Plenty of new music to be had this week from Laetitia Sadier and Storefront Church, Six Organs of Admittance, Able Noise, Yui Onodera, SML, Clinic Stars, Austyn Wohlers, Build Buildings, Zelienople, and Lea Thomas, plus some older tunes by Farah, Guy Blakeslee, Jessica Bailiff, and Richard H. Kirk.
Lake in Girdwood, Alaska by Johnny.
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Rotoscope are a 6 piece group that share a producer and members withthe acclaimed Norwegian jazz collective Jaga Jazzist. Theirinstrumentation includes electronics, keyboards, saxophones, clarinets,guitar, bass, drums, percussion and vibraphone, but it's the productionthat may very well be the most important component. Original recordingshave obviously been obliterated, mangled or enhanced by cut and pasteediting, the end result being 10 tracks that balance jazz, pop andelectronica in widely varying degrees. "Press Stop", "The Bogota Sub"and "Noiserok Orkesterissa" contain the most manic juxtapositions andjams of spliced audio/vocal bits and jazzy drum 'n bass rhythms. Buteven within these 3 there are melodic counterpoints or moments of calmto be found and, often, vice versa within the other tracks. ChristineSantorv's girlish, somewhat intentionally strained vocals (in English)help give about half of the disc a soft and sweet feminine quality."All That You Owned (Remix)" places her words amidst seemingly randomglitch crackles, piano notes and bass surges. "Pink Soda", "CarpetIllusions" and "Traveller" are pleasant and perhaps the most 'pop' dueto the vocals and subdued acoustic guitar, wind and keyboard melodies."Watercooler" and "Divide And Dissolve" are experimentally mindedsoundscapes while "Cooks Whip, Music Goes On" is a nice stroll throughthe park as solo saxophone, vibes and bass glide over an electronicallytreated beat. "Great Curves" is a rather schizophrenic album but itreally works. There's something for everyone. Up next is 3 new vocalsongs to be released as the "Exclusively For Everyone EP No. 1" onJester ...
Origami Galaktika are the most active 'unit' of several dozen under theOrigami Republika umbrella, an "open cultural network with 170+ agentsoperating in 18 countries on 4 continents" with origins in Norway (seehttp://kunst.no/origami/ for further information). This double CDremasters and reissues 2 of their ambient/loop albums from 1994 and1996. Six vivid paintings in the insert by Cicille RisÎsen complete thepackage. "Stjernevandring" is 2 tracks at about half an hour apiece.The lapping ocean waves and cold, dark and dense droning undertow ofthe title track become fully immersive within a few minutes. I amliterally sitting on a sound in Norway in the dead of winter and middleof the night watching a relatively calm sea break upon the moorings.Nautical bells appear and by mid track the waves disappear - but theyalways remain subconsciously - then reappear during a simple but spooky8 note melody loop. None of the other tracks has such a distinctaudible tie to nature but each evokes a certain feeling (which is all Ihave to go on really since I'm unable to translate the Norwegian andEstonian titles). "MÎnedans" is next and the feeling is one ofascension and reflection. We steadily climb upwards through the clouds,a constant soft drone being the guiding light. By the 14th minuteelectronics swirl in then settle into their own respective glide path.A few lone notes near the very end seem to deliver a favorable finaljudgment. Beautiful. Disc 2 is "Eesti Lilled Silmad SÙda" and it has 4tracks in the 10 to 17 minute range. It's just as good if not betterwith another palette of relaxing sounds: graceful, emotive drones andfaint hums, scrapes and rattles, sample loops of what sounds like atrain over tracks, a woman reciting text in a foreign tongue, the quietpitter patter of hand drums, rain stick and some ritualistic vocalmoaning. There is no hurry to get anywhere and that's fine by me. Infact, every one of these tracks could be the length of an entire disc,no problem. These albums are quickly becoming some of my favoriterecent ambient works, along with Stars of the Lid "Gravitational Pullvs. the Desire for an Aquatic Life" and Zammuto "Solutiore of Stareau".
