Album of the year

1. Low - Things we lost in the fire
2. Fennesz - Endless Summer
3. Autechre - Confield
4. Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds of...
5. Mogwai - Rock Action
6. Cannibal Ox - A Cold Vein
7. Fridge - Happiness
8. Matmos - A chance to cut is a chance to cure
9. Four Tet - Pause
10. Aphex Twin - Drukqs
11. Angels of Light - How I Loved You
12. Tortiose - Standards
13. Labradford - Fixed::Context
14. Silver Mt. Zion - Born Into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward
15. Squarepusher - Go plastic
16. Current 93/Nurse With Wound - Bright Yellow Moon
17. Jim O'Rourke - Insignificance
18. M√∫m - Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today Is OK
19. Nick Cave - No More Shall We Part
20. Set Fire To Flames - Signs Reign Rebuilder
21. Strokes - Is This It?
22. Dntel - Life Is Full Of Possibilities
23. Fugazi - The Argument
24. Spiritualized - Let It Come Down
25. Lali Puna - Scary World Theory
26. Stereolab - Sound-Dust
27. Hood - Cold House
28. Microphones - The Glow Pt 2
29. Mouse on Mars - Idiology
30. Prefuse 73 - Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives
31. white stripes - white blood cells
32. Telefon Tel Aviv - Farenheit Fair Enough
33. Ulrich Schnauss - Far Away Trains Passing By
34. Bonnie Prince Bilie - Ease down the road
35. Cex - Oops, I Did It Again
36. clouddead - clouddead
37. Cyclobe - The Visitors
38. Fantomas - The Director's Cut
39. Red House Painters - Old Ramon
40. Skinny Puppy - Doomsday Back and Forth Vol. 5
41. Sparklehorse - It's A Wonderful Life
42. Bardo Pond - Dilate
43. Beta Band - Hot Shots II
44. Calla - Scavengers
45. Godflesh - Hymns
46. Herbert - Bodily Functions
47. Jan Jelinek - Loop Finding Jazz Records
48. Plaid - Double Figure
49. Thighpaulsandra - I, Thighpaulsandra
50. Explosions In The Sky - Those Who Tell The Truth...

single or ep

1. Mogwai - My Father My King
2. Low & the Dirty Three - In the Fishtank
3. Squarepusher - My Red Hot Car
4. Thighpaulsandra - Michael Publicity Window
5. Low - Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
6. Belle & Sebastian - Jonathan David
7. Matmos - California Rhinoplasty
8. Antony & the Johnsons - I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy
9. Squarepusher - Untitled
10. Autechre - Peel Sessions 2
11. Fugazi - Furniture
12. Hood - Home Is Where It Hurts
13. V/A - 2 Remixes by AFX
14. COH - Love Uncut
15. Anti Pop Consortium - The Ends Against The Middle
16. To Rococo Rot & I-Sound - Pantone
17. Mouse On Mars - Actionist Respoke
18. Calexico - Even My Sure Things Fall Through
19. Tortoise - Gently Cuping the Chin of the Ape
20. Stereolab - Captain Easychord

fave remix

1. 808 State - Flow Coma - Remix by AFX
2. Slag Boom Van Loon - Poppy Seed - Remix by Boards of Canada
3. Missy Elliot - Get Yr Freak On - remix by Kid 606
4. Depeche Mode - Dream On - remix by Kid 606
5. Foetus - Cirrhosis of the Heart - remix by Amon Tobin
6. Kings of Convenience - Weight of My Words - remix by Four Tet remix
7. Matmos - Disco Hospital
8. M√∫m - Please Smile My Spring Reverb AMX - remix by Uwe Zahn
9. Slag Boom Van Loon - Fallen Angels Entering Pandemonium - remix by Coil
10. Yann Tiersen - Lost - remix by Third Eye Foundation

best various artist compilation

1. Tigerbeat 6 Inc.
2. Clicks & Cuts 2
3. All Tommorrow's Panties
4. [O]acis.Box
5. Bip Hop generation 4
6. Emre - Dark Matter
7. Snow Robots Vol. 1 & 2
8. Braindance Coincidence
9. House Of Distraction
10. The Wire Tapper 7
11. Warp - Routine
12. electric ladyland 7: glitch-hop compilation 2CD
13. Immediate Action
14. Putting the Morr Back in Morrissey
15. RKK 13 remix comp

best single artist compilation

1. Einsturzende Neubauten- ""Strategies Against Architecture III""
2. Coil - A Guide for Beginners
3. Coil - A Guide for Finishers
4. Coil - Moons Milk In four Phases
5. Dead Can Dance - 1981-1998
6. Godflesh - In All Languages
7. Piano Magic - Seasonally Affective (1996-2000)
8. pigface 'best of - preaching to the perverted'
9. Cabaret Voltaire - Conform To Deform
10. Third Eye Foundation - I Poo Poo On you Juju

