Cold Spring Records
Cold Spring might be more recognized as a distributor of dark ambient,neo-classical, death industrial and japanese noise music than as alabel, but as this compilation shows, this is unjustified. 'Chamber' isa fine selection of various neo gothic & post industrial sub genredmusic. The songs are culled mostly from recent releases but there arealso some exclusives like "Hail The Queen," the last track everrecorded by Folkstorm, a remastered version of the haunting"Mitternachtsberg" from Von Thronstahl and a preview of forthcomingalbum by The Days Of The Trumpet Call. The inclusion Mark Snow (knownas composer of the X-Files Theme) and Benedikt Middler is surprisingbut not necessarily unfitting, as their contribution is the title songfrom their score of "Nekromantik," a German splatter movie. Kerovnian,Schloss Tegal, Band Of Pain, Toroidh (the new project of the Folkstorm/ MZ.412 founder), Endrva and Von Thronstahl represent various shadesof dark and black ambient while Ignis Fatuus, The Days Of The TrumpetCall, A Challenge Of Honour dive more into the martial neo-classicalfields once explored by Laibach (and In The Nursery). Laibach are evenpresent with a version of "Die Liebe" from the soon to be officiallyreleased 'Neu Konserativ' bootleg album. The sincerity and powerfulrealization behind the ultra deep traks by Novatron and Sleep ResearchFacility distantly separate them from any 2nd or 3rd-generation "darkambient" cliches. This compilation is more than just a mid-priceintroduction, as it is carefully arranged to be enjoyed as a whole andcomplete piece (especially on rainy days or in the darker hours of theday). There lies much unexpected beauty and love hidden within—and outof darkness there comes light.
samples:
- Von Thronstahl - Mitternachtsberg
- Endrva - Theme for an Imaginary Obsession
- Novatron - Angel
A unique restriction was given to the artists for this compilation; allartists were only allowed to use a limited bandwidth of 200hz for theircontributions. Subsequently, Francisco Lopez, Zbgniew Karbowski, KimCascone, Coti, Ilious, Philip Samartzis and others work their waythrough frequency ranges from 0 to 17002hz. Most remain in the lowerrange from 0-200hz up to 490-690hz (Lopez, PG 13, Karkowski, Coti,Kawasaki, Ilios) while a few step into the middle 991-2298 hz (AS 11,Samartzis, Yoshida) and only Cascone and Jason Kahn work in the highestranges, from 14000hz to 17002hz. While the goal was -not- meant as a"tonal experiment for studio technicians," it requires a very goodstereo system to pick up the barely audible parts some pieces mainlyconsist of. What's lacking, however, is a sense for the extraordinarylike some of the Ash International releases have. Furthermore, theminimal nature of the pieces is puzzling, as they sound like they mighthave originally been completely different tracks simply run over with afilter, cutting out all but the desired 200hz spectrum. It's thislimitation that sometimes prevents a track from ever really gettingexciting. 'Suffer / Enjoy' is theoretically a success but in fact notan album to please anybody other than the hardcore sound experts.
If I could leave this year with one thought for each reader to hold, itwould be to consider how lucky you are. How lucky everybody readingthis is to have access to a computer and is literate enough to read,because, even if you're not reading these words on your own computer,you're probably living in a society where you can voice your opinions,vote, read, work, and educate yourself. It's ironic that after threeyears in the making, Grant Wakefield's project is finally availablejust as the USA and Great Britain are making plans to wage war again onIraq. Facts, samples, quotes and narrations alone usually end up in asea of public radio, where the words rarely fall on ears that aren'talready somewhat aware of some of the tragedies that have been carriedout through bombings or years of sanctions and inescapable radioactiveaftermath. What Wakefield has done is piece the words together withexclusive music from Aphex Twin, Bola, Speedy J, Orbital, and a numberof others. The story is arranged chronologically, from the pre-Europeanhistory, through the early 20th century, through events that lead up tothe Gulf War and its aftermath, the music underlines the narration andclimaxes at appropriate points of tension. While the messages at timesfeel somewhat force-fed through hip techno music, it almost feels likeit needs to be at this point, since the gung-ho messages from thewar-mongers is being even more force-fed through the media as news. Itsgoals, as described by the full title, are "deconstructing the GulfWar—a permanent record of the fate of Iraq and a guide to the languageof mass media propaganda." The story is, unsurprisingly more horrificbeyond imagination, with an