tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56505702114402037372024-03-18T20:39:32.294-07:00Witte RuisWhite noise (tr: witte ruis) is a signal which contains equal power within a fixed bandwidth at any center frequency. It surfaces as thermal noise in resistors. It is the sound you hear when an old tv receives no signal. It is also applicable as part of sensory deprivation.bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.comBlogger376125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-13950622670572641472023-05-02T00:00:00.002-07:002023-05-02T12:50:05.099-07:00TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA - NO-INPUT MIXING BOARD #11 - LIVE IN TOKYO<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeQzQQaBviErtay7aEwBTa4AodvNBGzIm8Nrbu0vMS58gM0yB9wE95BJOtqxIVsB9j_93g7yyxfGZPJQYSZhWAqgflACfG8e5ZSjm3yFmH9gx_t89dgRcGX_o8t0GcwOr60KE7aQYWdt_835iEkQb7QEd9fRvr8ODSDgGszwgLm3HbknvrFFr5ODYLzg/s1200/a0464027381_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeQzQQaBviErtay7aEwBTa4AodvNBGzIm8Nrbu0vMS58gM0yB9wE95BJOtqxIVsB9j_93g7yyxfGZPJQYSZhWAqgflACfG8e5ZSjm3yFmH9gx_t89dgRcGX_o8t0GcwOr60KE7aQYWdt_835iEkQb7QEd9fRvr8ODSDgGszwgLm3HbknvrFFr5ODYLzg/s320/a0464027381_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>CD, <a href="https://input-error.co.uk/">https://input-error.co.uk/</a><p></p><p>I always get happy when we get mail or material from unknown labels. Why? Because it's Google Time! Time to learn new stuff about new artists, and now and then, you get to find out about something that triggers you in some way. So when Ewan from Input Error asked if we would be interested in his latest output ( ** note from the editor: There will be several input-output puns in this review, most of them are intended, some probably accidental **), of course, I'll say yes. The previews we were sent were really promising. As for Input Error, the list of releases contain some names we all know and some lesser known. So it might be interesting to check it out on the website or Discogs.</p><p>Toshimaru Nakamura is a name I had not heard of before, which is strange as he's been active since 1995. "Guitar and No-Input mixing board player", states his Discogs profile and shitloads of releases. So my anticipation here is that he is someone who knows what he's doing with mixers. The four tracks on "NIMB #11" (I'll be using this abbreviation from now on) are between 8 and 20 minutes. Fifty minutes in total of NIMB-ing. Sessions that are simply titled #71, #72, #73 and #74 with additional location and date of recording. Sessions? Live performances? The information doesn't state that part, but a few things came to mind while listening to the tracks.</p><p>First, NIMB-ing is a one-take session where you create loops around a mixer and control your feedback loops. And the more you do it, the more you know your gear and everything you use within the loops (for example, FX-pedals). But the whole system you generate and use to make sounds is 'hot as f***', and each little thing you do has a direct effect, making it very difficult to control. Sure, I hear you think, 'but it makes noise, and that's what I want' and yes. If that's what you want: true. But to CONTROL the noise, now THAT is difficult. And Toshimaru proves with these recordings - particularly in tracks "NIMB #3" and "NIMB #4" - that he is in complete control of his sound. Subtle when even really harsh, wow. The first tracks show a harsher approach, which is a bit more 'in your face' (more sudden changes, a bit more harshness, noisier), but this is a master at work. The CD screams those words—a very nice release.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-60559679399825582162023-05-01T23:30:00.000-07:002023-05-02T12:51:18.439-07:00DRUG AGE - DYSLEXIC ACTION<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4Yqn17tvzm7qvNsVgrKLkLUnQ8Eraq0_lAEW5tDmYsCemegPPIxNmvUUuqlBVRmp3HyyBHWajno_z88puP55LA8EoD-LBPaHzPDqIbASkgVCooIQb5Fu8sthg9ZfCJFHZ5cMq1i1PqxtrELZmsjDKby0dyYLXBKiqdhXTrHxwKdWopgNM0_uU2r8Tg/s1200/a0833779185_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1085" data-original-width="1200" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4Yqn17tvzm7qvNsVgrKLkLUnQ8Eraq0_lAEW5tDmYsCemegPPIxNmvUUuqlBVRmp3HyyBHWajno_z88puP55LA8EoD-LBPaHzPDqIbASkgVCooIQb5Fu8sthg9ZfCJFHZ5cMq1i1PqxtrELZmsjDKby0dyYLXBKiqdhXTrHxwKdWopgNM0_uU2r8Tg/s320/a0833779185_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>2CD, <a href="https://input-error.co.uk/">https://input-error.co.uk/</a><p></p><p>I always get happy when we get mail or material from unknown labels. Why? Because it's Google Time! Time to learn new stuff about new artists, and now and then, you get to find out about something that triggers you in some way. So when Ewan from Input Error asked if we would be interested in his latest output ( ** note from the editor: There will be several input-output puns in this review, most of them are intended, some probably accidental **), of course, I'll say yes. The previews we were sent were really promising. As for Input Error, the list of releases contain some names we all know and some lesser known. So it might be interesting to check it out on the website or Discogs.</p><p>The second release is a double CD by Drug Age entitled "Dyslexic Action". And those of you who are interested in the Italian Harsh Noise scene might recognize this one. It is indeed a rerelease from a 2013 very limited (53 copies) quadruple cassette box. I guess that one of those 53 copies was bought or traded or somehow got to Ewan's collection, and when he replayed it recently, his thoughts were that it simply had to be heard by more people. So, a double CD on Input Error was a logical next step.</p><p>The four original cassettes were divided into two batches leaving the original track order intact. The artwork, however - from what I could find on the first edition - is entirely different. The now gracefully designed grey-tone / dark cover contrasts the cut 'n paste ethics of the original box. The cut 'n paste ethics seem to fit the style of noise Francesco Tignola and Matteo Castro generate a bit better. It's loud, erratic, sudden movements, extreme changes, and the other usual suspects of complete compression, squeaking feedback, rattles and so on. The length of the - total - 16 tracks is roughly 1 and 16 minutes. And I noticed something ... The original four cassettes, so that's eight sides, all had different themes in composition and use of sound. So me stating that my favourite tracks were side C will probably mean something to Francesco and Matteo, but will leave all of you enthralled in the way of "wtf is he babbling about". A total of 90 minutes of harsh noise collages, finally available on CD, and worth your time.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-69004953949468345042023-05-01T23:00:00.001-07:002023-05-02T12:53:10.038-07:00ARVO ZYLO - DYSFIGURINES<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX0fOsjThenglamrtJtTpS1pt35nUIUs8e2Tu-okiCnttARnUnKYyz4I8wVkwfKXGw1SFAY0MUWMjTf0AjVe30faalOjBval9Z-rvgXRx5pgiUxtw5QQVqSRVFzbIllkZMF2u1WlqnNho4WY6ezHM2UZ1Tdng5-zKttzmylwUW5QeUB8W8T1qax0156Q/s1200/a3463651268_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX0fOsjThenglamrtJtTpS1pt35nUIUs8e2Tu-okiCnttARnUnKYyz4I8wVkwfKXGw1SFAY0MUWMjTf0AjVe30faalOjBval9Z-rvgXRx5pgiUxtw5QQVqSRVFzbIllkZMF2u1WlqnNho4WY6ezHM2UZ1Tdng5-zKttzmylwUW5QeUB8W8T1qax0156Q/s320/a3463651268_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>LP, <a href="https://nopartofit.bandcamp.com/">https://nopartofit.bandcamp.com/</a> <p></p><p>Steady readers of the Vital Weekly now know the man, the name, the label, and his output. Arvo Zylo runs No Part Of It, and that label is a very active little bugger. And I mean it in the best way possible. I mean: We all know those small 'internet' / Bandcamp-based noise labels where everybody releases every single little fart that happens to be looped through guitar pedals and creates a massive sound. There are too many of those high-output labels if you ask me. Sure, now and then there is that 'pearl' you find between the pebbles, but ... Well, I meant to say that No Part Of It is everything but a label like that kind. The output is high, but not too high, and each release is in some way physical. Pro replicated CDRs or vinyl in ultra-limited editions.