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Painting a picturesque landscape using nothing but melody and ingenuity has long been at the epicenter of avant pursuits. Lustrous locks of tonal notes floating in the breeze as each counterpart unfurls, becoming sinewy strings of texture set against a golden background. It is among such a romantic setting that the works of Fabio Orsi glimmer, catching the sun’s rays and beaming it back to the world as beautifully constructed song paintings. On his latest, Random Shades of Day, Orsi continues to emerge as a master of transforming music into mood through four pieces of richly layered drone set against a dreamy landscape.
Random Shades of Day is no small feat. Surrounded by two discs of out of print and unreleased material, it rewards those patient enough to absorb the older works of Orsi. The deep catalog of Orsi releases is barely touched on Random Shades of Day but the older (but just as touching) music proves as the perfect accompaniment to the new. Following Orsi’s subtle progression, Random Shades of Day allows the unfamiliar plenty of chances to understand Orsi’s point of view.
However, Random Shades of Day is dominated by the four new recordings of the same name that adroitly mimic the atmosphere at various stages of a typical day. Each part of "Random Shades of Day" builds upon its predecessor. Part I is a slow grind as the sun peaks over the horizon, as shifts in tone methodically seesaw through bursts of electronic rays. The consonance bleeds into Part II as the sun reaches its apex. The melody turns heavy as the sun parades across the sky, drenching everything in ultraviolet light and heavy humidity. The same droning keys and meditative effects push and pull throughout the first half Random Shades of Day, illuminating Orsi’s true-to-title vision as it metastasizes into art. As the sun begins to set near the end of Part II, the minor keys take over and the rhythm speeds up. The track becomes translucent; the layers are being peeled back as the song blossoms into the expanses of dusk. The effects and electronics swirl together like the oranges, yellows, and reds of the evening sky.
The back half begins coldly as the chill of the moon replaces the warmth of the sun as the album’s warmer tones are devoured by windy chords and ominous tones. Random Shades of Day turns bleak as midnight approaches, calling to the supernatural in its stealthy approach. Part III slows to a crawling pace, capturing the slumbering state. The real becomes ethereal and the day’s images are corrupted into nightmarish imagery. It isn’t until Part IV that the spell is broken and a peaceful rest settles on Orsi.
Random Shades of Day is another strong piece in the voluminous canon of Fabio Orsi. Yet paired with older work, it only grows in power and prestige. Orsi has come a long way and Random Shades of Day puts his meteoric trajectory on full (and magnificent) display.
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Black Sun Productions
While the album’s tracks are titled, recorded and programmed on CD aseight different pieces Visions Ov Anarcadia is best enjoyed in onesitting as a single flowing voyage. Although it’s not really until suchand such minutes in on “Somethings Valley” (also known as track three)that the album title really begins to make sense.
The song’s combination of controlled lushness, lengthy processed pipemelody and the creation of an expansive area brings to mind vividmental pictures of open spaces. This bare melody comes in waves,undulating almost like its being blown across hills that aren’t there.It’s the sensation of movement here from the warm techno core that gives the impression of travelling throughAnarcadia without moving. But with this is an icy sliver of sadness inthe realization that Anarcadia doesn’t really exist, at least on thisphysical plane.
From there the album explores quietly clattering Coil prayer menacewith “Mount Coum,” and wanders fog-bound along the distantly murkyshorelines of “Cape Cock,” whose highlight is a sinister baroque gothictheme which rises only once from the song’s depths like Kubrick’smonolith. A heartbeat and “Ov Arc”s wavering moan of breath-like soundleads slowly into the tribalistic and surprisingly powerful technofinale of “Mount Smegma,” which drives as much for the head as thefloor. This album’s combination of innocence, darkness, sadness andexploration is further proof of the Black Sun stamp as a mark ofquality in an unreliable but predictable musical climate.
