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Antifrost
A unique restriction was given to the artists for this compilation; allartists were only allowed to use a limited bandwidth of 200hz for theircontributions. Subsequently, Francisco Lopez, Zbgniew Karbowski, KimCascone, Coti, Ilious, Philip Samartzis and others work their waythrough frequency ranges from 0 to 17002hz. Most remain in the lowerrange from 0-200hz up to 490-690hz (Lopez, PG 13, Karkowski, Coti,Kawasaki, Ilios) while a few step into the middle 991-2298 hz (AS 11,Samartzis, Yoshida) and only Cascone and Jason Kahn work in the highestranges, from 14000hz to 17002hz. While the goal was -not- meant as a"tonal experiment for studio technicians," it requires a very goodstereo system to pick up the barely audible parts some pieces mainlyconsist of. What's lacking, however, is a sense for the extraordinarylike some of the Ash International releases have. Furthermore, theminimal nature of the pieces is puzzling, as they sound like they mighthave originally been completely different tracks simply run over with afilter, cutting out all but the desired 200hz spectrum. It's thislimitation that sometimes prevents a track from ever really gettingexciting. 'Suffer / Enjoy' is theoretically a success but in fact notan album to please anybody other than the hardcore sound experts.
samples:
- Philip Samartzis - Untitled
- Francisco Lopez - Untitled #131
- Jason Kahn - Untitled
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Those unfamiliar with the comic genius that is Bill Hicks will never get a chance to hear anything new from him. Unfortunately, he died of pancreatic cancer in 1994, never quite achieving the acclaim he so richly deserved. Only after his death has there been an increase in interest about the man from both big personalities (Radiohead and Tool have dedicated albums to him) and regular folk. Hicks wasn't so much a comedian as he was a social sermonist. He would lecture about the many futilities in our twisted, twisted world, about the Kennedy assasination, about US drug policies, and about Sonic the Hedgehog and Clam-lappers Volumes 1-90 (his Blockbuster video receipts showed these as his most frequent rentals). Some of his routines have seemingly been borrowed or flat-out stolen by other comedians (Denis Leary's routines about smoking are dangerously close to Bill's) but no one did them as well as Bill. Unfortunately, there has been very little available from Hicks that truly show the genius of this great loss to comedy. There's a few bootleg videos floating around of him, and a few official ones on Sacred Cow Productions and BBC Channel 4 Video. The best evidence continues to be issued by Rykodisc, who have released seven Bill Hicks CDs, two just recently.
For the uninitiated, 'Philosophy: The Best of Bill Hicks" is probably a good place to start. It's a collection of tracks from the first four Rykodisc CDs with no added material.
Bill started out rather tame if you consider his later, expletive-ridden, Lenny Bruce-like rants. 'Dangerous' was recorded in New York over several nights, and it's just dead hilarious from the onset. His takes on smoking and drugs, staying in hotels, the state of modern music (George Michael and Debbie Gibson are HUGE targets), and the like may seem dated now, but you can think of more modern equivalents and just wonder what Bill would have said. Considering the fact that the work is over 10 years old, it still holds up very well. Bill shows early on that he doesn't take his job lightly, and that wherever he goes he's takin' you with him, kicking and screaming if necessary. The CD also contains one of several classic Bill Hicks show-enders: a speech about feeding the hungry of the world so we can explore space together. It may seem corny, but coming from Bill it's practically a revelation.
'Relentless,' by far, is my favorite of the series. Some of his earlier material is here, just in a different form. His rants on smoking and drugs have new slants, and his stance on the news, his ideas for stunts in major motion pictures, and his take on the Persian Gulf War are priceless. Plus, they're just as timely today, with the son-of-the-Bush planning to take us in for what Daddy couldn't finish. 'Relentless' also features a new facet to the Bill Hicks aura: music. The last track on the album is a song called "Chicks Dig Jerks," performed by Marblehead Johnson, Hicks' band with producer/engineer/friend Kevin Booth. It's not that great a song, but the way they present it on the album—with Bill seeming to leave the comedy club at the end of the night, getting in his car, and finding the song on the radio—is classic.