</p><p>"Dysfigurines" is a limited vinyl (10 copies), and the two 20-minute tracks are created from field recordings. In this case, more than one field recordings from different times and different situations are layered upon each other creating an eerie atmosphere. Faint echoes from layer 1) can cause artefacts or sounds in layer 2) to get a different meaning. And an atmospheric recording can, and vice versa, give a recorded voice a fully different meaning. A bit like what you get when watching a movie while you play the soundtrack from a different movie simultaneously.</p><p>Sure, you can also use field recordings and granulate or loop the hell out of them. Something I - when done correctly - like a lot. But This release goes back to the basics of what it's all about. Layering, checking, controlling, manipulating the output into a continuous dynamic... And through the process, Arvo creates an album with a beautifully urban soundtrack on side A / "Concave time": Imagine an NYC office by night. Side B / "W Tears" I have no clue how to describe ... It reminded me of the first output by The Caretaker. Arvo's take on things is a bit more like an acid trip in contradiction to the 'submarine' feel of The Caretaker. Maybe a bit more Kubrick / The Shining style. Yes, less 'the field recording as is' and more manipulated, but very well done. Nice one!</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-57838683973990788742023-05-01T22:30:00.003-07:002023-05-02T12:56:55.114-07:00VERTONEN – BLACK PATTI 8056<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Murj6XeU8f3tx4XL4gODmJl6d10xzK31xKI_c3DnBFvXVLn13iFpS2uoWTchxf-_w5hS6R6a3aNdN_87u3sFPZh_uApugpRzaHF-93wmNQ-WhYzaIEiZzwFPJPOyI9VRq8Xb-5DnDQ1LoyNObC2WmXSgHZDIEjrKsWfK0FHdyFpGHQUMvfk1L_SACQ/s2201/8056%20sleeve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2201" data-original-width="2112" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Murj6XeU8f3tx4XL4gODmJl6d10xzK31xKI_c3DnBFvXVLn13iFpS2uoWTchxf-_w5hS6R6a3aNdN_87u3sFPZh_uApugpRzaHF-93wmNQ-WhYzaIEiZzwFPJPOyI9VRq8Xb-5DnDQ1LoyNObC2WmXSgHZDIEjrKsWfK0FHdyFpGHQUMvfk1L_SACQ/s320/8056%20sleeve.jpg" width="307" /></a></div>10” lathe + CDR, <a href="https://ballastnvp.blogspot.com/">https://ballastnvp.blogspot.com/</a><p></p><p>It's Chicago Time! The Windy City! One of my favourite places in the United States. And why? I haven't got the faintest clue, other than the fact that I really appreciated and liked the "Chicago guitar sound" back in the days (style wise: Big Black, Touch and Go, Slint, Bitch Magnet), which weren't Chicago bands mainly, but in my head, they were all connected somehow to a big city where people tried to think differently. So with my project, I've played Chicago twice - the basement of The Nervous Center and The Empty Bottle - and I think back with a big smile to both events. And my timeline coincides with many people from around there, Marc Benner from Oxidation being a name you come by in the Vital quite often and: Blake from Ballast / Vertonen. And this one is about Blake and Chicago.</p><p>Because Chicago has a history when it comes to music, the guitar scene in the 80s and '90s is just an example, and in this release, Blake gets to another part of Chicago History: The Black Patti label, which only lived in the year 1927. It mainly released jazz, blues and sermons, but I thank the good lord on both knees that this release isn't jazz at all. The 10" lathe has titles hinting that way: "Run Out Groove Blues" and "Frying Bacon Blues", but the title doesn't fit the tune. It's how the original label hinted at the covers of the release's content back then. However, some of the sound sources Blake uses on the lathe tracks seem to fit the description correctly. The A-side uses those crackling runout grooves, which you won't hear when you have an automatic shut-off record player. And the B-side, in a way, has the same but with a bit of fantasy the run-out groove is manipulated into sizzling bacon - and I might add: vegan friendly. Both tracks are around 10 minutes, made of crackling piano samples and voices, and manipulated heavily into drone-like soundscapes.</p><p>The CDR elaborates on the sound palette chosen for the lathe tracks. These compositions are around 25 minutes each, and because Blake decided to use more time, the flow within each composition is more gradual and accessible to the ear. The first track is a hypnotic and super-dynamic masterpiece. Lots of - what I suspect - granular synthesis or at least more minor sounds stretched into atmospheric layers. And some less 'atmospheric' and more intrusive sounds. It's what creates the dynamics here. Lovely. The second track opens with a piano sample and from that moment on... The mid-section is creepy, with a pulsating, almost rhythmic background, and the track ends with what I can only describe as 'the sound of emptiness'.</p><p>So yeah: I like this release. A lot. My favorite track, the 2nd track from the CDr. But that's not what this review ends with. Because: This is the first release in a Ballast Subscription Series. Only 25 copies each, of which 19 are for sale. So collectors, be sure to check the link at the bottom for the information you need because the message of this review might well be that Chicago just got a new chapter in its musical history.</p><p>Subscription: <a href="https://ballastnvp.blogspot.com/2023/04/10-lathe-series-subscriptions-now.html">https://ballastnvp.blogspot.com/2023/04/10-lathe-series-subscriptions-now.html</a></p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-88391338193868529362023-04-18T00:00:00.001-07:002023-05-02T12:44:36.293-07:00KAPOTTE MUZIEK - LIVE AT KLUBB KANIN<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJSS4X1ea9J4ySxQtw-LtqMyFKG2ZZaLvm9Dew4szFQ5k8zzUaXaLO5je294mSRe24Nm_-OPRKU0d6WfJ-k2IYdpDbtKCMtN2Irs8pZSY0-0sv91-hp5n6PiwkidNJ7HFiWbUmWM0SZ5AjuVCHei528TCcBJYfPHvaa3t4007BJQNzMbDxTzrOgWeeWQ/s960/337891835_948447826590342_4301926219180520026_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJSS4X1ea9J4ySxQtw-LtqMyFKG2ZZaLvm9Dew4szFQ5k8zzUaXaLO5je294mSRe24Nm_-OPRKU0d6WfJ-k2IYdpDbtKCMtN2Irs8pZSY0-0sv91-hp5n6PiwkidNJ7HFiWbUmWM0SZ5AjuVCHei528TCcBJYfPHvaa3t4007BJQNzMbDxTzrOgWeeWQ/s320/337891835_948447826590342_4301926219180520026_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Cassette, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/klubbkanin/">https://www.facebook.com/klubbkanin/</a><p></p><p>It was the ninth of October in the year 1999. I was visiting the lovely Belgian town of Brugge with my girlfriend because of the first Cling Film Festival. Several bands started with the letter 'K' that evening, but I suspect that to be a complete coincidence. As always at festivals, not everything can be to everybody's taste, so during one of the lesser exciting acts, I walked around a bit and went through the record bins in the second area. I came to talk with a prominent elderly lady, and she told me she wasn't there because of the music, but her son played, and she wanted to witness it. And, of course - I recognize it from my mother - even if your spawn's art isn't your thing, mothers are proud, and I could feel this pride in how she talked about her son. After all, I met him many times when buying my records in the Staalplaat basement. It was Frans' mom.</p><p>Brugge was my first engagement with Kapotte Muziek, and it still is an enigma to me. It holds the midst between micro tonalities, Fluxus, field recordings (sometimes made on the spot), minimal noise, improvisational soundscapes and anything you can think of. It "is". And yes, it's also broken. Kapotte Muziek is a few people on stage (mostly Frans de Waard, Peter Duimelinks and Roel Meelkop) handling lots of stuff which generates sounds. And that concert, I don't think I understood what it was about. I mean, I doubt if I know what it is about now. But there is a more important question: Does it matter?