Reviews

12 October 2012

Administrator

Albums and Singles

cover image P16.D4 might not be an overly obscure name for those knowledgeable of the nascent industrial/experimental/noise scene of the early 1980s, but P16.D4 has not been as venerated as many contemporaries either. Monotype has jumped upon the opportunity to give this project the lavish retrospective release it deserves, and Passagen is just that: a deluxe six disc compilation of the band's output, with bonus tracks, and an additional DVD of mostly unseen videos and performance recordings.

Monotype

Initially springing up alongside the Neue Deutsch Welle scene as an avant punk project, the band then known as PD split apart into two factions, P16.D4 and Permutative Distortion, both sharing member Ralf Wehowsky.While the latter was short lived, the former evolved into the abstract, surrealist, and occasionally terrifying organism captured in this set.

The earliest material here, the Kuhe In 1/2 Trauer album culled from material recorded between 1980 and 1983, still shows some vestiges of the more conventional infant incarnation, such as the pulsing synths and crashing percussion of "Paris, Morgue" and the horror film piano passages of "Hammer/Zange/Hebel," both of which make for tense, uncomfortable moods.Perhaps even more overt is the ramshackle, yet rhythmic crashes of "Dumpfes Beleitgeful" and the bonus compilation track "Halbmensch," which mixes lurching bass guitar with scattershot tape collages.

Distruct, from 1985, further removed the trappings of conventional music by being the product of raw materials from respected artists across the world, including the likes of Nurse With Wound, The Haters, and Merzbow, among many others, mangled and mixed by Wehowsky with recordings made by P16.D4.Far predating the current collaborative culture afforded by artists using the Internet, the resulting album is both quite diverse in sound, yet consistent in approach due to Wehowsky's deliberate mixing and processing."Kultstudien Zu Anselm Weinberg" is mostly junk percussion fused with the sound of guitars being slowly pulled out of tune, while horns and indiscernible reed instruments rise up amid the chaos of "Aufmarsch, Heimlich", resulting in what vaguely free jazz take on early Einsturzende Neubauten.

On Nichts Niemand Nirgends Nie, a double LP collaboration with Achim Wollscheid's S.B.O.T.H.I. project, involved the two artists working and reworking each other's material into their own.While only the P16.D4 material is included in this set, it shows a more pronounced drift into the realms of electronics and tape cut-ups, from the jackhammer edits and weird synthetic outbursts of "I=:-I/*I-;-I I:"/"I", which predate the likes of Aphex Twin and Autechre both in sound and confusing naming conventions by a number of years, to the uncomfortable silences and shrill, tortured electronics of "Neger Am Laster."Perhaps most revelatory is the inclusion of the unreleased live performance, "Ephemeral March of the Dead Monks," a combination of pre-recorded tapes and live electronics recorded using some of the same source material as the album but recorded in 1991 results an ghostly, raw wall of noise that just oozes menace.

While P16.D4 was consistently releasing albums during this period, the entity was quite prolific in appearances on a number of international compilation projects, previously compiled as Tionchor and presented here with additional unreleased material.For this reason the tracks often sound quite different from one another, retracing their disillusionment with traditional music conventions."Inkubationskreise" and "Burgerliche Illusionen" stand out as being a throwback to the earlier, more rhythmic works, the former via an overdriven rhythmic throb obscured by noise, while the latter‚Äôs cheap drum machine loops and erratic electronic outbursts embrace both music and dissonance.

The acRID acME [of] P16.D4 might be the most well known work, no doubt due to the unique approach taken for the first segment:in 1987, the P16.D4 dredged recordings from the 1981 punk incarnation and placed them in a completely different context.As a result, "Maba 4. 12." and "Rotting Outscratched" reveal their initial forms, the former with the occasionally perceptible fragment of punk thrash sipping out unscathed from the abused tapes, and the latter allowing a hint of percussion to appear here and there.Taking a different approach, "Half Cut Crows" and "Interfaces" are the products of live improvisations rather than studio techniques, resulting in a blueprint of what would be called glitch a decade later.Finally, the disc is rounded out by the Merzbow collaboration "Zur Genese Der Halbbildung," which seems like the entirely of the preceding material scrambled and reassembled in a 20 tape minute collage.