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Planet Mu
Merciless and astounding, Degenerate is a shock to theproverbial system, a savage hate crime against the softened eardrums ofwimpy dance rock hipsters and trendy techno fashionistas. The duobehind Vex'd conjure up an unflinching and bleak industrial vision ofelectronic music, the likes of which havent been seen since Scorn's Greetings from Birmingham.The solitary opening bleeps of "Pop Pop V.I.P." resurrect the elatedtones of Sweet Exorcist's pathbreaking classic "Testone" beforeerupting into a grisly cacophony of neck-snapping snares andstomach-churning rumbles. "Thunder" slashes the tempo right in half,leaving only an eviscerated aural carcass. The twisted uptempo rhythmsreturn on "Angels," a sub-bass monster specked with a particularlyghastly film sample. This dancefloor-accessible style of low-endworship dominates the album, from the dubby inflections of "Venus" and"Fire" to the unstoppable breakbeat monoliths of "Gunman" and "LionV.I.P." A notable deviation from this effective formula comes on "Cold"with its distant strings and gurgling, groaning synthy squelches,presenting an atmospheric, more pensive and, atypically, beatlessversion of the now undeniable Vex'd sound. As if an entire album ofsuch power weren't enough, Planet Mu thankfully includes a second discof bonus tracks culled largely from previously released 12" records.The original version of "Lion," a highlight among this shorter set,digs a distorted bleepy melody out of the crates that might tantalizeformer ravers longing for the sounds of forgotten warehouse parties.
To approach Degenerate as the product or even arelative of the U.K. dubstep/sublow/grime scenes would do it an immenseinjustice, as Vex'd truly have compiled a peerless document that speaksto our grim, chaotic, blood-drenched world without hardly saying aword.
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Forgive my cliché use of a metaphor, but I somehow feel that when I listen to this disc, I'm looking at a fairly decorative car that simply doesn't go anywhere. Spaceheads have been churning out this same formula for years: a dubby pretense, a small amount of recycled and reused, two-bar repetitive sequences, some live drum playing and trumpet with loads of delay effects. The formula's getting old. While their music is undoubtedly pleasant enough for an escalator ride, and the band has earned a wide amount of respect as a performing duo, I've never felt their music was compelling enough to simply toss on the hi-fi and either bop along or pay much attention to. The rhythms and melodies exit the song in the same way each and every one of them came in, and the only lead instrument, the trumpet, does a lackluster job as tour guide. By the time this album reaches the fifth track, I swear I'm hearing remixes of the same song, over and over again. If it weren't for the insulting guitar riff on "Fog," or the horrible, tacky electronic drum fills and cheap 1993 Aphex Twin-ripoff on "Storm Force 8," I may have recommend using this music for quiet studies, creative writing, or other mentally requiring activities. Instead, I'm left thinking this album's only practical use could be to underscore a stuffy documentary on the British Rail system or a trip to the paper mill. Maybe lots of drugs might help my experience, but I just don't have enough cash to try that out right now.
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The debut solo album by Aidan Moffat, one half of Glaswegian duo Arab Strap, was born out of insomnia. Unable to tolerate most "chill-out" music, Moffat assembled pieces from sounds he found to be conducive to sleep. The result is a record luxurious in sound, yet straightforward in construction. 'Hypnogogia' is surprisingly diverse for an album intended to induce sleep. Both "Angels on Your Body" and "Shatterproof" are sultry mixes of sensuously melancholy strings and slow, bassy beats. Meanwhile, "Nurse Flamingo", with its bizarre, charming silliness, sounds as if it would be right at home in a Terry Gilliam film. The pieces run the gamut from exotic, tribal vocals to opera samples over echoey piano notes. Moffat meticulously compiled the track order so that each side of the vinyl version of the album allowed the listener to relax gradually and then drift off to sleep at the end. "The Heart of All That Is" and "Bedwomb", tracks five and ten on the CD (the last tracks on either side of the vinyl version) have the ability to leave the listener in an oneiric suspension between wakefulness and unconsciousness. The man behind Lucky Pierre has surely succeeded in his mission, as I sit here listening to the album come to a close, with my eyelids fluttering, feeling the magnetic lure of my down comforter.
