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As a devout fan of drone's weirder fringes, I was casually aware of Razen before this album, but I had never taken the time to dive particularly deeply into their bizarre sonic sorcery: Brecht Ameel & Kim Delcour have historically erred a bit too much on the side of shrillness for my taste. I certainly admired their frayed, idiosyncratic, and somewhat unhinged approach to the genre, but it still made for a somewhat rough listen. This latest release, their first for Three:Four, falls quite squarely in my comfort zone though. For one, there are no bagpipes or modular synths to be found, just an organ and a curious array of traditional acoustic instruments spanning several cultures. More importantly, the band believes that "a presence" surfaced in the church where they recorded these improvisations and that the resulting tapes were supernaturally altered in some way. I am not a big believer in the spirit world, but whatever transpired certainly led to a uniquely compelling album, as the best pieces on The Xvoto Reels take ritualistic acoustic drone to a wonderfully hallucinatory and haunting place.
The original recordings for this album were made back in August of 2015 at St. Martin's Church in Asse, Belgium.The church has quite an interesting history, as no one quite knows when it was built.In theory, it is at least a thousand years old, but it was apparently destroyed and rebuilt several times as various wars swept through the region.I suppose that makes it as fertile a location for a good haunting as practically anywhere, but the particular spirit that Razen (here expanded to a five-piece) encountered was far more subtle than your usual phantasm, manifesting its presence solely in unusual dynamic transformations and bizarre acoustic phenomena.According to the band, the resultant recordings were perplexingly unrecognizable documents of the actual performances that occurred, as the usual Razen elements of "randomness, unexpectedness and irrationality" were all dramatically heightened.It was certainly kind of the apparition to be so sympathetic to Razen's established aesthetic, as a less sensitive ghost my have tried to add beats or something.In any case, there are definitely some strange harmonies and overtones swirling above these languorous ragas, so there is no denying that the church had an unusual and distinctive acoustic character that played a significant role.There are also some more obvious dub-like fluorishes to be found as well, as erratic shifts or disruptions in tape speed occasionally appear throughout Xvoto.I suppose that is a cool touch to some degree, yet the eerily beautiful music itself is far more compelling than trying to spot the handiwork of any sonic phantoms that may have been fluttering around the rafters.Also, on pieces like "Ash Reversal," Razen's swirling haze of dissonant recorder and organ harmonies is legitimately spine-chilling without any extra occult intervention being needed.
As much as I enjoy those darker moments, the true beauty of The Xvoto Reels lies in its more transcendent and ritualistic pieces, as pieces like "Dunes Spell Runes on the Edge of Town" feel like they could be impossible field recordings of ancient pagan ceremonies.Razen also have a real genius for balancing the sublime with the ragged and gnarled, a mesmerizing tightrope act best illustrated by "Rover Fortunes," as the higher notes sometimes dissolve into distorted sizzle and Pieter Lenaerts's churning and moaning upright bass sounds absolutely feral.That particular piece is probably where Razen cross the line into absolute goddamn genius, as it is essentially a wonderful drone piece that unpredictably shudders and undulates like a living entity…while individual notes unexpectedly transform into howls of anguish…and a roiling and snarling undercurrent threatens to tear the whole thing apart.It is truly epic.The closing "Death Reel" is another stunner, albeit a more understated one.It kind of sounds like Razen somehow isolated just the eerie harmonics from Tuvan throat-singing, resulting in a ghostly whine that drifts through a warmly melancholic bed of tape hiss, droning strings, tender recorder melodies, and clattering tablas.It is exactly the kind of dreamlike, hypnotic Eastern-influenced drone that I could easily listen to in an infinite loop, but the entity lurking in St. Martin's apparently had other plans: as the title cryptically alludes to, the tape grows increasingly garbled and then abruptly falls completely silent around the ten-minute mark.It is certainly an abrupt end, but ten minutes of sustained drone nirvana is still ten minutes of sustained drone nirvana.
