After being in print for nearly two years, the soundtrack for Fri¦rikÿÑr Fri¦riksson's critically praised film of the same name ('EnglarAlheimsins') has had titles translated into English and is finallybeing issued worldwide from Fat-Cat. By now, however, the Icelandicpressing has circulated enough for the most die-hard Sigur Ros fans,plus their two tracks were already featured on the Ny Batteri CD EP.HÖH should be no strange name to brainwashed readers, as his pastincludes works with Current 93, Psychic TV and Hafler Trio but havingSigur Rós in the title of the album is a slight misnomer (and a hugeselling point), as they only contribute two tracks. The film has beenreferred to by many critics as the best Icelandic film ever made.Hilmarsson's entirely orchestral score is quite short and featuresquiet, simple recurring themes. Out of context, the music is simplyokay and doesn't do much for me. While it's truly emotional, therecurring themes are a bit too repetitious for my liking outside of thecontext of the film. I suppose if I ever get to see the film, myopinion will most likely change, but for now most people will be buyingthis for the Sigur Rós tracks which are currently no longer in printanywhere else. As for the two tracks, the first is an adaptation of anold Icelandic lullaby, "BÕum BÕum BambalÑ". Like much of the music ontheir last album, it's both delicate, soothing, but never dull, itbarrels right into the next track, the thunderous "Dànarfregnir ogJar¦afarir" (Death Announcements and Funerals). This tune is Sigur Rós'arrangement of an organ tune played on Icelandic radio duringobituaries. I personally wouldn't consider this disc essential, butthose mildly interested can now purchase it now for probably around $15whereas that Icelandic import was a bit steep, stretching to $30 inmany places.
samples:
- HÖH - Schiller in China
- HÖH - Over the Bend
- Sigur Rós - BÕum BÕum BambalÑ
The latest in the trend of Russian-released collections has taken the form of a new comp from the Tear Garden. While every album from the group is still in print, this collection is worth mentioning for a few reasons. The type is entirely in Cyrillic, so it should be noted that there are two previously unreleased songs included, "Good Evening Houston" and "Good Night Little Lights" (unlike the last Tear Garden compilation, A Bouquet of Black Orchids which came with nothing extra).
While some may feel it's in poor taste to review something I'm actuallyco-releasing, I also feel it's in poor taste not to share my opinion onsomething I love so incredibly.
For many years now I've gone without a Lustmord disc in my collectiondespite many people trying to convince me I should have some. Whatlittle I've heard of Brian Williams' 20 years to date project failed toimpress me and now that I have this disc in my possession, well, I'mstill unimpressed. The 64 minutes of "Metavoid" rely heavily upon thesound design skills Williams has put to use for dozens of films thepast 7 years, including "The Crow" and "Strange Days". Dark ambientcurrents and growls, padded with strings and angelic voices, areinterrupted by effected voices and often clumsy tribal/industrialpercussion and sound effects. Drab, clich? and predictable with equallydrab, clich? and predictable track titles. I feel as though I'mpartaking in some sort of pagan funeral dirge. Yuck. It's simply tryingtoo hard to be dark with little subtlety, always the key to superioratmospheric music as far as I'm concerned. That said, there are a fewredeeming qualities such as the climactic build of the nearly 12 minute"The Eliminating Angel" and the pure ambiance of "Oblivion". Butoverall, I think these sounds would be better relegated to cinematicbackdrop .
One of the more recent releases in Raster-Noton's clear series, "Wohltemperiert" ("Probably") is another collaboration between √ò (Mika Vainio of Pan Sonic) and Noto (Carsten Nicolai, founder of Noton). Primarily recorded during the winter of 1998 in New York City with gear borrowed from Larry Seven, the disc comes in a transparent flip top Trimpak inside a card sleeve jacket. Nicolai's contributions are seemingly minimal as the high pitched tones and glitches that are his usual auditory signature are used here economically. It's the sparse hum and pulse which are Vainio's forte that make up the bulk of these 61 minutes.
