MONOLAKE "GRAVITY"
Monolake is German producer/programmer/engineer Robert Henke, apparently now solo as former partner Gerhard Behles is credited only with additional production. Much of their music has long been both dance floor and headphone friendly and "Gravity" is no exception, though as with the previous album "Interstate" techno and digital ambient lovers will have even more to cheer about. Gone are the dub influenced rhythms (which is a shame because they do it so well) but a dense, open and fluid spaciousness remains as a playground setting for clinically precise computer sounds and calm and collected, levelheaded rhythms. Track titles are as deceptively simple as the tracks themselves, most 7 to 10 minutes, as beat patterns shift in gradual increments and backgrounds evolve. "Mobile", "Zero Gravity" and "Aviation" contain the most intriguing selection of liquid, gaseous, metallic and alien melody making sounds. "Ice" tosses about frozen human sighs and hisses over cool future funk. "Frost" is too stagnant due to unduly repetitious beats. "Static" and "Fragile", like "Frost", are also rhythmically repetitious but not tediously so as what lies beneath the beat breathes. "Nucleus" is a steady roar of night air devoid of all beats that simply fades away over the final few minutes. All in all "Gravity" feels like a darker, more streamlined version of "Interstate". I'm pleased. Monolake will be playing shows in Montreal, Toronto, Lithuania and Italy in February and March. samples:
Monolake is German producer/programmer/engineer Robert Henke, apparently now solo as former partner Gerhard Behles is credited only with additional production. Much of their music has long been both dance floor and headphone friendly and "Gravity" is no exception, though as with the previous album "Interstate" techno and digital ambient lovers will have even more to cheer about. Gone are the dub influenced rhythms (which is a shame because they do it so well) but a dense, open and fluid spaciousness remains as a playground setting for clinically precise computer sounds and calm and collected, levelheaded rhythms. Track titles are as deceptively simple as the tracks themselves, most 7 to 10 minutes, as beat patterns shift in gradual increments and backgrounds evolve. "Mobile", "Zero Gravity" and "Aviation" contain the most intriguing selection of liquid, gaseous, metallic and alien melody making sounds. "Ice" tosses about frozen human sighs and hisses over cool future funk. "Frost" is too stagnant due to unduly repetitious beats. "Static" and "Fragile", like "Frost", are also rhythmically repetitious but not tediously so as what lies beneath the beat breathes. "Nucleus" is a steady roar of night air devoid of all beats that simply fades away over the final few minutes. All in all "Gravity" feels like a darker, more streamlined version of "Interstate". I'm pleased. Monolake will be playing shows in Montreal, Toronto, Lithuania and Italy in February and March. samples:
"Trial" is the fourth cd by Jens Massel as Senking and the sixth of seven releases to date in Raster-Noton's 'static series', all of which are packaged in anti-static bags. Massel arranges effected electronic sounds into essentially single riff songs with dub, glitch and minimalist qualities. The 8 tracks are aptly titled, most between 4 and 5 minutes. "Flaw" fires up with a snap, crackle and pop of static and submarine sonar pings. "Wind Up" is busy with rolling pops, bass bumps, mechanical winding and steam hisses. "Lurk" and "Trackdown" would make an appropriate soundtrack for cinematic stalking, playing down the beats some for dark drone, hiss and click. "Hide Out" is the center and master piece, an 8 and 1/2 minute pattern of warm, melodic dub. "Pell-Mell" rumbles along with blips, ticks and a short vocoded sample. "Dent" skips along merrily with deep bass under the crackle and buzz of a power line surge. "Lift" caresses with high pitched clicks, swooping tones and watery plunks. "Trial" is pleasant enough with a good bit of stylistic variety but not much of a progression and not too terribly memorable. Once again, I'd be happier with a single or double disc compilation of select tracks from all of Massel's many releases to date as Senking, Fumble and Kandis.
Geographically seperated brothers John and Matt Thorne are Psychic Enemies Network. "Valis" further explores the psycho-sonic territory initially tapped on their 1998 self released, self titled debut. Their music comes from a wide range of world percussion (djemba, toas drum, african kettle, elephant bell, hand percussion, etc.), guitar, bass, trumpet (by David Chapman), synths, sequences and samples. The mix is contained to a point, never allowed to boil over into the red, and a feeling of slightly unsettling transcendence is present throughout. Quite a bit of thought seems to be going in to it all too as track titles reference such varied topics as irregular heart actions, Philip K. Dick novels, henna painting and geographical projections. "Arhythmia" begins as a warm ambient loop later adding exotic rhythms and background samples for a sound similar to late '80s Muslimgauze. "Come Crumbling" is a murky mix of voices and trumpet drone. "Sandfall" perfectly marries shimmering loops with pan melodies, female backing vocals and a deep electro-bass groove. "Tilted Earth" builds a hypnotic wall of sound from trumpet wails, finger cymbals, bells and chimes. "Bowl Cut" is a mildly funky blend of jazz drumming and quirky synth riffs. "Radio Free Albemuth (altman)" amusingly cuts and pastes samples culled from various musical projects the Thornes have been involved in for some Nurse With Wound-like fun. "Valis" beautifully accentuates swirling ambient guitar and samples with light brushed snare and subtle trumpet playing. "Mehendi" swings a little with a jazzy rhythm and moody bass. "8/7/96" rips and tears audio fragments over a few looped notes of clean guitar. And "Gnomonic" concludes the album as it began with a quiet, albeit rhythmic, loop. Altogether "Valis" is varied, flows well and shows a studied progression. Psychic Enemies Network have definitely found their niche! Up next is a series of side projects under the 'Psychic Enemies Network Presents' umbrella including Para!Helion "Midaq Alley" (with John Thorne and David Chapman - more of a straightforward world music project, also recommended) and Fez Dispenser (with Matt Thorne). Info may be found at www.browser.to/psychicenemiesnetwork/ .
