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tracklist for Vital Weekly 715:

0000 Tune
0014 Spoelstra – The Almighty Internet
0312 Cold Cave – Of All The Summer Murders
0558 Illusion Of Safety
0901 Kyle Bobby Dunn
1203 Carlos Giffoni – Knife
1505 Wyndel Hunt
1803 Slow Six – The Night You Left New York
2105 Balmorhea – Herons
2402 Terje Paulsen
2704 Toy Bizarre – kdi dctb 216 [Data #6]
3006 Freiband – Martin – One Live Aspect
3313 Michel F Cote & A_Dontigny – Bounce Dat ARN
3620 Burning Star Core – Noze United
3922 TL0741 – Lung Orchid
4224 Philippe Lauzier & Pierre-Yves Martel – Alz
4524 Tune

SPOELSTRA – THE ALMIGHTY INTERNET (CD by Narrominded)
Following stints in bands like Boutros Bubba, De Reizende Verkoper, Gone Bald, Quarles van Ufford en CSMD, Spoelstra finally he decided to leave the rock area and to leave any other names, other than his own. He switches on the synthesizer, a sampler and sounds effects and created ‘The Almighty Internet’ an ’study into the necessity of information technology of our current society’ – do we need all this technology that invades our privacy – hey, which we all use to share out privacy even. I already played this album three times before I wrote this, simply because I thought it was an enjoyable album, and I still haven’t found the answer to his question (actually the Dutch queen already gave it in her christmas speech). I know the answer already – shut down Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and go that nice bar around the corner, and have some of this great music, preferably played by Spoelstra, sweating over his equipment. Loud is best, cold beer in your hand (a cigarette would be nice, but
Vital Weekly shouldn’t advocate smoking in the current time, right?), and Spoelstra’s quirky electro beats, chopped up synth lines, bits of noise will do the rest. Afterwards you hand the man a beer too, and be friendly to him. You really, really, really don’t need to share your privacy online, if something like this would go on around the corner. And if it doesn’t, get this CD, phone (not text-messaging, or facebook invitation) all your friends for a private party. The almighty internet is just useful to get the word out about such nice music. And a great cover too, it might actually have words on it. (FdW)
Address: http://www.narrominded.com

MICHEL F. COTE & A. DONTIGNY – LA NOTTE FA (CD by Et Records)
PHILIPPE LAUZIER & PIERRE-YVES MARTEL – SAINCT LAURENS (CD by Et Records)
No doubt this label is in a lucky situation: the only mail arriving today where these two CDs, which included the 2008 release by Michel F. Cote and A Dontigny, which is well beyond the six months that I usually have for accepting promo’s. This to avoid labels sending me complete back catalogues, and not because of being lazy. We know Et Records as a label from Canada with improvised music, but these two stretch the idea thereof. A. Dontigny we know as someone from the No Type Records label with some highly charged musique concrete cut up music, whereas Cote is a known as an improviser on drums. That’s what he is playing here too, along with percussion, micros, tapes and electronics, and Dontigny gets credit for cut-ups, drum machines and dsp. A bunch of (un-)invited guests also appear: Bernard Falaise, Alexandre St. Onge, Alexander Macsween and Jean Rene. I am not entirely sure how this was conceived, but I think this is the result of recording together some  long night on drums and
electronics, and then taking the recordings to the computer to effectively and extending mixing, chopping up, editing to create some wicked, crazy music. Hardly to be recognized as improvised music as such, this owes much more electronic music on one side and free rock on the other. Say Moha! or Rock Out but then a bit softer, a bit more structured and perhaps more electronic in their approach. Its however not an album that we can apply such words as ‘careful’ or ‘gentle’, as the music is a bit too mean for that. A high energy trip all around. Each track is in full speed mode, with tons of small sounds happening all around. One that doesn’t leave you untouched. One crazy fucked up form of improvised music.
The second release is by Philippe Lauzier on saxophones, bass clarinet, tubes and melodica together with Pierre-Yves Martel on prepared viola da gamba, two inch speakers, radios and contact mics. I assume, seeing this was recorded over a two day period, that this is a studio recording, which was later mixed by the two musicians, along with Dave Bignell. Improvised music of course, but quite an odd one. The nine pieces are relatively short and in a strange sort of way quite noisy. Strange because the bigger part the music is acoustically made, but with that bit of amplification that makes all the scraping sounds wandering off every now and then in the realms of feedback like sustained sounds, this is certainly not an easy work to access. Its however one, I think, that is quite beautiful. The sustaining sounds produced by what seem to be the main instruments (saxophone and viola) are already quite nasty, but in addition to whatever they are doing, this is a great work, totally
demanding
full concentration of the listener, but also totally rewarding. Excellent discs, both of them. (FdW)
Address: http://www.etrecords.net