The final disc of audio material, Three Projects, is culled from recording sessions in 1987, but released at different points up until 1990.The first of the projects included is a series of unreleased material at the time, from the erratic percussive bits of "LLL/RRR" and the slowly building and collapsing framework of "Am Trafo," which, despite its cut-up nature, comes together as a well structured composition.The Captured Music tracks‚Äîfeaturing raw material from the likes of Asmus Tietchens, The Halfer Trio, and Psychic TV‚Äîresults in a more disconnected, industrial detachment in comparison to the otherwise more abstract Dadaist material that preceded it,Finally, the Merzbow collaboration Fifty (including the previously unreleased "V4") rounds out the disc with skittering tape collages and subtle jazz elements, a sound Masami Akita would eventually return to much more aggressively.

The DVD includes a selection of nine films projected during the aforementioned performance at the 1987 Captured Music Festival, comprised of both studio footage and the more avant garde visual collages.I personally found the studio recordings the most compelling, capturing the unconventional ways in which sound was collected (electric shavers placed on piano strings to just bashing random junk with hatchets amidst a jungle of microphones).Unfortunately, the original audio from the films was in too poor of shape to reproduce, resulting in Wehowsky supplying contemporaneous materials from the archives.Never does it seem that the visuals and sounds are at odds with each other, but the original audio would have been best for historical reasons.

The other half of the DVD is comprised of four films created by Markus Caspers for an unrealized, posthumous video project.Of these, "Luxus & Mehrwert" and a live studio improvisation from 1987 perfectly encapsulate the era and the project.The former is an out of focus surrealist collage of what appears to be the band, occasionally presenting staged violence or what may be performance.It is fascinating yet unsettling in its ambiguity.The other captures the band in a practice using every single object around, from actual instruments to the ductwork to junk items as a means of producing sound.The closing hysterical screaming, however, sits squarely in that uncomfortable space between comical and disturbing, and I am still not sure which one of those it is ultimately.Which makes for a perfect metaphor for the audio that made up the oerve:at times frightening and oppressive, other times absurd and almost whimsical, sometimes all within the span of a few minutes.

Additionally, an extensive booklet is included featuring more academic, historical texts about Wehowsky from Dan Warburton, and a very personal, heartfelt piece from what might be the band's biggest fan, Howard Stelzer, in discussing his first encounter with acRID acME and the subsequent influence it had on his own artistic career.Archival photos, a discography, and reproduced flyers and record reviews fill out the exact type of supplemental information that should be included in a set such as this.

I have to reference a part of Stelzer's text where he says how he envies people who are hearing P16.D4 for the first time, because other than hearing a bit of acRID acME myself, I was not all that familiar with their actual recordings.I have heard a good amount of Wehowsky's subsequent solo work as RLW so I had an inkling of what to expect coming into this, but the result was still rather surprising and full of unexpected twists and turns.Even with a familiarity of this kind of difficult music, many of these tracks changed directions or went off on sonic tangents that I would have not expected, and that gleefully perverse way of bouncing between oppressive noise and light hearted improvisation comes across perfectly.There are no negatives to this collection, in content or presentation, and not only should the label be greatly commended for their hard work in compiling it, but also making it an attainable document, rather than an overpriced art edition that has limited appeal.

samples:

¬†

12 October 2012

Administrator

Albums and Singles

cover image With this split vinyl EP marking the final release of the late Hydra Head label, it almost seems fitting that it is the work of two artists who have embraced their own independence throughout their prolific careers. It also stands as a monument to change and evolution, with Justin Broadrick's re-embracing of his harsher past put alongside Dominick Fernow's recent surprising turn towards melody and ambience.

Hydra Head

Admittedly, Broadrick's first release earlier this year as JK Flesh, Posthuman, did not sit too well with me.With its intentionally gritty bass lines and moderate rhythmic pacing, it felt too much like embracing the clich√©s of that artistic blight that is dubstep without any sort of concession for innovation.¬†In this case it was especially problematic given how much of the genre's foundation can be traced back to Broadrick and Kevin Martin's late period collaboration as Techno Animal.