</p><p>About "Live at Klubb Kanin". The year is 1997, and Peter, Frans and Roel went to Norway to perform in the newly founded - by Lasse Marhaug and Tore Boe - Klubb Kanin. And at the 20th anniversary, Peter and Frans went there again to perform a second time. This tape holds both recordings, which were only treated in a way the recordings would fit a tape properly, so no additional recordings or sounds, just sonic treatment like production and rearranging some parts. Sound-wise, the 1997 recordings come close to what I remember from Brugge, the same minimalism and microscopic sonic landscape. 2017 has the same compositional features as 1997, and I wonder if fragility is the keyword I was looking for. Sounds used are more pleasing to my ear (noises, oscillators), but that's a matter of taste. Composition-wise, both recordings explore the fragility of minimalism but with different sounds.</p><p>In my opinion: This is a release that beautifully documents the growth of a collective. And without any doubt, mom would still be proud.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-76280438027134535562023-04-11T00:00:00.001-07:002023-05-02T12:35:56.801-07:00MODELBAU - METAL AND MOTIF 7" + MARCH WIND Cassette<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7tLX3ks1FQeUWhITDG9F3u5hlXpEnXjtfMD0TqMeQCa7uuDWaFOa4ycgPoJ_VLawLo72fGcnZ8mNv742J50IbkWFDJ04jUqiUabTZffRtQj-2QxEb-NY4m3n_yp6BVUxzJmtTr6eHarO9aXd-YdHCcc0gWvvC0EqzXHYkNz9bUlQo_hbci1dYGBEGeQ/s1200/a3799397987_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7tLX3ks1FQeUWhITDG9F3u5hlXpEnXjtfMD0TqMeQCa7uuDWaFOa4ycgPoJ_VLawLo72fGcnZ8mNv742J50IbkWFDJ04jUqiUabTZffRtQj-2QxEb-NY4m3n_yp6BVUxzJmtTr6eHarO9aXd-YdHCcc0gWvvC0EqzXHYkNz9bUlQo_hbci1dYGBEGeQ/s320/a3799397987_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>7", <a href="mailto:muhmur.radio@gmail.com">muhmur.radio@gmail.com</a><br />Cassette, <a href="https://grisaille.bandcamp.com/">https://grisaille.bandcamp.com/</a><p></p><p>Two Modelbau releases this week, and I'll review them a bit differently this time. Why? Well, first of all, I've spoken to the maker, who we all know, and he gave me a bit of extra information about them, giving me a chance to analyse the sound more. Second, I reviewed several Modelbau releases, and I'm an admirer of 'the drone' and minimal compositions. So getting a new release from an artist I've reviewed quite often already is... It's like you can only say ever so often, "this is great stuff", "you should buy it", or "deep drone with high-pitched layering creating some nice depth", or whatever ...</p><p>Last week's 'Night Route' (Vital Weekly 1381) opened a door for this conversation with Frans. I had written the review from the perspective of 'sonic travelling', a nightly drive that might be long or short, and the way the outside is interpreted by the storyteller and told as a sound/drone/track. When he told me he had two more coming out, a cassette and a 7", he asked me if I wanted to do those too, so I said yes.</p><p>'March Wind' is a five-track cassette on Grisaille, and it's his 6th on that label. The previous one was also reviewed by me (Vital Weekly 1327), and precisely what I said above goes for this release too. Like "May Flower", "March Wind" is 'minimalistic electronics, looped field recordings, strings/pads of unknown origin, and slow mixing layers or added effects are all properly produced, resulting in a solid release.' What's the verdict? Well, Modelbau has a particular style. And if/when you listen to a track, you might be able to hear it's a Modelbau track. And that is not bad because Frans does an excellent thing there.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwKOlEblKiEoqyDPcWO6It2BXWuAe3toBBeJdPtviVJR_GDezVUN9Imi55KdOb0uSsspe2-CQHn-19u7dMDA1wqWVFSaNky3xinePU1Y5c2n9fIgdQ1Noro4nnARa1pdSyz5Kc_F-uAfdCqIQl-VxNkAdSGa0-JLvpUth-7byErBmS42HknQk0MWZMQ/s600/R-26648726-1680623070-5466.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwKOlEblKiEoqyDPcWO6It2BXWuAe3toBBeJdPtviVJR_GDezVUN9Imi55KdOb0uSsspe2-CQHn-19u7dMDA1wqWVFSaNky3xinePU1Y5c2n9fIgdQ1Noro4nnARa1pdSyz5Kc_F-uAfdCqIQl-VxNkAdSGa0-JLvpUth-7byErBmS42HknQk0MWZMQ/s320/R-26648726-1680623070-5466.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>'Metal and Motif' is a 7" with almost 12 minutes of playing time. So the tracks aren't long, and the storytelling must be focussed. And, well, I hear the use of different types of sounds. It's all less stretched and submerged in delay and reverb. Less saturation is maybe the word I'm looking for. ADDITION: I'm listening to all tracks as audio-file on the computer, so there is no colouring of sounds from the chosen media. The B-sides are getting a bit more of the darkness I also heard on the cassette (the 'submerged'-sound), but it's being complemented with more brightness and a wider frequency spectrum in the additional/other sounds. So it sounds all more defined, more determined, more thought of, less 'live' and more 'studio'. Amazing!<p></p><p>The extra info I got was about the recording setup used for both recordings. The Grisaille tape was recorded in March 2021, just before the change in his setup. This previous setup 'dictated' more one-take composing and recording. So older Modelbau material might be considered "Live in the Studio". The 'Metal and Motif' was recorded at the end of 2022 and included more layered recording techniques. Not a one-take, but more carefully produced layers creating the result. And all artists here will know it will take more time to work like this, so there might be a little less Modelbau being released and reviewed, but heads-up: The quality of production and composition might exceed your wildest dreams.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-9723275721135092332023-04-10T23:30:00.005-07:002023-05-02T12:39:59.689-07:00GÜNTER SCHLIENZ - AUSFLÜGE I<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxL5ZjR_IoEtlVBAqQkymOUEYNhaA_sAQiQTEbsQt09vz8RQy58j-WuR6q7FJ-S9-cEf3XSpWJ4Lf3LbRN68JH219JW4tagO_E2abdmeleMPo9n6mudpfjlg3h1HtzIkyoAOTlqiLJVzgaTyGhdpCQkkbfCIE7ykRxKRckOXujg04iyMjbP-1ZPXWvA/s1200/a1458657951_10.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxL5ZjR_IoEtlVBAqQkymOUEYNhaA_sAQiQTEbsQt09vz8RQy58j-WuR6q7FJ-S9-cEf3XSpWJ4Lf3LbRN68JH219JW4tagO_E2abdmeleMPo9n6mudpfjlg3h1HtzIkyoAOTlqiLJVzgaTyGhdpCQkkbfCIE7ykRxKRckOXujg04iyMjbP-1ZPXWvA/s320/a1458657951_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Cassette, <a href="https://cosimapitz.bandcamp.com/">https://cosimapitz.bandcamp.com/</a><p></p><p>As said last week, the package of Cosmic Winnetou that dropped on the doormat at HQ contained three cassettes, of which Modelbau and Celer were reviewed last week. The third cassette, "Ausflüge II", was from label owner Günter Schlienz and the reason why it was skipped last week was simply that it would be more fitting to combine its review with another release in the same series ", Ausflüge I" which came in this last week.</p><p>So, I first did to stroll around on the interwebz and see if there was information on Günter which could tell me a bit more about his background and previous releases. Because yes, never had I ever heard of him before. This is weird because it is the kind of ambient that might have come up somehow. I mean, modular, homemade electronics / synth-DIY, manipulated field recordings, guitar ambience, improvisation... But let's stick to what is known about the experimental music scene, and that is that it's all way larger than each of us individually thinks it is.</p><p>The first of the two cassettes is "Ausflüge I" on the Cosima Pitz label - which is not a label but a publisher with label activities. So there is a little 'meta-question that arises, seeing that a publisher publishes books with stories: Is "Ausflüge I" a publication in the form of a cassette with music, stories, or poems ... Or is it music released by a publisher that also happens to release cassettes nets to books and such. Well, it's a bit of both, actually, in my opinion. The four tracks are roughly between 10 and 20 minutes long, making this almost a C60. The titles are very descriptive in origin "Abendspaziergang", "Marsfrühstück", "Strandnachmittag", and "Nachtgewitter", and the music is ambient with a lot of improvisational characteristics. A dense drone layer and arpeggiated melody are almost the standard backdrops over which sounds are layered to tell the story. I can imagine why in previous reviews, the term New Age is also mentioned, but for me, personal New Age is more 'just a sound', while Günther very obviously invests in telling a story.