NDE – KRIEG BLUT EHRE ASCHE (CD by Cold Spring)
IRON FIST OF THE SUN – BEHAVIOURAL DECLINE (CD by Cold Spring)
WICKED KING WICKER – GOD IS BUSY… SAVE YOURSELF (CD by Cold Spring)
NDE is a Belgian project that belongs to the darkest spheres of electronic music. The artwork of the cover is pure grey-tone colors without any warmth or happiness. There are no sign of contact details or reference to information sources on the cover to the band. Furthermore the band has no myspace or website, leaving the band in the deep underground. In that sense the surroundings nicely fit the musical containment of present release titled “Krieg blut ehre asche” (In English: War blood honour ashes). The album is the debut from NDE and a very nice one indeed! Eight pieces of sonic brutality is what you get here. Deep rumbling drones of power electronics moves along screeching harsh noise and martial percussions meanwhile the vocal side consists of evil screams and guttural expressions with much reference to the black metal-scene. To strengthen the dark atmosphere samples of distant voices and subtle orchestration leaves the listener cold and isolated. A very interesting work
appealing to listeners of darkest electronics. Pure evil!
Next album from Cold Spring also belongs to the harsh side of electronic expressions. As was the case with aforementioned NDE, anger and extreme aggression saturates the compositions of the album. In comparison to NDE, Wicked King Wicker moves in more abstract spheres with no sign of rhythm texture and almost non-existing vocals though signs of human roar seems to be somewhere in the tick fog of sheer brutality. Last album in the line comes from British power electronics artist Iron Fist Of The Sun. Present album titled “Behavioural decline” separates from the aforementioned albums with its old school oriented approach to the noise scene recalling the early days of Industrial pioneering. As you listen to the eight tracks of the album associations towards compatriot legends in Whitehouse shines through, though there are plenty of moments with high-tech violence to prove its existence in the presence of contemporary harsh noise scene. Again the vocals are a dominating parameter to
create the brutality, but the vocal sound on this one is more human in expression with some pure shouting without the witchery hellish black metal screams of first reviewed album from NDE. Three great new exercises in extreme aggression from British essential label Cold Spring. (NM)
Address: http://www.coldspring.co.uk/

KYLE BOBBY DUNN – A YOUNG PERSON’S GUIDE TO KYLE BOBBY DUNN (2CD by Low Point)
Yesterday I had dinner with some friends and we talked about how old cassettes seemed to be booming business, probably, as someone suggested, its the last thing which hasn’t been fully re-issued on CD yet, so people (collectors scum was the word used) have the idea to buy a genuine item. Much to my surprise I read on the press text of Kyle Bobby Dunn’s double CD that its a reissue of something that has been previously available as a download. Those cassettes, no doubt, will follow soon on CD, if the market is already up for re-issuing download, I reckon. Its not the first time I hear the music of Dunn. His ‘Fragments & Compositions’ CD was reviewed in Vital Weekly 629 (and other releases on This Generation Tapes, Housing and Kning Disk I never heard), and while it was quite alright, its also something that wasn’t entirely exciting. Dunn uses real instruments, such as guitar, strings and brass (often played by others) which he conducts and records and then reworks on the computer. Not
that we hear such instruments, I must admit, well, not as such. For all you know this is something that is just created on a computer. There are instances, such as on ‘Bonaventure’s Finest Hour’, in which we recognize the brass and strings and have a beautiful Scelsci like sound, but in others it wasn’t that clear. At least, I didn’t know until I started reading the press text, somewhere half way through the second CD. Up to that point I assumed this was another disc of glitch ambient, the warm sustaining sounds of harddrives slowly burning. That was a wrong assumption. But it also says something, I guess, about the music. Its music that is not bad, but perhaps also a bit unsurprising. Drone like music, not unlike Mirror, Ora or Monos or perhaps someone like Olivia Block. Don’t get me wrong: its done with absolutely great class, and the execution is great, but perhaps not with enough of his own. (FdW)
Address: http://www.low-point.com