With a pair of new discs for Soleilmoon Recordings, both limited to 500copies, British sound artist Nick Parkin explores and simulates theprocesses of decay, geological and chemical, upon cities andlandscapes. Feeding field recordings, samples and instruments(percussion, flute, keyboards) into a Macintosh for additionalprocessing, he creates about 2 hours worth of slow moving, butgenerally busy, textured sound glaciers. It has become difficult for meto get really excited about these sort of works, having heard so manyof them in recent years, but together the two discs offer up muchworthwhile ambiance. When Parkin takes the tried and true 'less ismore' approach on the "Entropolis" disc, he strikes gold. Strip-miningaway the extraneous sound debris leaves tracks such as "Pulvial","Residues of Night" and "Eurus" with more ambient breathing space,making for moving pieces. 
But it's the sounds of nature that permeate the "Geomorphic" disc thatare more interesting, giving it a distinctly comforting and earthlyfeel. The elements shape the land throughout, "Talus" and "Moraine" inparticular being a fascinating jumble of water and ice soaked pebblesand boulders. Nicely done mate .
I love ambient guitar music. I am a sucker for it. If a band has guitarchords being played at a respectable volume, with all sorts of soundsswirling in and out, surrounding it, and playfully caressing the guitarline throughout, it's a relatively sure thing that I'll love it (evenif it seems to go on for an extraordinarily long time). Drone music, asit is often called, is amazing to me for this very reason. Thosefamiliar with the works of both of these bands will find lots to likeon this release, available now via mail order through The MusicFellowship (see 
From the Connecticut-based label Sonic Syrup comes an 8-song EP ofmaterial recorded between 1993 and 1997 by Scott Cortez, theinstrumentalist behind Lovesliescrushing. With Astrobrite, Cortezespouses much of the same blissfully noisy guitar layers as he has withhis other project; however, '8 Candy' takes a contrastingly morepop-driven approach, reflected in the sugary-sweet titles of trackssuch as "Sucker", "Jawbreaker", and "Sweettart". Comparisons to MyBloody Valentine's classic album 'Loveless' are inevitable, althoughAstrobrite descends a step or two further down the lo-fi ladder, beinga touch more texturally abrasive. The liner notes themselves tout "thebest in lo-fi four track aural pleasure -- listen at extreme volumes".Despite its pretty, uncomplicated song structures, topped off byCortez's winsome vocals and indecipherable lyrics, Astrobrite lacks theinnovative edge and sonic diversity of Lovesliescrushing (whoseforthcoming album on Sonic Syrup is eagerly anticipated). This releasewill, in all likelihood, still appeal to fans of MBV, unless they areslightly put-off by its uncanny resemblance to the latter.
Though this release came out back in June of 2001, I thought it deserved some mentioning here. And although Susumu's last album, "Sakura," gained him amazingly good press, including "Best Electronica Album of the Year" from The Wire magazine, this newer album struck me as being more progressive and subtle than his previous recordings: pure electronic bliss when at its best moments. Other times it can fade into the background but such is the nature of much ambient music. This album has apparently gained him "genuis" status amongst many of his contemporary artists and critics alike, comparing him to other such electro-luminaries as Aphex Twin and the legendary Brian Eno. The airy layers here can be truly beautiful, branching to anywhere from an oddly jazzy improv feel with fuzzy, minimalistic piano melodies, down to droney samples, trip-hop-esque beats and spacey (yet quite homely) instrumentation. The emotions here tend to leave me a bit on the bland side, but it seems more about the production and sound quality with this release - and it certainly is precise. This album was released on 
Sometimes a piece of music enters your life and has a tough time leaving your CD player. The debut full-lengther from this New Orleans-based duo happens to be one of the most addictive albums I have heard in months. I have said this before and I'll say it again: great organic musicians make for great electronic musicians, and we have heard hints of what this duo could do earlier this year with their contributions to the Scarlet Diva soundtrack as well as some remix they allegedly did for Nine Inch Nails.