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-21113322208286500852023-04-10T23:00:00.001-07:002023-05-02T12:41:00.628-07:00GÜNTER SCHLIENZ - AUSFLÜGE II<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggcbHC65CcKFqL-MjjCu8ZIg2F1KB5TDCLH7voyeR2jMW6SzDkEWmm2u3V6Ws9CWCB4IVm9Kb-EePm3Q1aqRSeMMJJQE6BIWc4KFxq5OKvZFQUeedKbpGSD9rWgxKS16iTNa2PZCW-zHRpzQ8cvyiOWs5fWwZFo0aZvsAk2Pnwvat5mAgyWJF9lKkaYw/s1200/a1031216165_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1200" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggcbHC65CcKFqL-MjjCu8ZIg2F1KB5TDCLH7voyeR2jMW6SzDkEWmm2u3V6Ws9CWCB4IVm9Kb-EePm3Q1aqRSeMMJJQE6BIWc4KFxq5OKvZFQUeedKbpGSD9rWgxKS16iTNa2PZCW-zHRpzQ8cvyiOWs5fWwZFo0aZvsAk2Pnwvat5mAgyWJF9lKkaYw/s320/a1031216165_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Cassette, <a href="https://cosmicwinnetou.bandcamp.com/">https://cosmicwinnetou.bandcamp.com/</a> <p></p><p>As said last week, the package of Cosmic Winnetou that dropped on the doormat at HQ contained three cassettes, of which Modelbau and Celer were reviewed last week. The third cassette, "Ausflüge II", was from label owner Günter Schlienz and the reason why it was skipped last week was simply that it would be more fitting to combine its review with another release in the same series ", Ausflüge I" which came in this last week.</p><p>So, I first did to stroll around on the interwebz and see if there was information on Günter which could tell me a bit more about his background and previous releases. Because yes, never had I ever heard of him before. This is weird because it is the kind of ambient that might have come up somehow. I mean, modular, homemade electronics / synth-DIY, manipulated field recordings, guitar ambience, improvisation... But let's stick to what is known about the experimental music scene, and that is that it's all way larger than each of us individually thinks it is.</p><p>"Ausflüge II" is released on his own Cosmic Winnetou, a bit shorter. The artwork is in sync with the Cosima Pitz release, so a true sequel or 'twin'-release, and so yes, the track titles are again very descriptive. "Gewitternacht" and "Marsfrühstück II" are longer tracks that are recorded a bit more open/clear than the ones on the first cassette. The compositions seem more directed into an ambient piece with melody and even some rhythm and less on describing the feeling/emotions or the surrounding while wandering. Finally, "Tankstelle" is a 3-minute piece that seems to be made with the same setup and patch as the first tracks. The coherency between tracks is stronger in "Ausflüge II" because it sounds like the same basics for sound have been re-used, making part II stronger as a release. But honestly, it could do without several rhythmic sounds because the composition has enough drive without those. Nice work for fans of improvisational modular sounds. And I even think the improvised parts may be fitting for people who like jazz and ambient.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-88520523119602593012023-04-04T00:00:00.010-07:002023-05-02T12:26:50.350-07:00MODELBAU - NIGHT ROUTE<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6yIY-xcab1nXsEzrjPJ441leTY3lGbJaO0Dq-VAV0ZACCZujx-bFqyZZldV6XfxLN1dSAg4-LpJAGSt553czcGUztZ5jwEpp5XKBK2cdaCB1SwLj2FgQQugzR8brXrAdM8YR3Km5Js0iVfGF4Y1XiGFJ8KZgLBuzGQ0n84u5EXeROKkPmGEacPpUGw/s1200/a3817522862_10.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1096" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6yIY-xcab1nXsEzrjPJ441leTY3lGbJaO0Dq-VAV0ZACCZujx-bFqyZZldV6XfxLN1dSAg4-LpJAGSt553czcGUztZ5jwEpp5XKBK2cdaCB1SwLj2FgQQugzR8brXrAdM8YR3Km5Js0iVfGF4Y1XiGFJ8KZgLBuzGQ0n84u5EXeROKkPmGEacPpUGw/s320/a3817522862_10.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>Cassette, <a href="https://cosmicwinnetou.bandcamp.com/">https://cosmicwinnetou.bandcamp.com/</a><p></p><p>Cosmic Winnetou is again a label I've never heard of before but is already on its 60th release. The man behind the label is Günter Schlienz, so it's no miracle his name turns up on the roster several times. Other names on here are Oberlin, Pulse Emitter, and Mathias Grassow, to name but a few. But in the recent batch that lies before me, a Günter Schlienz release (to be reviewed next week) is accompanied by Celer and Modelbau. So yeah, I was asked to shine a light of wisdom and write some words on them.</p><p>Modelbau's "Night Route" counts eight nameless tracks, which were 'mostly recorded at night', probably why Frans chose this title. But having said that: The cover of a highway with an open lens is misleading because the tracks may not have been written while driving (the 'Route'-part). If so, I want to have a chauffeur just like that! But without kidding: I don't know where these tracks were made. I only know they have more or less than Modelbau-feel I learned to appreciate over time. The first side of the cassette has three tracks around the 10-minute mark with long stretched ambience parts, all in the Modelbau style. (1) has a throbbing pulse in the back, (2) has the feel of an organic emptiness with a melody, and the use of the effects in (3) makes it sound raw and alienated.</p><p>The other side of this cassette is a story apart. Five tracks, of which three are under 5 minutes, two above that. Without listening, I'm already intrigued because drones and ambient, for me, personally work best when the tracks are a bit longer, giving the listener a chance to 'get into' the sonic painting of the artist's pictures. But within the perspective of the 'Route' part, short trips also get you from A to B, so if done properly, that picture should be paintable too. And yes, even though the stories told are more concrete - read: more variation is put into a smaller amount of time - they still work. The shorter tracks are a bit more hectic: A quick drive to the all-night gas station to get a beer (we're in the Netherlands, okay; at least in the old days before this was banned).</p><p>The longer tracks remain my personal favourites from Modelbau, but this is a proper release with a story to find out all by yourself. So I've told you mine. Oh, and to confuse you a bit more and make you listen: My favourite track is not even the longest!</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-64462615738629082812023-04-03T23:30:00.003-07:002023-05-02T12:27:01.200-07:00CELER - WASTED IN THE WAITING<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsaYvc0Mr3kMt0_xW9hLHGtkZU1kGveUKpkiAwzkVa5XHF-SBKN-TtSTLd60nuu44AL-atX_aVGBfF_UFKXzeTgrAM4ZaGcXAo_bJeY8KZvavCnzop5vcyyOnWjqdDZYj79AVy77FYOd2FcGuw-tIc5s1eZHkNXObl_5mKc3TgVuxxN-FnqkI_HM4Bg/s1200/a3080529661_10.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsaYvc0Mr3kMt0_xW9hLHGtkZU1kGveUKpkiAwzkVa5XHF-SBKN-TtSTLd60nuu44AL-atX_aVGBfF_UFKXzeTgrAM4ZaGcXAo_bJeY8KZvavCnzop5vcyyOnWjqdDZYj79AVy77FYOd2FcGuw-tIc5s1eZHkNXObl_5mKc3TgVuxxN-FnqkI_HM4Bg/s320/a3080529661_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Cassette, <a href="https://cosmicwinnetou.bandcamp.com/">https://cosmicwinnetou.bandcamp.com/</a><p></p><p></p><p>Cosmic Winnetou is again a label I've never heard of before but is already on its 60th release. The man behind the label is Günter Schlienz, so it's no miracle his name turns up on the roster several times. Other names on here are Oberlin, Pulse Emitter, and Mathias Grassow, to name but a few. But in the recent batch that lies before me, a Günter Schlienz release (to be reviewed next week) is accompanied by Celer and Modelbau. So yeah, I was asked to shine a light of wisdom and write some words on them.</p><p>Next is Celer. "Wasted in the Waiting" is a re-release from the digital-only release from 2020, now on cassette available through Cosmic Winnetou (Thank you, Günter). So as a re-release, I usually would have spent a bit less time, but ... As it was digital only, it has not yet been reviewed in Vital Weekly. So: Yeah! New Celer!