The man known as Thighpaulsandra could very well be the definition of a modern musical mad scientist—pure genius with a maniacal manifestation of sound. His debut Eskaton full-length release (don't get all semantic on me, this isn't his first full-length nor first Eskaton release) comes as a double CD of all new material featuring contributions from members of Coil, Spiritualized and Julian Cope's band as well as his mum.
With a name as innocuous as Repeat and a cover as stunningly ugly as the one for "Select Dialect", it's no wonder that I discovered this recording in the "To Be Listened To Sometime Later, Maybe, If At All, Or Perhaps I'll Just Use These as Beer Coasters" pile of CDs at the home of this e-zine's esteemed editor. The cover looks awful. It looks like it was designed with random scraps of construction paper. It's difficult to tell what the band name is and what the album's title is, because of the awkward placement of words on square, green splotches unevenly distributed across a baby-blue (ugh!) scrap of cardboard. If I didn't happen to be turning over and examining every single CD on said editor's table one evening, this fine recording would have gone entirely unnoticed by either of us.
Former Atari Teenage Riot sound engineer and current DHR artist David Hammer (a.k.a. Shizuo) presents his first release on his own label. All 4 songs have much more color than DHR stuff usually does, (with the exception of Lolita Storm, who I still love). "More Morphine" was written with DJ Scud (Londoner who runs Ambush Records and in collaborotation with NYC's I-Sound, Full Watts). It is filled with vocals and is like a male Lolita Storm. "Nuerology" is like DMZ, The Twinkeyz, or Lou Reed filtered through The Cramps and then some. "16 Licks" goes extreme at the end of each bar. It starts with the guitar lick from "Keep Me Hanging On". It goes on to sample vocals from Crass and David Bowie. "Dealing Drugs" has spoken samples that provide the feel for the song. It is sparse in spots and has the noise wash in others. It ends with a looped vocal that has to be manually lifted from the turntable (locked groove). This single is actually pretty good if you like life hard. 
A compilation from Cherry Orchard's record label in France. Like Bambini's 'Mystery Date Game' and 'Voyage Romanesque' and Invicta Hi-Fi's 'Special Skool' comps this record attempts to create the cool atmosphere that Siesta and El Records have done on their international pop compilations, with just a dash of the electronic pop that J-pop specializes in so well. Every band wrote a song about Paris just for this compilation. For me the 2 standout tracks are the Baxendale cut "The New Parisienne Pop And Soul" and The Cherry Orchard's "We Could Fall In Love". These 2 tracks are classics of each of the bands that are exclusive to this disc. Baxendale remain one of my very fave bands of 2000. Le Hammond Inferno sound very J-pop on the instrumental "Stylostumpt". The track sounds very familiar though I can't place from where. It is very energetic and catchy. Merrick's (from Munich) do a pretty good song "Fur Paris gilt das Nicht" that is nice even though it's not one of my faves. It almost sounds like a mellower Francoise Cactus (of Stereo Total) singing. She even says "Crazy Horse" (the title of a Stereo Total song from 'Juke-Box Alarm') in the lyric of the track. 
Ilpo and Mika have come a long way from their beginnings as Panasonic. The music which at one point utilized a minimal amount of effects and sources, creating an aggressive and direct mixture has become a more resourceful blend with a deeper understanding of variety and reflection, sonority and permanence. Their fourth full-lengther together is once again rather chunky to swallow all at once. With 17 new tracks totalling over an hour's worth of music, I must admit I wasn't a big fan at first. Further listenings have unearthed what appears to be both organic and synthetic sounds, a production approach which is very matured in comparison to 1997's 'Kalma,' and a distinct identity between songs. Minimalism, this isn't. It's not all subtle and introspective, however. Unlike 'A,' this album does indeed reach a climax. Towards the end of the disc, the energy builds up to a monsterous roar, good for some wall-shaking needs, which leads me to believe they might be storing an arsenal of more beefy 808-kick tracks for another 12" release as stellar as 'B' was. 