ILLUSION OF SAFETY – PROBE (CD by Perdition Plastics)
This is not a review but merely a historical, personal ramble. In 1992 I started working for Staalplaat, buying and selling stuff, and helping out getting those strange packages done. One of the bands that already had a great package, before my time, was Illusion Of Safety, whose ‘Historical’ was packed in a leather pouch with a real bullet. Both Staalplaat and Korm Plastics, my own small venture, were in contact with Illusion Of Safety’s main man Dan Burke and Jim O’Rourke, who was then a main collaborator with Burke. This resulted in ‘Disengage’, still one of the top 10 releases by Staalplaat, along with ‘Probe’ by Illusion Of Safety. The first 500 were packed in a wooden box with a real Italian coin and toy money from former Eastern Germany (an additional 500 were sold in the same wooden box, but without the monies). Illusion Of Safety were on a peak with that CD, or perhaps a watershed mark (otherwise you may think they never reached another peak again) is a better word. Before
that Illusion Of Safety was, perhaps, ‘another’ fine band of harsh and less harsh industrial music as a bigger outfit with a varying line up. Towards the end of the era of releasing cassettes, which culminated in the fine but highly obscure ‘RVE’ tape, Jim O’Rourke became a member, bringing a love of composed music to the table, not just musique concrete but also the like of Scelsi. The music of Illusion Of Safety changed and on ‘Probe’, as said being here just Dan Burke & Jim O’Rourke, this culminated in that first highlight. All of the influences from before and new ones, melted together in this great disc of musique concrete. Many field recordings are used, along with piercing electronics at times, bowed guitars at others. Sometimes stretching out seemingly ad infinitum, but then sometimes abruptly changing color, speed, intensity, mood, texture and/or atmospherics. An absolute great work of sound collage, bridging musique concrete, electro-acoustics, improvisation, industrial
music and ambient. Still a highlight of a career, and great to see back in print – even when the cover is not on par with the original. (FdW)
Address: http://www.perditionplastics.com

LAURA ANDEL ORCHESTRA – DOBLE MANO (CD by Rossbin)
TIM HODGKINSON & MILO FINE – TESHUVAH (CD by Rossbin)
Laura Andel comes from Argentina, but lives and works in New York nowadays. It is here that she formed here orchestra that has the following eclectic line up: Taylor Ho Bynum (Cornet), Stephanie Griffin (Viola), Matt Bauder Clarinets), Raul Jaurena (Bandoneon), Carl Maguire (Fender Rhodes), Ursel Schlicht (Piano), Ken Filiano (Double Bass), Danny Tunick (Vibraphone & Gamelan Instruments), David Simons (Gamelan Instruments), Laura Andel (Composition & Conducting). She did already two other recordings with her orchestra, making ‘Doble Mano’ the third one. The recording dates from 2007 and was done at The Kitchen. In Argentina she was a woodwind player and made her degree in tango performance. In the US she studied jazz composition and music for film. As a composer she is interested in the concept of identity linked to the search for ambiguity.” I feel very strong the question of my own identity, perhaps in part because I am an immigrant myself” she tells. Different identities are
reflected in the curious combination of instruments we find on ‘Doble Mano’ (= a two-way street, or anything with opposite directions on the road). For example, ‘Part 1′ starts with gamelan, joined later on by the bandoneon. The bandoneon again appears in the first part of ‘Part 2′. Often the bandoneon is played very much in a tango vein. Like in ‘Part 4′ where bandoneon and cornet are involved in a beautiful duet. ‘Part 6′ opens with free improvisation. Andel blends not only instruments from different musical backgrounds, but also the typical playing style that belongs to these instruments, especially in the case of the bandoneon. The overall perspective is that of modern classical composed music making use of different ingredients like free improvisation, and ethnical musical identities. In another way ‘Doble Mano’ is a stripped down composition. All useless details are skipped. What remains are the simple, concentrated melodies, harmonies, etc that tell the story. She makes good
use of the instrumentation, making different combinations of the instruments. We never hear all players at once. In my case this music started to work after repeated listening. I was not charmed immediately by her compositions, but the music began more and more to talk to me. It is very non-aggressive, modest music. And at the same time there is something mysterious here that attracts one’s attention to this music.
‘Teshuvah’ reflects a first meeting between of two experienced veteran improvisors: Tim Hodgkinson (Henry Cow, Konk Pack, etc.) and Milo Fine. The career of Fine goes back to 1969 when he started The Milo Fine Free Jazz Ensemble. Throughout his career he was dedicated to free improvised music. I guess both gentlemen are more or less of the same age. Also Hodgkinson has a longlasting relation with free improvisation, as it was already part of the Henry Cow. They combined rock and free improvisation. In the last few years Hodgskinson tours regularly with his trio Konk Pack (Roger Turner, Thomas Lehn). During a concert in Minnesota he met Fine and the idea for a duo-session came up. It was realized in Fine’s home, on a day in march 2008. Two long extended and one short improvisation made it to the CD that has Fine playing piano, drums, b flat clarinet and voice and Hodgkinson on b flat clarinet. While listening one feels the joy they had in their fabulous interactions. Never a dull
moment during these sparkling, catch-me-while-you-can improvisations (DM).
Address: http://www.rossbin.com