Taking a stopgap between full-length albums, Pram deliver a nine-trackEP featuring some new stuff, an old tune and some mixing going on. Thedisc opens with the insanely frisky "Mother of Pearl," which ironicallywas my fave pic from last year's 'Museum of Imaginary Animals'long-player. The three new songs which follow are notably moreadventurous than the cuts on the album, incorporating much more of aimprovisational feel, even with the pop song "Monkey Puzzle" and thesurrealistic dreamery of "Clock Without Hands" which could easily echosome of Legendary Pink Dots' most carnival-esque moments. The EP isrounded out with five remixes, thankfully all of different songs and bydifferent remixers. Hint to groups: do stuff like this if you can - tenremixes of the same song on one single gets embarassingly dull. Guestknob-twiddlers include Plone (whose remixes always sound awesomedespite their albums sounding like bad 14-yr old musicians demos), AndyVotel, Sam Jones, Terry:Funken, and Sir Real. While I have admired Pramfor years, I have to confess that I can't always make it through acomplete album, but with the mix-up of styles presented here by thevarious DJs and friends I'm quite satisfied. Old fans might scoff atremixes but I'm confident these are tasteful enough to avoid pissingoff the purists and inviting enough to attract new friends.
The first Bows album, "Blush" surfaced in 1999 — a collective ofmusicians and singers helmed by former Long Fin Killiemulti-instrumentalist Luke Sutherland. This year's swirly, well-craftedfollow-up once again showcases a diverse ensemble of talented musiciansand singers, resulting in a lush, oneiric symphony. Sutherland, who hasjust completed his second novel, is as masterful as ever with hisunabashedly poetic lyrics, beautifully worded even when the imagery isat its most violent. "Cuban Welterweight Rumbles Hidden Hitmen" is aperfect example: stripped down to nothing more than a gauzy guitar andDanish singer Signe HÀirup Wille-JÀrgensen's airy vocals while thelyrics honey-coat a melancholy tale of a boxer's run-in with a gang ofthugs. Ruth Emond's voice on other songs like, "Wonderland," provides aremarkable contrast as her style is deep, dark and breathy. Sutherlandis doubtless at his most versatile on Cassidy. His own delicate vocalsfeature prominently on several tracks, as does his guitar, piano andviolin playing (which also received some exposure recently on his stinttouring with fellow countrymen Mogwai). Credits on the songs "Uniroyal"and "Luftsang" list Sutherland's instruments among others as "gizmo"and "machines." In constrast to Bows' previous effort, 'Cassidy'abounds with more live instrumentation, but lacks much of the drum 'n'bass hooks of 'Blush' (and their presence is somewhat bemoaned by thisreviewer). Sutherland has truly demonstrated maturity and progression,a graduation from the realm of 90s trip hop.
There are two types of people that will buy this 2-disc set: those who have every single release Godflesh has ever thought about putting out and those who don't have any Godflesh at all. The first disc, subtitled 'flesh of god', is a best-of collection (not my personal favorites, but hey, what can you do?) the 'Slavestate' and 'Pure' album tracks are remastered by Justin Broadrick, but otherwise the first disc's tracks are just selected album tracks from their first album (1988's "Godflesh") to their most recent (2000's "Us & Them").
Earache
The second disc, subtitled 'beyond the flesh' is the real treat and the real draw for fans, as it consists entirely of rare, out of print, compilation and exlusive tracks. As good as these tracks are, the disc is lacking: 2 BBC Peel Session tracks are missing, some mixes aren't as clear as they could be, and track selection isn't anything to write home about. Although I am disappointed in the track selection, it is varied; 1988's 'Love is a Dog from Hell', several new mixes of recent material, and compilation appearances, including the very unusual, very mellow "Empyreal 2". The album's liner notes are a short retelling of the band's history that does go through the beginnings of the band from Fall Of Because, Head Of David and Napalm Death, but doesn't give a lot of insight into the music itself, and includes an abbreviated discography. If you haven't heard any Godflesh at all and want to hear the evolution of Godflesh's sound over the years without picking up all the releases, or if you're a fan who wants the 2nd disc's exclusive material, this set is for you. If you're just a casual fan, you might be better off with a proper Godflesh album.