best double or multi-lp/cd release

1. Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid
2. Aphex Twin - Drukqs
3. Thighpaulsandra - I, Thighpaulsandra
4. Unwound: Leaves Turn Inside You
5. Einsturzende Neubauten: Strategies Against Architecture III
6. Clicks & Cuts 2
7. Current 93 / Nurse With Wound - Bright Yellow Moon/Purtle
8. Xhol Caravan - Motherfuckers Live
9. Coil: Moon's Milk (in Four Phases)
10. Orbital - The Altogether
11. Cabaret Voltaire - Corform to Deform
12. Low - Things We Lost in the Fire (2LP version)
13. Miles Davis - In A Silent Way complete sessions
14. Nuggets II
15. Rewriting The Book
16. Ride - Box Set
17. Velvet Underground - The Quine Tapes
18. Nart Nibbles
19. Dead Can Dance box set
20. Faust - The Wumme Years

coolest unusual packaging

1. Aranos - magnificent! magnificent! no one knows the final word
2. Set Fire To Flames - Signs Reign Rebuilder
3. Silver Mt. Zion - Born Into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward
4. Aphex Twin - drukqs (vinyl version)
5. Cyclo
6. No-neck Blues Band - Sticks & Stones...
7. Shipping News ""Carrier""

nicest cover design

1. Fridge - Happiness
2. Jim O'Rourke - Insignificance
3. Tortoise - Standards
4. Set Fire to Flames - Sings Reign Rebuilder
5. Angels of Light - How I Loved You
6. Björk - Vespertine
7. Radiohead - Amnesiac
8. thighpaulsandra - i, thighpaulsandra
9. Silver Mt Zion - Born Into Trouble as Sparks Fly Upwards
10. Current 93 / Nurse With Wound - Bright Yellow Moon

best rerelease/repackage/reissue

1. Coil - Love's Secret Domain
2. Neu! - Neu!
3. Neu! 75
4. Neu! 2
5. Coil - Horse Rotorvator
6. Coil - Scatology
7. Nurse with Wound - Chance Meeting
8. Miles Davis - In a Silent Way
9. Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information
10. Love - Forever Changes
11. Nurse With Wound - Automating vol. 1
12. 23 skidoo - 7 songs
13. This Heat - Deceit
14. Current 93 - Imperium
15. Gescom - Keynell

most amusing song/album title

1. Cex - Florida (Is Shaped Like A Big Droopy Dick For A Reason)
2. Matmos - A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure
3. Aphex Twin - Drukqs
4. M√∫m - Please Smile My Noise Bleed
5. Third Eye Foundation - I Poo Poo on your Ju Ju
6. Cex - Oops! I did it again
7. Current 93 - Cats Drunk on Copper
8. Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid
9. Massimo - Hey babe, let me see your USB and I'll show you my FireWire
10. Tenacious D - Fuck Her Gently

worst album you bought

1. Aphex Twin - Suqks
2. Radiohead - Amnesiacrap
3. Autechre - Confield
4. Depeche Mode - Exciter
5. Death In June - All Pigs Must Diet
6. Spiritualized - Let it Come Down
7. Weezer - Weezer
8. Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus
9. Squarepusher - Go Plastic
10. Mogwai - Rock Action

most anticipated disappointment

1. Aphex Twin - Drukqs
2. Autechre - Confield
3. Spiritualized - Let it come down
4. Death In June - All Pigs Must Die
5. Squarepusher - Go Plastic
6. Tortoise - Standards
7. Weezer - Weezer
8. Air - 10,000 hz Legend
9. Mogwai - Rock Action
10. Current 93 - The Great in the Small

guiltiest pleasure

1. Strokes - Is This It?
2. Britney Spears - I'm a Slave 4 u
3. Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out of my Head
4. Madonna - Greatest Hits Vol. 2
5. Missy Elliot - Miss e... so addictive
6. Daft Punk - Discovery
7. Depeche Mode - Exciter
8. Destiny's Child - Bootylicious
9. N'Sync - Pop
10. Radiohead - Amnesiac

band of the year

1. Coil
2. Low
3. Mogwai
4. Sigur Ros
5. Matmos
6. Stars of the Lid
7. Autechre
8. Cannibal Ox
9. Mouse on Mars
10. Tortoise

best solo musical artist

1. Jim O'Rourke
2. Christian Fennesz
3. Thighpaulsandra
4. Jimmy Lavelle (Album Leaf)
5. Tom Jenkinson
6. Will Oldham
7. cEvin key
8. Kid 606
9. Michael Gira
10. Richard D. James

new act of the year (band or solo artist)