BALMORHEA – CONSTELLATIONS (CD by Western Vinyl)
SLOW SIX – TOMORROW BECOMES YOU (CD by Western Vinyl)
The first album by Balmorhea from Texas was reviewed back in Vital Weekly 611 and their chambient – that is ambient music that sounds like a chamber orchestra – was well received here, even it some of the pieces were a bit too similar and perhaps a bit too dramatic. Guitars and violins, bass and drums, and a bit of piano : an odd combination perhaps but effectively nice, gentle music. In between there was a remix record and now a second album is out, ‘Constellations’. I listen again carefully – well, like always, I suppose, and I was thinking about the previous album and the set of the remixes. The thing that sprang to mind here: there hasn’t been much change at all with the previous work. Now that raises a question of course: is that bad? No, its not. Two albums that sound alike in the span of two years, that’s not a bad thing I should think. My main objection against the first one was that “after about two-third one (say the average old LP length) I had pretty much enough and
wanted
to change the tune. That doesn’t happen and Balmorhea remains the same throughout, but it’s all a bit too much drama. Great, in a smaller dose, nice but a tiring as a whole.” That very much can also be said of this new album. While I enjoy individual pieces, the modern classical approach, the post rock edge, the minimalist Wim Mertens piano playing and all of that packed into one album, the whole thing is perhaps a bit too esoteric for me to take it at once, even with such a modest length.
Back in Vital Weekly 592 I was more positive about another band on Western Vinyl, called Slow Six, from New York I believe. Here too we find a combination of modern classical music and rock music, but in this case its more contrast-like than with Balmorhea: here the drum rock, and the violins play very open minimalist tunes. The opening piece ‘The Night You Left New York’ is almost like Steve Reich’s ‘Violin Phase’ set against some rock drumming. Its a strange combination, but one that actually works quite well. It sets the tone for the rest of the record. Not as grey as the music by Balmorhea, this music sounds like a fresh freeze on a spring day, joyful in approach. Post rock, well, post anything I’d say. It moves away from ‘Private Times In Public Places’ which seemed more ambient and atmospheric in approach, more inside music than outside. Here the music is more outside, telling the world: we’re here, don’t ignore us but let’s share a party. Probably there is a whole market out
there for this kind of clash of contrary cultures – the academic world of classical music and the rock world – see Bedroom Recordings, Fat Cat or Western Vinyl – but as vivid as this new Slow Six is rarely heard. (FdW)
Address: http://www.westernvinyl.com

