Judging by the titles to the five tracks on this third release by Red Needled Sea, Panos Alexiades is in some distress.
Reading like SOS messages, they progress from desperate to resigned: "Not Dead", "Just Breathing", "Something Like I´m Alive", "To My Home" and finally, "I Say Goodbye". The music offered under these rubrics is a variant of drone whose relatively uninterrupted calm is itself an unsettling foundation.
"Just Breathing" might just be the most mesmerizing track, a big, cathedral-like drone that lulls you before occasionally snapping your brain to attention with cheap sound effects, though the next track, "Something Like I´m Alive", features interesting investigations into and sonic annoyance of the acoustic piano. And a full half the album is comprised of the closing track, elegiac in nature, grand, noble, sometimes delicate, majestic, sweeping, utterly final.
Just like the very DIY cover in which Sqrt has released this CDR, Time.Recall.Now seems very homemade, on inexpensive instruments of low quality. But the results are anything but. It is straightforward with a bit too much happening to be relegated to the background as background music. The listener often finds him or herself cast back and forth between high, agitating pitches and low, reassuring rumbles.
Netherworld´s Kall - "cold" - is a four-part suite exposing the darker side of Alessandro Tedeschi´s musical persona. While thus far, at this early stage in his career, most of his music has had a more life-affirming tone - even while dealing with the sensations of dark and cold and isolation - Kall is barren and unforgiving, organic, yes, but the organic matter is rotting.
The pervasive sense of dis-ease is immediately established with the opening track, where the listener seems trapped in some vast cavern sitting between the nostrils on the snout of some enormous, dying beast, heavily breathing in, out, in, out. Other, less corporeal beings seem also to inhabit the space, hung in the air.
A sickening slaveship beat slips into oily darkness as the second track proceeds onto the third movement´s train ride to some abandoned station on the railway to Hell. It is a gaseous and ghastly ride featuring the only the occasional shimmer of light bouncing off overhanging icicles being played like tubular bells.
Netherworld´s Kall has skies overhead of lead and ground underneath of lead. One does not literally feel physically cold when listening to it, but a chill does constantly travel up and down the spine.
In perverse contrast to the musical content, the CD is packaged in an attractive, delicately designed cardboard sleeve, ltd. edition of 441.
The steps through which Yan Jun went in constructing 20 for Lona are laid out very clearly and concisely in the sleeve notes. The prime sound source is that quintessentially Chinese neo-capitalistic product, the pirated DVD.
Here, the artist selected twenty pirated DVDS from his collection, muted most of their respective soundtracks, let them all run simultaneously and mixed up a witch´s brew of international cultural detritus. Languages comprehensible include Hebrew (both classic liturgical and modern conversational), Chinese, English (early on I hear Sarah Jessica Parker and character actor Willie Garson [from an episode of "Sex and the City", no doubt]), Japanese, maybe Russian. On top, alongside and underneath are sound effects, ambient sounds both soothing - trickling water - and grating - subway trains speeding along their tracks - and musical snippets from the original scores themselves.
This release is but a tantalizing excerpt specially prepared for the label (as its title bears witness) taken from an installation premiered at the 4th International Media Art Biennale in Seoul and entitled "I Bought 3000 DVDs", where I am guessing it was enthusiastically received. Much less random and chaotic, and much more dramaturgically composed than its stated parameters might first lead one to expect. Ltd to 100 copies.
Unreal tune. A-Skillz promoed it at Breakspoll this year and the place erupted. Five outta Five!
Very much worth the attention of anyone with a keen interest in ambient electronics and the gentler realms of techno is a handsome set of three, 3" CDRs, "Re:01", "Re:02" and "Re:03", in which Tarkatak (Lutz Pruditsch) and colleague Florian Filsinger both remix and collaborate with one another.
After a fine start with the first of the batch, the second volume features a very pretty piece evoking Eno´s classic "On Land", followed by what sounds almost like a computer-generated, faux field recording - a helicopter hovering over the distant horizon of some abandoned wasteland. The third consists of an achingly-slowly evolving, lower-case, and beautiful straight collaboration in much the same spirit of impossible landscapes, lasting nearly twenty-five minutes.
Each track is a different variation of the theme of weightless, floaty electronica, some dabbed at with irregular but attractive percussion.