1. Explosions In The Sky
2. Cannibal Ox
3. Set Fire To Flames
4. Strokes
5. M√∫m
6. Avalanches
7. Baby Dee
8. Dntel
9. Clinic
10. Amenti Suncrown

best live show/concert experience

1. Coil
2. Radiohead
3. Low
4. godspeed you black emperor!
5. Sigur Ros
6. Mogwai
7. Mouse on Mars
8. Tortoise
9. Björk/Matmos
10. Autechre

sexiest musical artist

1. Björk
2. Kyle Mnouge
3. Britney Spears
4. Cex
5. Peaches
6. Hope Sandoval
7. PJ Harvey
8. Shakira
9. Jennifer Lopez
10. Alison Goldfrapp

most overrated band/artist

1. The Strokes
2. Radiohead
3. White Stripes
4. kid 606
5. Aphex Twin
6. Sigur Ros
7. Björk
8. Godspeed you black emporer
9. Matmos
10. Mogwai

most irritating band/artist

1. Fred Durst/Limp Bizzkit
2. The Strokes
3. Creed
4. Radiohead
5. Kid 606
6. Britney Spears
7. Aphex Twin
8. Destiny's Child
9. V/Vm
10. Ryan Adams
11. p. diddy
12. Björk
13. White Stripes
14. Vincent Gallo
15. U2

lifetime achievement

1. Coil
2. Michael Gira
3. John Fahey
4. George Harrison
5. sonic youth
6. Radiohead
7. Autechre
8. David Tibet
9. Johnny Cash
10. Richard H Kirk

fave producer/engineer

1. Steve Albini
2. JIM O' ROURKE
3. John McEntire
4. Steven Stapleton
5. Dave Fridman
6. el p
7. Timbaland
8. Nigel Godrich
9. Brian Eno
10. Michael Gira

who will break big next year?

1. Cex
2. Sigur Ros
3. Explosions In The Sky
4. Lali Puna
5. The White Stripes
6. M√∫m
7. Clinic
8. Fourtet
9. Coil
10. Calla

record label

1. Kranky
2. Warp
3. Morr Music
4. Constellation
5. drag city
6. Thrill Jockey
7. Temporary Residence
8. Matador
9. Eskaton / Threshold House
10. Young God
11. World Serpent
12. City Centre Offices
13. Def Jux
14. Domino
15. Schematic

music video

1. Sigur Ros - Vi√∞ar vel tl loft√°rasa
2. Add N to (X) - Plug Me In
3. Björk - Pagan Pottery
4. Gorilaz - Clint Eastwood
5. Björk - Hidden Place
6. Coi Live in NY
7. Mouse on Mars - Actionist Respoke
8. Ohgr - Cracker
9. Tortoise - Seneca
10. Low - Dinosaur Act

OTHER STUFF

movie of the year

1. Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amelie)
2. Memento
3. Mullholland Drive
4. Lord of the Rings – Fellowship of the Rings
5. Ghost World
6. The Man Who Wasn't There
7. Waking Life
8. Royal Tenebaums
9. Amores Perros
10. Hedwig & The Angry Inch
11. Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone
12. Moulin Rouge
13. Monsters Inc
14. Sherk
15. The Others
16. A.I.
17. Apocalypse Now Redux
18. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
19. Blow
20. Brother
21. From Hell
22. In the Mood for Love
23. Oceans 11
24. Battle Royale
25. Odishon (Audition)
26. Otanesek (Little Otik)
27. State and Main
28. The Anniversary Party
29. Vanilla Sky
30. L.I.E.

tv show

1. Simpsons
2. Daily Show
3. Sopranos
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
5. Futurama
6. Family Guy
7. The West Wing
8. Absolutely Fabulous
9. Invader Zim
10. Malcom in the Middle
11. That '70s Show
12. South Park
13. Will & Grace
14. Brass Eye special (UK)
15. 24

magazine/newspaper

1. The Wire
2. The Onion
3. Magnet
4. alternative press
5. Chunklet
6. Q
7. grooves
8. Tape Op
9. XLR8R
10. Devil in the Woods
11. guardian (uk)
12. urb
13. uncut
14. The Nation
15. Mojo

book of the year

1. Neil Gaman: American Gods
2. No Logo by Naomi Klein
3. Choke - Chuck Palahniuk
4. Eric Schlosser - Fast Food Nation
5. Haruki Murakami - Underground
6. How to be Good - Nick Hornby
7. our band could be your life-azerrad
8. Salman Rushdie ""Fury""
9. Alain de Botton ""The Consolations Of Philosophy""
10. David Foster Wallace - Infinite Jest

fave actor

1. Johnnny Depp
2. Philip Seymour Hoffman
3. Brad Pitt
4. Billy Bob Thornton
5. Guy Pearce
6. Anthony Hopkins
7. Benecio del Toro
8. Christopher Walken
9. Jack Black
10. Jason Lee

fave actress

1. Thora Birch
2. Audrey Tautou
3. Nicole Kidman
4. Reese Witherspoon
5. Carrie Anne Moss
6. Julianna Moore
7. Asia Argento
8. Cate Blanchett
9. Jennifer Connelly
10. Gwyneth Paltrow

fave director

1. David Lynch
2. Peter Jackson
3. Jean Pierre Jeunet
4. Coen Bros
5. Darren Aranofsky
6. Wes Anderson
7. andrei tarkovsky
8. Christopher Nolan
9. Guy Ritchie
10. John Waters

fave writer (book/tv/film/play,...)

