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Vital Weekly 724

  Tobias

GEN KEN MONTGOMERY & CONRAD SCHNITZLER - GEN KON DUETS (CD by GD Stereo)
Over the years I always have many respect for the work of Conrad Schnitzler, even when I heard only a very small percentage of it. He is never part of any movement or style, and go very much his own way. I do believe I have his release which he did in the late 80s with Gen Ken Montgomery. It was a time when both were interested in 'non-keyboard electronics', which is playing the synthesizer by twiddling the knobs and not about playing a nice melody. That was Schnitzler's big thing until the mid nineties. Then he moved, also, towards playing the piano through some computer technique and he wrote some complicated pieces, which were impossible to be performed by ten fingers. Gen Ken moved out of electronic music and has an interest in field recordings these days. One day he was playing a CD with piano works of Schnitzler with his windows open and the sound of construction workers outside mixed nicely with the piano music. Very much a John Cage move towards listening to music and sound. The results of that are to be heard on this CD. No electronics, but Schnitzler's piano, which isn't as complex here, but stretched out, sparse on notes most of the times, with all sorts of construction workers sounds mingling together. It works really well indeed. A strange collage of sound, that somehow works very well. If I may suggest something: don't put this on headphones/ipod or such like, but play this on your CD player, open your window and make your new, Cage like version, merging it with sounds from your own environment. Excellent work for both of them. Great black and white package with separate cards. (and then I also take this opportunity to raise a question: Plate Lunch, a label which no longer exist since the label owner died years ago, organized a Schnitzler remix project which had to be a triple CD set. Does anyone know what happened to these remixes - who has them?) (FdW) Address: http://www.gdstereo.com

GILLES AUBRY/STEPHANE MONTAVON - LES ECOUTIS LE CAIRE (CD by Gruenrekorder)
In a very nice cardboard sleeve we find a CD (by Gilles Aubry) and a large poster with a text in French by Stephane Montavon. I am sure lots of people speak or read French, but there are more who don't. So it eludes me why this is part of it. No doubt there is a relation to the two pieces on the CD, which were recorded during a six week stay in the CD. Aubry taped the busy city from within rooms with 'resonant properties': a bathroom, a market hall, a basilica, a courtyard, a refrigerator and a parking house. You hear the city, but its always a bit remote, a bit far away, a bit blurred. Its not a strict fifty minute recording here, but Aubry has made a collage out of these recordings, superimposing them (which means he layered a few), in order to further blurr the effect. The humming of machines, walking and talking of people, cars passing far and above. Like a beautiful day - like today actually - when the window is open and sounds from outside leap into your environment. I have not been to Cairo, but I can vividly imagine it would sound like this. I am not sure if two is more than one here: both pieces seem to have a similar approach, which makes perhaps the second one a bit superfluous. Not always more equals better, and in the limitation one can show beauty too. But through a pretty good release, musicwise. I can judge about the text, but a translation would be welcome, I guess. (FdW)
Address: http://www.gruenrekorder.de

LUNAR MIASMA - CRYSTAL COVERED (CD by Basses Frequencies)
AIDAN BAKER - BLUE FIGURES (CD by Basses Frequencies)
Behind Lunar Miasma we find one Panos Alexiadis (of Heavensore and Insult Recordings), whom we already heard on a collaborative 3"CDR with Ondo (see Vital Weekly 715), but here a full solo work. He plays, according to the cover, analog synths, guitars and effects. Five lengthy pieces which display a true love for the seventies cosmic music. No sweet arpeggio's on these keyboards, but sine waves and sabre tooth tones, free floating in a weightless space. A bit raw but also quite moody. Sometimes chilling cold such as in 'Circle Mountain', but also all cosy and warm such as in the title piece, which is lengthy sustaining chords and oscillating sounds. Almost ambient house music, but that beat never arrives, and that's fine. A perfect album to either go to bed with, or wake up music to stay a new day a fresh. Nothing new under the sun, but played with great care and style, further deepening the ideas of cosmic music. Emeralds fans should pay notice.
There was a time when we reviewed almost on a weekly basis music by Aidan Baker (or perhaps my memory is blurred in that respect). Now that he seems to be more well-known his releases are not as many anymore, or they do not reach me that much. Its been a while. The music on 'Blue Figures' is all recorded live, in Berlin and Prague and has Baker on guitar and voice. A mini disc streams some bird sounds and throughout there is a mood-heavy ambient atmosphere. Baker plays his guitar, feeds it through his sound effects, which predominantly is a loop station so that sounds start repeating and floating about, all along while Baker keeps adding more and more delicate small tones, but he knows how to keep things 'small' and 'intimate'. Of course all improvised, Baker shows us to be a true master of his trade. Carefully he constructs his music, stone by stone, brick by brick and when it reached the climax he just as carefully deconstructs the music again. Excellent drone music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.bassesfrequences.org

