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Imagine if the tubist and drummer from a high school band got togetherwith a teenage guitarist and decided to record whatever came to mind,and there you have Drums & Tuba. Somehow I get reminded of theKLF's "Fuck the Millennium" ending and three guys running behind themtrying to catch up. The tunes are fun and I'm sure this is a great bandto see live. Box Fetish collects the original 1999 record plus threenew tracks exclusive to this CD release. It starts out high schoolish,but towards the end, the songs become more adventurous with use oftrumpets and other percussives.
Volume 2 of the Water Damage Re-Issues is The Flying Ballerina,recorded in 1998. This disc seems to have more of a jazz influenceright off the bat while rocking out a little more. The formula'sbasically the same yet I find it more charming and variable. Thesediscs are ideal for those students who have to commute on busses ortrains. Certainly some great morning cup of moccaccino-blast heldwithin...samples:
- Carrots (from Box Fetish)
- Curtains (from Box Fetish)
- Fists of Spaghetti (from The Flying Ballerina)
- The Flying Ballerina (from The Flying Ballerina)
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Since then, I've often wonderedwhat ever became of them. Being in Boston, I never heard of themplaying, but I guess I've simply been missing out. 'Full Negative,' isa solid chunk of a well balanced diet of organic rock instrumentsworking together for the sake of sound, not show, with little need forvocals. From the first song, the sound is inviting and captivating,with dynamics that echo mid 80s Sonic Youth, 70s Wire or even earlyMogwai.samples:
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You might recognize his name from the Psychic TV days of the 80s orsome remix works he did in the 90s, but try and clear your mind forthis release. This time around, Fred's been working with samples andsources, pulling together tremendous soundscapes for release.'Telepathic Romance' consists of two tracks named Contemplation. Part 1totals just over 30 minutes and incorporates some uneasy low rumblingsblaneted over by comforting lush strings. A perfect soundtrack to athunderstorm on a Sunday afternoon. Part 2 runs just over 12 minutesand can easily be the stunningly beautiful clearing after the storm.Choral samples, low drones clash with heartbeat-esque pulses. Too badthese sound samples are only 60 seconds. Hunt for this one.samples:
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Some mightremember the Live Human release on Fat Cat last year, this is thesecond full-lengther from San Franciscan trio who's music is somewhatof a mix between improvisational play and break beat scratching. It's aperfect release to bop and groove to on your walkman while walkingbetween classes, but it's not a terribly coherent concept. You can stopit and start it anywhere without missing any feeling. While I think thealbum's fairly good and they've got a load of talent with the hypnoticuse of double bass and fierce scratching, it might have been betterwith half the songs and twice the amount of development time for eachtrack. I'd love to find out where this band goes as they do have somegreat potential.samples:
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"Parasites" is, to borrow a few bits from the pressrelease, "a blurring of the line between atomic samples andcompositions ... for either listening or constructing new pieces with".Most of the 20 numbered parasites are in the 6 seconds to 1 and 1/2minute range for a total of about 16 and 1/2 minutes. Each is a merefragment of heavily processed, digital desktop minimalism. It's notreally 'glitch' or any other easily discernible genre, just quick wavesand buzzes of sound. Altogether they form a haphazard collection ofdreadfully similar and not too terribly exciting, almost offensivelydull, music. It's a shame that parasite12 is only 32 seconds longbecause it's the most intense, unique and interesting of the lot. I'mnot normally one to use the "I could do this myself" line but in thiscase I'd have much more fun making my own in an hour with Cool Editthan listening to these. But maybe that's the point? I honestly don'tknow what the point is. The disc itself is the most appealing featureas it's a new 3" square shaped cd format known as 'card discs'. Likemini cds you need a player, such as a Discman, with a spindle in orderto play it. Ultimately what I'm left with is a $10 piece of eye candyto show to my friends after asking "have you ever seen a square cd?" Mymom thinks it's cute. I didn't play it for her though ... Read More
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samples:
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Through the years, you can hear the exit from the TG days - breaking free from the noise yet holding on to a charming primitivism. With this, they entered a period along with many other cold-war era electronic musicans who used the machines to paint bleak melodies, more eerie and haunting than anything new released in the last 10 years on Cleopatra or Metropolis. Through the 1980s, the techno-pop period holds a lot of fond memories for many of us who experienced these songs on Nettwerk Sound Samplers and WaxTrax! comps, but the sound is incredibly dated.
Entering the 90s, much of the thin pop wash was being slowly let go - grooves became deeper, heavier and more instrumental, all leading up to their current sound which is one of sheer brilliance, audio mastery and maturity. The more I listen to the "Union" concert CD from 1998, the sadder I feel not having been there. If you're near London on September 1st, they'll be spinning records at the old ICA, a favorite stomping ground for their Industrial days.
samples:
- Heartbeat (from Heartbeat)
- Just Like You (from Heartbeat)
- Driving Blind (from Songs of Love and Lust)
- Talk to Me (from Songs of Love and Lust)
- Tantalize (from Songs of Love and Lust)
- Stolen Kisses (from Techno Primitiv)
- Cowboys in Cuba (from Trance)
- Re-Education Through Labor (from Trance)
- Morning (from Techno Primitiv)
- Misunderstandings (from Techno Primitiv)
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Some might recognize Sally from her membership in bothL'Orchestre Noir and Sol Invictus. On this, her first release, Sally'sgentle and gliding voice blankets a small ensemble consisting of doublebass, cello, violin, harp and most prominently, piano. While Ipersonally hate to drop others names or comparisons, this CD couldeasily be an comprehensable and vocally trained Elizabeth Fraserfronting The Johnsons. The music is soothing and the production isflawless. It's brief enough at under 45 minutes, but is full enoughwith 13 shining songs. I imagine Doherty certainly should be a hit withthe Serpent crowd, but with any luck it can most definitely cross somegenres.
samples:
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The disc opens with acollaborative effort, "Black," a 10 minute long piece with more silencethan noise. At this point I'm thinking "yippee, another minimalistic thing trying to be cool,..."—Ididn't get it. The second track is a 44 minute long piece withindividual sections of around 15 minutes from each artist, separately.Leif does "Red," souRce research does "Green," while Matmos does"Blue." Things are starting to make sense... The last track, can youguess? "White!" All artists' individual bits are combined together.Anybody who knows how the RGB spectrum might find that cute. Alsoincluded in the CD is three separate covers you can choose for thewindow of your jewel case, Red has Leif's name first, Blue has Matmos,etc,... It's definitely one of the more clever conceptual releases I'veseen in a while.Read More
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samples:
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The firstCD recorded as this alias ended up being released as a Panacea recordby Caipirinha in the USA. The second CD recorded as such was the firstreleased, out by Ant-Zen in a highly limited quantity. This one's outfrom Mille-Plateaux in Germany and like the other two, exploresPanacea's fascination with a minimal amount of sources, playing withsound structures and pulses - completely turnaround from thein-your-face abrasive mentality of the conventional Panacea releases.It's remarkably un-minimalistic as the pulses and rhythms stem from amore beat centric perspective, it's enjoyable as deeper listeningsuncover stuff generally not floating around the top.
samples:
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