</p><p>"Wasted in the Waiting" is a 2-track album, "Unreality in Misfortune" counts 38 minutes, "Mere Threads" is almost 46. So if you just read the Modelbau review, you already see me being happy: Long meandering tracks with subtle behaviour are the audible territory. And yes, "Unreality in Misfortune" is a perfect example, even with the abrupt ending. The build-up is massive, the choice of orchestral sounds significant, and it seems endless. Then, "Mere Threads". The beginning is about the best I've ever heard, and the track is Celer. It goes on and on and works best when played in the background to form 'one' with your environment ... Hmm, now, where have I heard that before ...</p><p>Yes, the minimalism that is Celer is an acquired taste, but if you were to try something this minimal, you might as well try this one.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-44087023563724417112023-03-28T00:00:00.008-07:002023-05-02T12:15:20.286-07:00VERTONEN - PARRY & ELIZA<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdfqtx2PIOg0EmOmkzkxYI8axG16RXNeYbFaSGv18O4BW5JZpTfwvJDzcNDv16iAuIdQqwyn78nkVyOntWsZ_70Jni6oYANtLdFbyXDTsAKmUR3o68XP_CijlG6PGOAesJb-IzCTACML1UzDXTvxGi9oFTux-2egEGvArhy9La9RnsMViHnJx5_WyVg/s600/R-26652944-1680653976-8667.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="532" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdfqtx2PIOg0EmOmkzkxYI8axG16RXNeYbFaSGv18O4BW5JZpTfwvJDzcNDv16iAuIdQqwyn78nkVyOntWsZ_70Jni6oYANtLdFbyXDTsAKmUR3o68XP_CijlG6PGOAesJb-IzCTACML1UzDXTvxGi9oFTux-2egEGvArhy9La9RnsMViHnJx5_WyVg/s320/R-26652944-1680653976-8667.jpg" width="284" /></a></div>CDR, <a href="http://ballastnvp.blogspot.com/">http://ballastnvp.blogspot.com/</a><p></p><p>Chicago-based Ballast, or better said Chicago-based Blake Edwards or maybe better said Chicago-based project Vertonen... Whatever, it's just words. Blake Edwards is Vertonen and has a label called Ballast. And he releases some weird stuff on there, limited as hell, little handmade pieces of art and what's most important - so consider acting very fast if you ever read something about a release you want in your collection - there are NO digital versions available. Well, *that* Blake sent us the latest releases from his label, and I have the pleasure of writing a bit about them.</p><p>The first release is a CDR entitled "Parry & Eliza" by his solo project Vertonen. It seems the "Parry and Eliza"-theme is a recurrent thing for him, but as it is impossible to know everything about everyone or hear all sounds ever produced: I missed out on all those. And I'm bummed about it because I DID hear this one ... On the CD are six sessions by Blake and his devices, and they're all between 2 and a half to 17 minutes in length, all recorded between October last year until earlier this month. </p><p>The thing is, because I didn't know what to expect, I was completely struck. In the meantime, you probably know I'm a droner, I like tension, deep basses, throbbing analogue pulses, my favourite wave is a sine and I also kinda like anything from noise to power electronics .. None of which is on this CDR. Because on this release, Blake manipulated words, just words. And they're all cut up, taken apart, moulded together, cut-pasted into layers and produced with all kinds of effects. And what the compositions did to me was putting me in a philosophical state - almost hypnotized.</p><p>If drones are made of layers with tones instead of notes, how would compositions sound if words were chosen instead of tones? And would letters be to words? What tones would be to notes? Less defined and not formed by rules, free from having to have a meaning. And are letters to words like grains/granules to sounds regarding granular synthesis? How would granular synthesis be defined if we used macro samples instead of micro grains? Do incoherent words together still form lyrics? Or maybe better: Do combined words always produce a text?</p><p>Combine all of that with artwork perfectly in sync with the coherence of incoherence, and we have a winner. In a limited edition of 29, no downloads. Yes: This one asks for a proper pressed CD release because everybody should hear this.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-28892752056190012302023-03-27T23:30:00.000-07:002023-05-02T12:15:58.835-07:00DEAD EDITS - KARAOKE POWER ELECTRONICS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEODAArVw22kSOUzrZ8bcvmYu3eLKVQNd4R1c32nfLkKFDZrQVGf2hMkA-8W1WeaRG-4FpVznpbGzhyhIBrJoXNJYgJhaqO61pKz2Mj7IpwC6y2sOyga4kwXLruyma3Jd0NwPXWgmC25MwTZ-elC8o6TGt_0zFl5HG2MO5KJbp5dTJarnYrmrp-qZ1g/s600/R-26653028-1680654664-7213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="600" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEODAArVw22kSOUzrZ8bcvmYu3eLKVQNd4R1c32nfLkKFDZrQVGf2hMkA-8W1WeaRG-4FpVznpbGzhyhIBrJoXNJYgJhaqO61pKz2Mj7IpwC6y2sOyga4kwXLruyma3Jd0NwPXWgmC25MwTZ-elC8o6TGt_0zFl5HG2MO5KJbp5dTJarnYrmrp-qZ1g/s320/R-26653028-1680654664-7213.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>CDR+ art, <a href="http://ballastnvp.blogspot.com/">http://ballastnvp.blogspot.com/</a><p></p><p>Chicago-based Ballast, or better said Chicago-based Blake Edwards or maybe better said Chicago-based project Vertonen... Whatever, it's just words. Blake Edwards is Vertonen and has a label called Ballast. And he releases some weird stuff on there, limited as hell, little handmade pieces of art and what's most important - so consider acting very fast if you ever read something about a release you want in your collection - there are NO digital versions available. Well, *that* Blake sent us the latest releases from his label, and I have the pleasure of writing a bit about them.</p><p>The second Ballast release is by Dead Edits, a project by Erik Lunde and Blake Edwards - their tenth release. Almost an hour of tracks which could form the basics of power electronics if not for the absence of lyrics. "Karaoke Power Electronics" is a conceptual release, which is precisely what the title implies. The website gives a few examples, the first of which is, "if you’re driving and some fellow driver makes a particularly thoughtless gesture, instead of road rage, pop in this recording and create your own power electronics track with vocals dedicated to that person". Now that sounds actually like fun.</p><p>The second example is "hosting a noise-themed karaoke party at your house". In all honesty, it's not that this particular release would trigger that. I've been to many noise parties at people's places before this record was in Eric's or Blake's mind. But the third example raises a question: "... or use the tracks in a live performance ..." Blake, is this an invitation? Can we send you tracks from performances based on these recordings, and will you do something with them? I mean... This is a limited edition of 25 copies. If they're all sold, and half of the people will do this, it very probably *would* make an excellent new release ;-)</p><p>So as said, it's an hour of sounds: Heavy electronic sounds with sometimes lots of modulation, occasionally 'just' brutal. Although I must say, I don't know if I would call them Power Electronics as the genre because I believe that the genre follows a certain set of rules, and these sounds - as gorgeous and well thought of as they might be - don't fit the description I have in my head. But it's, without doubt, some really powerful electronics.</p><p>To sum things up: You're not only getting a CDR with an hour of sounds, you're also getting a 12" with it !!! It might be made of cardboard, but it's round. It doesn't have any grooves but well... I suspect then if (when?) you play it... The record might produce some great noise.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-83562219379688623252023-03-21T01:00:00.001-07:002023-05-01T14:21:44.674-07:00+DOG+ - THE FAMILY MUSIC BOOK VOL 4<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjls-tBZl8XaOE79TWAwy71vnOZaEqBFECGECcuzl2q-aw_zytsGs2qivtd1xogwOYE9odDenC7UyiD8j_TMovLs33SqO5oilyWBbiv6MOxU6zCcOG-X8dgxsRaWj_wyYfd6oZ1KlHPxw_jybZhx3NzxqTYLHtVvX_6hdwCBAlPDflH58nGqqxU6HPTEA/s1200/a1429778270_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1200" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjls-tBZl8XaOE79TWAwy71vnOZaEqBFECGECcuzl2q-aw_zytsGs2qivtd1xogwOYE9odDenC7UyiD8j_TMovLs33SqO5oilyWBbiv6MOxU6zCcOG-X8dgxsRaWj_wyYfd6oZ1KlHPxw_jybZhx3NzxqTYLHtVvX_6hdwCBAlPDflH58nGqqxU6HPTEA/s320/a1429778270_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>2CDR, <a href="http://www.loveearthmusic.com/">http://www.loveearthmusic.com/</a><p></p><p>With a cover that made me think of first-person shooters from the past, I did not know what to expect because ... well ... It's +DOG+. The project where Steve Davis, owner of Love Earth Music, seems to be the key member, has been reviewed many times in Vital and this last year already several times by me. So I've made it a quest to search for what +DOG+ is all about because the information is scarce, and this time it's not too much more than that; this is a family music book. So yeah, this time +DOG+ is Steve, Lob, Edward, MacKenzie, Chuck, Ron and Jack, and all tracks are recorded live over two years all over the US, albeit with the epicentre in the New England area.