NADJA - UNDER THE JAGUAR SUN (2xCD/2xLP by Beta-lactam Ring Records)
It seems that the stream of releases of Nadja will never stop. Nadja is a duo of Aidan Baker and his partner Leah Buckareff from Toronto. The duo makes music since 2005 in an ambient, experimental, doom-metal, drone and shoegaze sphere. They released a lot of albums at different labels, as band or in cooperation with other bands or musicians like Fear Falls Burning, Black Boned Angel, Atavist and A Storm of Light. Every album has his own atmosphere and concept with it is own surprise. "Under the Jaguar Sun" is a special release. CD 1 called "Tezcatlipoca (Darkness)" has the typical hypnotic Nadja-sound with compositions which slowly develop and based on bass-guitar and guitarsounds. The five tracks flow into each other as a slow and quiet sea with melodic bass-melodies to rough waves with grungy singing of Aidan Baker or the whispering voice of Leah Buckareff. The other CD "Quetzalcoatl (Wind)" is more acoustic based and played with a great variety of instruments, like piano, cello, violin, sitar and harmonium. Sometimes it reminds to old psychedelic albums from the seventies/eighties. The experiment of this release is that the listener can make his own Nadja mix. You play the two albums simultaneously and create a new composition and it is worth doing it. This development in Nadja's musical career is a climax in the musical experiments, where metal, doom, drone and psychedelica meet each other. It is a challenge for the duo to examine how they can explore the interaction with the listeners of their music. This is the first step... what will be the next? (Jan-Kees Helms) Address: http://www.blrrecords.com

WILT - SHE WALKS THE NIGHT (7"/cassette by Husk Records)
Its not easy to read, but it says Wilt on the cover of the 7", and, even smaller and even more difficult to read, on the bonus cassette. Wilt is one James P. Keeler, who has had a couple of releases on Ad Noiseam before and he presents here new pieces on a 7", as well as a bonus cassette. The title piece (I assume to be played on 33rpm) is a very dark ambient piece, with ultra slow guitars and even more slowed chords on a piano. A pity its rather short - but then this kind of music never deserves a 7", I guess. On the flip two pieces of noise drones. A scream and howl, with guitars that drag on in the most filthy manner. I guess its OK, but rather not my cup of tea. The cassette has another version of that 7" a-side (now I know it has to be 33rpm), which is a bit longer and still suitable pleasant dark ambient. The two pieces on the other side sound like experiments, which may be nice, but sound a bit too muffled and drown away in the hiss of the cassette. A bonus for the die-hards indeed. (FdW)
Address: http://www.huskrecords.blogspot.com

HIDEKAZU WAKABAYASHI & HAROLD NONO (CDR by Bearsuit Recordings)
The two musicians on this release have never met. Harold Nono lives in Edinburgh, Scotland and Hidekazu Wakabayashi in Osaka, Japan. They create their music through the exchange of sounds through the internet. Nothing new, as that seems to be common practice these days in the world of Vital Weekly. Nono has his background in the world of guitars and punk, whereas Wakabayashi is from a jazz/classical background. I'd say Wakabayashi wins: there is not much punk to be found here, but an awful of classically inspired music pop tunes. Piano play the dominant instrument here but there are also guitars, bits of voices, rhythm, glockenspiel, string instruments - no doubt some of those come from the sampled source of say a program like garageband, but its an absolutely fine quality that runs through these songs. I am reminded of the Sack/Blumm collaborations, but perhaps a little less naive. Eleven excellent songs, moody, melancholic and sometimes cheerful, an excellent springtime sunday afternoon release. A mild breeze. (FdW)
Address: http://www.myspace.com/bearsuitrecords