1. Kurt Vonnegut
2. Neil Gaiman
3. Chuck Palahniuk
4. David Foster Wallace
5. David Lynch
6. David Mamet
7. Haruki Murakami
8. nick hornby
9. Thomas Ligotti
10. Bret Easton Ellis

best website

1. Brainwashed
2. Pitchfork
3. The Onion
4. Threshold House
5. Allmusic Guide
6. Audiogalaxy
7. eBay
8. Warp Records
9. Buddyhead
10. Fake Jazz

most annoying trends

1. Nouveaux Patriotism/American Flags on cars/Cheap Patriotism/Flag Waving/Cashing in on 9/11
2. rap metal / rap rock / dysfunction rock / nu metal / sports rock
3. misdirected patriotism / violent nationalism / rampant fervor
4. Cell Phones / Everything becoming wireless
5. Clicky glitch music
6. corporate garage rock / the strokes / the white boy blues rock revival (again) / pop punk
7. IDM
8. war & terrorism / bioterrorism / fear
9. Emo
10. SUVs
11. Scooters
12. boy bands
13. 1980s retro music/clothing
14. Approval of George W. Bush
15. Harry Potter
16. Rock bands going electronic and being considered innovators
17. Icelandic music obsession (Sigur Ros/Björk)
18. Indie rock fashion fascist kinder-punks
19. big pants
20. Increased Commercials (everywhere, in movie theatres)
21. Reality TV
22. Benefit concerts
23. Manufactured Bubble Gum Pop
24. Stale electronic music
25. Mods

dumbest category on this poll

1. This one
2. Sexiest
3. Guiltiest Pleasure
4. Who Will Break Big Next Year
5. TV show
6. Most Annoying Trends
7. all of the them
8. Fave Remix
9. Music Video
10. None of them

"

The Fall continue to tour a disturbing experimental past life and pack pristine venues with enthusiastic dripping venom, shambolic contempt and twisted wry amusement. "We are the new Fall," the lads hesitantly proclaim on the up an' at 'em opener, as Smith harrangues anyone who'll listen that they'd better look up! Who knows whether they'll stick it long enough to become an old Fall? The drummer's already shuffled off. For now Fall fans can ruminate on the twenty-third (at least 18% studio non-compilation) album proper from Mark E Smith and whoever else can put up with his bad Spanish accent impressions. Ditching the band that made the mostly excellent pro-tooled belter "The Unutterable", Smith has marsalled his ever expendable bedraggled combo to belt out a raw rocking set.

Keven Blectum and Blevin Blectum, a pair of freaky San Francisco art school-type chicks, have made some of the most queasy lo-fi breakbeats since Coil's Scatology. This CD collects two of their early EPs, "Snauses and Mallards" and "De Snaunted Haus." Blectum's scattered, fuzzy beats are a chorus of guttural rumbles, poops, farts, and dysenteric discharge - all messily orchestrated for maximum nausea. If you can keep yourself from laughing at the musical turds populating this bizarre album, you will start to notice sinister undercurrents afoot. The comic strip liner notes and some of the spoken word tracks begin to explain Blectum's anal fantasy land of sex-crazed, cannibalistic "snauses" and "mallards" - two complimentary lifeforms whose main functions are, apparently, to copulate and excrete out the evil, distorted songs herein. The first nine tracks are a random, misshapen assortment of various musical ideas - from distorted jungle to retro-futurist tomfoolery - none of which exist long enough to make any real impact. Beginning with track ten, Kevin and Blevin begin to unravel their terrifyingly absurd tale of a "snaunted haus" with dirty industrial beats, fragmented drum and bass, distorted voices, abstract noise, and even samples from Men at Work (on "Right Time, Right Place"). This is truly an original work; it's rather difficult to compare it to anything. However, listening to this CD repeatedly is a little like playing with your own diarrhea. I hope that these obviously talented women will decide to make a slightly more mature, less fecal album sometime soon.

 

samples:

• Anti-Duck-Tion
• Caravan Voyager
• Hotrodderdam

"Difficult" is a loaded word when used in electronic music reviews. In one context, it can be taken to mean the record is so far ahead of everything else out there that it needs numerous intense listening sessions to be understood and appreciated. On the other hand, it could simply mean that the record is an unfocussed, unlistenable and pretentious piece of crap. So when I tag these two new releases from Miami's Schematic label as being "difficult", which end of the spectrum am I referring to? Well, somewhere in between, but at least a little bit closer to the former than the latter.