Interestingly, Ameel and Delcour considered not releasing this album, as they felt it was "too personal, intimate and obscure to let out into the world…the sound of a deeply private dream, a message from the subconscious."It is hard to imagine any other band recording their masterpiece, then debating about whether it is morally acceptable to allow others to hear it, but Razen are quite a unique duo and I believe them.Skepticism towards the supernatural aside, something special undeniably did happen on that day.I have no idea if Razen channeled the divine (with some additional help from the surrounding architecture and a malfunctioning tape), yet the confluence of chance, mysterious variables, and genuine inspiration resulted an album that is on a whole different plane than anything else I have heard from them.This is as soulful and transcendent as drone gets.Of course, an album like The Xvoto Reels could not have happened if Razen had not set the stage for it, as it feels like Ameel and Delcour have been shuffling around strange and mismatched puzzle pieces for a while and finally got them to all fit together by casting aside all traces of the modern, finding some like-minded collaborators, and diving deep into a half-real/half-imagined ancient past.As a result, this album would have probably been a huge breakthrough even if it were recorded under completely mundane circumstances.Instead, Razen have somehow managed to achieve something even better still: a visionary record that sounds like the secret ecstatic recordings of a long-forgotten religious sect.
 
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Artist: Psychic TV
Title: Ov Power
Catalogue No: CSR160CD
Barcode: 8 2356650702 4
Format: CD in jewelcase
Genre: Industrial / Ritual
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Live at Klecks Theatre, Hamburg, 16th September 1984. Originally issued as a vinyl bootleg in 1985 in an edition of 500 copies. Completely remastered and expanded. Psychic TV at their most Industrial.
For thee realization ov this project Psychic TV were: Genesis P-Orridge, John 'Zos Kia' Gosling, Paul 'Grimsby' Reeson and Alex Fergusson.
Tracks: 1. Turn The Golden Thread | 2. Spin The Blood Red Thread | 3. Rope Your Self | 4. Unclean (Dead Dog River) | 5. Godstars Never Fade, They Merely Re-Incarnate | 6. Ov Power | 7. Shango And Come Back!
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Artist: Psychic TV
Title: Batschkapp
Catalogue No: CSR162CD
Barcode: 8 2356650722 2
Format: CD in jewelcase
Genre: Industrial / Ritual
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Recorded at Batschkapp, Frankfurt, West Germany, 10th December 1984. Originally issued as a bonus CD for the first 1000 copies of 'Were You Ever Bullied At School - Do You Want Revenge?' (CSR27CD, 1999). That first edition sold out immediately and has not been available in any form for 12 years.
Personnel: Genesis P-Orridge, Alex Fergusson, Paul 'Grimsby' Reeson and John 'Zos Kia' Gosling.
Tracks: 1. Thee Legge Songe | 2. Soul Eater | 3. Unclean (Bring Out Your Dead) | 4. Godstar (Never Forget) | 5. I Can See Your Eye Can I | 6. Ov Power, Corruption And Magick | 7. Papal Breakdance...
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23five is delighted to announce the release of our two latest publications -- Areal from the intrepid New York intermedia artist Richard Garet, and a posthumous release from Helmut Schaefer, featuring Will Guthrie, Elisabeth Gmeiner, and Zbigniew Karkowski.
On Areal, Garet continues his ongoing research with electromagnetic disturbances through radio. Garet treats the radio process of transmission and reception as a routing system for the audio signal, all the while deliberately agitating and distressing the nodes that direct the course of that signal. For example, an electrical motor might be situated near a radio's antenna disrupting its ability to properly receive a transmission that Garet is broadcasting from nearby. Through the controlled use of electro-acoustic techniques (some rough and volatile, some refined and delicate), he organizes the signal distortion, the crackling static, and the ever-present tendencies for feedback into swarms of chiming resonance, electrically sourced harmonics, tactile bricolage, and impressionist din. As much as Garet's process pushes the interaction of sound and electricity to the brink of self-immolation, Areal balances his crunched textures with extended passages of radiant blooms of blurry noise and drone, finding common ground between the glassine density from Rhys Chatham and the splintered excursions of Kevin Drumm.
Schäfer posited Thought Provoking as a radical shift from his brutalist electronic engineering to a spatialized, open-ended composition based on the muffled tones from an ad hoc instrument he built from salvaged church organ pipes and hair dryers. The first presentation of this work took place in his home town of Graz, Austria in 2003; the second was a collaboration with violinist Elisabeth Gmeiner in Vienna two years later; and the third & final performance occurred in 2006 with percussionist Will Guthrie and Gmiener at the St. Andre Church where he first presented it in Graz. After Schäfer's death, Guthrie reconstituted the rehearsal takes from that performance for this recording of Thought Provoking III, attempting to re-imagine the controlled energy of those sessions with Schäfer's aesthetic framework at the forefront. The bellowing hums from Schäfer's organ pipe and hair dryer contraction ebb and flow amidst intermittent percussive flourishes, subtle gong overtones, sustained violin trills, and fizzling electronic mark-making. On the second track of this disc, long-time friend Zbigniew Karkowski presents a smoldering electro-acoustic remix of Thought Provoking III as a fitting tribute to Schäfer.
More information here.
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Artist: Psychic TV
Title: Paramartha
Catalogue No: CSR161CD
Barcode: 8 2356650712 3
Format: CD in jewelcase
Genre: Industrial / Ritual
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Recorded 22nd September 1984 at Pandora's Music Box, Rotterdam. Originally issued as two bootlegs in 1985 - 'Paramartha' and 'Unclean', now remastered and cleaned from the two, to create the full live show, not heard before it its entirety.
Participants: Genesis P-Orridge, Alex Fergusson, Paul 'Grimsby' Reeson and John 'Zos Kia' Gosling.
Tracks: 1. Southern Comfort | 2. Godstar | 3. Unclean | 4. Ov Power | 5. Alright | 6. Jungle
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Chartier's work is never something that could be considered "easy" to listen to, but the result is always a rich, rewarding experience. Recurrence, which is a project that was splintered off of one of his earliest works Series, follows this trend. It might be difficult at times, but he has consistently excelled in creating work that captures the intersection of music, visual art, architecture, and science, and again, Recurrence is no different.
Made up of two distinct, but related pieces, the 21 minute opener "Recurrence (Room/Crosstones)" is by far the more Spartan and minimalist of the two, even in relative terms.For most of its duration it is a repetitive, low-end hum that mostly maintains a consistent pitch, but the shape and dynamics exhibit subtle changes throughout, eventually transitioning into the higher registers of the sound spectrum.While it seems rather static overall, played on a decent sound system with good bass response results in a more physical, and captivating experience.
The other piece, "Recurrence (Series)," clocks in at 51 minutes, and while it is mostly constructed upon the same slowly evolving tonal throb, there is a significantly greater amount of development and variation to be had.This becomes apparent from the onset, where higher pitched, shimmering waves of sound expand outward, disrupted by the occasional reverberated click or pop that adds a bit of organic to the clinical sound manipulation.
Rather than emphasizing only tonal variations, Chartier includes passages of what resembles the amplified hum of everyday electronic gear, bits of white noise, and other unidentifiable textures.His use of these fragmented, but idiosyncratic sounds—like roaring waves of static into what sounds like a swarm of alien locusts—call to mind an approach to sound art similar to that of Robert Hampson, albeit with a more minimalist bent, and I mean that as serious compliment.
While Recurrence was intended as pieces for performance and multi-channel installation, they work quite well coming off of a CD through a standard home stereo system.Even in that comparatively basic environment, his use of tone and texture still creates a tangible sense of space that stretches far beyond audible perception.
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Reto Mäder is quite a prolific artist, from his solo work as RM74, with Steven Hess in Ural Umbo to his role in Pendulum Nisum. His more metal-influenced work as Sum of R (Mäder with guitarist Julia Wolf) has a relatively small discography, with this being his second full-length work other than a few self-released CDRs. Ride Out the Waves makes for a dense, psych tinged experiment that recalls some of the best moments of early Godflesh, juxtaposed with abstract free-form experimentation.
The opening "Growing Into Something Special" sets up the album perfectly:initially a slow ambient build and far-off rattling and crashes, it quite jarringly launches into sharp drums and detuned guitar riffs, paring that dissonant, murky space with steady, lurching chords and knife-like beats.
It is this combination of stiff, aggressive drum programming and grimy, sludgy guitar that make for the best moments of the album.The jerky stop/start structure and loud, ugly guitar of "In The Fields of Trust" work especially well, even though it comparatively makes for a more tame song.The same goes for "Echo," a foggy sludgefest that crawls along with a slow, menacing pace.
"Alarming" takes the same blunt approach, going right into pounding machine and guitar like old school Godflesh, channeling that same slow, depressing but not necessarily angry vibe.With the addition of shrill sine waves and an air-raid siren lifted right out of "War Pigs," it closes the album on an especially chaotic note.
Mixed between, however, is some less head-nodding, more beard stroking moments of experimentation and composition.The sparse piano, static, and understated guitar playing of "Mist of Tears" demonstrates that Sum of R are not afraid to step away from the riff and into more ambient territories.While "Captured Lightning" might come across as a bit dense, there is an almost progressive vibe to it, with more insinuated tension rather than outward aggression.
As the project's full length follow up to the 2008 self-titled album on Utech, Sum of R is developing a distinct identity amongst Mäder’s slew of side and solo projects.Capturing both dark, creepy atmospherics and aggressive, memorable guitar work, it nicely balances the formless and the structured, and works quite well as a fully realized album.
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Kang continues to show his range and vision as a composer and ensemble leader. Visible Breath is a startling album which takes many of the strands of 20th century composition and weaves them into new musical fabrics, far from imitation and full of innovation. His music hangs like a specter in the room, the notes either merging into each other like a ghost passing through a wall.
The first side of this LP is made up of recordings made in 2008. "Visible Breath" very much comes from the same stable as György Ligeti’s "Atmosphères" but with a more modern Spectralist leaning. Kang is a master of blending sounds together and much like the "Visible Breath" of the title, the notes linger for a moment before dissipating into the next. Stuart Dempster’s trombone comes out of the fog like a motorcycle, powering past but never glimpsed. The whole ensemble changes pitch simultaneously, giving the impression that my turntable is on its last legs (thankfully it’s not!). "Monadology" is starkly different to the first piece and sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock film if it was scored by Morton Feldman. The repetitions, slightly augmented in terms of each note’s length are delivered with sharp, definite precision compared to the gaseous forms of before.
The second side of Visible Breath is devoted to "Thick Tarragon," which is a far more recent recording relative to the previous two on the album and as different as the first two pieces are to each other. They both sound like a completely different composer compared to this. There were comfortable and familiar influences coming through the other two pieces but "Thick Tarragon" is entirely Kang’s own. Plucked strings and tremulous glassy sounds create something that feels centuries old in its rhythm but utterly contemporary in its tonal range.
Along with his new album for Ipecac Recordings (reviewed recently by our own Stephen Bush) and his recently reissued collaboration with Jessika Kenney (which I reviewed), this album highlights why Eyvind Kang is such an essential composer. His ability to straddle the gaps between contemporary composition, modern experimental approaches and something that is actually pleasant to listen to is unrivaled.
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Kang continues to show his range and vision as a composer and ensemble leader. Visible Breath is a startling album which takes many of the strands of 20th century composition and weaves them into new musical fabrics, far from imitation and full of innovation. His music hangs like a specter in the room, the notes either merging into each other like a ghost passing through a wall.
As the title suggests, this live album was recorded in London's current hot spot for weirdo music and finds the trio taking their work further into the inner recesses of free improvisation. As expected, given their track record as a group and as solo performers in their own rights, Café Oto/London swerves between danger and calm; safety and turmoil. Every adjective ever thrown at free jazz is applicable but, more often than not, inadequate.
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As the title suggests, this live album was recorded in London’s current hot spot for weirdo music and finds the trio taking their work further into the inner recesses of free improvisation. As expected, given their track record as a group and as solo performers in their own rights, Café Oto/London swerves between danger and calm; safety and turmoil. Every adjective ever thrown at free jazz is applicable but, more often than not, inadequate.
Each member of the group takes a turn leading the proceedings with Ken Vandermark firing the opening barrage on "Fragments for an Endgame." Immediately, I am drawn into the space between the saxophones and I feel like I am being kicked between the three of them like a ball. Their three distinct voices come through, each one taking a different attack on us listeners. However, from time to time the lines become blurred between the players. They seem to move in and out of phase with each other, forming a tight coil of sound before spinning apart again.
Mats Gustaffson takes up the baton with "(I Was Arranging Her) Arms." The title sounds like a line from J.G. Ballard’s Crash and it is easy to imagine this playing through the car radio as Dr. Vaughan positions himself and his female travelling companions into the poses of the car crash victims he studied. Violent and erotic, Sonore play with a fleshy quality that occasionally tenses into hard, unyielding muscle. They lumber, they threaten, and they swagger through the notes–I move out of the way rather than start something that I can’t finish. Even the distorted strands of "Happy Birthday" sound like a threat rather than a celebration.
On "Le Chien Perdu," Peter Brötzmann takes control of Sonore and opens up the music with a buzzsaw (or is it a saxophone, it is hard to tell sometimes). Once the organs and bare bones have been revealed, Brötzmann takes the group down a notch into a contemplative and introspective mode with only an intermittent flurry of frenetic activity to remind the listener that the skronk is still there, lurking. "Le Chien Perdu" erupts towards the end before giving way to "Oto" where all three members of Sonore go forward together into the stratosphere. One of the players sounds like he’s plucking a muted stringed instrument rather than a woodwind as the other two tear up the floor boards of Café Oto. The trio intensify their performance to a climax before finishing with a tender, warm melody completely at odds with the preceding thirty-odd minutes. Yet it resolves the performance perfectly, as menacing as Sonore got, they were nice guys all along.
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