Bip-Hop
This disc by Scanner and Tonne is a CD version of an installation theycreated for a London-based art show at the Institute of ContemporaryArts. It expands on the original concept that used location recordingsaround London to form a sound installation by adding themed pieces fromMilan, Tokyo, Montreal, and New York City. There is so much detail inthe process that created this record, that it has raised questions forme that hinder listening to the album as a simple recording. Should Ibe interested in the process that creates the resulting sound or focuson pulling meanings solely from the experience of the recording? Wheredoes the line between spectator and creator get blurred with works thatsimply reproduce a moment in time and space for later listening? Atwhat point do we become so fascinated with aural snapshots of real-lifeevents that we spend more time listening to someone else's version of awalk through New York City than we do our own? Is this what they meanby postmodernism? I'm not sure where to go with answers on any of thosetopics, but Scanner and Tonne provide a sound collage that is true tothe title of this collection. Each track is a manipulated collection ofcommonplace sounds from familiar environments that tend to reflect, ifnot always comment on the location in question. "Tokyo" begins withfield recordings from Japanese subways and melts into a nearlytechno-ish rumble that captures the dehumanizing effects of Tokyo'smassive scale and the isolation of its millions of commuters crammedcheek to cheek into trains, but never connecting. "Montreal" findsScanner returning to his namesake with stolen cell phone conversationsand the trademark high pitched whine of radio feedback. "Milano" is amelancholic abstraction that flirts with the introduction of rhythmicfigures that are never fully realized and buries the source material ina wash of synthetic pulses. These days, an artist can take a recordingof someone ordering a pizza and turn it into a convincing 808 kick drumand bass pattern, so it's not surprising that musicians like thesechoose artificially limited sets of sound sources to see where they cantake them. But while listening to 'Sound Polaroids,' I am reminded thatthere's no substitute for experience. These recordings are distilledthrough a very specific set of personal criteria set out by the artistsand they don't sound too terribly different in tone than a lot ofScanner's other work. These recordings don't capture the life andvibrancy and complexity of the environments they are reflecting as muchas they hint at a way to compose whatever music you want with whateverset of sounds you've got.
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High tones are, as the title clearly states, in fashion. Sachiko Mplays them exclusively, TV Pow employ them often, Toshimaru Nakamuraseems to live mostly in the uppermost frequency range, and on and onwith the hordes of late-comers and hangers-on. The sine tone is asobvious and self-explainatory a noise as white static, or 60-cycle hum,or feedback, and as such must be used very intentionally in order to beat all effective. Whatever their relation to each other might be, allperformances on this album use sine tones as a key element. Thankfully,all the muscians are dextrous enough improvisers and sensitive enoughlisteners to create more than a mere demonstration of a trend. AlmaFury (aka Claude Besnard and Vonick Moccoli) seems to be an especiallyexciting duo, whose pieces leap and dive gracefully among gravel growlsand piercing highs. The trio recording covers much territory in its 21minutes, and made me wonder why an entire album was not devoted to thisgroup. When it changed subject to Xavier Charles afterwards, I felt asif I had cold water thrown on me; I was just enjoying the many placesthat this quartet could take me, when suddenly they were gone, thesubject abruptly changed. Not that Charles' solo tracks are bad; theyare not, though the use of recognizable radio fragments has never beento my taste. To me, as soon as an improviser turns on a radio, puresound is brought crashing down to a reference that it cannot recoverfrom; I find myself too aware of the process and attempting to tunethat part out (no pun intended). The Charles/Otomo duo is lesssuccessful than the quartet, if only because they each seem to be doingtheir own thing at the same time, in the same room. I would have likedto hear the possiblilities of their instrumentaion explored in moredepth (could this have been a full duo CD?). The inclusion of twoadditional Charles solo pieces is fine, if (for the reasons alreadydescribed) somewhat puzzling.
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samples:
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Grob
Elliott Sharp shouldn't need much of an introduction, but just in casehe does, just think of him as this bald headed big-nosedcyberpunk-obsessed improvising bassist with a mountain of recordingsand collaborations behind him. He's a mainstay of the New York KnittingFactory scene and one of those musicians whose activities have alwaysbeen on the periphery of my record collection. I've probably heardquite a lot of tracks from him here and there but before getting holdof this I only had one Carbon CD, which I found in a highly unlikelydusty old secondhand shop. This duet recording with the almost equallyprolific drummer Bobby Previte is perhaps slightly more exciting and alittle more freeform than Carbon, and mostly it's hard to believe thatit's just two people playing. They've played together a lot in the pastbut this is their first duo recording and it's obvious they couldprobably kick out deconstructed funky jams like this at the drop of ahat. Their chops are dense yet fluid, and whenever it seems they'reabout to hit a predictable groove, they pull out some new rhythmicthrust that shifts the dynamic. This can occasionally work to thealbum's detriment. For instance: at the end of one track they lock ontoa really cool Can-style hypnosis, only to curtail it prematurely.However, this is only a small niggle as it's quite a breathtakingdisplay of virtuosity that keeps up a high level of momentum and flux,as Sharp fingerhops all over the neck of his eight string guitarbass,plucks a little pedal steel and even blows a bit of bass clarinet.Unless they are overdubbing or more likely laying on delay pedaltricks, it seems he can play clarinet and bass at the same time.Although people who've heard a lot more of Sharp's recordings mighthave become jaded by now, to these ears this sounds fresh and fun.
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- Michael Patrick Brady
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