JAZZKAMMER, "ROLEX"

Jazzkammer are the Norwegian duo Lasse Marhaug and John Hegre. Aftertwo albums they've opted to make the third a collection of remixes forthe Smalltown Supersound label. This means they have more time forsnowball fights or whatever it is they do to keep themselves amusedwhen they're not creating collages of glitch, noise, pop, static andthose little pasta stars that are good in soup. Although this is acollection of remixes, it holds together pretty well as an album takingin candle flicker glitchscapes from relatively unknown Norwegians, bigloping looping international laptop noise eruptions from Pita, ZbigniewKarkowski and Merzbow and some deep haunting ambience from FranciscoLÑpez and Reynols. The biggest name amongst mixers is Thurston Moore(didn't he used to play kazoo for the Butthole Surfers or something?)and after I picked up a great little free jazz freak out Schneiderremix of his from a bargain bin, I was curious to hear what he'd get upto here. He basically hacks up a lot of noise skree with cackhandedscratch attacks on jazz and disco cheese and the effect is like quicklytuning a radio dial whilst all the stations are broadcastingcompetitions for the worst DJ on the most fucked up turntable. Somepeople in very popular rock bands obviously don't take themselves asseriously as Radiohead, for which I'm grateful!
Most of this has the aura of Mego-like laptop feuds, and Pita of Megois present and incorrect. Sometimes Jazzkammer gets cranked up to fullon aural assault, at others it crackles away to itself in thebackground. Perhaps the most curious of the Norwegian tracks is thesilly 'I Hate Cars (Super Chicken Floppy Willy in a PPP Swimsuit)' fromMaja S.K. Ratkje during which she splices up maniacal laughter withgrinding soundcard flotsam and rapid peak and trough tough noise edits.It rises to a succinctly effective crescendo that puts the more wellknown noiseniks in the shade.
Latterly TV Pow slowly builds up subtle eerie drones under a canopy ofgrasshopper leg crackle, until suddenly the hum shifts to theforeground. JÀrgen Traeen changes the mood with a rapid cut up'Dupermix' which stutters and splurts like clipped mute firecrackers.
Two tracks stand out a mile from the rest. The closing epic of slowseeping high tones and stretched glitch pitches from Francisco LÑpez isthe most involving, evolving and enjoyable thing I've heard from him,and if there aren't recordings of icey winds howling on this then itreally is even more uncanny in its glacial eeriness. The similarlyreflective deep droner from Argentinian trio Reynols is beautifullyassured enough to have me keeping an ear out for them in future.Towards the end of it some indecipherable vocal noises are prettyunsettling, sounding like some struggling lost soul trapped in themachine.

 

samples:

• I Don't Want it to Go That Far (Jazzkammer)
• Freemix Norwave (Thurston Moore)
• I Hate Cars (Maja Sk Ratkje)