"Hinsidan" is the Swedish word for "beyond", as in the great beyond, the hereafter, the other side. For Danes, it can also simply mean the other side of the sound separating the two Scandinavian nations. And since roughly 2003, it also refers to a two-man, Dano-Swedish operation consisting of Atish Pare (mainly guitars) and Superjus (wire and cable man), prolific enough to release two records in 2005 and 2007, respectively.
"God is in the Details", one half of an ambitious two-CD set released by Phistria, lurches into gear with a couple of very mechanical (in the good sense given the context) industrial tracks, which you know will continue ad infinitum in their clunky rotation, despite the brevity of the actual tracks. However, interest begins to rapidly dwindle by the third track, when the pseudo-psychedelic half-sung, half-spoken, half-treated and all-bad vocals enter the mix, serving only to distract from the intricate rhythmic notions being explored underneath. At this point the album morphs into a sort of space opera and spins out of control. Very long and very tedious.
The set´s better half is "Music for Ghosts" which seems to hail from a much brighter place - the first track is indeed called "We Glow" - featuring more distinct and elegantly simple beats, crisp, ringing, looped electronic melodies, and an altogether sunnier disposition - a vast improvement. The ghosts for whom this music has been made must be most benign. A cleaner, more streamlined approach, which is therefore more likely to leave a lasting impression on the listener and wear well over time. This more pristine and focused sound allows for more finely chiselled detailing and a more rewarding listening experience.
The prime object of this review is the recent "Bleach Dye Yr Heart" album released on the rapidly-evolving Gears of Sand label. While the title would seem extracted from a stockpile of typical noise band titles, the music is surprisingly low-key; minimalistic as "Ghosts" but with more emphasis on the drone. As the album proceeds, "Vivisection of the Soul" proves truly unsettling and discomfiting, like being stuck in an aluminium air vent with the dull whine of constantly-sucking air howling past your unprotectable ears. The following track takes on the theme, replacing the "wind" with distorted guitar before ebbing out into the low rumble of glorious monotone that reconnects with the uncomfortable feel of the album thus far. The duo temporarily swells to a trio on "Lights, Camera, Addiction" with the added electronics and sequencing of Martin Bryder, an album highpoint with its sombre, cello-like base offset by chipper beats and colourful electronics. In sum, an album hosting a variety of atmospheres and attractions, much like a museum of curios.
Finally, "Shapeshifter Blues" was commissioned by and released in an extremely limited run of only seventy-five CDRs. While described by the band as "wall-of-sound space-age blues", I hear a generally restrained and successful effort (especially the fourth track) patiently examining the timbres of guitar- and electronics-produced drones, quiet rumblings not unlike distant rolling thunder, and sundry small detonations. A bit of bombast slips in as track three evolves, but the album regains and maintains its equilibrium right up to the gorgeous, haunting coda "Lonely Peoples Parade".
http://www.hinsidan.net
http://www.gearsofsand.net
http://www.verato-project.de
Two slightly "out there" productions from Australian artist Tom Hall generated in a relatively short space of time.
"Fluere" is a conceptual album drawing exclusively on sounds "made" by Story Bridge in Brisbane. The results land somewhere in between field recording and a musique concréte collage. How much fiddling and mixing with the original material has taken place is left unsaid.
The more recent CDR "Floats" (the watery titles which grace both albums are perversely unsuitable as metaphors for characterizing the music itself) is comprised of a series of live recording sessions (in studio, I´m assuming) - improvised? Tough call. Hall enjoys sparse, high-pitched drones and tinkles scuffed up a bit by crackles and distortion. Ultimately a tad sterile, unfortunately, thought track six, "Is", is utterly exquisite, very soothing, and worth the price of admission in itself.
The eight track titles make up a nice little poem, to boot: "My Memories/Spasmodic/Reflection/From/My Subconciousness/Is/A Beautiful/Reality".
Stefan Panczak debuted as Inch-Time on Static Caravan with a full-length CD released a little more than a year ago. Now he delivers a slimmer slice of music, which comes in a small, square brown envelope you must slice into with a letter opener. Inside, a sheet featuring a humourous drawing and the barest essentials about the contents of the work. Music and package both seem to convey some sort of communication about a journey and a return.
What begins with soft, Buddish minimalist piano is tranformed into a foray into a Far East of the mind consisting of Tibetan-sounding bells and gongs (and other, more prosaic sounds, like what may be a spoon stirring tea in a cup?); eventually the circular narrative returns us to the reassuring timbres of the familiar, if slightly treated, baby grand.