BURNING STAR CORE – INSIDE THE SHADOW (CD by Hospital Productions)
CARLOS GIFFONI – SEVERANCE (CD by Hospital Productions)
COD CAVE – CREMATIONS (CD by Hospital Productions)
One look at Hospital Productions website will tell you this is a noise label – right from the design to the various artists they release. First we have C. Spenser Yeh, also known as Burning Star Core, who by now has gained quite some fame (or so I believe). Hospital releases ‘Inside The Shadow’, which was originally released as tour item in 2005. Yeh plays his usual violin, but also chimes and bells and electronics, to create a fine tapestry of noise base improvisations in drone land – if you get my drift. Its neither just improvisation, nor full on noise and perhaps quite drone based indeed, but then of a more violent nature. That adds a great spicy character to the music, which actually is not as noisy as I assumed it would be.
And that might also apply to the work of Carlos Giffoni, who probably releases much more than what is reviewed in these pages, so who am I to say something about his work and the development thereof? It seems to me that over the years in his own work, as well as in the releases he put on his own label No Fun Productions, the tone is more towards edgy, experimental and electronics, away from the pure noise onslaughts. Which of course is something I more than welcome. The whole pure noise is perhaps fun to create for a while but not an everlasting career. As such Giffoni delivers with ‘Severance’ a release that is more than pleasant. He found a great balance between the real noise – more towards the end of the CD – and minimalist, sequencer like pieces at the beginning – ‘Knife’ being almost a wicked piece of dance music. Blocks of sine wave like drone material is somewhere in between. Still not easy listening, which is perfectly fine of course. Giffoni is all over the place with what
I
think – again, with my limited knowledge of the entire catalogue of his work – his best work to date.
I never heard of Cold Cave, and on the website it says that ‘Cremations’ is a
“collection of early demo/live/and unreleased tracks” but the cover lists all tracks save two as being released as a EP, cassette and LP. Likewise ‘genre defying electronic music’, which also is said on the website, is something that might not be entirely true either. They play songs rather than pieces, I think, which are heavy on subjects as pornography, religion and such fine subjects of all good things industrial. The backdrop is made of synthesizers, sound effects and rhythm machines. More the USA version of industrial than the UK one – more rhythm than feedback. Here too its not the noise that prevails but the song structure. Dark synth based songs, which on the tracks of the cassette sound a bit thin, compared to the pieces from vinyl. Not entirely my cup of tea, and certainly when this lengthy, but a small dose of this was highly enjoyable. I must admit I didn’t notice the lyrics that much, but the music was nice enough. (FdW)
Address: http://hospitalproductions.com/

WYNDEL HUNT – SUNSHINE NOIR (CDR by Dragon’s Eye Recordings)
A new work by Wyndel Hunt, who has previously released on this label, both solo and in collaboration with Thom Heileson. Unlike before we now get to know what he uses: Ableton live, Reason 2.5, Casio MT-520 and a guitar. When I called this ‘computerized blissful drones’ in Vital Weekly 577, I wasn’t off the mark. This is what he did, and still does. In the eight pieces here he creates a form of drone music that is ‘louder’, more ‘present’ than many of his peers. Sounds swell and decay like all good drone music, but it seems he needs less time to do so than many others. The music is fuzzy, like a shoegazing form of laptop music. In such cases I am supposed to say that its a pity there hasn’t been much progress since the previous release, but its also not a matter of over-production I guess, which is also a nice thing. Its fine to have music that is away the typical ambient glitch sound (that is sometimes also loudly present in this label’s catalogue) and is something of his own. Again
the pieces that are more collage like are a bit stronger, but I must say that throughout this is a highly pleasant work. (FdW)
Address: http://www.dragonseyerecordings.com

TL0741 – MAGNETIC INJURIES (CDR by HC3 Music)
Pat Gillis is TL0741 and also one half of Northern Machine. His ‘Back To Minus’ was reviewed in Vital Weekly 641, following a concert I saw by him about a year before that. He plays a modular synthesizer – I don’t know which one – effects and tape manipulation and starts out in heavy noise mode, which is short, luckily enough. There are more noisy bits on this release, sometimes by themselves or part of a piece, but its always relatively short. The real power and the true beauty of the music of TL0741 lies for me in the more subdued pieces, where drone meets ambient in quite a heavy way. Gillis plays his synthesizer in an improvised way, but has things well under control. Sounds flow about in a nice but uplifting manner, mean but beautiful. Maybe its all a bit long, being just over an hour worth of music, as not every track is equally strong, but throughout this is again an interesting release of improvisation and electronics. (FdW)
Address: http://www.hc3music.com

LUNAR MIASMA/ONDO (CDR by Tuguska)
C.J. Larsen’s Ondo project has already a small number of releases, sometimes solo, and sometimes with others. Here too he shares a release with one Panos Alexiadis, who works as Lunar Miasma. He gets credit for analog synths, guitars and effects, but in a strange way his piece sounds very digitally made. See how wrong one can be actually. It starts out in a big glitchy, organ like manner, with synthesizers crashing along, but over the course of the pieces things go to a more quieter place. A great piece. Ondo uses guitar, synths, field recordings and laptop manipulations, and continues where Lunar Miasma left us. ‘Return To The New Age’ his piece is called and that’s not entirely true. You couldn’t sell this anyone interested in new age music. This is a dark piece of music that sounds less coherent than the Lunar Miasma piece. Its more improvised, over a number of sound layers, which have then been mixed together. There are percussive bits here in a bed of electronics, but its a
somewhat uneasy marriage. It grows at the end towards a bit more noise, which also seems a bit tedious. Altogether not a piece, but rather a bit too easy, and not on par with the Lunar Miasma one. (FdW)
Address: http://www.pactasuntservanda.se

