Klavierstücke I-XI / Mikrophonie I & II
Beautiful double CD set, containing a mindblowing Mikrophonie version... Mikrophonie is the title given by Karlheinz Stockhausen to two of his compositions, written in 1964 and 1965, in which “normally inaudible vibrations . . . are made audible by an active process of sound detection (comparable to the auscultation of a body by a physician); the microphone is used actively as a musical instrument, in contrast to its former passive function of reproducing sounds as faithfully as possible” (Stock…
Tidings / Amesthyst Waves
Trying to put the last 15 years of music into context, you’d be hard pressed to get anyone to agree on a single thing. If anything, this period has been a collective convergence of all things cool-sounding: naïve experimentalism, academic composition, art-rock synthesis, electronic nihilism/flagellation, and, well, everything else. Mark McGuire could muddy anyones interpretation of the contemporary canon with his buddies in the triadic mega-unit, Emeralds, his collaborative outings in Sun Wa…
Love him v.1
n the wild sampling black forest that daft giraffe commonly referred to as Okapi (www.okapi.it) struts about tuning a more than 100 elements orchestra, all of which ruthlessly plundered, to celebrate the notorious Kyrgyz composer Aldo Kapi (1896-1952) of whom the more recent works (1927-1952) in between break-NOT-core, experimental turntablism and bubble-gum audio are presented in this 12" volume 1.
Chora / Quivers
Chora is the British duo of Rob Lye and Ben Morris. Their music is a gorgeous mix of psychedelic free-form improvisation and ecstatic free jazz, with hypnotic percussion, cymbals, bowed instruments, eerie reeds, and an overall ritualistic, shamanic vibe. Quivers are guitarist Ninni Morgia and upright bassist Jordon Schranz, joined here by drummer extraordinaire Mike Pride, a Milford Graves student who has played with Anthony Braxton, John Zorn, Nels Cline and Keiji Haino among others. Their impr…
II
Original copy of the Excellent second vinyl released by this fantastic ensemble, mixed drones with experimental-avant garde. Cloth cover, ultra limited edition
Faust Wakes Nosferatu
It was a marriage made in heaven (or perhaps hell): the Krautrock legends Faust and FW Murnau's classic silent horror movie Nosferatu, made in 1921. Drawing on music from their 1997 album, Faust Wakes Nosferatu, which was itself inspired by the film, Faust accompanied a screening of the movie with an enthralling, apocalyptic river of sound. The audience was more Faustian than silver-screen. Indeed, a number of Nosferatu purists soon abandoned their seats in horror. Even Faust\\'s fans seemed unc…
Against the Day
Since Sam Shalabi enjoyed his mini-breakout in 2004 with the Shalabi Effect's The Trial of St. Orange, the Montreal composer has explored the overlap between popular Western music and traditional Middle Eastern musics, particularly those from Egypt, the country from which Shalabi's parents hailed. These projects tend to be diffuse and ambitious: Shalabi works with dozens of musicians on long, brash drones, or plays meditative oud pieces in comfy theaters. Land of Kush, …
Olympians
‘Experimental’ bands are never going to please everyone; a lot of them seem almost uninterested in being anything but show-offs and twats, and there’s occasionally no attempt to make a connection twixt music and listener. All we get is: ‘marvel at my amazing button-pushing skills.’ And then, suddenly and horrifically, you turn into your dad: ‘that’s not music, that’s noise!’ Despite the post-watershed name, Fuck Buttons have always been a more subtle and meditative addition to the experime…
Up From the Sewers
A Chicago act was responsible for this underground album - sometimes referred to as Euphoria Blimp Works Presents Yama And The Karma Dusters Up From The Sewers, although Euphoria Blimp Works and Yama and The Karma Dusters were both alternate names for the group. An excellent album of varied musical styles, it includes high energy rockers (Revolution (not The Beatles song), CTA and the excellent Evolution, with its environmentally conscious lyrics). There are also folk-rockers (Don't Kill The Bab…
Dream