Out now on Temporary Residence is the second full-length release fromXian Hawkins as Sybarite. Oddly enough, the Brooklyn-basedmulti-instrumentalist/producer/ composer has yet to finish and releasewhat he considers to be his official debut album. 'Placement Issues'collects 13 songs from various singles, compilation tracks and a coupleremixes that were limited in number, scarcely distributed, andcompletely impossible to find now. Through these single releases onStatic Caravan, Emanate, and Zealectronic, Hawkins gained the attentionof 4AD, who are scheduled to release Sybarite's debut, 'Nonument,'early on in 2002. It follows the 'Music for a Film' release, also onTemporary Residence, which was assembled as a score to the horrorb-movie, "Kill Me Tomorrow," yet the collection pulls form both earlierand later recordings. Hawkins' most high-profile gig was in the touringincarnate of Silver Apples, and listening to these recordings, it'sclear that his talents as a multi-instrumentalist were important infilling that role. Over the course of these recordings, the manskillfully delves into organic and synthetic electronics, bass, guitar,and various other odds and ends. Songs like "Otonomy" and the albumopener, "Engaged" never get too cliche or predictable, with chopped upacoustic guitar playing, distorted string samples and sharp beats. Thecombination of a lyrical bassline against unobtrusive guitar melodiesin other tracks like "Second Cities" create an attention-grabbingatomsphere that makes this disc hard to be a simple example of auralbackground, especially with the carefully positioned field recording ofa playground at the end. It's not so surprising that hiscomplex-yet-cool instrumental tunes have earned him the support of alabel who's roster includes Fridge and Kammerflimmer Kollektief.Listening to this disc back to back with the soundtrack, 'PlacementIssues' seems miles ahead, with a carefully calculated precision, muchlike the roster on Hefty excel in. My only issues with this collectionare in the rather deceptive gathering of the pieces: not only are therea couple songs missing here and there, but there's no accompanyingnotes nor are they placed in any observable order. [Perhaps that's justthe obsessive completist in me, manifesting itself onto a very youngcareer.] In the end, it's served its purpose as I'm now eager to hearhow he pieces together an album less fragmented and disjunct.

 

samples:

• Engaged
• Otonomy
• Incredible Magnetic Missive

Given enough time Jah Wobble will, hopefully, collaborate with just about everyone. Over the past few years he has successfully mixed his trademark, bedrock bass guitar styling with Laotian folk ("Molam Dub"), inventive saxophone ("Passage to Hades") and all out industrial rock ("The Damage Manual"), among others. Here he teams up with Temple of Sound, the duo of Neil Sparkes and Count Dubulah, both formerly of Transglobal Underground.

Time will forget music. Much of it. Oldies radio stations are a perfectexample. On most of those channels, you'll find James Brown reduced toonly one hit, "I Got You (I Feel Good)." You'll never hear "FunkyPresident," "Mother Popcorn," or "It's a Mans Mans Mans World." Thesame can be said for a number of artists who might have never reachednumber one. Right now it can be observed with music from the 1980s, aswe're reminded constantly of "Come on Eileen" but never Dexy's MidnightRunner's second single. While Boyd Rice understands that he can'tchange the world, he sure as hell knows how to put up a fight. Twelveof his favorite forgotten girl group songs have been presented here,none of which you have probably ever heard of. While the sound qualityis obviously shoddily reproduced from the old 45s, it sure isrefreshing to hear some really fun girl group songs that haven't beenplayed to death. It's almost like getting one of the Nuggetscollections or the amazing 5xCD set called "Box of Trash", anduncovering a world stifled by corporate decisions to trim playlists andlimit history. If anything Boyd Rice can be commended for, it's hisastonishing ability to make people question their surroundings and getthem thinking. "Music for Pussycats" frighteningly gives me moreconfidence that over time, much of the music we love and write abouthere on Brainwashed will be erased from civilization.

 

samples:

• Diane Ray - Please Don't Talk to the Lifeguard
• Bernadette Caroll - Party Girl
• Priscilla Parts - My Window
• Lori Burton - Love Was

The No-Neck Blues Band are a semi-improvisational collective ofmusicians making fragmented, shamanistic music that alternately toucheson elements of blues, folk, country, bluegrass, psychedelia andkrautrock. For all these myriad influences, the No-Necks have arrivedat a sound that is not very far from Captain Beefheart, Sun Ra or thefirst two Amon Duul albums. That is to say, very unstructured andchaotic hippie drum circle music that will probably sound best to thosehopelessly in the throes of a violent hallucinatory state. There aresome moments of genuine psych-folk intensity, like the dark mumbledvocals and cello drones that occur about 10 minutes into the firsttrack "assignment subud." However, most of these songs sort of meanderin a non-engaging way through enticing song fragments that melt awayjust as they become interesting. I think you might be able to achievesome of the same effect by recording the Dave Matthews Band as theywarm up. Well, not really, but it felt good to write that. In allhonesty, the reason I can't get very excited about this release isbecause there is so much music in this same vein that is so muchbetter. The Boredoms "Vision Creation Newsun" or Acid Mothers Templetraditional folk album "La Novia" are both far superior examples ofthis genre. This first pressing of this CD comes with beautifulhome-made packaging made of plexiglass, Velcro and burnished plywood.It is unfortunate that the music contained within really doesn't fullylive up to its aesthetic aspirations.

 

Montreal-based multi-instrumentalist and band whore Sam Shalabi has re-arranged the concept of collaboration for this one. Instead of the player in the ensemble, his role this time is of a maniacal mastermind at the controls. For this recording, he has solicited recordings from a number of friends on various instruments, cut up their bits and pasted them back into his own compositions.