Justin Brodrick has obviously been busy reinventing his aggressive side(anybody who's half of Godflesh are legally obliged to have aggressivetendencies), with the collaborative singles "Dead Man's Curse" (withAnti-Pop Consortian, Roger Robinson) and "Megaton" (with Dälek) overthe last year. Along with partner Kevin Martin, the duo's 'Brotherhood'is an all-out sound war, with heavily distorted beats andearthquake-influenced bass frequencies. The sound is thick and chunkylike some of the best Panacea ball-crushing bass sounds and never flatenough to be birthed from a laptop. Fans of the ambient deathscapesfrom 1995's 'Re-Entry' or the collaborations with Alec Empire andPorter Ricks should probably exercise caution before picking this oneup, as it picks up more from where the ICE (collaboation with El-P)album 'Bad Blood' left off. As far as Techno Animal proper records,picture 'Radio Hades' with an exponentially increased intensity. Guestrap from El-P, Dälek, and members of Anti-Pop Consortium vocalize therage but thankfully don't detract any vigor from the music nor litterevery track on the disc. Elements from Techno Animal's dub affinityshine through in some of the more instrumental tracks on the disc butfor the most part, this is one fierce fucking beast.
Frankie Sparo toured with A Silver Mt. Zion throughout Canada andEurope as an opening artist following the release of last year's "MyRed Scare" album. During his performances, he was accompanied byThierry, Sophie, Jessica, and Ian of the Silver Mt. Zion live band.This EP, which acts as a document of Sparo's performances during thetour, was performed live in session at VPRO Radio. The first threesongs are new arrangements of tracks from the "Red Scare" album."Diminish Me NYC" opens the CD; this new version features the additionof minimal electronics and violin that emphasize Sparo'smore-tattered-than-usual voice. "The Night That We Stayed In" is madedarker by the addition of Thierry's double bass and a pair of violinlines. The addition of tremolo violins gives a soundtrack feel as well."Here Comes the Future" features reworked drums and the addition ofelectronics and violins, which make it a much fuller composition.However, there's a drum machine clap noise that appears several timesthat sounds a bit out of place. The EP ends with a stripped down coverof the Rolling Stones' "I Am Waiting," performed solely by Frankie andhis guitar. I really hope this is a sign of things to come, because theguests on this recording add a lot to Frankie Sparo's already amazingsongs.
Detention is the improvisational duo of guitarist Sam Shalabi (ofShalabi Effect) and drummer Alexander MacSween. Normally Mr. Shalabi'simprov recordings are quite beautiful in their energy, but this onefalls flat. There are 8 tracks to the album, each with two names (I'mguessing Sam and Alex each gave the songs their own titles). After thefirst track ("Yehudi Messerschmidt / Ground)," the album is almost nolonger interesting. The two musicians do not play off of each otherwell enough to keep the music interesting, partially because of thesmall size of the band. To make matters worse, the music becomes verysloppy in places, especially on "Slow Dance / Shey," where it feelslike the band is just warming up before the rest of the quartet showsup. The album peaks with the sixth track, "Big Thighs / Ginger," whereboth musicians seem to finally be in touch with each other for a fewmoments. However, with the last two songs, the music loses all meaningand the album simply seems to die. If you want to hear Sam Shalabiimprovise and shine, I suggest you check out the Kristian / Shalabi /Saint-Onge album from earlier this year.
Have you ever had a longing that could not be satisfied? Not thelonging for a beer or a pint of ice cream, mind you, but an intenselonging of such emotional stakes that you weren't sure you couldsurvive if the need wasn't satisfied? Believe me: maya shore knows howyou feel. "farewell to introductions," in fact, is like an homage tointense desire. Never have I heard a band that could so easily -- or soit seems -- capture the exact soundtrack of plaintive longing. It's allvery spine-tingling and wonderful, like the first time Glenn Miller'swife heard his trademark sound and she reached back to feel the hairson her neck standing up. Singing appears sparingly, and on tracks whereit is used, it's almost a secondary instrument; but the guitar gloryKelly Chambers exhibits with its melodic and harmonic beauty ensuresthat you won't miss the lyrics so much when they aren't there to guideyou. dj suede also adds texture to the proceedings with fieldrecordings and well-placed atmospherics and recording/mic techniquesthat serve the music well. This band is very tight, and they makebeautiful music together. Where the songs may have the same generalfeeling of longing hanging over their heads, the are different insound, feel, and tempo enough so that the listener is never bored. Iwas driving down Highway 1 listening to this CD and right at a gorgeousguitar passage on the second track, "july eleventh nineteenninety-seven," the sun shot through the trees. I will remember that foryears to come. This release, if you're not careful, can almost be tooaffecting for its own good and yours. But trust me: maya shore are aband that will only get better, and "farewell to introductions" is anexcellent first effort. Aren't you longing to hear it now?