TERJE PAULSEN – HORISONT (CDR by Mystery Sea)
The new kid on the block Terje Paulsen, from Kristiansand in Norway, proofs to be as active as his country man Sindre Bjerga and Jan-M. Iversen. Following releases on netlabels like Homophoni, TecnoNucleo, Q-tone, Resting Bell, Rain Music, Con-V and some compilation appearances, its now time to move to the next level, that of releasing CDRs. What sets him apart from many of the other artists on Mystery Sea is that he’s not just interested in using water field recordings, but he also adds real instruments to the picture. Although I’m not sure what those might be, it seems to include bells, or gongs even, is about the only thing I recognized. Otherwise there are of course the dripping sounds of rain and running water, all set against the wall of sustaining sounds. Maybe they are the real instruments mentioned, but then heavily processed – I am not sure. This one piece work is however a fine work in the crowded fields of sea wave recordings – it has some fine minimal changes and never
bounces into boredom. All the right moves at the right time. (FdW)
Address: http://www.mysterysea.net

EZRA JACOBS & BAS VAN HUIZEN – ATONOTOOP (DVD-R by Etherkreet)
At the Scheltema Complex in Leiden, The Netherlands, there is a wavefield synthesis loudspeaker system, which has no less than 192 loudspeakers and Ezra Jacobs, known from his previous work for Etherkreet, composed a work for it. Its released on a DVD-R and no doubt there is a surround sound version on it (although the low level package has no information at all about anything really), but also a stereo version, which, due to the lack of equipment here is played by me. I’m not sure if I can capture it all, as I read on the website: “For this composition, the loudspeaker-system was used to diffuse densely layered masses of sound which would otherwise lose definition and impact on a conventional loudspeaker-system”. The visual side here is provided by Bas van Huizen. So maybe I don’t get the 100% right picture of the work, but the densely layered work is quite nice. All sorts of sound events bump and collide into eachother. Its hard to say what those sounds are. Radio waves perhaps,
computerized versions thereof perhaps, or… well, I simply don’t know. The visuals created by Van Huizen are along similar lines. Highly abstract spots and stains, smoke and cellophane flowers are projected on top of eachother and form a great supplement to the music. Everything, sound and image, are densely layered. Maybe the work is a bit long I thought. After a while the idea is clear and whatever comes after that doesn’t seem to add much news. So while the idea is great, the execution is fine, it may lack something as a composition. But then, of course, I must admit that the lack of 192 independent loudspeakers may have clouded my judgment. (FdW)
Address: http://www.etherkreet.com

TOY BIZARRE – KDI DCTB 216 [DATA #7] (3″CDR by Kaon)
The seventh installment already, twelve more minutes by Cedric Peyronnet. After the fifth and sixth being surprises of a kind, the sixth being a drone piece of some kind. This is now continued on this new release – again built from wether conditions in Athwerthon Gardens in Australia (Thursday September 24th 2009 to be precise for once) – except that the drone is broken somewhere half way through. It dies out slowly and then abruptly starts building again. Even more obscured than the previous one, this hardly gives any clue as the sound sources used. A sizzling sound being effectively and dramatically built up until it reaches its peak, and this repeated one more time, in what seems to be more a more ‘louder’ territory, with crackling sounds (rain?) and ending on a sustained tone. Nice toned storm and thunder. Excellent drone material. (FdW)
Address: http://www.kaon.org