Thankfully, his three tracks here have strayed somewhat away from that template and into something a bit more unique.The clattering marching band drums underscoring the electronics of "Fear of Fear"exemplify this, and Broadrick's guttural vocals and jagged guitar are pushed high enough in the mix to offset the overdriven bass and lurching percussion.A hint of stuttering drum and bass loops towards the end trigger up some nostalgia for Godflesh‚Äôs underrated Us and Them album as well.

"Deceiver" features galloping drums and noisy loops that might make it a bit more distinguishable, but also a bit sparse and repetitive, though it nicely picks up in complexity in the closing minutes."Obedient Automaton," however, leans back to the Posthuman sound a bit too much, and while it demonstrates a lot of structural build and development, it does not come across as an overly original sound.

Fernow's turn toward melodicism and song like structures on last year's Bermuda Drain made for a controversial shift amongst noise fans, but I personally found it an unexpected and welcome development.His half of this album brings some of that melody back with less overt EBM leanings, but keeping his history of dissonance and aggression nearby.

"Chosen Books" keeps the downtempo, pseudo-goth synth lines from his recent works, but applies them more as atmospheres rather than any definable melody.Amidst this and cut-up voice samples, a thin layer of textural noise can be heard, eventually engulfing the entire track into a more noise-centric piece without ever becoming as abrasive as his earlier works.

While the previous piece was more focused on atmospheres, "Entering the Water" moulds distorted synth pulses into some sort of mangled beat; never comfortably settling in to any conventional structure, but combining rhythmic, cyclic loops together that slowly build in depth and complexity."I Understand You" closes as a combination of the two:a simple, echoed synth sequence conveys rhythm, while other electronics make for a dour, depressive atmosphere and an abrasive segment of dentist drill noise grinds away, making for an overall uglier, but not necessarily harsher conclusion.

I can recognize both of these artists as ones whose overall bodies of work compliment each other, but to me this is a somewhat odd pairing of their multitude of side-projects, given the more aggressive, beat oriented sound of JK Flesh and the currently atmospheric, almost cinematic Prurient works.JK Flesh/Vatican Shadow, Final/Prurient, or hell, even White Static Demon/Exploring Jezebel would have all been more thematically relevant pairings, but perhaps that was the idea all along.Worship is the Cleansing of the Imagination is a strong, though not exceptional set of tracks that may not rank amongst the top tier of either Broadrick or Fernow's sprawling discographies, but certainly does not serve to taint either one either.

samples:

¬†

07 October 2012

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Twinsistermoon is the solo project of Natural Snow Buildings co-founder Mehdi Ameziane, and is subsequently the benefactor of the massive cult following that NSB has accrued since forming in 1997. With a string of limited releases on a variety of credible labels such as Blackest Rainbow and Digitalis, both Medhi and his counterpart Solange Gularte (who plays as Isengrind and did the full color original art for this Twinsistermoon release), have created an underground phenomenon that continues to craft some of the most forward thinking music in decades. Though impossible to categorize, Bogyrealm Vessels alternates between drone vignettes and Nico-esque psychedelic folk, whilst being threaded together by sci-fi motifs. The result is a landmark work from Twinsistermoon that is sure to be a contender for year-end lists.

More information here.

07 October 2012

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Little Annie also known as Annie Anxiety, singer, writer, composer and against all odds, survivor, takes us on a crazy journey to Mexico to find something she lost in New York City - faith.

This is no trip to relax and find the missing 'peace', but a journey that would leave the healthiest person sinking into the golden beaches without a trace.

Paperback

110 pages text and b/w illustrations

Published by Exitstencil Press

06 October 2012

Administrator

Albums and Singles

After a night of hard drinking, I discovered by chance that Leaving Songs represents the mid-life hangover, figuratively as well as literally. As my thinning hair turns noticeably greyer, the frank subject matter the Tindersticks frontman presents here hits home like a brick hurled through the window.