For the last ten years, Station 17 has been a musical therapy projectbased in Germany for a small group of financially-challenged mentallyhandicapped folks. The original concept was to pair up six members witha few professional musicians and see what happens. Since its inception,the group has released four albums and have played numerous shows,incorporating a variety of theatrics alongside the musicalperformances. According to the website, the group has progressed fromimprovisationally-based music and performances to a more constructed,loop-based sound. This year saw the first worldwide distributed releaseby Mute, a 17-track collection featuring some of Station 17'spreviously released songs with treatments by Kreidler, To Rococo Rot,FM Einheit, Pole and The Modernist. In all honesty, the concept is muchmore interesting than the output, which I find carries too manycharacteristics of the groups involved with the creation. Perhaps it'sthe necessary key to gain them more attention, but I think I've heardenough To Rococo Rot albums this year. Adding chopped up vocal samplesto clicky post-disco beats isn't a very progressive concept. If theoriginal albums are ever exported, I'll be enthusiastic to listen, butthis release honestly isn't doing a lot for me.

 

samples:

• Ich Und Ich (with Denyo 77)
• Bei Manni und Bine (with Andrewas Doreau & Justus Kohnke
• Losjez (with Thomas Fehlmann)

When reading the press release for "those who tell the truth..." byexplosions in the sky earlier this year, I came across a description ofthem that works for many bands I've heard over the years: "Why can't Iwrite melodies like that?" The difference between explosions in the skyand broken social scene is simply volume and aggressive stance. BrendanCanning and Kevin Drew are the primary players in the scene, and theirsound is that of laying down a nice droning sampled base track, andthen throwing recorded odds and ends at it to see what fits. I don'tmean just random sounds; we are talking about music that is created byplaying instruments, here. A subtle bassline, gentle guitar chords,piano, and even horns join the mix at different times. But brokensocial scene are the best kind of musical alchemists: they don't pushthe music to go to a certain direction, and they don't force theirplaying to the point that it sounds like it. They just let the musicbe, and percolate on its own. And it gets there everytime. Even vocals,when they do appear, are heavily treated and sampled so that they, too,sound like another instrument in the mix. It's all very "primitive,"yes, as the liner notes indicate, but it comes off sounding planned andpolished. And those melodies that you'd kill to have written yourselfare always there. There are two simple phrases that work so well todescribe this release, and they're right in the liner notes: "sometimesit's o.k." and "love it all." Sometimes, too, it's very good, and withthis release, you won't have to try real hard to love it. A nicelycrafted first release.

 

samples:

• I slept with bonhomme at the cbc
• passport radio
• cranley's gonna make it

One of the most consistently innovative and influential of Britain'searly 80's experimental/industrial scene, 23 Skidoo always seem to meto have one foot planted firmly in the ancient feudal Orient. The songson the long-overdue reissue of the band's 1984 masterpiece UrbanGamelan are obsessed with the cold, calculated perfection of theindustrial-funk fusion they pioneered. This record is part of acomprehensive re-release of all of the band's early work by RoninRecords. 23 Skidoo's interest in improvised Indonesian percussion,found instruments, afro-beat and funk has always placed them in theirown cage, quite apart from contemporaries Throbbing Gristle and CabaretVoltaire, to whom they are often compared. The first side builds agiant tower of funk exploration, the highlight being Fire, in which awandering bass melody, pounding beat, random echo and zealouslyscreamed vocals meld to form an uneasy dub track which is a lot morecreepy than it is rocksteady. This uneasy vibe on all of the tracks isenhanced by the remastering job, which exposes background whispers andelectrical drones, lending an air of British esotericism to theecstatic Zen proceedings. The second side opens with the tense,pressure-cooker trippiness of Urban Gamelan Pt. 1, an exploratory workfor traditional Indo-Pacific chimes and drums. The album's apex is themasterful Language Dub, which utilizes traditional percussion,wall-of-sound reverb and samples from martial arts films to build adrama that is literally overwhelming. This track fades away into acrystal pool, and we are left with a hauntingly rhythmic swansong. Thisalbum is a breathtaking work of head-cracked-open inspiration and manicjoy.

 

Maschinenschlosser (Machine Fitters) is the latest project of ChristianStefaner, aka Neat and a member of multimedia design team c2s2, and"Orange Noise" is his 4th audio release, first for Austria's Dbelltimelabel. Twenty tracks, eight of which are exactly 3 minutes and 2seconds apiece for whatever reason, add up to about 74 minutes ofunassuming electronica. The flow and variation of the disc is verypeculiar. An 11 minute opener of softly pitter pattered beats and mild,looped tones is followed by numerous, more experimental pieces based ondifferent, somewhat simple sound waves. I guess this is how Stefanerdefines 'orange' noise, with digital hums, buzzes, drones and such lefton repeat. "Vas 1" and "Reset (Plane)" offer the most turbulent, barelylistenable selection of sounds, sort of like a laptop devised ThrobbingGristle. Out of the blue, er, orange, comes "Funky Shark" at track 13with pseudo funky beats, followed by the incredibly grating and funkless bursts of "Funky Ericsson". Yes, I get the joke, but guess what,cell phones make really shitty (non)music. Then finally, mercifully,something truly interesting as "Rec6+jw2" and "Stompa" nicely blendtones and beats. "La Internacional" is an odd but welcome closer astender music box bells gradually wind down. What a strange album. Butall in all, there's very little of anything memorable and far too muchtedium and annoyance along the way.