Jason Noble and Jeff Mueller's musical collaborations first manifested on the only release from Rodan back in 1994. Following the split, Jason went to the Rachel's and Jeff to June of '44 but the two came together along in 1996 to record with for the PBS program "This American Life." Kyle Crabtree (from Eleven Eleven) joined in 1997 and a debut album, "Save Everything" was released. Four years later, a second album has arrived with help from Christina Files (Mary Timony, Victory at Sea) twiddling knobs.
Synthetics and organics coexist in harmony on this full-length release from multi-instrumentalist Xian Hawkins. Some might recognize his name from the Silver Apples reunion assembly as the "other guy" than Simeon, but this New Yorker has an identity all his own. This music originally served as the score for a 1999 independent suspense/thriller film by Patrick McGuinn, "Killing Me Tomorrow," and is composed of 14 tracks which total about 41 minutes-worth. The songs are short, sweet and waste no time, with shimmering guitar melodies, subtle string sounds and low-tempo electronic beats in parts. The unobtrusive mix makes it perfect for a film score, with fade-outs it has obviously been slightly tailored for the commercial release. I'm now looking forward to finding out where Hawkins' career is headed next. 
From a small label in Holland comes this amazingly priced double CD set, a singles compilation from Scott Engel, John Maus and Gary Leeds, who are most commonly known as Scott, John and Gary Walker. The collection grabs 45 A-sides and popular hits from the trio both together and in solo form, stretching from 1965 through 1981.
Bryn Jones passed away 2 years ago last week and his music lives on.Originally released free of charge as mp3s, "Fedayeen" returns as aproper limited edition on compact disc via Russian label TantraHarmonies. It comes in 2 flavors, collectable and uber-collectable: 850in color gatefold sleeve and 150, numbered, in lion logo green slipsleeve. Being around $20 and $25, respectively, and the fact that themp3s are tucked away on many a hard drive and cd-r, this disc isessentially for the must have everything folks. Jones was at anunprecedented level of prolificness in 1998-9 with 35 or so releases.The 8 tracks here (most in the 10 to 12 minute range, 61 total) sharethe same repetitious characteristics: hand percussion and crunchyelectronic loops, sample cut and paste (dialogue, bird calls, water),strings, etc. in a variety of styles: 'traditional', drum 'n bass,techno and overdriven glitch-hop. The length of these tracks makes themboth hypnotic and tedious at times but, nonetheless, qualityMuslimgauze. Of special note are "Mustafas Cassette Market Marrakesh",a blurred d 'n b blend, "Abu Salim, Tripoli", a slower techno journey,"Bharboo Of Pakistan Railways", an electro-bleep loop and "Old ArabRecord Not On Compact Disc" which regurgitates bits from old slabs ofscratchy arabic vinyl. And yes, this does sound better in cd ratherthan mp3 quality. "Melt", the sister mp3 release from 1998, will alsobe re-released as a 12" EP via BSI Records next month .
This Belgian duo consists of John Sellekaers and C-Drik, whose production and performance has appeared on releases from Torsion, Ambre and Snog. The debut release has taken three forms, but the one in my hands is the German CD edition. It starts off being a rather powerful foray into aggressive modern dark drum and bass.
There are certain thingsyou can always count on when purchasing a release from In the Nursery.The melodies are always emotionally charged, the production shines witha signature decadent brilliance and the sounds do an excellent job ofimitating a full orchestra.
Opium Jukebox is MartinAtkins (Pigface, The Damage Manual, Invisible Records) and BobdogCatlin (ex-Evil Mothers, Pigface, Pseudo Buddha) and a dozen othermusician friends. This cd is a contemporary covers album: Nirvana"Smells Like Teen Spirit", NIN "Head Like a Hole", Gary Numan "Cars","Ball of Confusion", Jane's Addiction "Been Caught Stealing", EMF"Unbelievable", "Tainted Love", Devo "Whip It" and Dead or Alive "YouSpin Me Right Around".
Three days in mypossession and I can't stop playing this three tracker over and overagain. For those who have been fortunate enough to witness Antony &the Johnsons live, this provides an excellent souvenir of favorites noton the debut album. 
Remember Tricky? Theformer music media darling amicably parted ways withPolygram/Island/Def Jam in 1999 and now calls Epitaph branch Anti homealongside Tom Waits and Merle Haggard. Mission accomplished? This UK EP(also due out February 6th in the States) gives us a little over 16minutes with 3 new songs and 1 previously unreleased old one. 
Slammin' mutherfuckingballsy-ass shit. This debut CD release is probably the most excitedI've been about a new rock-genred band in as long as I can remember.The energy is fierce, the music is fast, funky and full of wakka wakkaguitars, crazy effects, beefy bass chops, electronic and organic drums,wild cheering, hoards of percussion and a splash of horns. 