Next in the series is 'Arizona Bay,' a title taken from Bill's belief (and hope) that Los Angeles will eventually be "flushed away like the turd city it is" in a major earthquake, leaving ocean-front property in Arizona. This CD was one of two completed mere months before Bill's death, and represents a major step forward. Music is present on this album more than any other, integrated into the album for segues and complete songs. Bill is in rare form, especially his analysis of the LA Riots, which he narrowly avoided to perform a few shows in London. One of my favorite bits of Bill's ever is his scathing diatribe on the Kennedy assasination: at one point he remarks that people always tell him it happened a long time ago and to let it go; Bill's response is "Okay, then don't bring up Jesus to me. I mean, as long as we're talking shelf life here." The music isn't all that great, but considering the fact that it's Bill on guitar it's a pretty good mix. The album closes with yet another classic Bill ending: his Elvis impression.
The last in the original series, 'Rant in E Minor,' is taken from Bill's final performances. It's also his most offensive material ever. Not that it's a bad thing, at all. It has less music, which is also not a bad thing, either, as it leaves more room for comedy. Bill pulls out all the stops on 'Rant' to provide a twisted view of consumer culture. COPS, Bill Clinton, Rush Limbaugh, artists doing commercials, pro-lifers, and religion in general take a firm bashing, as Bill lets it be known that he will tolerate NONE of it. "You do a commercial and you're off the artistic roll call, and that goes for everyone... except Willie Nelson. Twelve-million-dollar tax bill, Willie got a little looser than the rest of us. I just have to turn my head when he does Taco Bell commercials." The rendition of said commercial that follows deserves entry into the Comedy Hall of Fame. It's easy to see why so many prefer this CD, as Bill is at his most honest, like an open nerve exposed for all to poke at and examine. That alone makes for brilliant comedy, but also gives us insight into the man behind it, as well.
The two new releases are unique because of their material, but also because of their circumstances. Where Kevin Booth, Bill's best friend and producer in most everything, was involved in the first five Rykodisc CDs, he's completely missing here, as these sets were brought to life by Bill's family. Bill apparently recorded most every show he performed (standard for a lot of comedians), and those tapes belong to his family, so we are promised more unreleased Bill Hicks material. 'Love, Laughter, and Truth' is a collection of material that cannot be found on the other discs, and, most probably, any of the videos of Bill, either. It is also the shortest of all the releases, with just a little material being highlighted in its forty-five minutes. It also has terrible sound quality, something that the engineers have tried to correct in bringing the CD to light but haven't really made vast improvements on. This is one of those CDs that people will want to own so that they can have the entire collection (I bought it, and several of his videos in PAL format from foreign sources; now all I need is a multi-system VCR). Not for the casual listener, but still fantastic and better than most any comedian you'll hear nowadays.
The crown jewel in the set is the complete and (mostly) unedited Bill Hicks stand-up routine. 'Flying Saucer Tour Vol. 1' is the first in a promised series of such recordings, chosen for their content, situation, and quality. The show is unedited, except for the fact that (perfectly situationally humorous) the tape ran out before the show was over. So, they cut the portion that didn't fit and added the ending from another show. This particular show was also chosen because of the audience Bill was performing for. The powers that be noticed that Bill put on better shows when the audience didn't "get" him, and that was certainly the case more than once. Bill's reaction is by turning into the pale-faced demon he used to proclaim himself and doing his absolute best to win them over. Here and there, he succeeds. But for me, it is yet again a reminder that no matter what happens the show must go on. Bill is having the most horrible show of his life (one of the tracks is actually called "Worst Audience Ever") but he still does his best. Considering that, and the fact that the show serves as an even greater reminder that he didn't ever gain popularity, it's the best of the series. You want to know why Bill was banned from David Letterman? Why Tom Waits says "he will correct your vision"? Why Dennis Miller and Brett Butler call him one of the greatest comedians ever? Finally, you will.
