killer manipulated distorto-guitar drone fest Live Young, Die Fast and Leave an Exquisite Corpse. This disc, like the Vulture Club disc, is sourced from guitar as well, and is droney in spots, but it's a different proposition altogether, not to infer that it's bad at all.
Pere-Lachaise is a compilation of Gothic, Martial Neo-Classical artists, based around the concept of creating pieces of music which are purported to be evocative of the world famous cemetary for which this is titled after. One of the pitfalls of this combination of genres is that they sometimes stick very close to a pre-disposed formula which has been circulated over several years now. Most of these pieces include pounding martial drums, which unavoidably limits freedom of movement within the music.
In my review of the previous (and first) Beta Cloud album, Coptic Lament, I made mention of the fact that the release was so limited (thirty copies) that I didn't know whether or not to review it. I don't want anyone to misconstrue this to mean that I somehow am opposed to limited edition releases. I personally enjoy them... My only point is that reviewing such microscopically limited releases sometimes doesn't make sense. If they're only available for the blink of an eye, nobody will actually be able to hear the music. Having said that, I decided to review Coptic Lament because the music was very good, and because I believe Carl Pace's music deserves recognition.
Teleseen is a digi-dub specialist out of Brooklyn. War is a mellow dub album with digital drum tracks, sound washes, simple keyboard melodies and deep bass. Despite the heavy title, and equally heavy song titles like Coffin Ship and This is Also a Burial, this album is a mellow way to while away the time.
Forwaard lowers the listener into a strange subterranean world that’s created by Z’ev using field recordings made by Frans de Waard, which he manipulates into ominous, strange and often alien sound environments.
Robert Vincs is an extremely creative and talented Saxphone player, With Devic Kingdom he mixes together all manner of musically colour and emotion offend stepping outside jazz for new flavours and undercurrents. Utilizing here as well as Saxophone(saxello and tenor), we have; Fairlight synthesizer, Korean Bone Flute, leather horn, electronics and self-designed SDIII Six String upright Bass. All giving the album often a very haunted feeling of misplaced realities.
Axes offers up a gateway into vast sound space ways and intergalactic slipstream. It’s a collection of Ambient guitar scapes that manage to paint the wonder, loneliness, vastness of space it self.
This is the latest shot of audio displeasure and disturbing Psychological sound discharge from Gothenburg & Stockholm finest sinister sound terrorist The Skull Defekts. Mixing together environmental recordings, throbbing and soured electronics and a tangible feeling of grim dread.
Just when you thought your heard/seen some pretty bizarre and off kilter stuff, then some one like Johanna Went comes along with her jagged musical mix of punk, no-wave, Jazz and Residents like oddness- all topped off with strange acid tinged devil speaking in tongues vocals. But the real thing that makes her stand out from the odd and bizarre ground is her performance art, which is documented here in the hour and twenty minute long collection of her Performance art from late 70’s to late 80’s.
Il Suono Venuto Dall Spazio finds the Opalio Brothers on another long improvised and psychodelic trip to another world inside our self’s or outside our star system. This is a remarkable well recorded live performance is from last years FIMAV festival.
Allerseelen offer up a very distinctive audio environment- mixing ancient and modern into a invigorating, complex beat bound, harmonic mix. Hallstatt dips it's toes in electronic beat craft & organic percussion- with a mix of neo-folk/ traditional Germanic folk/world music influences, cinematics, krautrock, neo-classical, dark electroinca, inventive avant-garde pop touches that the likes of the Residents would be proud of & metallic elements that wander towards black metal.
This impressive Boxset brings together a selection of almost five hours of Norwegian noise maker/ soundsmiths Lasse Marhaug tape work over a nine year period. And it highlights his changing sound, different sound experiments and above all his inventive, clever, distinctive take on the noise genre that has made him one of the scenes most respected and critically acclaimed figures.
Sometimes the fact that a figure is such a ubiquitus prescense in the underground music community leads people to take their work for granted. Thurston Moore has performed on so many collaborations exclusive of his big time gig in Sonic Youth that it's sometimes difficult to keep up with the steady stream of releases. There's a varying level of success associated with them, mostly due to risk-taking performances.
This offers up five bone chilling, shudder making, creepy but your not quite sure why, Dark ambient/ edgy sound worlds. Each track seems to slide and creep its way out of your speakers, its shadowy form almost taking shape ready to pounce, but then falls away once more
The 1975 part of this title rather threw me, and had me wondering if this dates from then but it seems this was recorded this year or last year. Anyway on with music or sound, what we have here is one long and punishing mix of electronics and gitar weaved into a rock jam/noise storm.
Don’t be deceived by In Pink’s title, there's nothing pink, fluffy or cute about it. It really goes to the other extreme being a collection of pained, life worn down psychedelic rock/ synth scapes with high amounts of melancholy pop run through out its audio life.
The Thing make really stonking , punked-up and energetic take on jazz fronted by the always amazing, prolific and quality bond Norwegian sax player Mats Gustafsson. Along with Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on double Bass and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and percussion, All making a hell of a lot of beautiful noise along the way.
Reformation!Post-TLC The fall’s 26th album starts up with great swagger and experimental rocking/ locked groove, firing on all cylinders for the first 5 or so tracks. Then sadly almost splutters to a stop with lacklustre ideas badly executed and worst of all it all feels too happy, joyful and high with a larking about air.
LiL goes under the more active and not so deep form of ambient bracket & been surprising swift for the often drifting Mystery sea label type release. It’s all the work of Norwegian Stig Berg, who has already released an album under the name of R|A|A|N some years back.