Kitchen Motors
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.
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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.
I am a sucker for evil primitive psychedelic sludge. This obscure NorthCarolina crew is banking on the fact that there will be one of me bornevery minute to buy their records. Anchored steadfast in the darkerregisters of sound and philosophies, this band makes a lot from alittle, suctioning tribal rhythms and fierce winds through statickyburlap. This is unintended ghost voice recordings type of stuff—lots ofreversed sounds for the backmasking fans out there. Manybands/musicians out there could take a lesson in heavy atmosphere fromthese guys. If you are looking for points of reference, I'd saysomewhere between Gravitar and early scary Current 93 (sans vocals).They do have a unique sound, though, and an impressive range over the14 tracks on this CD. My only complaint is that some of the bestmusical ideas are cut short - I would love to see them expanded live.
This is the first Mego release which my ears have considered completelypointless. Pure are undeniably technically adept, but these eighttracks—mixed together in a nearly one hour long flow—build up nothingmore than a meaningless sinister ambience. 'Noonbugs' is a kind ofmicro glitch-meets-some-suffering-jazz-influenced crossover attempt butthere's nothing exciting about it, nor does it leave any impressionafter the CD is finished. The tracks take a long time for littledevelopment, and the use of voices in "Ivan" or the surprisinglystraight drift of "Flew" are sparse highlights which aren't rewardingenough for sitting patiently through the other seemingly endlesstracks. Pure stay clearly out of their possibilities and have presenteda perfectionist's work which seems to have lost all emotion duringproduction.
Jaga Jazzist are somewhat of a Norwegian supergroup: a ten-pieceensemble of several multi-instrumentalists including drums andpercussion, guitar, bass, keyboards, horns, woodwinds and tuba, withmembers from Röyksopp, Motorpsycho, Jazzkammer and BigBang. They manageto beautifully combine both modern and progressive jazz with rock andelectronic music for some awe-inspiring compositions. The disc'sopener, "Animal Chin," is a busy blend of live drum 'n bass rhythmswith long-lined Wurlitzer and sax ostinatos under some cool,multi-layered woodwind arrangements that sound like Roni Size jammingwith Oliver Nelson. "Going Down" is driven by some busy, yet subtlejazzy drumming and low-end pedals while some doubled up sax and organlines weave through angular acoustic guitar progressions and space agebachelor pad-type synth and flute flourishes. "Airborne" would be thetune that had me hitting the back button on several listens, not onlyfor its inherent coolness but also for its multiple layers in whichsomething new is heard each time. The tune opens as a tender ballad,with shimmering keyboards and a melodic bass clarinette, graduallybuilding to a scratchy electronic rhythm with upright bass and flutesadding tension until it blasts off into a full-on orchestral climax,complete with wailing sax solo and stabbing strings. "Lithuania" movesfrom a laid back rhythm section, vibes, twangy guitar and severalongoing melodies from the horns and woodwinds to a kicking, double-timesamba feel that lets the orchestration and arrangements really shine.This disc grabbed me right from the first listen with its strongcompositions and unique sound and is yet to let go. The best comparisonin its direction would be in line with what the Cinematic Orchestra aredoing, but on a much broader and larger scale. That in mind, Ninja Tune(the Cinematics label) are set to release this disc which should makeit a little easier to find, even with a different cover. With the yearend fast approaching I'm glad to state that this disc has made my topten.