</p><p>It doesn't say who was in which recording and which recording was done where because it would be fun to see if there was a connection there. For example, if there's the use of vocals or a particular specific sound, are the members from that session also in other sessions? Who knows, maybe this release will turn up on Discogs, and everything will be there. Or not, of course, and +DOG+ remains the illustrious noise collective it has been for 20+ years.</p><p>Titles on this double CDR are in sync with each other "Bearing The Unbearable", "Loving The Unlovable", "Breaking The Unbreakable", and then 'Seeing', 'Dreaming', 'Touching', 'Forgiving', 'Sharing' and 'Imagining', of which the last three are on the second CDR. Musicwise, it's what we can expect from live sessions in the noise territory: Crude, loud, in-your-face recordings. I think relentless is the word that maybe fits best. There are tracks which know a bit of restraint (like the 'Breaking', 'Touching' and 'Imagining' tracks), but take, for example, the 'Imagining'-track: This one is 30 minutes, and even if it has a bit of restraint soundwise, it's laced with feedback and creepy noises, and it's a whopping 30 minutes ... So even the quiet tracks are what noise should be, and that's relentless. My favourite is "Sharing The Unshareable", but it might be the throbbing droney character in the beginning or the build-up towards the emptiness in the end that trigger my dopamine levels.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-88791708332321249382023-03-14T01:00:00.011-07:002023-05-01T14:16:56.094-07:00MODELBAU - INLETS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqXKJpGf-IdtbDf8gwI4L-MauLzsMYjvL-UGmTMN8dI0uYe7ykV29MHLI_2rr9wU9UxhVVTiGDoOUcUcUsx7x9Sf29btL_oOlphToWwDqcpIGaHKuk9VohKF4p-1ZikJFvKy9vK16TH2RS2h197u2dV8ePnNTg-88FmuMHMXUA5lcUbLzmFErsigT3Sg/s599/R-26386349-1678563575-3637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="599" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqXKJpGf-IdtbDf8gwI4L-MauLzsMYjvL-UGmTMN8dI0uYe7ykV29MHLI_2rr9wU9UxhVVTiGDoOUcUcUsx7x9Sf29btL_oOlphToWwDqcpIGaHKuk9VohKF4p-1ZikJFvKy9vK16TH2RS2h197u2dV8ePnNTg-88FmuMHMXUA5lcUbLzmFErsigT3Sg/s320/R-26386349-1678563575-3637.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>CDR, <a href="http://www.loveearthmusic.com/">http://www.loveearthmusic.com/</a><p></p><p>We all know that Mr Vital is Frans de Waard and all of us (yes, you, too) have at some point heard his music. Being a reviewer since somewhere last year, we had a serious talk about how to handle reviewing each other's music, and during a few beers at dB's in Utrecht, our mutual agreement was "we both don't care as long as we're honest about it, because that is what respect is about". So now, even if you think so, everything we write is honest. Because taste might differ, and that's no reason to write down nonsense or lies. Having written that -, I've been asked about it a few times recently - This week, I got two new releases in my stash that included Frans de Waard.</p><p>The first is a CDR by Massachusetts-based Love Earth Music, a label that has been on my desk quite a lot this past year. Most of their releases have a strong noise factor in their sound, so hearing that Modelbau was on there made me curious. Modelbau's sound is an amalgam of ambience, drones and sound design with slow fades and very narrative in nature. Even if the narrative isn't always clear - but that's part of the mysticism of this art form. So would Frans dive into noise? Or would there be some harsher noise incorporated in this release? The answer is yes and no (a bit more no).</p><p>The 55-minute track is built from tape loops or complex delay patterns. It's fed with all kinds of sounds, from organic to fully synthesized and nice feedback sounds. Feedback with an origin in electronic circuitry to the edge of saturation. The somewhat harsher noises and some distorted vocals are more subdued in the background, and the looping/delay we know from Modelbau's "style" generate pulsating patterns and slow buildups. Actually, this is not unlike how I like my concerts to be. There is a constant movement and yet still a certain stability.</p><p>'Inlets' is a one-track album, but on the back of the cover, it mentions 'in, perhaps, 11 parts'. I'm curious if the parts were recorded separately and then mixed or if it was all set up and the 11 parts were recorded in one go. Because of the unity in the result, I believe both, which is a compliment.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-20015035671787428662023-03-14T00:30:00.000-07:002023-05-02T12:16:27.202-07:00DYNASTI - QUANTUM PRIMITIV<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaRCMopQklgRKCuMKgY9fHd0psz7C4_zuEN47mdAnq6NqTPvU08EJtxLI0wLFbdmsfLtzfnvWoqVISYz0qzz3z4LqY2MMh16TSqCCx5qNAUib-RQ1Kn1tf2r1pj_7mWmVLo1GEUPFIQf2F-rcGfsUvhgzXubGa1CEjkql7_3ryTbPQwfLu5YkaARlHrQ/s1200/a1233360474_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaRCMopQklgRKCuMKgY9fHd0psz7C4_zuEN47mdAnq6NqTPvU08EJtxLI0wLFbdmsfLtzfnvWoqVISYz0qzz3z4LqY2MMh16TSqCCx5qNAUib-RQ1Kn1tf2r1pj_7mWmVLo1GEUPFIQf2F-rcGfsUvhgzXubGa1CEjkql7_3ryTbPQwfLu5YkaARlHrQ/s320/a1233360474_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>CD, <a href="https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/">https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/</a><p></p><p>We all know that Mr Vital is Frans de Waard and all of us (yes, you, too) have at some point heard his music. Being a reviewer since somewhere last year, we had a serious talk about how to handle reviewing each other's music, and during a few beers at dB's in Utrecht, our mutual agreement was "we both don't care as long as we're honest about it, because that is what respect is about". So now, even if you think so, everything we write is honest. Because taste might differ, and that's no reason to write down nonsense or lies. Having written that -, I've been asked about it a few times recently - This week, I got two new releases in my stash that included Frans de Waard.</p><p>So the second release I'll be writing about is a new project of three people that actually quite often gets mentioned in the Vital Weekly. Dynasti is none other than a collaboration between Frans de Waard, Peter Johan Nÿland (o.a. Distel & Trepaneringsritualen) and Edward Ka-Spel of Pink Dots fame. And lemme tell you, just like Roel Meelkop's "Rest In Space" (Vital 1374), this one is on the list for 2023's top releases.</p><p>'Vector I - Rotation' has a dubby feel over a tapestry of lush ambience, ending in the subtlest of subtle noisescapes. When the second track hits, I suddenly stopped doing what I was doing ... This is great stuff. And when "A Plea From The Pot" started playing, and Edward's voice hit the mix, I realized it reminded me of Coil somehow. Like the soundtracks, they did for Derek Jarman movies. The opening of "Vector II - Curvature" reminded me of the post 'Gold is the Metal' and the later heavily synth-induced works like 'Astral Disaster'. And again, that dubby feel towards the end. "A Ticking Tyranny" seals the deal and could be taken straight from a Jarman movie, maybe even his epic 'Blue'. "Diffuse" closes the CD with 12 minutes of beautiful droney ambience. I'm playing the CD again and absorbing every moment of the 44 minutes.