Beggar's Banquet

"Goodbye To Old Friends" starts off like a Dear John letter meant for a lover, rapidly veering towards introspective self-degradation and depressive misery, Staples lowering himself to counting the beer bottles from the purposeless night before. As it progresses, however, the focus changes yet again, hinting at issues within the band that brought him to indie fame, and it becomes painfully clear that this is his universal kiss-off, an ode to everyone who matters and anyone who'll listen. Like a godless Nick Cave, Staples treads, guitar securely strapped to his back, through the murky swampwater of his emotions, attempting to press on with his life ("There Is A Path") or coming to terms with his teenaged mistakes ("Dance With An Old Man").

Unfortunately for him, Staples isn't the self-help book type, so this journey leads him not to redemption, but, rather, in hopeless circles. The most gut-wrenching point of this harrowing odyssey emerges on "One More Time", a ballad about that all too familiar scenario of getting back together, even just for one night. The chorus, appropriately delivered with female accompaniment, strips away the bullshit and touches on the common thread that holds together this fragile collection: loneliness. The concocted fantasy of abandoning a dissatisfying life, revealed on the album's powerful lead single "That Leaving Feeling", doesn't take into account just how helplessly dependent we all are on even the most unhealthy relationships we partake in. In the song's closing verse, Staples can't help but find an excuse to stay, citing loose ends and, absurdly, the weather, as if a sunnier day would somehow be more suitable for departure.

Though I'm hardly at the same point in my life that Staples is in his, I nonetheless find myself relating to his forlorn reminiscing and half-believed lamentations, a rarity in a genre where everyone wants to have something meaningful to sing about. Scores of songwriters pour their hearts out on record, lay it all on the table, and, honestly, I couldn't fucking care less. However, Leaving Songs combines genuine delivery and unpretentious lyrics that sting like bruises from a vaguely remembered barfight, making it one of the best albums I've heard all year.

samples:

06 October 2012

Administrator

Albums and Singles

This CD consists of 16 HipHop tracks made by 5-10 year old children from Amber Charter Grade School in East Harlem, New York City. The children write and improvise their own raps, play their own instruments, and program their own drum machine beats. They named their own groups and created the cover art for the CD. So why is this album credited to a middle-aged white guy named Dave Soldier?

Mulatta

If he is known at all, Dave Soldier is known for a pair of reasonably high-profile conceptual conceits which got some press attention. The first was the Thai Elephant Orchestra, in which a group of actual elephants were trained and conducted to play gamelan-style percussion. It was a cute concept, and while the music itself was uninspiring, to the extent that it raised money or awareness for elephant conservation, I suppose it was a worthwhile idea. The second notable project was The People's Choice Music, which used the information from a survey of music likes and dislikes to arrive at two compositions: "The Most Wanted Song" and "The Most Unwanted Song." The most desirable song was a brief, catchy midtempo love song featuring piano and guitar, and the least desirable was a 25-minute opera-country-rap song with accordion and bagpipe. Again, a funny concept. I'm mentioning Soldier's past conceptual outings here in order to give some perspective on Soldier's oevre, because Da HipHop Raskalz is insipid, annoying and exploitative in a way that his previous projects only hinted at.

Part of the problem with the Outsider Music trend that has swept the indie scene over the past few years—promulgated by folks like Irwin Chusid and others—is that it often masks a sort of contempt for the naïve, deluded or mentally-challenged artists it claims to celebrate. For every Outsider musician who has passed into actual respectability, such as Jandek or Daniel Johnston, there are countless others whose sincere musical endeavors exist only to be enjoyed by jaded music snobs who claim that they appreciate the primitive qualities of the music, when in fact the real attraction is merely its novelty, or worse, the fact that it is a socially acceptable way to laugh at retards. Increasingly, the Outsider Music finding release seems to be exploitative in nature, constructed specifically in order to serve as fodder for the kind of people who appreciate Bum Fights videos. In the case of the hugely popular Langley Schools Music Project, at least the two LPs were sincerely undertaken efforts by a well-meaning music teacher, who did his best to get a group of untrained grade schoolers to perform serious versions of pop favorites.