samples from Relentless:
 
samples from Arizona Bay:
 
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Kitchen Motors
Some of the lucky few reading this might remember Gudmundur VignirKarlsson as the polite Icelandic guy who opened up for Múm on theirNorth American tour earlier this year. His debut album is the firstfull-length by a single artist to be released by Kitchen Motors. Itmight seem somewhat odd for a label whose prior releases have consistedof live and often improvised multi-act collaborations to choose aone-man studio nerd for release, but, for an electronic record, it hasan almost undescribably improvisational feel. While the album openswith beat-friendly glitched up numbers, it's not long before piano,looped and manipulated spoken word, and light environmental sounds(like cows) find their way to the mix. Karlsson isn't satisfied enoughwith the proverbial beats which line nearly every other laptopmusician's albums, so a variety of other tempo-keepingdevices—including a metronome and what sounds like metal cans andpans—are introduced and take over when the electronic beats run theircourse. The melodies are pleasant and unobtrusive, with very littlesurprises, making this a very safe album to have playing on the walkmanwhile enjoying a hot beverage and watching all the crazy holidayshoppers rush in and out of hectic downtown shops. It's peculiar enoughto keep the mind active, making up original stories about where peopleare from, what they do for a living and how couples met. Kippi Kaninus(latin for the muscle that controls the smile) never feels like it'strapped by the rules of chin-scratching glitch or snooty moderncompositional piano, and Karlsson isn't afraid to bring sounds in andout as he feels. He's got an amazing ear for the balance of sounds andwhen progressions need to change and evolve, his only obstacle now isto break free from 3-5 minute passing thoughts and fully develop hismelodies into wonderful, full-bodied, buxom songs.
samples:
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Synaesthesia
In a blind taste test, 4 out of 5 people said this was a new RyojiIkeda album. Subtitled "an abstract electronic compilation fromAustralia & New Zealand," here we find various characters churningout digital mulch for your vibrational pleasure. From Xenakis-stylemicromachines to feedback clock chimes, to the VST sausage grindersthat are so popular these days. Speaking of which, there is an alarmingtrend among many musicians of this genre to put out a product thatcould be sold under anyone's name. It is an unfortunate by-product ofmodern audio software that a lot of music emerges with the same zipperysheen. Unlike previous comps coming out of the underside of the world(such as the "set reverb unit to 20, touch your guitar haphazardly andmoan" —a.k.a. "NZ noise" output so widely revered a few years back)this one doesn't establish a regional flavor to the glitch. That said,what we have here is an enjoyable collection of volume swells, feedbacksqualls, clipped rippage and single-ball-bearing-inside-a-water-towermoments. Standout cuts for me were Candlesnuffer, Oren Ambarchi, andNetochka Nezvanova.
samples:
- Oren Ambarchi - Kozel
- Netochka Nezvanova - Poztgenom!knuklearporekomplekz
- Candlesnuffer - Bathe Him In Paper
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Goppa
Various artist compilations can be difficult to peg down, especiallywhen the styles flip-flop from track to track. Goppa relaunched theirlabel earlier this month with this ten-song compilation of allexclusive pieces by musicians either from Ireland or who frequentlywork in Ireland. Thankfully it's not another one of those beer drinkingcomps with green covers that show up sometime in mid-March, but it doesopen with a piece by The Tycho Brahe, which is undeniably rooted infolk music. The high pitched voice and acoustic instrumentation is longforgotten by the time the short electronic bit by Daniel Figgis is infull effect. Surprisingly enough, Aranos' vocal/violin contribution andthe twittering, comical collaboration between King Camera and Volcanothe Bear (sounds like a muppet being spanked) are brief and over in ablink, while the following track from The Jimmy Cake is a welcomedlengthy bit of improv drones with bells and horns. The elusive MelanieFinch is perhaps unknowingly reaching for the Diana Rogerson award forthis comp, with an uncanny Aranos-like violinist backing her up alongwith drums, detuned guitar and sloppily played bass guitar. Nurse WithWound has donated the slightly shorter, slightly altered, 'slightlygreen librarian mix' of "Die, Flip or Go to India," which originallyappeared on the Current 93 collaboration, 'Bright Yellow Moon' lastyear, while PKD's track, "In Circles, Back to Back," is experiencingborderline techno disorder with it's thumping repetitive electronicbeat for the first half. The disc is rounded out by a short,forgettable dark post-goth bit by Belinda Quirke and a fantasticsurrealistic horror ride from Artificial Memory Trace equipped withsub-end rumblings and an arsenal of unidentifiable sounds which tenseup and break like a loose floor panel which cracks underneath you,plunging you to an impending doom right before you wake up. For anintroduction to a number of these artists, a little more artistinformation might be nice, but much like the tape-only compilationsback in the 1980s, the mystery is half the fun.