FREIBAND – MARTIN SEVEN ASPECTS (3″CDR by My Own Little Label)
FREIBAND – MARTIN ONE ASPECT (3″CDR by My Own Little Label)
NO MOLL LONELY NIGHTS : MY PERSONAL CHRISTMAS ALBUM (Compilation 3″CDR by My Own Little Label)
Three new releases from Dutch “My Own Little Label” – a label that aimed to present works by interesting sound artists first of all from the Netherlands. Two of the three present releases comes from Dutch project Freiband. First album is the 31st release from M.O.L.L. As is the case with a good part of the MO.L.L.-catalogue, the expression of the album titled “Martin seven aspects” is abstract in the most alluring sense of the word. It is a re-issue of a 3″ CDR originally released on the Tib Prod-label, and now released on the occasion of the Freiband-concert held in Brussels a bit more than a month ago – on the 11th december 2009. Opening track is a pure percussive work consisting of concrete percussive sounds bouncing from right to left speaker. Next track is a minimalist high-pitched long-stretching tone, that slowly is overtaken by subtle percussive sounds. After that, follows a non-percussive track of pure ambient built on a thick buzzing noise drone, until another
rhythm-based minimal track penetrates. After that comes an almost inaudible ambient piece of distant shortly after giving way to sixth piece – an interesting ambient piece that thanks to its distant melodic drone assisted by cow-bell reminiscent percussions recalls moments of Biosphere’s masterwork “Substrata”. If the album should ever be used to satisfy clubbers, seventh and final track is the one to go for. A catchy yet very abstract rhythm texture moves along echoed concrete sounds. Very interesting! Where aforementioned release was originally recorded back in 2004, present release is a live recording from the aforementioned concert of Freiband, held at The Public School in Brussels on the 11th December 2009. The album consists of one long piece running 17 minutes. It is a pure ambient piece that slowly develops from inaudible to slightly higher volume without ever getting loud – Alluring work! Last album, the 33rd release of M.O.L.L. is a mini compilation consisting of five
tracks
from three different projects. As the title suggests all five pieces circulates around Christmas as a subject, but do not expect any sweet tunes for Christmas eve on this one. Despite the great nostalgic photograph of a family in front of a Christmas tree, decorating the cover artwork, this is a demanding work! First track “Bell phase” is piece by concrete noise-project Kapotte Muziek composed in 1989, a short piece of electro acoustic noise drones probably derived from bells as sound sources. Next piece Stph (2001) is from Freiband and expressively it belongs to the opposite camp of first track being a more tranquilizing piece – a very nice atmospheric work indeed. Kapotte Muziek returns on third track titled “Audio plagio 7″ this time with a less loud work never the less just as interesting a piece. Fifth track is the most Christmas-like tune with a small gentle melody of a musical box opening the piece. After that come the distant sounds of field recordings assisted by a
Dutch-spoken voice. Last track is the short but quite effective track from Kapotte Muziek with the rather saying title “The normal x-mas records destruction”. Three very interesting new titles from “My Own Little Label”. (NM)
Address: http://www.kormplastics.nl/moll.html

NAMAZU DANTAI – BLACK LILY IN A WHITE POND (cassette by 2:00 AM Tapes)
On this attractive, limited-edition C20, we encounter a devilishly unattractive harsh noise wall from Sascha Mandler’s latest project, Namazu Dantai, following several years of recording under the Izanami’s Labour Pains moniker. Mandler dedicates this live recording to “female cruelty and my willingness to receive it” — not the first tidbit of women-targeted ire to grace a harsh noise release, though one must assume that, despite the wording, he’s aiming his anger at only those who’ve spurned him in the past. Or so I need to think, as a misogynist blast of this intensity would be merely inexcusable. Mandler erects this wall seemingly in mid-phrase, commencing side A’s blistering duration without even a figment of an attack curve. It’s an abrupt kick in the testes – one which pummels along for a pulverizing ten minutes before switching sides for yet another passage of carnal
noise. This is full-on, pedal-fervid abrasion, with HNW’s trademark volume maximalism and stylistic minimalism. Imagine buildings collapsing and thunderstorms ravaging, as the noise shifts from harsh to harsher to less harsh to harsh in a smoothly shifting cycle whose ‘calmer bits,’ I assure you, can be identified only in relativistic terms. This is solid stuff, and at twenty minutes it’s quite the right length to brutalize the listener effectively yet justly. I could live
without Mandler’s choice of muse, but there’s no sense condemning this
hefty racket. (MT)
Address: http://2amtapes.com/home/

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Apple has reacted rather than innovated where the iPad is concerned, taking what it’s previously presented to us in handy and incredibly useful portable form—the iPhone—and making it, well, far less portable and a lot less handy.