The same can not be said for Da HipHop Raskalz, a cynical attempt to cash in on the Langley Schools' popularity, adding elements of race and poverty into the mix. Everyone loves those human interest stories on the news where a bunch of inner-city black kids, the kind who everyone assumes spend their time playing with dirty needles and discarded babies they find in the dumpster, get to go to the zoo or paint a big mural or something. Nobody ever asks what happens to these kids once they get thrown back into their presumably miserable lives, having served their purpose by contributing some ratings to the local news broadcast. This is the audio equivalent of one of those news stories, with the added pretension of Outsider Music. If there is anything that is funnier than a 350 lb. schizophrenic retard pushing the presets on a Casio keyboard and yelling about McDonald's, surely it's a bunch of inner-city kids whose minds can't understand the unintentional humor of lyrics such as: "T-rex is in the house/He's the king of the world/He's so bad, he eats his wife/He don't even care if his wife his cute."

Though the press material claims that the music collected on this CD "is often better made and nearly always fresher than that on the radio," the music here is about what is expected from a group of untrained 5-10 year olds. Most songs contain simple lyrics, silly sentiments, poor rhymes and a general lack of cohesive structure. If any of these kids were smart or talented enough to actually kick out some fresh rhymes or come up with interesting beats, Dave Soldier made sure to keep them off this record. Because there's nothing less funny than a kid who actually has musical talent, right? I mean, where's the fun in that? Soldier makes the outrageous claim that the instrumental and melodic lines here "seem inspired by everything from...Middle Eastern melodies to Sub-Saharan African tribal beats" (comparisons that seem vaguely exoticizing and racist in and of themselves), the music is in fact largely excruciating, canned-sounding beats and dull keyboard fills. There doesn't seem to be a toddler Timbaland among these kids, unfortunately.

At least Langley Schools was a project made 30 years ago, by people blissfully unaware that one day their music would be a highly salable commodity. When the nine-year-old Sheila Behman sang her haunting rendition of "Desperado," music fans took note because the girl actually had considerable vocal talent, not because of the "awww" factor, the novelty or because it was funny or embarassing. Da HipHop Raskalz doesn't work on this genuine level; it is a calculated and cynical attempt to create a ready-made collection of in-jokes for the WFMU crowd. Mike Lupica of WFMU has already declared "I Want Candy" by The Muffletoes to be "the greatest song of all time" (you can listen to the sample below and decide for yourself how hyperbolic this statement is). After listening to this in its entirety, I could only feel sorry for the kids involved. I hope they had fun recording these songs, and I really hope they never realize that they were tricked into turning themselves into a laughing stock for a bunch of jaded white record collectors.

samples:

Chelsea & The Mighty Lions - T-Rex
The Muffletoes - I Want Candy
Franchize Children - Listen to the Children on the Radio

30 September 2012

Carl Thien

Albums and Singles

Uwe Schmidt's SenorCoconut project is probably his most popular incarnation. This 12" has3 versions of the Kraftwerk song 'Tour De France' and 2 versions of'Expo 2000'. All but one of the songs are unique to this 12". There isthe 'Merigue album version' of "Tour De France" taken from the 'ElBaile Aleman' CD. You get 2 more verions of the song here as well: the'Good groove's 501 Vocal mix' and the 'Good groove's 501 Instrumentalmix'. All three versions break out of the tight confines of the pretend'neo-Latin' music that the Kraftwerk cover record sticks to. This 12"is the only place you'll find his version of the recent Kraftwerk'comeback' song "Expo 2000". there are 2 versions here: the 'MamboOriginal' and the 'Mambo Instrumental'. Uwe Schmidt seems to excel atwhatever he does. A few weeks ago I heard the second Flanger CD he didalong with Burnt Friedman. Although I am not usually one for straightup jazz, that CD sounded crystal clean and somewhat unique in it'scombination of traditional jazz and modern electronics. I can't wait tohear his Erik Satin project, which I've heard is his EasyMusicdeconstruction act - kind of similiar to what Tipsy is doing.
Read More