</p><p>On Bandcamp, there is a little sentence "this small adventure in sound and narration blew a gap in the dark curtains to reveal a sunny day in the empty World out there" ... It's 11:30 PM as I write these words, and it's STILL sunny ... </p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-14183259429096756302023-03-14T00:00:00.000-07:002023-05-02T12:16:36.332-07:00CLOSER BONES - LIVING A NIGHTMARE: ROAD TO DISASTER<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_Q2jDFW5L80-drCeD8yjXx0Yqb00aaarJtB740njr4j07Qq8TJr0eE_og_lybeIHfP1A7jzJQioz3Wp6ZzUitFcyDbIs44EWSiHi4UmdWLikGPIOw6zmI5h4MI_hC4bFmqDdnHMCVw-PDRcQMR-4qOy37kscDT9TXB0AGq43AQp0tX0VkBpar3i6Ow/s1200/a1837609371_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="927" data-original-width="1200" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_Q2jDFW5L80-drCeD8yjXx0Yqb00aaarJtB740njr4j07Qq8TJr0eE_og_lybeIHfP1A7jzJQioz3Wp6ZzUitFcyDbIs44EWSiHi4UmdWLikGPIOw6zmI5h4MI_hC4bFmqDdnHMCVw-PDRcQMR-4qOy37kscDT9TXB0AGq43AQp0tX0VkBpar3i6Ow/s320/a1837609371_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>CDR, <a href="http://www.loveearthmusic.com/">http://www.loveearthmusic.com/</a><p></p><p>Closer Bones is the project of Isaac Tyler from New Hampshire. His profile mentions the term depressive harsh noise/drone as a musical direction, and "Living A Nightmare: Road To Disaster" is his fifth or sixth full-length release and his second on Love Earth Music. It was my first encounter with Isaac's output, so I had no idea what to expect. I suppose the cover art by Wormhoudt gives some indication: a crown of thorns, skulls, a guy hung from a lantern and a farmer working the land with a plough pulled by two horses. If you understand, I understand, but rest assured that this is not happy noise with happy dance rhythms and an ever-so-joyous TB303 acid line. This is meant to be confronting.</p><p>The CDR has one track built from noises in the foreground and the background, with noises in between. I don't know if I would mention drones, but depressive harsh noise hits the spot. Or maybe better: harsh contemplative noise, as it is in the less noise-filled areas in the sound perspective that the samples/spoken word is getting audible and kinda possible to follow. It remains difficult to find the origin of where the samples are taken, but they're no happy conversations - I can tell you that much. Somehow this album grew on me, even if it's a 50-minute exercise without any true moment of rest. It has a storyline, a beginning and an end, and a lot is happening, so there isn't a dull moment. But I think this would make an even bigger impact when listened to as if it was a live show. High volume with no place to hide. More confrontational than contemplative. In that setting: A+</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-38005696379794635282023-03-07T00:00:00.010-08:002023-05-01T14:06:21.558-07:00LUNUS - THE MOON SPIT<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvLaBsy9fdP49ZBmTwEfbj2wBG2T3Yyc1bA15kImMPfIg8C_1wM4mmOBHhLRkO5NDyXj5bbdAWyCJ6ODRYlUuo3lfJcUwHl16DXD6wGqCMXnaRphFo4HzxZc_GtfvI52_c5otatimiIt3Jg178iisr0BAdLEbtif4YN7gCxFS_u903EDmtsRAJqAgIQ/s1200/a1069798887_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvLaBsy9fdP49ZBmTwEfbj2wBG2T3Yyc1bA15kImMPfIg8C_1wM4mmOBHhLRkO5NDyXj5bbdAWyCJ6ODRYlUuo3lfJcUwHl16DXD6wGqCMXnaRphFo4HzxZc_GtfvI52_c5otatimiIt3Jg178iisr0BAdLEbtif4YN7gCxFS_u903EDmtsRAJqAgIQ/s320/a1069798887_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Cassette, <a href="https://tribetapes.bandcamp.com/">https://tribetapes.bandcamp.com/</a><p></p><p></p><p>A new batch from Tribe Tapes, this time four actual cassettes again - As it 'should be' on a label with the word Tapes in it. The first is a C42 by Lunus, a side project by Devis Granziera, better known as Teatro Satanico. I don't know much about Teatro Satanico besides the name and them being from Italy. Every backstory I could have written ends here, and I'm focussing on this tape because, as a matter of fact: It's a really proper good release.</p><p>"The Moon Spit" is a re-release from 1996 (Allegorical Tapes), and during this time, Lunus - then still written as Lvnvs - was Devis together with Stefano Barban. Who I also never heard of, by the way. The eight tracks are based on heavily tribal beats with loads of distortion and compression. The first side allows us to get used to the sound of the beats - or maybe better: the beat-oriented layer - and the combination with the other layers of sound. Side two, however, opens with "Cipher, " which surprised me. It's almost like an underground version of the amalgam of Swans and Godflesh. Beautiful!</p><p>And from that moment on, the release gets out of control. In "Dead II", the noise is pushed to the front, and the rhythms are reduced to structures in the background. "Das Loch" sounds like a weird looped broken record player with a pure oscillator sound that could have been from an Atrax Morgue release. The final track, "Naked", is the first track where the rhythms actually sound like rhythms. As said, it's a really nice one, and for a 27-year-old release, it stood the test of time perfectly.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-42533628120397637102023-03-06T23:30:00.000-08:002023-05-02T12:17:37.268-07:00ARGIOPE - ORIGINAL WATERS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipogHkYJjQS-P0dKqfz_bVO41NoeekfXjUgDo2og1-uvvUmofaR7Hmjcbi6S-d8ihphKsGoyUnFzbKXeuSgKpo9ARj551Gp-_xt4ZlwiOMqZE_J9cp50i40DlPo30tg6Ys3aQNZepy0ZahyFnF7EQrID1uXpwL-fcTPtC44Umlrc3ct4qhclqcia6H3g/s1200/a3679082692_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipogHkYJjQS-P0dKqfz_bVO41NoeekfXjUgDo2og1-uvvUmofaR7Hmjcbi6S-d8ihphKsGoyUnFzbKXeuSgKpo9ARj551Gp-_xt4ZlwiOMqZE_J9cp50i40DlPo30tg6Ys3aQNZepy0ZahyFnF7EQrID1uXpwL-fcTPtC44Umlrc3ct4qhclqcia6H3g/s320/a3679082692_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Cassette, <a href="https://tribetapes.bandcamp.com/">https://tribetapes.bandcamp.com/</a><p></p><p></p><p>Another re-release from the mid 90's on Tribe Tapes is "original Waters" by Argiope, a side project from Deca / Federico De Caroli. Only four releases in the mid 90's of which two - including this one - were released on Marco Corbelli's Slaughter Productions. The playing time is 46 minutes, divided over six tracks roughly between 5 and 9 minutes in length. The sound here is maybe a bit dated from what we could expect of production nowadays, but it is a beauty when only looking at the composition.</p><p>Rhythmic structures that never strike a techno-ish pattern and which keep on evolving. Deep layers of pads and drones and, of course, a sturdy amount of reverb. But "Original Waters" proves that standard ingredients in the sound palette do not automatically mean a standard sound or composition. My favourite tracks are "Mastigamoeba" because it's so dynamic and, on the B-side "Xenopsylla Cheopis" because of its f*cked-up use of rhythms and loops and such.</p><p>While listening, I had a few moments where I had a bit of a '80s horror movie'-vibes. Is that because I think of Italian horror too much? Or is there a connection between Italian underground music and what we all watched in those days? Or is it because this release - in comparison to the Lunus one - sounds a bit more dated because of the choice of sounds? I don't know, but having said that, I love a good Italian horror.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-67011426441355425212023-03-06T23:00:00.000-08:002023-05-02T12:17:30.659-07:00HAND & KNEE - SONG OF THE SIRENS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqb-sqH1GnG7G3PaQQA1r5qRi-PppSYYfGUEZRIIQsX-db1tgdcejZjMU-ubOZ5kwtTFd7aqwjuja2Gd2l3KnejVwDQzZRX-GachKrG9tbbXqYSnGjuU0v8kheENXE5h2gT5CL7RWf3_-w3bMIFWyH9bbTrbYAP2eDz2Zfoix0zSIgMrmgK6t-4JcxiQ/s1200/a4110879034_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqb-sqH1GnG7G3PaQQA1r5qRi-PppSYYfGUEZRIIQsX-db1tgdcejZjMU-ubOZ5kwtTFd7aqwjuja2Gd2l3KnejVwDQzZRX-GachKrG9tbbXqYSnGjuU0v8kheENXE5h2gT5CL7RWf3_-w3bMIFWyH9bbTrbYAP2eDz2Zfoix0zSIgMrmgK6t-4JcxiQ/s320/a4110879034_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Cassette, <a href="https://tribetapes.bandcamp.com/">https://tribetapes.bandcamp.com/</a><p></p><p>Hand & Knee is John Grimaldi of Submersive Productions. "Song Of The Sirens" is, with its 32 minutes, a short one even though it counts the most tracks (9). The timing ranges from 30 seconds to almost 8 minutes; style-wise, it's experimental minimalistic noise. As influences, they mention Mlehst and early Prurient, neither of which I am incredibly familiar with, so, as I did earlier, I'm going with what I hear.