angle not entirely unlike Michael Moore'sin "Bowling for Columbine," where the media is clearly exposed forbeing manipulated by superpowers and driven by capitalism rather thanfocused on facts and humanity. But don't rely on Wakefield's wordsalone: guests include President Bush (senior), Madeline Albright,Oliver North, comedian Bill Hicks, and numerous world leaders,unidentified soldiers and victims in their own words. It succeeds as acommentary and should be recognized as such. Wakefield isn't crying outagainst evil Western empires nor is he providing solutions forindividuals who do not wish to support the campaigns of their owngovernments. Thankfully, we're fortunate that one of the benefits of USmilitary funding gave us the internet, and 
Those unfamiliar with the comic genius that is Bill Hicks will never get a chance to hear anything new from him. Unfortunately, he died of pancreatic cancer in 1994, never quite achieving the acclaim he so richly deserved. Only after his death has there been an increase in interest about the man from both big personalities (Radiohead and Tool have dedicated albums to him) and regular folk. Hicks wasn't so much a comedian as he was a social sermonist. He would lecture about the many futilities in our twisted, twisted world, about the Kennedy assasination, about US drug policies, and about Sonic the Hedgehog and Clam-lappers Volumes 1-90 (his Blockbuster video receipts showed these as his most frequent rentals). Some of his routines have seemingly been borrowed or flat-out stolen by other comedians (Denis Leary's routines about smoking are dangerously close to Bill's) but no one did them as well as Bill. Unfortunately, there has been very little available from Hicks that truly show the genius of this great loss to comedy. There's a few bootleg videos floating around of him, and a few official ones on 
Some of the lucky few reading this might remember Gudmundur VignirKarlsson as the polite Icelandic guy who opened up for Múm on theirNorth American tour earlier this year. His debut album is the firstfull-length by a single artist to be released by Kitchen Motors. Itmight seem somewhat odd for a label whose prior releases have consistedof live and often improvised multi-act collaborations to choose aone-man studio nerd for release, but, for an electronic record, it hasan almost undescribably improvisational feel. While the album openswith beat-friendly glitched up numbers, it's not long before piano,looped and manipulated spoken word, and light environmental sounds(like cows) find their way to the mix. Karlsson isn't satisfied enoughwith the proverbial beats which line nearly every other laptopmusician's albums, so a variety of other tempo-keepingdevices—including a metronome and what sounds like metal cans andpans—are introduced and take over when the electronic beats run theircourse. The melodies are pleasant and unobtrusive, with very littlesurprises, making this a very safe album to have playing on the walkmanwhile enjoying a hot beverage and watching all the crazy holidayshoppers rush in and out of hectic downtown shops. It's peculiar enoughto keep the mind active, making up original stories about where peopleare from, what they do for a living and how couples met. Kippi Kaninus(latin for the muscle that controls the smile) never feels like it'strapped by the rules of chin-scratching glitch or snooty moderncompositional piano, and Karlsson isn't afraid to bring sounds in andout as he feels. He's got an amazing ear for the balance of sounds andwhen progressions need to change and evolve, his only obstacle now isto break free from 3-5 minute passing thoughts and fully develop hismelodies into wonderful, full-bodied, buxom songs.
In a blind taste test, 4 out of 5 people said this was a new RyojiIkeda album. Subtitled "an abstract electronic compilation fromAustralia & New Zealand," here we find various characters churningout digital mulch for your vibrational pleasure. From Xenakis-stylemicromachines to feedback clock chimes, to the VST sausage grindersthat are so popular these days. Speaking of which, there is an alarmingtrend among many musicians of this genre to put out a product thatcould be sold under anyone's name. It is an unfortunate by-product ofmodern audio software that a lot of music emerges with the same zipperysheen. Unlike previous comps coming out of the underside of the world(such as the "set reverb unit to 20, touch your guitar haphazardly andmoan" —a.k.a. "NZ noise" output so widely revered a few years back)this one doesn't establish a regional flavor to the glitch. That said,what we have here is an enjoyable collection of volume swells, feedbacksqualls, clipped rippage and single-ball-bearing-inside-a-water-towermoments. Standout cuts for me were Candlesnuffer, Oren Ambarchi, andNetochka Nezvanova.