30 September 2012

Diane Lewis

Albums and Singles

Though the bright, streamlined bounce of first-track "Container of Drudgery(Never Had a Name)" seems to be crafted with almost excruciating precisionnext to last year's noise-saturated Fingerpainting, don't let the openingstrains fool ya. The Red Krayola's new six song EP eventually flexes andfractures into the same smattering of electronic chirps and indifferentlycolliding rhythms and melodies that characterizes their other recent DragCity releases. Midway through the album, the spastic rhythms and synthesizedsquawking and burping commence. These moments are capable of producing thefear and agony of one confined to a room filled with two-year-olds andFischer Price instruments. On "Is There," vocals, guitar, synthesizer, anddrums all seem to improvise playfully with only the occasional nod tosolidarity and structure. This isn't a problem in itself, but the samecryptic sing-song lyrics and compulsively spastic tapping that carry throughmost of The Red Krayola's albums now seem uninspired and more likely toinduce nervous twitching than appreciation. Yet when the fun and bluesyinstrumental "6-5-3 Blues" eventually breaks into chewy electronic twists,you can't help but feel the scattered moments of cohesion are worth (mostof) the disarray. The last two tracks maintain this balance with flair.While 'Blues, Hollers and Hellos' may not be The Red Krayola's best, the morevaried use of electronics makes up for some the inconsistency and you can'thelp but be grabbed when it's disparate elements come together just right.The slow "Magnificence as Such" rolls with cymbals and fuzzy, meanderingguitars while Mayo Thompson's wobbly croon, "Still it slays me when I touchmagnificence as such," may even produce pangs of tragedy and beauty in thosewho typically cringe. Yum.

samples:

6-5-3 Blues

30 September 2012

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Ulan Bator is a French avante art rock trio who apparently take theirname from the capitol of Mongolia. "Ego : Echo" is their third albumand it was for the most part spontaneously created during 3 weeks ofsessions last summer in Florence, Italy with producer and Young GodRecords head Michael Gira (SWANS, The Angels of Light). Ulan are allabout tight and minimal, tense and repetitive guitar/bass/drum rockgrooves - both noisy and subdued - as musical and (French) vocalpassages become hypnotic head noddin' mantras. Add organ, piano, bow,keys, horn, tape loops, electronic drone, 'la la la' styled backingvocals and Gira's dry, crisp, clean and full production. Comparisonsto Can, Faust (Jean Herve Peron contributes horns to 1 song), the BadSeeds and Gira's own projects is inevitable as everything is sparseyet beautifully melodic and the sound and feel is similar, at the veryleast, in spirit. The 16 minute centerpiece "Let Go Ego" in particularprovides the variety of most everything Ulan Bator do in one song withextensive stretches of drone, somnambulant sonic meandering, heavy rockout and lengthy coda chant. "Ego : Echo" is a dynamic rock record thatresonates with passion and a sense of straightforward urgency. It'sone of a handful of cool musical things lately from France and it fitsright in with the rest of the Young God catalog. Up next from YGR arealbums by Calla and Flux Information Sciences in January and the newAngels of Light album "How I Loved You" in February.

samples:

30 September 2012

Albums and Singles

Ulan Bator is a French avante art rock trio who apparently take theirname from the capitol of Mongolia. "Ego : Echo" is their third albumand it was for the most part spontaneously created during 3 weeks ofsessions last summer in Florence, Italy with producer and Young GodRecords head Michael Gira (SWANS, The Angels of Light). Ulan are allabout tight and minimal, tense and repetitive guitar/bass/drum rockgrooves - both noisy and subdued - as musical and (French) vocalpassages become hypnotic head noddin' mantras. Add organ, piano, bow,keys, horn, tape loops, electronic drone, 'la la la' styled backingvocals and Gira's dry, crisp, clean and full production. Comparisonsto Can, Faust (Jean Herve Peron contributes horns to 1 song), the BadSeeds and Gira's own projects is inevitable as everything is sparseyet beautifully melodic and the sound and feel is similar, at the veryleast, in spirit. The 16 minute centerpiece "Let Go Ego" in particularprovides the variety of most everything Ulan Bator do in one song withextensive stretches of drone, somnambulant sonic meandering, heavy rockout and lengthy coda chant. "Ego : Echo" is a dynamic rock record thatresonates with passion and a sense of straightforward urgency. It'sone of a handful of cool musical things lately from France and it fitsright in with the rest of the Young God catalog. Up next from YGR arealbums by Calla and Flux Information Sciences in January and the newAngels of Light album "How I Loved You" in February.

samples: