- Rob Devlin
- Albums and Singles
samples from Dead Rabbit Gang:
samples from Savage Young Generals:
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- Graeme Rowland
- Albums and Singles
There's a definite tendency for chaos to be reigned in, as thesprawling goliath is chopped into neat digital byte sizes and spat outin a more ordered frenzy of a very different hue. It's appropriate thatthe cover is predominantly a becalmed green as opposed to the fieryorange glow of the original. However enough of the massive rollingmetal percussion and layered keyboards and guitars remains to give mosttracks a bit of edginess, even if some mixers such as MathiasSchaffhäuser and Sofa Surfers program happy stomps with the merest hintof a Faust shadow. Likewise the Kreidler and Funkstörung tracks don'tgive away many clues as to the original tapes and wouldn't sound out ofplace on albums by either artist, but there is a drone running throughmuch of the Kreidler track which rises in intensity, pushing up fromthe underworld. Perhaps it's this often subtle use of the originalFaust tapes that makes this such a surprisingly well rounded listen.The Gel mix of possibly my favourite Faust track ever, "Wir BrauchenDich #6," performs the bizarre feat of making it sound like Neu!covering Can's "Mother Sky" and is frighteningly addictive enough forthree versions to run together without tiring as they did on thesingle. The single also included the original, which showed just howthe rolling thunder had been fine honed to a robotic precision.
Surgeon builds a slow guttural whirlpool vortex of sound that cuts deadfor vocal sample snippets and is one of the few tracks that soundsunmistakably Faustian, being perhaps the only track that looks the darkapocalyptic heart of 'Ravvivando' right in the eye. Now that heart hasmany eyes all peering at different angles. Other remixers which spy themost sympathetic views of Faust's drum driven behemoth are the lastthree: the Residents, Dax and Pieper and Dead Voices On Air. It'stelling that there are three very different tracks assembled from thesolo organ spot "Carousel II." Adriano Lanzi and Omar Sodano seem tomix in chunks of noise from other parts of 'Ravvivando' and leave alarge part of the organ motif untouched, icing the cake as opposed tothe full scale retooling of most mixes. Trillian approaches the sametrack by homing in on one fragment of its fairground feel, whilstSunroof take it on a low key stuttering cut up ambient loop trip. HowieB also opens out the hidden ambient side of Faust, making "Four PlusSeven Means Eleven" sound like an out take from Immersion's 'LowImpact,' pinging harmonising close ups of electron drones off of atoms.This is perhaps the album's most beautiful mix, although Dead Voices OnAir give Howie some competition on that score. Dax and Pieper's take on"Four Plus Seven Means Eleven" is almost the opposite, stompinghyper-beats into focused spiralling mania. The Residents countdown toignition with a rocket lift off that brings the circus to town in awarped vaudeville machine chrome showtune that made me grab the sleeveto find out who it was the first time I played the disc. That rocketblast is really the closest anyone comes to the sheer power of Faust infull flight, but whether this arose from Residents knowing cheekycleverness or is just coincidence is moot. Dax and Pieper sound almostlike they've remixed the Residents, even though they take on anothertrack, as they follow the mood so perfectly. This is another strengthof "Freispiel" - these mixes haven't just been slung together but itsounds like Faust keyboard player Hans Joachim Irmler, who is creditedwith production, spent a while making sure the sequencing flowedperfectly as an album. Dead Voices On Air summon the perfect mood toclose 'Freispiel' accenting the intact hopefulness of "Du Weisst Schon"with slowed mammoth clomp drums. Don't let memories of all thedeadweight on the Can 'Sacrilege' remixes put you off - this isactually that rare thing, a remix project without duff tracks. Thenagain perhaps that isn't so surprising as the only album I can think ofto have a remix album made from it which is on a par with the colossalmajesty of 'Ravvivando' is Ground Zero's 'Consume Red.' -
- There are downloads of the Residents, Howie B, Kreidler and Mathias Schaffhäuser remixes at freispiel.com.
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- Mark Weddle
- Albums and Singles
samples:
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- Jessica Tibbits
- Albums and Singles
I must admit that although I consider myself a big fan of Laub, I was a bit put off by the title of their latest release, which initially seemed like just another electronic artist's gratuitous nod to trendy internet jargon. Upon further investigation, however, I learned that Antye Greie-Fuchs and Jotka, who comprise Laub, actually created most of the album in separate locations, infrequently together. Taking this into consideration, 'Filesharing' makes more sense as a title.
Musically, it is as impressive as Laub's two previous albums: Antye's smooth vocals at first seem a vivid contrast to the jagged, stripped-down beats. Interestingly, a clean starkness, almost to the point of sterility, pervades this release, which has heretofore not been present in their work. This quality is even reflected in the album artwork, which pictures severe, sanitized portraits of the duo dressed in white on a white background. It is without doubt that the vocal stylings of Antye are the centerpiece of 'Filesharing', and thanks to this antiseptic approach, their subtlety can be fully appreciated. She runs the gamut from balladry (on the lovely "Wortspur") to exhibiting a heavy rap influence (on "Getriebe" and "Morgen"). Something for which I have always greatly respected Laub is their insistence on using their native German tongue in their music; whether or not it is comprehensible to the listener becomes irrelevant on account of the way the rhythms inherent in the language compliment the band musically. As a bonus, 'Filesharing' contains a CD-rom track which includes photos, discography and English translations of the lyrics (for those who can't bear not knowing what they mean). The really exciting addition, however, is the inclusion of audio file samples of several individual loops from each of the songs. Laub notes that their intent in providing these is so each listener may engage in some filesharing of her own. -
samples:
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- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
samples:
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- Mark Weddle
- Albums and Singles
- Mark Weddle
- Albums and Singles
samples:
- Rhythm Sound - No Partial
- The Wailers Band - Higher Field Marshall
- The Wailers Band - (dub)
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- Jonathan Dean
- Albums and Singles
Then, all at once, the package arrives, like an enormously belatedX-Mas present. You hold your breath as you tear open the package withthe trademark Threshold House stamp affixed to it. Inside: a plasticsleeve housing the white cardboard slipcase the CD-R is housed in. Onthe outside of the package, thick mottled paint forms abstractpatterns. Bright colored splotches and dark, veiny paint traces coverits surface. Each sleeve is an original artwork created by Coil. Insideeach sleeve is a poloroid taken during Coil's Winter Solstice musickritual. Yours probably contains a sunrise, a plastic reindeer, a churchsteeple, electrical high-wires, or maybe even a UFO...who knows? Eachcopy has a different name; mine is called 'It Dries Up Everything ItComes Across." Maybe yours is called "Harry Potter's First Dose of LSD"or "Marrakech Mouthfuls." So far, so good...
The CD-R is completely blank, no art or track names printed; justtranslucent iridescent plastic. Track one begins: your fear and anguishimmediately subside with the rise of warm, attenuated bell tones. Thissixteen-minute ambient track sounds like wind chimes slowed down amodulated for maximum pleasurable drone. Then suddenly, Jhon Balancedarkly intones: "You look on it with a sense of dread." His voiceshifts positions and replies: "Gazing upon it with a sense of dread."Then the bell tones are drawn out for an eternity, it seems, whileBalance weaves his beautiful and disarming monologue about ediblebirds. The second track begins with profoundly haunting orchestralsynthesizer drones overlapping as Balance dramatically interprets amystical/existential poem by Angus MacLise. Incredibly haunting. Trackthree is all instrumental, with some playfully cosmic vintage synthmelodies, reminiscent of Kraftwerk's "Spacelab." This track develops ina complex, kaleidoscopic way towards its ghostly conclusion.
Bottom line: Coil has not disappointed in the slightest with thisrelease. They continue to reward their devoted listeners with some ofthe most innovative and inspiring electronic experimental music beingmade today. This CD-R is worth the money and the wait. Coil is veryaware that the total exclusivity of projects such as these adds anextra, "occult" esotericism to the experience that makes the musickthat much more amazing. Bravo.
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- Nate Smith
- Albums and Singles
- Carter Adams
- Albums and Singles
Anchoredby the Ben Lord's bombastic drumming, the band gives every elementequal weight in the mix, tothe extent that the vocals become lost in the mix. While this couldprove to be a deathkissfor some bands, Kilowatthours have consciously decided to place thelyrics on the same levelas the music. Becuase of this, I refuse to call the band's sound 'emo,'although this label isoften applied (mostly due to the fact that one of the members of theband was formerly inElliot). The instrumentation, which includes piano, organ, and variouselectronics to the morestandard guitar, drums, and bass, allows the band to experiment andpush the boundaries of the music's space and depth. The beauty of "TheBright Side" liesin its ability to meld influences from a variety of bands (differentparts of the album remindof bands from Radiohead to Lali Puna to Console) into a cohesive andseamless album. "TheBright Side" is one of the first great albums of this year, each songamazing me with itselectrifying depth, its energy, and its sheer dynamics.
samples:
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