Various artist compilations can be difficult to peg down, especiallywhen the styles flip-flop from track to track. Goppa relaunched theirlabel earlier this month with this ten-song compilation of allexclusive pieces by musicians either from Ireland or who frequentlywork in Ireland. Thankfully it's not another one of those beer drinkingcomps with green covers that show up sometime in mid-March, but it doesopen with a piece by The Tycho Brahe, which is undeniably rooted infolk music. The high pitched voice and acoustic instrumentation is longforgotten by the time the short electronic bit by Daniel Figgis is infull effect. Surprisingly enough, Aranos' vocal/violin contribution andthe twittering, comical collaboration between King Camera and Volcanothe Bear (sounds like a muppet being spanked) are brief and over in ablink, while the following track from The Jimmy Cake is a welcomedlengthy bit of improv drones with bells and horns. The elusive MelanieFinch is perhaps unknowingly reaching for the Diana Rogerson award forthis comp, with an uncanny Aranos-like violinist backing her up alongwith drums, detuned guitar and sloppily played bass guitar. Nurse WithWound has donated the slightly shorter, slightly altered, 'slightlygreen librarian mix' of "Die, Flip or Go to India," which originallyappeared on the Current 93 collaboration, 'Bright Yellow Moon' lastyear, while PKD's track, "In Circles, Back to Back," is experiencingborderline techno disorder with it's thumping repetitive electronicbeat for the first half. The disc is rounded out by a short,forgettable dark post-goth bit by Belinda Quirke and a fantasticsurrealistic horror ride from Artificial Memory Trace equipped withsub-end rumblings and an arsenal of unidentifiable sounds which tenseup and break like a loose floor panel which cracks underneath you,plunging you to an impending doom right before you wake up. For anintroduction to a number of these artists, a little more artistinformation might be nice, but much like the tape-only compilationsback in the 1980s, the mystery is half the fun.
Hefty's Immediate Action series has almost been revived with this EP from Telefon Tel Aviv. The first wave of the series came as a flood of limited 12" singles, some were entirely of one artist and others were collaborative works matching up a couple Hefty frends and mainstays. While this disc keeps up the mish-mashing of folks—with remixes from Slicker, Prefuse 73 and the first appearance of female vocalist, Lindsay Anderson (of L'Altra)—its non-limitedness and CD format make it seem like a completely different beast. To me, this EP doesn't feel like it's part of a multi-part multi-artist compilation, but an appropriate stopgap between last year's fantastic debut from Telefon Tel Aviv and the follow-up, whenever that's due to arrive.
IDM is easily be one of those styles that most people just don't get.And that's good. Because most people don't know anything about goodmusic. That's right: the vast majority of the populace is made up ofsheep that don't know any better. Or cattle. Cattle that need to beled. Cattle that need to be roped up and put where they belong. We needa cowboy. And sure enough, riding over the plains comes Big Tex, readyto bring us the sounds of cattle 'rassling. Welllll, not really. Thesound of Big Tex is one that can rope you in, but only if you're anintense lover of the machine-noise style. Otherwise, it's a real bigturn-off. There is certainly a lot of promise on this disc, andconsidering it took Tex a while to put it all together he's probablygot it in him to better this set. 'Authentic Songs' is really adisjointed set, with the album starting and stopping with all theprecision of a skipping CD player. In fact, there isn't a compositionwith real substance beyond knob-tweaking and squelching until theeighth track. There are a few interesting rhythms, but they eitherdon't last long, or they never build past the point of introduction."Gravy Mouse," though, is where Tex lets loose and the boogie gets laiddown. After that, it's a thoroughly enjoyable listen, with "Beat Me"and "10,000 Gallon Hat" leading the drive. There are some throwaways orinterludes in between here and there, but, again, a lot of skill andprowess at work that will someday blossom into a great album.'Authentic Songs' is a fine debut, though, and well worth aconcentrated listen.
Repeat albums are never bad and never great, though it seems like each one is just a shade away from one or the other. I'm not sure what could push these guys over the edge into greatness, but perhaps there is a tension that I expect in contemporary improvised music which is just not present here. What I'm percieving as a lack of tension might also be an ambivalence on the musicians' part about what exactly the group is about; are they trying to be pretty and melodic? an electronic improv band? ambient music? It's hard to tell. What might, in some other case, be an interesting break in genre comes across here as merely an underdeveloped idea.