Given that there are two "thought objects" on the disc, each almost exactly the same length, its is almost as if the story plays out in part one, then retraces its steps back to its origins in the soft caresses of the piano keys...although this is not the case, exactly. A beautiful little thing.
captains log : december 18th 2007
full on party season.
the world is being over run by the need to shout along to fucking slade records under the disco glitter ball once again. thankfully though the opening week of the new year sees bodyrox release their new single, the grammatically incorrect, 'what planet you on'.
comprising of a thrusting slice of bouncy electro dance music, put together by jon pearn and nick bridges, this 3 minutes of compressed synthetics also happens to involve gobby txt speak vocals from attitude pumped up luciana. the vocal hooks are madly catchy, the lyrics as shallow as a learners swimming pool, and the video to corny for words (umm girl sitting on planet gesticulating to the viewer about ‘i dont know what planet you’re on’ only to then end up 'sliding on rocket ship with you') but i’ll be damned if i can’t deny its a brilliant slab of disposable pop.
hence i urge you to make this number one for months, and let’s fuck off all those x-factor sanctioned drippy ballads forever.
thank you.
video : http://youtube.com/watch?v=VMRnnyR5DLw
more detail : http://www.bodyrox.co.uk/
The very welcome reissue of Biosphere´s classic first two albums, Microgravity and Patashnik, plus his soundtrack for the Norwegian thriller "Insomnia".
No extra bonus tracks or claims of fancy remastering techniques, but three stylish, coordinated new digipaks and new cover art (which especially benefits "Insomnia!, whose original cover featured an unflattering still of a pale and sweaty Stellan Skarsgard).
Biosphere´s music has certainly evolved since these early-nineties landmarks, but that hardly means that they sound the least bit dated: They are still essential listening for their soft-peddled techno beats, warm ambient embrace, and colourful array of unlikely voice samples.
so, the time is now here.
after a chunk of fashion magazine focus, a lot of belief, the debut bishi album, 'nights at the circus', is here.
fusing western pop song structures with an added element of sitar and tablas, there are times i feel as though i should have a greater understanding of the world of bollywood.
thankfully, the fact i have never sat through a bollywood movie doesn’t detract from the fact that in parts, this album is a pure pop album.
things start off brilliantly, with the title track being a great way to introduce bishis wonderful vocals and overall way with a song, which after a few minutes of rhythm and verse, decends into a mass of tabla and sitar chaos. very enjoyable.
the production is delicate and slight on 'magus', tablas create the beat, which are supplemented by all manner of unusual but exotic sounding instruments, again revealing my own ignorance, as i really don’t know what instrument is making what noise here but it matters not, as bishi has not forgotten to bring in an ear pleasing melody.
for 'i am you', toybox glockenspiels are placed alongside a nice electronic foundation, with bishis vocals phased and layered, this is another genuine pop highlight, and one that would make the dreary radio playlist a lot more colourful.
admittedly, there are a few tracks where my mind wondered about a little. having been told the appeal is all about the live show, i guess if you have caught her recent well received shows then such tracks as the harp heavy, 'the swan', the folk-esque acoustics of 'grandmothers floor', and 'nightbus', work better in the live situation, but here such traditional sounding tracks feel to weigh the album down.
beautiful yes, but at odds with the pop aspect of the album.
is this album a serious statement of art a la joanna newsom, or a pop album ?
at times i find myself struggling with this duality, especially as i love the pop side, however, i can’t pretend, traditional folk music and ireallylovemusic have never really made friends.
so, when bishi hits her stride with tales of woe and doom amongst music that would fit on the soundtrack to 'the wickerman', i find it a strange double act to reconcile with the popsongs.
still, i would like to think that this is an album that will please a lot of people, especailly as it has been released in a time when each week brings an unwelcome glut of dreary indentikit indie pop bands, so it is great to hear something that is original, quirky, and rather unique with its use of tablas, sitars, accordians and traditional folk songs.
so, despite my shortsighted negativity, i suggest you give it a listen, you may be, and probably quite rightly, totally entralled.
more detail : http://www.bishi.co.uk/
Italian soundscapist Alio Die loves to collaborate, and before getting to one of his finest solo records to date, let us pause to reflect on a couple of his finer co-piloting gigs from the past couple of years.