Rotoscope are a 6 piece group that share a producer and members withthe acclaimed Norwegian jazz collective Jaga Jazzist. Theirinstrumentation includes electronics, keyboards, saxophones, clarinets,guitar, bass, drums, percussion and vibraphone, but it's the productionthat may very well be the most important component. Original recordingshave obviously been obliterated, mangled or enhanced by cut and pasteediting, the end result being 10 tracks that balance jazz, pop andelectronica in widely varying degrees. "Press Stop", "The Bogota Sub"and "Noiserok Orkesterissa" contain the most manic juxtapositions andjams of spliced audio/vocal bits and jazzy drum 'n bass rhythms. Buteven within these 3 there are melodic counterpoints or moments of calmto be found and, often, vice versa within the other tracks. ChristineSantorv's girlish, somewhat intentionally strained vocals (in English)help give about half of the disc a soft and sweet feminine quality."All That You Owned (Remix)" places her words amidst seemingly randomglitch crackles, piano notes and bass surges. "Pink Soda", "CarpetIllusions" and "Traveller" are pleasant and perhaps the most 'pop' dueto the vocals and subdued acoustic guitar, wind and keyboard melodies."Watercooler" and "Divide And Dissolve" are experimentally mindedsoundscapes while "Cooks Whip, Music Goes On" is a nice stroll throughthe park as solo saxophone, vibes and bass glide over an electronicallytreated beat. "Great Curves" is a rather schizophrenic album but itreally works. There's something for everyone. Up next is 3 new vocalsongs to be released as the "Exclusively For Everyone EP No. 1" onJester ...
Origami Galaktika are the most active 'unit' of several dozen under theOrigami Republika umbrella, an "open cultural network with 170+ agentsoperating in 18 countries on 4 continents" with origins in Norway (seehttp://kunst.no/origami/ for further information). This double CDremasters and reissues 2 of their ambient/loop albums from 1994 and1996. Six vivid paintings in the insert by Cicille RisÎsen complete thepackage. "Stjernevandring" is 2 tracks at about half an hour apiece.The lapping ocean waves and cold, dark and dense droning undertow ofthe title track become fully immersive within a few minutes. I amliterally sitting on a sound in Norway in the dead of winter and middleof the night watching a relatively calm sea break upon the moorings.Nautical bells appear and by mid track the waves disappear - but theyalways remain subconsciously - then reappear during a simple but spooky8 note melody loop. None of the other tracks has such a distinctaudible tie to nature but each evokes a certain feeling (which is all Ihave to go on really since I'm unable to translate the Norwegian andEstonian titles). "MÎnedans" is next and the feeling is one ofascension and reflection. We steadily climb upwards through the clouds,a constant soft drone being the guiding light. By the 14th minuteelectronics swirl in then settle into their own respective glide path.A few lone notes near the very end seem to deliver a favorable finaljudgment. Beautiful. Disc 2 is "Eesti Lilled Silmad SÙda" and it has 4tracks in the 10 to 17 minute range. It's just as good if not betterwith another palette of relaxing sounds: graceful, emotive drones andfaint hums, scrapes and rattles, sample loops of what sounds like atrain over tracks, a woman reciting text in a foreign tongue, the quietpitter patter of hand drums, rain stick and some ritualistic vocalmoaning. There is no hurry to get anywhere and that's fine by me. Infact, every one of these tracks could be the length of an entire disc,no problem. These albums are quickly becoming some of my favoriterecent ambient works, along with Stars of the Lid "Gravitational Pullvs. the Desire for an Aquatic Life" and Zammuto "Solutiore of Stareau".
Taking a stopgap between full-length albums, Pram deliver a nine-trackEP featuring some new stuff, an old tune and some mixing going on. Thedisc opens with the insanely frisky "Mother of Pearl," which ironicallywas my fave pic from last year's 'Museum of Imaginary Animals'long-player. The three new songs which follow are notably moreadventurous than the cuts on the album, incorporating much more of aimprovisational feel, even with the pop song "Monkey Puzzle" and thesurrealistic dreamery of "Clock Without Hands" which could easily echosome of Legendary Pink Dots' most carnival-esque moments. The EP isrounded out with five remixes, thankfully all of different songs and bydifferent remixers. Hint to groups: do stuff like this if you can - tenremixes of the same song on one single gets embarassingly dull. Guestknob-twiddlers include Plone (whose remixes always sound awesomedespite their albums sounding like bad 14-yr old musicians demos), AndyVotel, Sam Jones, Terry:Funken, and Sir Real. While I have admired Pramfor years, I have to confess that I can't always make it through acomplete album, but with the mix-up of styles presented here by thevarious DJs and friends I'm quite satisfied. Old fans might scoff atremixes but I'm confident these are tasteful enough to avoid pissingoff the purists and inviting enough to attract new friends.