This review for Wet Hair’s excellent debut full-length is dedicated to the late Barry Goldwater, five-term U.S. Senator. In 1984, Senator Goldwater wrote the Cable Franchise Policy and Communications Act, allowing local governments to require public, educational, and government access channels on television sets in their area. This act also wiped said local government’s hands clean of whatever content these channels would feature. Because of this act, because of Barry Goldwater, many a ni…
Split
Despite the fact I've always had a liking for Pan Sonic I recently found out that Mika Vainio isn't actually the one with the fringe. Oh well, that's faceless leccyblokes for you. The one without the fringe is on spectacularly uncompromising form here, beginning with a nasty bit of high-frequency blasting before crashing into a heavy, ultra distorted 'tone' that could almost pass for Sunn 0))) being processed to within an inch of their lives. A temporary respite eventually arrives in the …
Birdland
This is the deluxe remastered LP edition of the previously cassette only release on Beniffer Editions. It is their third official full length, described as 'a totally peaced out collection of destructo boombox symphonies'. Sounds about right to us. This French Canadian duo, who’s output has been prolific already - two full lengths, two cassettes, a single and an appearance on the “World’s Lousy Vol. 2” comp - is mining territory similar to Chrome and Suicide channelled through warm layers…
Immer Etwas
Immer Etwas is the first full length release from this one man bedroom recording project turned full on 5-piece live band. Nice Face have been turning out singles, comp tracks, and cassettes at a steady clip over the past two years and change. This LP is a solid thirteen tracks of drum-machine driven blown out hook-laden punk rock that one reviewer prone to curmudgeonly ranting proclaimed “locks Blank Dogs in the pound, erases ‘Psychedelic’ from Psychedelic Horseshit, makes purses and boo…
Life Review (1993-2003)
The Shadow Ring formed in the seaside town of Folkestone, England in 1993. Over the course of a decade, and through eight LPs, Graham Lambkin, Darren Harris and later Tim Goss scraped out a unique musical pathway for themselves, armed with only the barest of tools. With each release the Shadow Ring presented themselves as a group in constant flux. Naive acoustic improvisations, dour bedroom sci-fi epics, cryptic D.I.Y. theatre and glacial electronic soundscapes all became fair game in the…
On Patrol
Gorgeous double LP version "If a tree falls in a forest and no one's around, shit still gets crushed. If Cameron Stallones holes up solo-style in a suburban cave and wah-riffs over canned bongos for five straight months, double LPs still get dropped. These are basic life laws. The latest from Mr. Araw is easily his least compromising audio self-portrait to date. Three minute rhythm sketches are stretched into ten minute loop pedal odysseys. Organ solos last for entire vinyl sides. Ambiguou…
A Small Turn Of Human Kindness
Athens weirdcore trio Harvey Milk is a blessedly difficult band to “know.” They frustrate category, aesthetic response, and heavy music scene politics in estimable, admirable ways. On the heels of their feedback-saturated return to recording – first the somewhat tentative Special Wishes and then 2008’s Life . . . the Best Game in Town – they return with A Small Turn of Human Kindness, an album named after the very first track on their 1996 debut. A seven-part dirge, this album continues …
Beautiful Monolith Two
It seems as Campbell Kneale (within his Love Will Destroy The World project) aims to discover any darkest and most dangerous corners of the modern experimental music. As an experienced and dedicated hunter, he doesn't walk the empty tracks, rather he's interested much more in rich bushes and impassable thickets. The A side's track is “Glittery Skin”, it shows Merzbow-like pulsating electronic noises, but the main energy-giver is obscure and doomy heavy guitar riff. Sick, anarchic, trancesending …
Wealth
2006 release ** "This is the first solo album of Norwegian composer and musician Jørgen Knudsen who was a founding member of highly acclaimed duo Information. This duo had an unique combination of sound and creative methods as well as their interest in connecting music with visuals, texts, dances etc. Information released a few fantastic albums on labels such as Beatservice and Rune Grammofon. Jørgen had been working on his first solo album during last few years, recording and collecting the aud…