this week, i'm reviewing two bands from music fellowship, both playpassionate music, and both use only lowercase letters in their bandname and album titles. i am almost convinced it is a label thing, asother releases i've seen on music fellowship use the same standards. Atany rate, landing is a hypnotic four piece with a great love of delayeffects on guitars, distortion and lovely interplay betweenmale/female-sung vocals. "circuit" is their first proper album, aftertwo EPs, one of which, "centrefuge," was released on Music Fellowshipearlier this year. Those of us who heard "centrefuge" liked it, but Isuppose were expecting more on "circuit" in terms of musicaldevelopment. Since "centrefuge" seemed more like an EP than an album,maybe we were expecting an expansion of theme, or an extension of themajor tenets of the landing theory on music. I must say "circuit" is afine release if you've never heard landing. However, it seems to trodon some of the same ground present on "centrefuge." When I say thisband loves delayed guitars, I mean they LOVE delayed guitars: they'represent on almost every track. It almost gets to the point where thelistener is tired of that effect, and would like to hear another, butit never picks up enough to get there, even. I liked the music, but Ialways felt like it was moving towards something it never achieved.landing are a band to watch, as "centrefuge" and "circuit" show, butI'd like to hear a variation in the feel and sound of the music. Thesetracks blend beautifully together, almost too much so. Still worth aconcentrated and heartfelt listen.
Imagine you're stranded on a rooftop in the middle of a city with cloudy skies above and nowhere to go. Cars buzz past on their way to nowhere in particular and as the day slowly passes, their exhaust fumes fill the air. Time goes by but you know it's an illusion. The world is moving but you're still waiting, watching. This is the feeling imparted by this follow up to Symptoms' rather more varied and up beat self titled debut.Danish sonic explorer Klaus Amitzboll has augmented his one guitar one computer set up with interspersed traffic sounds and this time lets the music unfurl slowly in a suite of deep bass moods coloured predominantly grey. Where Symptoms' first album often relied on a beat backbone is a much more stripped down and atmospheric affair, and consequently the guitar source seems more apparant. Mixed with help from his brother Fred Amitzboll of the excellent machine rock trio Silo, this is otherwise one man's paen to the deadening effect of city living. Two guitar lines, one distorted and one clean, unfurl and cut through a fog of familar doppler shifts of engines forming the forlornly reflective 'Asphalt Mirror'. Eventually a refracting bass line emerges but is soon replaced by held keyboard drone chords. The guitar lines seem to get attenuated and flap ever more morosely in the breeze. The recurring engines seem to suggest a dwarfing, as if the music is being consumed by the city that it's soundtracking, and merging with it. A couple of tracks a are little more than short linking pieces, cars blurring past skeletal loop shadows. 'Stale Air on a City Morning' could be compared to Swim records benefactors Immersion, but where Immersion's 'Low Impact' was warm, Symptoms hum with an ominous and forlorn atmosphere. A momentum builds up gradually but the journey just seems to lead back to the place it started. 'Mute Noise of Longing' is a minimal ambient keyboard sequence, and the following 'Burning to be Gone' captures a similar mood with intertwined processed guitar lines ringing like windchimes. Slowly a piano melody plays out amongst the ever moving cars. Distortion levels rise as the coda plays out, and the pollution keeps on choking until it rips a 'Crack in the Sky' towards which wistful whistles rise. This album might only be 46 minutes long, but it could almost be a soundtrack to a stop motion film of a city over ten or twenty years, as buildings rise up and crumble and shift, changes that are barely perceptible from day to day. Sleevenotes: "When you understand how things are, you lose yourself quietly standing, fading into the quiet of all things dead."