We’ve got an expensive giant iPhone that doesn’t make or receive calls offered up to us as “awesome”–one of Jobs’ most overused words—when, in fact, anybody with half an ounce of sense knows it isn’t at all awesome, fantastic or inspiring when we’ve already seen everything it can do, and like carrying all those functions around in our pockets.

The iPad is a solution looking for a problem, and a horse with wheels. With an iPhone and a MacBook Pro, I cannot see any reason why I would want to add an iPad to my collection of devices. I’ve also got an iMac and an Apple TV and all these devices together make for effortless networking, easy media playback on small or large screens, and all the usability anyone expects to get from desktop or mobile computers. If you don’t have these devices, or just one or two of them, then I’m sure it would make more sense to look at these as first choice additions than the iPad. They do more, and even the Apple TV does better.

My view might change with future versions of the iPad—it would be foolish of anyone to write it off forever—but I, along with many others, found myself disappointingly underwhelmed by yesterday’s launch. No iPhone 4.0 software with multitasking and app folders, no new rebuilt iTunes 10 putting an end to the software’s ridiculous resource-hogging on both PCs and Macs. Just a rehashed iPhone too big for my pocket and likely to drive me insane if I try to use the virtual keyboard for more than a paragraph or two at a time, owing to the fact that there is no tactile feedback whatsoever.

As a writer I need my clicking keys. I need them. I’m no gamer but I imagine they, too, need some kind of response from the hardware to their fingers. For some reason this lack of physicality doesn’t frustrate with a small unit like an iPhone or an iPod Touch. It would do so enormously with a larger device. I know it would.

I also think the product focus is fatally flawed. If e-books had been at the front of all considerations, and not watching movies and listening to music, we might have seen a genuine rival to the Amazon Kindle and other e-book readers. But even with the introduction of another proprietary format—Apple iBooks (regurgitating the classic laptop range name)–the iPad fails to convince readers that Apple has produced a device for electronic books. It has instead made a device for people who, if they dare to use it for reading e-books, care not about straining their eyes or ruining their posture. An opportunity to truly take on the Kindle has been squandered. But it isn’t too late—we’ll see what future versions bring.

Some Apple devotees are already saying “enjoy the technology” and praising the iPad but I’m not one of them. I like my technology to look great and work well, yes. That’s why I like Apple over boring, dull, hopeless Microsoft. The iPad, some say, does look great. I don’t agree. The design and functionality has been seen before, and is loved on the iPhone and iPod Touch. It simply hasn’t translated to a larger device very well. The iPad isn’t innovative. It’s a rehash, a bad cover version, the great Apple snake eating its own tail. It isn’t elegant. It’s clumsy. It isn’t cool. It is, instead a device destined to be popular with uber-geeks and those men who suffer from BCSD syndrome (Big Car, Small Dick). It also has the words MUG ME on the back, that only appear whenever the iPad is whipped out of a bag on a train or in any other public space. And wait for reports of snapping, smashing or overheating iPads to start appearing on the Web…

By the end of the year, unless a new improved version is released, the iPad will be seen as a failure ranking alongside the Cube and the Newton, on the basis of comparatively poor sales next to the rest of Apple’s hardware with, perhaps, the exception of the much-maligned (not without some justification) and slow-selling Apple TV. The public needed to be convinced by the iPad. It costs more and does less than some of Apple’s laptops, it costs about the same in its lowest-spec form as a PAYG iPhone and provides all the same functions except for the core essentials—calls and texts—but without the effortless portability. How can anyone other than the most feverish technology fan be convinced of a need for the iPad? It’s just not going to happen.

Yesterday’s product launch was boring. Apple had nothing genuinely new to offer us. It just went bigger with what it already does well, and bigger does not mean better if a lasting purpose has not been identified for the upscale job. The company went into overdrive trying to convince everyone the iPad was new, exciting and—let’s not forget–”awesome”–but it wasn’t. This was the (now) old dressed up as the new. That’s not to say Apple’s work on touchscreen technology and the iPhone OS hasn’t been amazing. It has, and continues to impress.

We needed something new and different and genuinely useful from the iPad and we didn’t get it. Apple does produce turkeys every once in a while, whatever the evangelists argue. The iPad is one such turkey. Unlike the unfortunate birds, the iPad won’t be immensely popular at Christmas. If anything its arrival makes the iPhone and iPod Touch even more appealing than before.

I love my iPhone. I could never love the first-generation iPad. I don’t have a use for it.

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