samples:
- The Jimmy Cake - Perfect Smoke (live)
- Melanie Finch - Cursed
- Artificial Memory Trace - Various Dimensions of Ornary
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Hefty's Immediate Action series has almost been revived with this EP from Telefon Tel Aviv. The first wave of the series came as a flood of limited 12" singles, some were entirely of one artist and others were collaborative works matching up a couple Hefty frends and mainstays. While this disc keeps up the mish-mashing of folks—with remixes from Slicker, Prefuse 73 and the first appearance of female vocalist, Lindsay Anderson (of L'Altra)—its non-limitedness and CD format make it seem like a completely different beast. To me, this EP doesn't feel like it's part of a multi-part multi-artist compilation, but an appropriate stopgap between last year's fantastic debut from Telefon Tel Aviv and the follow-up, whenever that's due to arrive.Hefty
The opening track, "Sound in a Dark Room," is a brand new recording and the first time a guest vocalist has actually sung for the band. It keeps with TTA's tradition of clean instrumentation, chopped up electronic beats and strong bass guitar work while the vocals add an entirely new dimension to the music. While some might like this added bit of personality to the somewhat robotic sounds of the duo, I can't say I'm completely sold on the idea of a vocalist in the mix, especially as the song becomes a wishy washy love song once words become audible. The other non-remix track on here, "8 Track Project Cut," was recorded back in 1999, and, while the choppy beat techniques and crystal sound of their debut can be hinted at here, it sounds sterile enough to be an electronic music student's midterm. The Slicker remix of "TTV" doesn't do much different than the original version on the album while the short alteration of "Fahrenheit Fair Enough" by Prefuse 73 is almost an instrumental hip-hop by numbers at this point. You know it's the dog-end of a year when things are becoming almost too predictable.
samples:
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Crunch Pod Media
IDM is easily be one of those styles that most people just don't get.And that's good. Because most people don't know anything about goodmusic. That's right: the vast majority of the populace is made up ofsheep that don't know any better. Or cattle. Cattle that need to beled. Cattle that need to be roped up and put where they belong. We needa cowboy. And sure enough, riding over the plains comes Big Tex, readyto bring us the sounds of cattle 'rassling. Welllll, not really. Thesound of Big Tex is one that can rope you in, but only if you're anintense lover of the machine-noise style. Otherwise, it's a real bigturn-off. There is certainly a lot of promise on this disc, andconsidering it took Tex a while to put it all together he's probablygot it in him to better this set. 'Authentic Songs' is really adisjointed set, with the album starting and stopping with all theprecision of a skipping CD player. In fact, there isn't a compositionwith real substance beyond knob-tweaking and squelching until theeighth track. There are a few interesting rhythms, but they eitherdon't last long, or they never build past the point of introduction."Gravy Mouse," though, is where Tex lets loose and the boogie gets laiddown. After that, it's a thoroughly enjoyable listen, with "Beat Me"and "10,000 Gallon Hat" leading the drive. There are some throwaways orinterludes in between here and there, but, again, a lot of skill andprowess at work that will someday blossom into a great album.'Authentic Songs' is a fine debut, though, and well worth aconcentrated listen.
samples:
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Repeat albums are never bad and never great, though it seems like each one is just a shade away from one or the other. I'm not sure what could push these guys over the edge into greatness, but perhaps there is a tension that I expect in contemporary improvised music which is just not present here. What I'm percieving as a lack of tension might also be an ambivalence on the musicians' part about what exactly the group is about; are they trying to be pretty and melodic? an electronic improv band? ambient music? It's hard to tell. What might, in some other case, be an interesting break in genre comes across here as merely an underdeveloped idea.