DURAN VAZQUEZ - LAISSEZ FAIRE, LAISSEZ PASSER (CDR by R.O.N.F. Records)
R.O.N.F. Records thinks that this release is more suited for me than Jliat, since its dark ambient rather than their usual noise onslaught. I seem to have reviewed the music of Duran Vazquez on two previous occasions. Once was a split CD with Sumugan Sivanesan (see Vital Weekly 402) and a MP3 release in Vital Weekly 656. None of them are easily reminded here however. On the first release he used field recordings and on the second computerized no-input mixer to a larger extent. This seems also to be the case on this new one, along with perhaps synthesizer and the odd taped speech and a bit of field recording (from inside a car?). Dark it is, ambient at times, but its at other times also quite unsettling, almost noise like. This is certainly not music to lull the listener into deep sleep, but rather transport him to the post apocalyptic scenery of a recently exploded nuclear bomb. Since it defies categorization (ambient, industrial, drone, field recording), but merges together the best of all of those worlds, this is actually quite a nice release. As said quite unsettling, nerve shaking rumble from the inner core of the earth, music by and no doubt for the last human on earth. (FdW) Address: http://www.ronfrecords.com

MACHINE GUN - FREE IMPROVISATIONS (CDR by Creative Commons)
We reviewed their first one, "Three Wise Men in a Straight Jacket" earlier. Now this Swiss trio strikes back with a second release. Free improvising is their language and they speak it fluently. One hour of very concentrated improvisations, recorded live on two different locations in Switzerland. Again very captivating and wild excursions by a fantastic unit of John Menoud (saxes), Frederic Berney (bass) and Filippo Provenzale (drums). Information on the instrumentation is not complete. In the first track there is obviously someone playing the piano. Menoud I suppose, as the sax is absent. The drumming by Filippo Provenzale is of an enormous power. Just listen to "Zero Below". "F(x)=2f(x) + sin(x)" starts as quiet duet between sax and bass. Gradually they come lose and the drummer joins. The piece mainly circles around intense sax playing by Menoud. "Breasted Wonda Kitty" is constructed around short patterns that come again from Menoud. At several moments we hear two saxes. Played by Menoud at the same time, or with the help of a not mentioned guestplayer??? For "Willard", the closing track, they concentrate on small gestures without losing intensity. All three have considerable musical possibilities, and they succeed in creating some very emotional and inspired improvisations. Chapeau gentlemen and grussie mit ein, and (Dolf Mulder). Address: http://www.myspace.com/machineguntrio

MACHINEFABRIEK & SABINE BURGER - INSTUIF (DVD-R by Machinefabriek)
Its not difficult to see why Rutger Zuydervelt is an excellent partner to work with. Besides being just a likeable person that is, he is also someone to work quick and deliver fine results. Following a long string of musicians he worked with, he also has interest in film. On various occasions he did work at the Rotterdam Film festival. Here he presents a new work which he made with Sabine Bürger. Its going to be part of a larger project, which will also include Steve Roden. 'Instuif' last about twenty minutes, but is best played on repeat for a long time, just as was intended by the creators, on a large screen. Not just because its so good, but because its so minimal. The image seems like water flowing from various directions, superimposed on eachother. Maybe sparks from a fire turned green on the screen. Snowflakes (and just as I thought winter was over) perhaps. The music sounds very stationary too. Two or three loops derived from the guitar. That's it. Its not something to watch very carefully, but more something to create an environment with. Perhaps the smaller screen of your TV, with sound hooked up to your home installation, is maybe a surrogate version of the real thing, but darken your room and you'll have a great moody setting. Excellent work. (FdW) Address: http://www.machinefabriek.nu