Composed and recorded in 2004-05, with Saffron Wood playing psaltery and zither while Alio Die provides all other sound via flute, loops and field recordings (plus a piano sample borrowed from another collaborator, Festina Lente), Corteggiando le Messi is stunning. It actually sounds like the ambient sounds have been recorded out of the ether without human interference, all very delicate and fragile. An unobtrusive and meditative suite sweetly soothing without even being in the neighbourhood of cloying.
In the same spirit we have the more recent collaboration with Werner Durand, Aqua Planing, the culmination of seven years of work finalized two years ago.
As indicated by the order of appearnce on the cover, this is Durand´s album more than Alio Die´s. Field recordings made in Thailand and ambient loops and drones created in the Milan studio make up the foundation of the album, upon which bed rises the exotic winds of Durand - Laotian khene, Persian ney, Japanese shakuhachi and homemade reeds, including the "circular clarinet" and "circular water ney".
A more atonal, at times even shrill tone, especially the seventeen-minute long centrepiece title track, with its various drawn out windnotes crossing and recrossing one another.
As usual when it come to any soundworld Alio Die is visiting, there is always more than you would expect going on in both the fore- and backgrounds on each of these five extended pieces. While you might be charmed and lulled to rest by the sense of alpine spaciousness offered by "La Grotta Nella Valle Domenicata" - it sounds like a grand maze of mountain valleys reverberating with the clang of distant village churchbells and alpine horns - open your ears a little more and much more will reveal itself. An odd travelogue. And a strong effort.
On Khen Introduce Silence Alio Die improvised drones, loops and most interestingly, his playing of the khen(e), a Laotian mouth organ mentioned above, over field recordings collected by himself and friends from Thailand, Nepal and his native Italy. Lovely, sustained pitches coming from deep down in the belly satifsy the soul and hunger of the listener. Stirring and uplifting.
The semi-title track "Introduce Silence" is absolutely mesmerizing, engulfing the listener in warm comfortable numbness even as the storm clouds litererally gather.
The sounds combine until we hear a pipe-organ playing in an open-air cathedral located by a stream running through a redwood forest - like the trees, the sound just soars heavenward and seems never to stop.
For his private label Miasmah, Erik Skodvin continues to cherry-pick a fine array of new artists, most sharing a kind of gothic romantic streak.
Sistereis (Final Voyage) is a kind of "Sinking of the Titanic" writ small. Unlike Gavin Bryars´ masterpiece, this is a sort of imagined, quasi-documentary without voiceover. The wreck sinks to the bottom, its sheet-metal hull and the wooden decks groan and creak as the weight of the sea increases, pound after pound of pressure working on it from all sides.
Elegi may be more than a tad too literal in conveying this slow-motion catastrophe - in the deep notes of the oboe and pipe organ; water burbing and gulls squwaking and anchor chains screaming. But it is not without merit if you just relax and enjoy, if one can indeed relax while listening to a sinking ship.
Despite the fact that Piotr Jurczak lives and works in his native Poland, his choice of nom-de-musique and his musical attitude is so akin to soft but dark Italian ambientists like Oöphoi and Alio Die that it reflects that family resemblance. And "Hidden", his latest beauty, has in fact been released by the latter´s own house label.
Each of the first four pieces, devised 2005-06, is named after one of the cardinal points of the compass, while the penultimate track encompasses "All Directions" and the finale zeroes in on the "Epicenter".
Unlike a majority of beatless ambient artists who wish to or inevitably end up evoking pastoral scenes and moods (when not lost in space), Busso de la Lune seems to be much more at home in the city, taking pleasure in the ("hidden"?) intercourse between nature and civilization - rain spattering against concrete sidewalks and the windows of soaring steel and metal skyscrapers.
Upon this base he tests the timbres and echoes of various devices at hand - hollowed-out woods, a xylophone, the human voice. The deep inhale and exhale of the third track sounds like the very lungs of the city expanding and contracting. On the fourth point of the compass he hangs twinkling stars of pin-prick sound high up in the night sky, miles above the listener´s ears.
"All Directions" could easily serve as the soundtrack for a riveting, wordless, twenty-three minute noir movie, with its suggestive wash of sound, sensually stroked upright bass and aimlessly wandering footsteps on rain soaked pavement, eventually and seamlessly seguing into the - gasp! - "melody" that is the closer.