The duo, made up of Jason Kahn (a drummer who has fully embraced electronic processing) and Toshimaru Nakamura (a former guitarist who misleadingly describes his current instrument as "no-input mixing board"... misleading because he's playing the electronics which process the board's internal feedback as much as he's playing the mixing board itself), establish broad loops of bell-like tones and allow them to sway over and under each other for six-minute intervals. It's lovely, if somewhat uninspiring, and the seven tracks on "Pool" are essentially variations on one sonic idea. I find their latest album to be fine as background noise...while not as insipid as typical "ambient" music, it establishes a mood of tranquility ans statis more than it demands my active attention.
Nakamura, who established himself a few years ago as a guy whose sonic language resided mainly in the highest registers, has surprised me lately with his range, and his subdued playing here is no exception. There are no piercing sine-tones on this album, only graceful liquid shimmer and the occasional smooth crash of struck metal. The rhythms are more subtle and fluid on "Pool" than on Repeat's more overtly pretty "Select Dialect" CD from last year, which for me makes "Pool" a more intruiging listen. Still, I cannot find anything stronger to say about this album than: it's a lovely noise. Not great, not terrible, not a major statement nor terribly distinctive, but certainly enjoyable for an hour. I wonder, though, if it couldn't have been more than that.
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Mandragora Records
I am a sucker for evil primitive psychedelic sludge. This obscure NorthCarolina crew is banking on the fact that there will be one of me bornevery minute to buy their records. Anchored steadfast in the darkerregisters of sound and philosophies, this band makes a lot from alittle, suctioning tribal rhythms and fierce winds through statickyburlap. This is unintended ghost voice recordings type of stuff—lots ofreversed sounds for the backmasking fans out there. Manybands/musicians out there could take a lesson in heavy atmosphere fromthese guys. If you are looking for points of reference, I'd saysomewhere between Gravitar and early scary Current 93 (sans vocals).They do have a unique sound, though, and an impressive range over the14 tracks on this CD. My only complaint is that some of the bestmusical ideas are cut short - I would love to see them expanded live.
samples:
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Mego
This is the first Mego release which my ears have considered completelypointless. Pure are undeniably technically adept, but these eighttracks—mixed together in a nearly one hour long flow—build up nothingmore than a meaningless sinister ambience. 'Noonbugs' is a kind ofmicro glitch-meets-some-suffering-jazz-influenced crossover attempt butthere's nothing exciting about it, nor does it leave any impressionafter the CD is finished. The tracks take a long time for littledevelopment, and the use of voices in "Ivan" or the surprisinglystraight drift of "Flew" are sparse highlights which aren't rewardingenough for sitting patiently through the other seemingly endlesstracks. Pure stay clearly out of their possibilities and have presenteda perfectionist's work which seems to have lost all emotion duringproduction.
samples:
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Mush Records is churning out independent, largely instrumental hip hop records as if there was an urgent and fevered demand for crate after crate of lo-fi rare grooves distilled into abstract hip hop. While you can make the argument that instrumental hip hop is picking up the DIY torch that punks set down years ago, the unfortunate result is that the mass catalog of self-produced titles available offers the prospective listener with an impossibly broad range of records to weed through. Fat Jon The Ample Soul Physician has thrown his beats into the mix with 'Wave Motion,' a largely uninspiring nodder that pushes all the right hip hop buttons but fails to ignite anything. The low-fidelity sound of tracks like "Watch Out" undermines the essential groove that Fat Jon is trying to create by drowning the sampled beats and lazy jazz riffs in what sounds like a demo-quality mix. There is good distortion and there is bad distortion, and the muddied kick drums and muffled bass here are definitely the latter. I don't know if there's an overriding feeling in the abstract hip hop community that if a track is too polished, that it isn't 'real,' but most of these tracks fail to inspire anything other than a simple tap of the foot. More careful attention to the knobs during the mix wouldn't save everything on 'Wave Motion,' however. Similar releases by instrumental heavyweights like DJ Vadim and DJ Krush demonstrate that instrumental hip hop can be expressive sans vocals, and other releases on Mush live up to that standard, but 'Wave Motion' has a way to go. This is the perfect soundtrack to your neighborhood's trendy coffee house, but it doesn't offer much more than a beat to sip your drinks by.
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