PLATFORM - FOUR ELEMENTS (CDR by Minimal Resource Manipulation)
PAUL MAY & PLATFORM - FLOCK SCISSORS (CDR by Minimal Resource Manipulation)
Matt Atkins, also known as Platform, continues with his CDR releases, as always around twenty minutes of music. The 'Four Elements' are not earth, water, fire and air, but elements from the table of. Two long tracks and two short tracks. All four are about rhythm, but very minimal, slow ones. Almost like industrial music, but without the connotation of hammering, machine like, or, on the other hand, not being very 'dance' oriented either (think Pan Sonic). The backdrop of these pieces are quite ambient, which add a strange atmosphere to it. Almost spooky in approach. Excellent stuff, moving away from his Autechre inspired previous releases.
With free improv drummer Paul May he has released before 'Broken Hulk Display' (see Vital Weekly 661). Again its the case of May delivering recordings of his drumming to Atkins, who then processed the whole thing. Whereas on the previous I had the impression he was creating loops with the material, it seems here that Atkins just treats the material as a whole, adding all sorts of effects to the various parts - say reverb on the cymbals, delay on the tom etc. In 'Secret Martyrs' however he does something new. Atkins switches on some synthesizers, May drums the 4/4 beats and its almost getting close to techno music. In its dubby effects with echo and reverb, its all a bit too odd to be true dance music, but its certainly also something quite weird for the world of improvised music. Quite a good follow up this one. Varied, funny and serious. (FdW) Address: http://www.minimalresourcemanipulation.co.uk

BIRGIT ULHUR & GREGORY BÜTTNER - TECHRICKS (3"CDR by 1000füssler)
The label 1000füssler from Hamburg produces high quality releases of electronical and electro-acoustic music. For this release Birgit Ulhur and Gregory Büttner did a collaboration project. The sounds are recorded at the flat of Birgit Ulher. Birgit Ulhur plays trumpet, mostly in free-improvisation and experimental music. Gregory Büttner makes soundart and electroacoustic music and runs the label 1000füssler. Both live and work in Hamburg-Germany. "Gregory Büttner plays sounds from a computer through various small speakers, which Birgit Ulher uses as mutes for her trumpet. This way the trumpet sounds and the electroacoustic sounds are modulated by the acoustic resonance chamber of the trumpet. The trumpet is simultaneously a transmitter and a receiver." The combination of the acoustic sound of the trumpet, air and blowing with the electronic sounds of the computer works well. The first track "Tehr" has a warm character because of the sound of breathing. "Eri" starts slowly and quiet, but has more high tones which makes the listening to the music difficult. Sometimes it is paining my head. The third track "Rix" starts noisy, is more experimental by variation and using different sounds of the trumpet and computer. "Techricks" is not an easy album to listen. At a small volume it is more ambient and some details are a small layer in the music. When you play it loud, all soundsources are more obvious and a lot of is to discover in this release. Nice experimental work! (Jan-Kees Helms) Address: http://www.1000fussler.com

XIPHIIDAE - SEWN WITHIN A CIRCLE (two cassettes by Housecraft)
A kind of swordfish is what Xiphiidae is, and its also the name of Jeffre Astin's solo project. Discogs learns us that there is occasional help from people like Kane Pour, Joshua Tippery, Kyle Conklin, Evan Galbicka, Jason Nicolaus, and Gabriel Ortiz. There have a whole bunch of cassette releases, and 'Sewn Within A Circle' is one of the more recent ones. Beside the band name, the title and 'Housecraft No. 100', there is no other information on the box. And just why should there be? Its the music that counts. There is of course no such thing as 'cassette music' (just as there is no music for vinyl, CD or MP3), but if you'd ask me to describe the kind of music people release on cassettes these days, music that of Xiphiidae would be a close thing. Improvised, yet electronic. Ambient, yet psychedelic. Rough but never real noisy. I think Xiphiidae uses a guitar and a few sound effects, and hopefully an ancient four track recorder to tape this on (a computer would spoil things, makes it too clean), for those rough edits and minor flaws. But the sheer love which is set forward in these lo-fi drones make up for that in quite a big way. Very nice indeed. You almost wished this was a CD. (FdW) Address: http://housecraftarea.blogspot.com/

REUBEN SON - GLOWING DEPARTURE (cassette by Private Chronology)
Three lengthy tracks, all recorded live, are to be found on the cassette by Reuben Son from the USA. On all tracks he plays with guitars, both 6 and 12 string ones, acoustic and electric, cassette tape, e-bow, singing bowl. How many hands does this guy have? I assume there is some scheme to play all of this through some mechanical means, as two of the three tracks sound pretty experimental, to an extent where we don't recognize any guitars at all. Some sort of transformed sound, when the tape doesn't go along the heads properly. Only in the third track we recognize the 6-string acoustic guitar. Its all pretty experimental, with no real head or tail. The perfect music for a limited cassette release. (FdW)
Address: http://www.privatechronology.com

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