The first Bows album, "Blush" surfaced in 1999 — a collective ofmusicians and singers helmed by former Long Fin Killiemulti-instrumentalist Luke Sutherland. This year's swirly, well-craftedfollow-up once again showcases a diverse ensemble of talented musiciansand singers, resulting in a lush, oneiric symphony. Sutherland, who hasjust completed his second novel, is as masterful as ever with hisunabashedly poetic lyrics, beautifully worded even when the imagery isat its most violent. "Cuban Welterweight Rumbles Hidden Hitmen" is aperfect example: stripped down to nothing more than a gauzy guitar andDanish singer Signe HÀirup Wille-JÀrgensen's airy vocals while thelyrics honey-coat a melancholy tale of a boxer's run-in with a gang ofthugs. Ruth Emond's voice on other songs like, "Wonderland," provides aremarkable contrast as her style is deep, dark and breathy. Sutherlandis doubtless at his most versatile on Cassidy. His own delicate vocalsfeature prominently on several tracks, as does his guitar, piano andviolin playing (which also received some exposure recently on his stinttouring with fellow countrymen Mogwai). Credits on the songs "Uniroyal"and "Luftsang" list Sutherland's instruments among others as "gizmo"and "machines." In constrast to Bows' previous effort, 'Cassidy'abounds with more live instrumentation, but lacks much of the drum 'n'bass hooks of 'Blush' (and their presence is somewhat bemoaned by thisreviewer). Sutherland has truly demonstrated maturity and progression,a graduation from the realm of 90s trip hop.
There are two types of people that will buy this 2-disc set: those who have every single release Godflesh has ever thought about putting out and those who don't have any Godflesh at all. The first disc, subtitled 'flesh of god', is a best-of collection (not my personal favorites, but hey, what can you do?) the 'Slavestate' and 'Pure' album tracks are remastered by Justin Broadrick, but otherwise the first disc's tracks are just selected album tracks from their first album (1988's "Godflesh") to their most recent (2000's "Us & Them").
Justin Brodrick has obviously been busy reinventing his aggressive side(anybody who's half of Godflesh are legally obliged to have aggressivetendencies), with the collaborative singles "Dead Man's Curse" (withAnti-Pop Consortian, Roger Robinson) and "Megaton" (with Dälek) overthe last year. Along with partner Kevin Martin, the duo's 'Brotherhood'is an all-out sound war, with heavily distorted beats andearthquake-influenced bass frequencies. The sound is thick and chunkylike some of the best Panacea ball-crushing bass sounds and never flatenough to be birthed from a laptop. Fans of the ambient deathscapesfrom 1995's 'Re-Entry' or the collaborations with Alec Empire andPorter Ricks should probably exercise caution before picking this oneup, as it picks up more from where the ICE (collaboation with El-P)album 'Bad Blood' left off. As far as Techno Animal proper records,picture 'Radio Hades' with an exponentially increased intensity. Guestrap from El-P, Dälek, and members of Anti-Pop Consortium vocalize therage but thankfully don't detract any vigor from the music nor litterevery track on the disc. Elements from Techno Animal's dub affinityshine through in some of the more instrumental tracks on the disc butfor the most part, this is one fierce fucking beast.
Frankie Sparo toured with A Silver Mt. Zion throughout Canada andEurope as an opening artist following the release of last year's "MyRed Scare" album. During his performances, he was accompanied byThierry, Sophie, Jessica, and Ian of the Silver Mt. Zion live band.This EP, which acts as a document of Sparo's performances during thetour, was performed live in session at VPRO Radio. The first threesongs are new arrangements of tracks from the "Red Scare" album."Diminish Me NYC" opens the CD; this new version features the additionof minimal electronics and violin that emphasize Sparo'smore-tattered-than-usual voice. "The Night That We Stayed In" is madedarker by the addition of Thierry's double bass and a pair of violinlines. The addition of tremolo violins gives a soundtrack feel as well."Here Comes the Future" features reworked drums and the addition ofelectronics and violins, which make it a much fuller composition.However, there's a drum machine clap noise that appears several timesthat sounds a bit out of place. The EP ends with a stripped down coverof the Rolling Stones' "I Am Waiting," performed solely by Frankie andhis guitar. I really hope this is a sign of things to come, because theguests on this recording add a lot to Frankie Sparo's already amazingsongs.