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As a listener, one of the more celebrated things about some prolific independent artists gaining more deserved recognition would be the availability of previous material that may have originally been issued in limited quantities, or else did not have as wide a distribution as present. Formerly released as a three-track twelve inch EP limited to 1,000 copies, the Scott Herren project of Delarosa + Asora's 'Crush the Sight-Seers' has recently materialized on CD through Chicago's Hefty Records, home to Herren's Savath + Savalas. In keeping with the added value of some reissues, a bonus track has been included. The recurring distorted keyboard chatters and metallic percussion sample of the opening track "OSSABAW" blends into a sub-bass progression and laid-back, half-time groove with the odd break to mark off sections of the tune. The two-and-a-half minute "OSS.BW" is a multi-layered piece of eerie drones, synth squelches and chimes that could be the equivalent of sound painting through channel surfing at a mixing console. "Airbrush (clogged)" builds from distorted vocal snippets and reverbed static to a cordial bass line and mid-tempo electro-percussion groove with a gradually building back beat. Eventually it all falls away leaving the distant sounds of distorted keyboards and squelchy tape shuttling. "Vs. Boah" skitters from static pops, sound layers and vocal samples to a dark sounding danceable groove which builds in intensity after each lengthy break. A shift in the key signature makes from a great release from all the tension the track builds. Dropping out just shy of the five minute mark for two-and-a-half minutes of silence, the music returns with an echo to the drones and hisses of "OSS.BW" to close off. While this disc may be an acquired taste as it's not as groove-oriented or melodically friendly as other Scott Herren projects, I'd have to say that it still makes for a great listen for just those reasons too. As mentioned in the liner notes, another good thing about CD reissues of unmarked RPM vinyl is hearing the tunes at the speed they were intended to be played at without any doubt.
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A perfect assemblage of absurd clichés has been collected here by Organum's David Jackman. The cover and title both suggest something of both the dark and sinister mindsets: 'Verhalte Dich Ruhig' translates to English literally as 'Keep yourself calm,' but more aggressively could be referred to as 'Duck and cover'. The picture, on the other hand, may have been taken in an abandoned concentration camp or some completely harmless old house in Germany, but you'll never know for sure.
The old tactics of anti-information are omnipresent here: artist, title, catalogue number, label name and that's it. Everything else is grey aside from the picture (which gets repeated in the inlet once more in case you've accidently spilt your cup of coffee or your young niece made it look nicer with the addition of crayon-drawn flowers). Unsurprisingly, the disc is limited and the total playing time (of just about 30 minutes) is properly split in two parts of equal length. (This could have been perfect for a multi-color 10" vinyl release, but the value-for-money question arises once more. But is it only the length that counts?) At first I thought the music was some fooling around with neo-classical recordings but after listening more closely, I'm pretty sure it's taken completely of some of Hollywood's Golden Era. Perhaps it could be Alfred Hitchcock, perhaps something completely different - I can't tell exactly. All the kitsch, the pathetic over-emotional glory, drama and the unreal passion is displayed for the sake of entertainment and it actually works as a quite comforting soundtrack to various daily duties as any good pop music should do. The same music packed in some nice baby pink and light blue artwork with some lighthearted design of 1940's girls or movie scenario would have made more sense. However, this is probably his special sense of humor which isn't meant to reach everyone at first, or, as I said above, he just wants to point his finger on the current avant-garde cliché and have a laugh on his own.
 
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Some bands like a little variety on their releases. They don't mind if one song on the album sounds like a different band than the one before or after it. They don't even mind if every song sounds like a different band. Other bands use different albums or EPs to try out different concepts. In the case of Arco Flute Foundation, the members started another band entirely to put out this music. Arco Flute Foundation is the same principals who are in Meisha, but recording as such because the music is that much removed from their former selves. Meisha are languid, slight, and melodic with a subdued energy, recording instrumentals that are lush and captivating. Arco Flute Foundation, on the other hand, is more interested in loud, boisterous, loose instrumental rock. 'Everything After' is their third release on Cenotaph, and it is their most adventurous yet. More electronics, more Slint-like guitar antics, more distortion, and more ambient noise appear on these songs than have in the past. These passages are still unfocused and raw, however, with the band members seemingly exploring the space around them with these compositions. There are two tracks under the four-minute mark that seem to be the more structured songs (more accessible?), but beyond that the Foundation just let it bleed, adding and subtracting elements as the song progresses, trying to find their happy hunting ground. Honestly, it has some very interesting elements, but the two shorter songs are the best tracks solely because of their structure. The album's closer, "Seymour Uncle Billy," approaches what seems like the true sound of the band, a balance between the structure and improvisation, between the noise and the music. Now that they seem to have all of the instruments and sounds they want to explore, that should be the next area to perfect. Which means the next Arco Flute Foundation release could be a fine one, indeed.
