- Alex Kreiger
- Albums and Singles
Jan St. Werner (of Mouse On Mars) and Markus Popp (of Oval) have cooked up a third offering of glitchy, cryptic ambience for us, this time without all the rhetoric about music as software and digital revolutions in musical composition.
 
"Nine excursions into the world of downtempo speedcore," as Thrill Jockey's webpage puts it, but to me it sounded like the drones and rumbles that were so fascinating on Mouse on Mars' "Instrumentals" providing an unappreciated undercurrent to Popp's software-generated quirks, bleeps, and glitches. Now and then it resembles a fully realized orchestral work mangled into utter unrecognizability by its composers' computers.
Your reaction to "model 3, step 2" will no doubt be determined by your attitude towards Popp and his studies in computer-generated incoherence. If you're the chin-stroking type who plumbed the fascinating depths of "94diskont," "Dok," and "Ovalprocess" and came back hungry for more, then this will probably prove rewarding after a few listens, or at least briefly interesting. "Dok," the result of another Popp collaboration (with Toyko's Christophe Charles), shimmered with an organic beauty that fails to materialize here; likewise, the weird sonic explorations and occasional thematic coherence that made Microstoria's "INIT DING" worthwhile just aren't apparent. The result is neither compelling nor essential.
 
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Richard Dorfmeisterteamed up with Rupert Huber for a fine selection of loungey trip-hopworthy of prancing around with bell-bottoms in. Sure, something likethis can sit very well along with Kruder & Dorfmeister projectslike Peace Orchestra, but the difference in this one is more emphasison a deeper soul. Female vocals are introduced in the form of samplesto give it a little more human and less mechanical spirituality thanthe typical white German electro dubtacular sound. If it were 1992,this would be labelled as "chill out room music." Serene andgalactical, this would provide a great soundtrack to lying in your roomwith your friend or lover, staring up at the glowing stars stuck to theceiling. Illegal substances optional of course.samples:
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Fucking incredible! JackDangers has a clever way of teasing his fans. Once an album has soakedinto the culture, imitators spring up and fade away, only shortly afterpeople stop listening to his album, unexpectedly something pops out ofnowhere that reminds us all how incredible he really is. "EccentricObjects" is no exception. The record comes as a 12" single withflexi-disc, orderable through Sputnik7.com only, all four tracks on the12 are some of his finest stuff, bringing in the crashing breakbeats,organic sounds, thunderous effects and driving basslines that are sodamn signature Jack Dangers material. This is the stuff many peopledream of while sitting in their rooms, watching mind-numbing televisionshows and getting fat on cheese. "Hey wouldn't it be great to do musiclike this...?" Little do they know it's been happening for many manyyears. The strength of these tracks stand well completely on their own,while making any fan salivate just thinking of a future full-lengther.For a limited time, a flexi-disc with two bonus soundscapes isincluded. The ever entertaining "Peristaltic Wave" and "My Shorty" usecollected sound samples from strange archives of the 50s and 60s. Getthis while you still can, while these songs may be compiled onto afuture release, the versions will probably be altered while theflexi-disc tracks will probably never resurface.samples:
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For the last three years,Tino has been serving up two slabs of hot wax with breakbeats galoreand sample tracks collected at the end. It was looking like this yearwas going to squeak by with only getting one slab, but fear not, Tino'sBreaks volume 5 is a two-record set full of dub gems led by one of thebest drummers in the world, Tino. Following last year's release ofMambo and Christmas, Dub carries on the style of some fat cuts andbreaks, familiar samples, and beats amusing and exciting to listen toand mix in with your favorite breakbeat needs. I don't smoke pot, butif I did, boy would this be a great slab of wax to chill out with. Forthose not in the know, the core of Tino Corp is Ben Stokes (from DHSand H-Gun), Jack Dangers (see previous review) and Mike Powell (formerMeat Beat Manifesto member). Learning the drums is easy and when youlike the dub it's fun too! These vinyl-only releases are essential forany MBM fan as well as any fan of dub and latin-influenced breakbeats.samples:
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Blixa Bargeld is frontman for Einstürzende Neubauten, member of NickCave's Bad Seeds, occasional actor and contributor to various plays andsoundtracks. For Maria von Heland's German suspense thriller "Recycled",Bargeld composes nearly all of the soundtrack, as arranged andorchestrated by the Tim Isfort Orchestra. Unlike Bargeld's previous solowork "Commissioned Music" this music is not as minimal and emotionallysparse. Isfort's large orchestra, undoubtedly influenced by classiccomposers such as Morricone, provides a rich classical palette to paintBargeld's various moods. "Küss mich wach" ("Kiss Me Awake") begins thedisc vocally as Bargeld and Amanda Ooms solo and duet German lyrics oversweeping strings and a light piano and beat rhythm. Ooms also speaksGerman text on another brief track. The remaining 19 tracks areinstrumental pieces, ranging 9 seconds to 4 minutes, obviously meant tocorrespond with the events and moods of the film. "Mr. Aloha" by Carnivalof Souls is unexpectedly tacked on to the end but it's charming waves ofpedal steel work well. What's important here for me, as a fan of Bargeldand someone who will likely never see the film, is that the soundtrackholds up on it's own. And that it does, very well. The sound is fulland varied and the flow is very comfortable. "Recycled" is a beautifulwork completely on it's own and well worth the $15 import price.samples:
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N.U. Unruh is percussionist for Einstürzende Neubauten and "Euphoria inthe Age of Digital Information Transfer" is, surprisingly, his first soloalbum. Unruh's idea was to compose sequences entirely from the sampledsounds of various digital devices to give musical life to everyday itemsnot normally heard in that context. The audio library is extensive:motors, oscillators, alarms, beepers, phones, toys, video games, doorbells, office machines, etc. provide all sorts of beeps, blips, tones,drones, lo-fi animal calls and human voices. Each of the 26 tracks, mostin the less than 1 minute to 3 minute range, are a whirring din of theseaudio bits arranged into multi tracked mini symphonies. Cheesy sounds andplayful melodies are plentiful and the most promising tracks tend to bethe shortest and least developed. The final "Appendix" sample trackprovides most if not all of the samples one a time in succession. Bythis point it all seems rather silly, tedious and pointless ... much likea room full of toddlers feverishly banging away at the sound triggeringbuttons on their toys while others simultaneously play video games. Andconsidering that I'm pretty bored with and/or annoyed by most of thesesounds in my day to day life, they don't do much more for me organizedinto less than interesting 'songs'. "Euphorie.." will be filed away andmost likely never listened to again.samples:
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An unlikely combinationpairs the British analogue whore, Barry 7 with the blissfulMichigan-based soundscapist, Randall Nielman for a 20 minute two-trackEP. While it's more endearing than the recent release from Add N to(X), the Füxa contribution can't save it enough to justify the price ofadmission. Track one starts out promising, even Christmas-sounding, butvery little changes throughout the entire piece. It sounds completelyout of tune and too repetitious. Once again, the mundane repetitionkicks in with track 2. "And Another Thing!" is far too dull and at 13minutes it carries on for what seems like an eternity. Ow, this isgiving me a headache!!! Sorry, I really did have hope.samples:
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One of the most accomplished electronic musicians to emerge from the American underground in the last couple of years, Joshua Kit Clayton has honed his deft skills on a series of singles touching on a variety of musical styles, but these two album length releases focus mainly on the minimal, dub-influenced sounds that seem to have become his forte of late. On Repetition and Nonsense, most of the material rides on a nervous tech-house groove, with tracks like "A Choice of Words" and "M-Shape" having an edge of off-kilter funkiness. Overlaying it all is a murky dub filter that inspires mild comparisons to the sounds of Pole and the Chain Reaction crew.
These influences are even more prevalent on nek sanalet (which is fitting since the ~scape label is run by Pole's Stefan Betke). While Repetition is painted with a thin coating of watery dub production, this album is completely submerged in a sea of slightly sinister loops and echoes. Subtle beats flow from side to side as minimal bleeps and stomach-churning bass wrestle in a venue drenched with reverb and washes of ambient sound. If any record deserves the Betke-coined tag of "modern urban dub", this enveloping and addictive disc is it.
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Two of my favorite MouseOn Mars releases were initially released through Thrill Jockey in theUSA on vinyl only, this one and 'Glam.' For years now, Glam has beenavailable on CD as an overpriced Japanese import, but it contains someof their best recorded stuff ever along with a few bonus cuts for goodmeasure. Now, after a couple years, 'Instrumentals' is available on CD.With only 7 tracks, this disc clocks in just comfortably over 18minutes. The tracks are closer to a 4/4 electronic style the grouppursued years ago, slick and smooth, serene and delicate, with superbglitchy sounds coloring the beats. At this time, Mouse on Mars wasworking delicately with songcraft along with developing their ownsounds to sparkle the spectrum. These recordings are collected between1995 and 1997 but are virtually timeless. When the 'intelligent dancemusic' moves onwards to the next trend, this album will still be onethat's excellent every time you pull it from the shelf. If youabsolutely must have everything, the Japanese edition has one bonustrack.samples:
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One of the most accomplished electronic musicians to emerge from the American underground in the last couple of years, Joshua Kit Clayton has honed his deft skills on a series of singles touching on a variety of musical styles, but these two album length releases focus mainly on the minimal, dub-influenced sounds that seem to have become his forte of late. On Repetition and Nonsense, most of the material rides on a nervous tech-house groove, with tracks like "A Choice of Words" and "M-Shape" having an edge of off-kilter funkiness. Overlaying it all is a murky dub filter that inspires mild comparisons to the sounds of Pole and the Chain Reaction crew. These influences are even more prevalent on nek sanalet (which is fitting since the ~scape label is run by Pole's Stefan Betke). While Repetition is painted with a thin coating of watery dub production, this album is completely submerged in a sea of slightly sinister loops and echoes. Subtle beats flow from side to side as minimal bleeps and stomach-churning bass wrestle in a venue drenched with reverb and washes of ambient sound. If any record deserves the Betke-coined tag of "modern urban dub", this enveloping and addictive disc is it.Read More
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The ever-effervescent Japanese duo Pizzicato Five is back with yet anotheralbum chock full of kitschy goodness. Elements of lounge, cabaret, and retro60s TV-show theme songs abound once again, but what is so impressive about P5'slatest foray is the arrangements and orchestrations of real instruments asopposed to the band's usual heavy reliance on samples (although of these thereis no shortage!). Horns, strings, piano and woodwinds artfully accompany livedrums and guitar, producing a much more sophisticated all-over sound comparedto previous efforts. The tempo is upbeat and rousing for most of the songs,and either sexy, funky, trippy, or frenetically paced ("Tout, Tout Pour MaCherie" is borderline techno anthem); although the last handful of songs have amuch more laid-back vibe. Additionally, two of the songs, "Darlin' ofDiscotheque" and "A Perfect World (Album Version)" are actually remixes of twoother tracks on the album ("Wild Strawberries" and "A Perfect World,"respectively). As much as I've always loved Pizzicato Five, one issue withtheir music has often been the hit-or-miss quality of the albums: one half ofthe songs on a record will be impeccable, but the other somewhat weak. Fifth puts anend to this trend with consistently good production and songwriting.samples:
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