Detention is the improvisational duo of guitarist Sam Shalabi (ofShalabi Effect) and drummer Alexander MacSween. Normally Mr. Shalabi'simprov recordings are quite beautiful in their energy, but this onefalls flat. There are 8 tracks to the album, each with two names (I'mguessing Sam and Alex each gave the songs their own titles). After thefirst track ("Yehudi Messerschmidt / Ground)," the album is almost nolonger interesting. The two musicians do not play off of each otherwell enough to keep the music interesting, partially because of thesmall size of the band. To make matters worse, the music becomes verysloppy in places, especially on "Slow Dance / Shey," where it feelslike the band is just warming up before the rest of the quartet showsup. The album peaks with the sixth track, "Big Thighs / Ginger," whereboth musicians seem to finally be in touch with each other for a fewmoments. However, with the last two songs, the music loses all meaningand the album simply seems to die. If you want to hear Sam Shalabiimprovise and shine, I suggest you check out the Kristian / Shalabi /Saint-Onge album from earlier this year.
Have you ever had a longing that could not be satisfied? Not thelonging for a beer or a pint of ice cream, mind you, but an intenselonging of such emotional stakes that you weren't sure you couldsurvive if the need wasn't satisfied? Believe me: maya shore knows howyou feel. "farewell to introductions," in fact, is like an homage tointense desire. Never have I heard a band that could so easily -- or soit seems -- capture the exact soundtrack of plaintive longing. It's allvery spine-tingling and wonderful, like the first time Glenn Miller'swife heard his trademark sound and she reached back to feel the hairson her neck standing up. Singing appears sparingly, and on tracks whereit is used, it's almost a secondary instrument; but the guitar gloryKelly Chambers exhibits with its melodic and harmonic beauty ensuresthat you won't miss the lyrics so much when they aren't there to guideyou. dj suede also adds texture to the proceedings with fieldrecordings and well-placed atmospherics and recording/mic techniquesthat serve the music well. This band is very tight, and they makebeautiful music together. Where the songs may have the same generalfeeling of longing hanging over their heads, the are different insound, feel, and tempo enough so that the listener is never bored. Iwas driving down Highway 1 listening to this CD and right at a gorgeousguitar passage on the second track, "july eleventh nineteenninety-seven," the sun shot through the trees. I will remember that foryears to come. This release, if you're not careful, can almost be tooaffecting for its own good and yours. But trust me: maya shore are aband that will only get better, and "farewell to introductions" is anexcellent first effort. Aren't you longing to hear it now?
this week, i'm reviewing two bands from music fellowship, both playpassionate music, and both use only lowercase letters in their bandname and album titles. i am almost convinced it is a label thing, asother releases i've seen on music fellowship use the same standards. Atany rate, landing is a hypnotic four piece with a great love of delayeffects on guitars, distortion and lovely interplay betweenmale/female-sung vocals. "circuit" is their first proper album, aftertwo EPs, one of which, "centrefuge," was released on Music Fellowshipearlier this year. Those of us who heard "centrefuge" liked it, but Isuppose were expecting more on "circuit" in terms of musicaldevelopment. Since "centrefuge" seemed more like an EP than an album,maybe we were expecting an expansion of theme, or an extension of themajor tenets of the landing theory on music. I must say "circuit" is afine release if you've never heard landing. However, it seems to trodon some of the same ground present on "centrefuge." When I say thisband loves delayed guitars, I mean they LOVE delayed guitars: they'represent on almost every track. It almost gets to the point where thelistener is tired of that effect, and would like to hear another, butit never picks up enough to get there, even. I liked the music, but Ialways felt like it was moving towards something it never achieved.landing are a band to watch, as "centrefuge" and "circuit" show, butI'd like to hear a variation in the feel and sound of the music. Thesetracks blend beautifully together, almost too much so. Still worth aconcentrated and heartfelt listen.