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The prospect of new material from Mick Harris's project mightn't get hearts racing as it would have done a few years ago, but this EP of four mixes from 'Plan-B,' and two exclusive tracks show a real return to form. Whenever I hear a new Scorn release, I always hope he'll have added some new twist or surprise, and for once he's showing some interest in moving away from his established style.Hymen
The dub influences have been slowly edged out since his move to Hymen Records, leaving just the the slow-motion, lumbering hip-hop beats and abstract bass rumbles. Thankfully though, he hasn't lost his knack for getting your head pounding, and as the first few crunchy beats of "Hedrake" lurched into existence, I stopped caring whether he has re-invented himself; okay, it's nothing he hasn't done a thousand times before, but after years of honing his approach, he's getting it down to a fine art. His ultra-minimal, stripped-down sound gets a little drab on two of the 'beat mix' remixes, being little more than mildly engaging drum tracks and looped fragments. It's the remaining three tracks on 'Governor,' though, which elevate it above his recent work. The more abstract, masterful "Collections" focuses more on the eerie texture and unsettling ambience. The added dimension makes a world of difference, and more of this standard would see him re-established as the master of this genre.
The closing two remixes are entirely un-Scorn-like, and are a real breath of fresh air, with a marked move away from the pounding beats towards a fresh, less immediate exploraion of eerie abstractions. The first is a brief, looped and stretched piano loop, while the second is a superb, energetic Somatic Responses mix of "The Snow Hill." Each confirm that future Scorn releases are something to get excited about again.
 
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The concept is interesting for a compilation to say the least: three bands recording songs that are influenced by or created under the influence of alcohol. It could be an absolute disaster, but here it works quite nicely. Then again, the artists featured here are no slouches (even though they may be out of their element a bit).Silber
Remora, a.k.a. Brian John Mitchell, usually creates ambient drone-rock, but chose an acoustic guitar as a starting point for his contributions. Jon DeRosa used to present more experimental fare with Aarktica, but his Pale Horse and Rider—making a recording debut here—has a more country flavor with that modern troubadour appeal. And what more can I say about Rivulets? Nathan Amundson, fresh from his full-length debut and EP, adds the longest tracks here with aplomb. The results of these three different projects are quite stunning as well as incredibly maudlin in nature. DeRosa is a fresh voice with heartbreak on his mind, and his songs are incredibly affecting. On "Bruises Like Badges," he explores the mindset of the casual victim who thrives on the attention of others, as his voice trembles and begs for her to hide the conversation pieces from him. The seven-minute "You've Been Keeping Secrets Again" is the best of the lot, with DeRosa providing his own haunting harmony. Remora's songs are less polished than the others, and far more eclectic, though still solid. They're also the spookiest, as the titles would suggest ("Oblivion," "Hope is Gone"). On "Joy Division," he approaches madness: "We both know I always wanted you forever / I don't want to put a rope to my throat / but I'm listening to Joy Division." Scary. Rivulets just add more reasons for accolades to the set, with simple songs that are far beyond the length my tolerance affords other artists. Amundson never loses you, as his earnest tunes have an inescapable gravity with every guitar strum. He seems to be growing more comfortable with his voice, too, even if the vocals are mixed way in the background. The climax on "Anaconda" with its "I knew you would leave" is especially touching. And there are a few missteps all around (Amundson misses more than one note on "Gimme Excess," for instance). The simple charm of the release gets you over that real quick. Just don't listen too long, as it's liable to depress you.
 
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- Remora - Joy Division
- Pale Horse and Rider - Bruises Like Badges
- Rivulets - Anaconda
 
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I love the way CDs are programmable. For instance, I can take a disc like this one, with a strong opening, "Clear a Space for the King," which conjurs up space aliens grooving on a flashy dancefloor and listen along with the calm and pretty "Sprinkling Time," completely avoiding songs like "Transylvanian Spy" with its irritating, tinny two-bar melodies and "Lonely Stars" with its obnoxious fake piano riff that makes me want to throw things across the room. Reading the song titles, the record label's web site, and the distributor's release notes, each account for this album almost completely contradicts the others: ranging from a fascination with science fiction to the imitation of stomach and digestive sounds to references of musique concrête. While most of the music here is decent, I can't justify it receiving as much over-evaluation. Clearly, the one-man person behind Wang Inc., Italian Bartolomeo Sailer, is a talented individual, with a meticulous amount of attention paid to every instrument sound in each of the fifteen tracks. Rarely are sounds recycled from track to track. Comical punchiness on tracks like "Sonic Killer" would appease many Sonig fans while "Forgotten Kurdish Workers" can easily appeal to any lover of the spaceship hum from a black and white film. A little more patience with the melodies and a lot more discretion when deciding what to omit might be nicer, however.
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