 

samples:

• Funky Shark
• Rec6jw2
• Stompa

Yoshihiro Hanno has played jazz and drum'n'bass and composedsoundtracks for Chinese films but here he plays his experimentalglitchery hand. He originally released this material as two EP's on hisCirque label. "April" comprised his own compositions, and "Remixes"compiled other artists' mutations of those tracks. Sub Rosa havecombined the original "April" with three of the remixes, presumably themost sympathetic. Combining the two releases might seem an odd idea,but it works really well.The opening 'On/Off' rips some robotic syllables from what sounds likea hacked speak'n'spell toy then sends fractured piano notes ripplingprettily from speaker to speaker. 'Lab Suite' glitches a choir to soundlike an updated homage to early Steve Reich or Philip Glass repetitionmusic. Hanno stitches together brief looping fragments to form a brightmosaic of sound that will probably either entrance or irritate. Whilstthe first couple of tracks seem very serious, 'Compass' deploys similartactics to comedic effect. By this point things begin to get a bitformulaic so it's fortunate that Oval steps in with a magnificentlyfull bodied remix that has an overlapping density lacking in Hanno'srelatively linear originals. 'Trapezoid' is more like the Oval mix thanthe first three Hanno tracks, so was presumably the primary track onwhich Markus Popp based his remix, but whilst Hanno seems to stitchglitch horizontally, Oval piles on vertical strata. 'Trapezoid'squelches and whines more than Hanno's other tracks and latterly tailsoff into a soundcard swamp. Hidenobu Ito, whose eclectic 'Bedroom in aCage' CD was quite good fun, remixes 'Lab Suite' adding some acousticguitar and vibraphones and jingling bells to the finely stutteringvoices. Then he begins 'Aaahing' over the top and a second guitar picksa melody out as shakers shuffle. Like Oval, his slowly unfolding extralayers and melodic colouration highlight the minimal aspect of Hanno'ssoundworld. The reason to get this is Chistophe Charles' excellent epic'Verena/On Canvas' remix which opens up a mysterious electroacousticportal through which drones support vague memory noise; distant voiceslaughing, a train passing, a bicycle bell ringing, that perkyspeak'n'spell... eventually all is stripped of association and reducedto the processed munching and hissing of the computer. Then all thesounds rush back in, faster and desperate. Latterly eerie droneambience underpins shards of Hanno's sounds fading in an out, bothprocessed and untouched, until 14 minutes in when the glitch chorussings for its third meal. The final track, 'A Short Break' is actuallyHanno's longest original, and is quite different to the others. Anacoustic guitar picks out slow notes in the foreground, and more guitarmelody and string drone settles in beautifully. It sounds like it wasquite likely stitched together in a computer, and the guitars playaround each other in a way quite unlike any other I've heard, perhapsbecause he's using long loops that are going out of synch with eachother. Halfway through piano fills and rapid glitch drop in. Thisdefinitely seems the most interesting of Hanno's tracks and is a lovelyway to drift to the end of the album.

 

samples:

• Lab Suite (Hidenobu Ito)
• April (Oval)
• A Short Break (Yoshihiro Hanno)

elders of zion are an avante garde neo-prog rock group of sorts thatare already drawing comparisons with Trans Am and the moresocio-political slant of godspeed you black emperor! From the first fewmoments of the CD's first track, also the title track, you're bombardedwith bass and drums of a sinister accord that will make you beg formercy. And that's just the first track. But where bands like Trans Amand gybe! are good comparisons to toss around to describe a band,they're slightly misused here, as elders of zion have their own agenda.Where gybe! seem to like field recordings they've made and work withmusic to meet that energy, I've never seen their political stancetaking that much of a stand in their recordings. With elders of zion,like recordings are used not just a basis for the recording, but alsoas part of the music's message, as well. And where Trans Am seem firmlyentrenched in their electronic Kraftwerk-meets-70s-rock sound, that'snot the case with this band. In fact, comparisons are lovely in that itgives you sort of an idea what the band sounds like, just enough sothey can defy it. And elders of zion do. The music is fresh-sounding,well-recorded and mixed, and never cumbersome. Some tracks did leave mewanting more, or I felt they were too long, or could have gone onlonger it would have suited me just fine (the title track is a perfectexample there). Overall, though, it was a great listen, one that had myoffice mate asking who it was, and given that they're mostly Kid Rockand Poison fans, that was an interesting. Don't take that wrong,though... elders of zion are nothing like Kid Rock. And thank god forthat.

 

samples:

• dawn refuses to rise
• jerusalem calling
• all that's solid melts into air (slight return)

Blimp are a four piece from Poland that practically hide guitar, bassand drums within analogue synths, loops, samples, effects and rhythmprogramming. The 40 minutes of music here is instrumental (save for amuddled recitation of a James Joyce poem in one track) with welltempered, basic bass/beats and very thick layers of back and foregroundtexture and micro mechanical sounds. It's more of a mellow electronicgroove thing than a post rock groove thing, though it's really bothwith a bit of spacey dub and krautrock mixed in, often reminding me ofMouse on Mars and the solo work of Thomas Fehlmann of The Orb. "17"offers up the most prominent bass guitar based groove, almost to thepoint of Jah Wobble prominence. Everything is perfectly pleasant andcomes to an end far too quickly. My only other minor complaint - a fewunintentional clicks pop up here and there, which may be a problem withthe disc itself and not the music or mix.

 

samples:

• 17
• Analogue Equipment in Modern Retro Music
• Four Imaginary Boys

Now is the time we go digging around some of the albums we neglected to talk about over the last twelve months. Adullt'sdebut full-lengher has placed this duo at the top of my list for mostthe overrated group of the year (sharing of course with White Stripesand The Strokes). I actually liked Le Car so I really, really wanted tolike Adult, but I'm left with a sour, sour taste in my mouth. If Ididn't like the 1980s analogue synth style of music they're attempting,I probably wouldn't still own my Gary Numan, OMD, Soft Cell or FadGadget records. If I was tired of the retro-analogue sound, I probablywould have no appreciation for Joy Electric, I Am Spoonbender, G.D.Luxxe, Ladytron, Fischerspooner, Gold Chains or a zillion others whorecently won analogue drum machines and synths on eBay auctions anddecided to form a band. Strip away the kitch and the irony from Adultand you're left with nothing but 14 very boring songs. The lyrics arefucking horrible, many repeated way beyond tolerable levels, whileuntrained monkeys very possibly could have programmed more interestingdrum machine patterns. At least other horrible groups like Freezepophave a certain charm about them which make them mildly tolerable. Naiveindie kids, however, claim Adult are "fun" but I actually find Chickson Speed and Peaches (ironically enough, based in Germany) hundreds oftimes more "fun" than a couple dull Americans acting out Germanprejudices popularized by Mike Meyers' "Sprockets" skits on SaturdayNight Live. Maybe it's a jaded view because the same people who hearof, buy and enjoy Adult are more than likely the same people whoprobably think Radiohead are "innovative," or Richard D. James is"original." There's much more entertaining, better crafted music we'vementioned all year long and you don't need to waste your money on thisshit.

 

samples:

• Human Wreck
• New Object
• Hand To Phone (Cordless Mix)

Prior to Windor For the Derby's forthcoming fourth album, Aestheticshave released this five-track remix EP. It's always strange to hear theremixes before the originals, but in this case, Windsor's previousunadulterated material — mostly mellow guitar-based tunes — struck meas rather bland. So I hoped that the remixers would make a little moreout of it. Carnival Wave certainly do, enveloping "The EmotionalRescue" in atmospheric swirls and some (presumably added) femalevocals. Pulseprogramming give "I Change.C?" a nice electro-dubtreatment while I-Sound go a little too over the top with gritty beatsand electronic blips in "Ice Age Blues". Calla, who share a member withWindsor, bring cymbal heavy rhythms, big bass booms, clean guitar loopsand shiny ambiance to "Awkwardness". And finally, Windsor themselvesjoin in the fun with a heavily effected "Now I Know the Sea" completewith computerized vocals. Carnival Wave and Calla tie for the blueribbon here. I wonder, will next year's "The Emotional Rescue" LPbetter these? I'll take a chance on it.

 

samples:

• The Emotional Rescue
• I Change C
• Awkwardness

At the front of this Montreal-based collective (pronounced "hursh-tah") is Mike Moya, founding memeber of godspeed, Molasses, and Set Fire to Flames. Other members of the group include godspeed/etc. members Bruce and Norsola as well as Molasses members Fluffy Erskine and Scott Chernoff. The 55+ minute collection of 13 tracks would more likely find better appreciation among Nick Cave, Boxhead Ensemble, Thalia Zedek and Leonard Cohen fans who appreciate a good score to a murder scene rather than godspeed fans seeking the next rock and roll messiah.

Finally hereÍs the first solo outing of the On-U Sound mastermind andmixer supremo himself.I paid a horrible amount to purchase a copy of this single, limited to3000, which come in a dancehall-style plain standard soft-sleeve.
"Zero Zero One" (co-written with C. Oglive) is a fine piece,remeniscent of early Tackhead, with added subtle rasta flair and"found" voices. If it was missing only one thing, it would be theprecise beats of Keith LeBlanc. "Pass The Rizzla," (co-written withSkip Mcdonald and Sunjay) dives into the realms of heavy bass lines andDub he's most famous for. On this, he features the golden voices ofboth Bim Sherman (R.I.P.) and Prince Far I (R.I.P.), two great singersSherwood both worked with extensively and started On-U Sound with.
Both tracks are of course technically excellent but I must admit Ihoped for something more challenging. On the other hand, the two sidesof this single nicely exhibit two styles he developed and cultivatedover the years. In addition, it's good to see him return from the moreroots-orientated stuff he seemed to draw all of his attention to lately.

 

samples:

• Zero Zero One
• Pass the Rizzla (raw version)