</p><p>The shorter tracks seem to be experiments or exercises in sound design, which are quite interesting. They somehow give a little insight on how the 'paint' is being made of, which in the longer tracks the painting is being made. Because of this, the longer tracks are far more interesting, in my opinion, because they depict a story; They follow the conceptual story behind the release. Spacious open waters with rock formations hiding those evil nasty creatures.</p><p>The two things I thought were a bit of a shame were that some of the smaller tracks become interesting and then end. Sure, it's probably something that was intended, but for example, track 'IV' created a really nice atmosphere and then: Click. And that's also the second remark: If the release had a bit more post-production and a bit more flow - few fades, no abrupt endings - the whole would be much more interesting as a soundscape. It would have added to the tension. But having written that: Interesting for sure.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-36985547431455487972023-03-06T22:30:00.000-08:002023-05-02T12:17:22.672-07:00GOLGOTHA TOLL - TAKE UP A LAMENT<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCh1NaHjj35lf-7ZFeVNTbTWx4DM6EzSnzvvkoLeA5Umi8kzw4o4qqHhMBgGvr520zsnnnGwlAtDcAsST0qSK38JlmXDVstg_A7CVWHqUr1Xr7oFGSZHjXr8Mnv0_0XSnDrzYATLnd1vfMQuCd8CMY54s6RA9zC-snnbmC5gE5zAmDhiaoFPcb8xArCw/s1200/a2719747411_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCh1NaHjj35lf-7ZFeVNTbTWx4DM6EzSnzvvkoLeA5Umi8kzw4o4qqHhMBgGvr520zsnnnGwlAtDcAsST0qSK38JlmXDVstg_A7CVWHqUr1Xr7oFGSZHjXr8Mnv0_0XSnDrzYATLnd1vfMQuCd8CMY54s6RA9zC-snnbmC5gE5zAmDhiaoFPcb8xArCw/s320/a2719747411_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Cassette, <a href="https://tribetapes.bandcamp.com/">https://tribetapes.bandcamp.com/</a><p></p><p>The final tape of the batch is "Take Up A Lament" by Golgotha Toll. These tracks were recorded on January 19 and 20, 1992, and they've been hidden ever since. RSW weaves scrap metal, radio signals, and electronic composition into a fraught web of basement noise assemblage. Restored from its 4-track masters by Grant Richardson.</p><p>"How Art Thou Fallen" is a whole side on this C30 cassette and is a collage of noise samples where scrap metal doesn't sound like scrap metal. I've read the promo text, and it should be there, but it's very well manipulated. It's building and building up to the 6-minute marker where a guitar (?) enters the mix and sounds from what seems to be a merry-go-round. The atmosphere is gorgeous here! An amusement park where noise heads can even enjoy themselves! And at the end of the day, we cool down with a minimal approach to the ambience, which initially appears slightly dissonant, but everything falls into its place.</p><p>The reverse side has two tracks and opens with "That Ancient Serpent". This could be labelled as a 'song', opening with a harsh bass sound, loose beats - no rhythm to speak of and then what I can only describe as a gothy/psycho/surf guitar like someone is peeking into Bela Lugosi's coffin. I imagine hearing this on a goth dancefloor where minds will be blown. The final track, "Lightning From Heaven", is again an exercise in building ambience. Slow higher pitched sounds form a ground layer, and towards the end, a loud, dissonant dark sound takes over.</p><p>The world would have been different if this had been released in 1992 when the tracks were created. A better place? That depends on who you ask, but I think 'yes'.</p><div><br /></div>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-3044317635591786852023-02-28T00:00:00.001-08:002023-05-01T13:55:15.074-07:00WILT - CRYPT GLOOM<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGz2M2trw20dAXEZqVWlvPGWd98o8AMk2pjpwJ4Hu7CPNhNLZoQ3RajDjX3TEJfQZOS9fEvalZTWTUs0foUKFM0d2rdv7cMvU79IW7nvbfzKN4TfDHA6VhUD8k_M5ZTDEssGEVi-iawCoqYloiEkdCspWcKIopyqCdjlcZRXiwYxbkN9cU_fXUxVxTwA/s1200/a1922400295_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="1200" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGz2M2trw20dAXEZqVWlvPGWd98o8AMk2pjpwJ4Hu7CPNhNLZoQ3RajDjX3TEJfQZOS9fEvalZTWTUs0foUKFM0d2rdv7cMvU79IW7nvbfzKN4TfDHA6VhUD8k_M5ZTDEssGEVi-iawCoqYloiEkdCspWcKIopyqCdjlcZRXiwYxbkN9cU_fXUxVxTwA/s320/a1922400295_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>CDR, <a href="https://nopartofit.bandcamp.com/">https://nopartofit.bandcamp.com/</a><p></p><p>I have shared a stage with Wilt five times in my life. All events were on US soil, and I always get a big smile on my face when people talk about the event on February 23rd 2002, in Chicago. It was like the event 'everybody attended' who was in the vicinity of Chicago as well as people who happened to be visiting. Yes, Wilt and I go a bit back, and I think it's the relationship where you perhaps don't talk or interact a lot, but you have a lot of respect for each other. During the 2003 dates, James invited us, and we visited a sculpture garden together. Happy memories for two depressed noise heads doing what they do best: Thinking, talking, connecting and then just "being".</p><p>Wilt has been active since 1998 and has - since then - released around 100 titles. He is best known for his noisy approach to dark ambience. The noise can sometimes be quite in-yer-face - no wonder if you also collaborate with people like Cornucopia, Skin Crime, Gruntsplatter, The Rita and Prurient - and at moments, it's super minimal. "Crypt Gloom" is, without a doubt, a release to be added to the second/minimal approach list. The sound here is dark, filled with reverb decay and tells a story: It films in a way we can again re-use the 00's term Cinematic Isolationism and when mixed without the silences it could have been a horror movie by Cronenberg.</p><p>The inspiration for this third part of a trilogy - parts one and two being released on Self Abuse "A Deep Reflecting Gloom" and "Crypt Hymns" - is the poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley. He was an early 19th Century English poet who risked 'political and religious libel' for his atheist/materialist philosophical views in his time. Listening to this soundtrack for that era, those must have been some dark times... Really dark...</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-70305489557229733612023-02-21T00:00:00.017-08:002023-05-01T13:51:53.933-07:00BRANDKOMMANDO - 1989<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGgZKtJigxJLC9-F8ULWOhOb4pWrBhloqBZG3G9f7RQak1abGih70qxDDYlFFnDq6r_1Mcln_MbcOkosk2hReh_6j3aHOkMjSPXIiPY3fUrk3lcx6AyTv1UunKatDrwfdPLla6jqwrGWoECUNezDLfvpU1QJs-zgOQBr78SPv83BtALkOETcEH5Q2vA/s1200/a0287955406_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGgZKtJigxJLC9-F8ULWOhOb4pWrBhloqBZG3G9f7RQak1abGih70qxDDYlFFnDq6r_1Mcln_MbcOkosk2hReh_6j3aHOkMjSPXIiPY3fUrk3lcx6AyTv1UunKatDrwfdPLla6jqwrGWoECUNezDLfvpU1QJs-zgOQBr78SPv83BtALkOETcEH5Q2vA/s320/a0287955406_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>CD/Cassette, <a href="https://zoharum.bandcamp.com/">https://zoharum.bandcamp.com/</a><p></p><p>With their 300 releases, I doubt there is any need to tell something about the Polish Zoharum label. They release a lot of music. Some known, some lesser known, some famous names and then some completely new artists. New stuff and rereleases, everything. So this time, there are two releases, one of which has quite a discography already, while the other is brand new.</p><p>"1989" by Brandkommando is a project with quite some releases in his name. Admittedly, I hardly know anything, so this is a 'new' project for me. However, the info sheet tells us a bit about the subject. Quote: "1989 is dedicated to testimonials of history that took place in that year in Romania, when the oppressed community opposed the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, leading to the capture, quick trial and express execution of the sentence". I remember some of those events, but it was what mainstream media put out there. There was no internet, no alternative way to get informed about events. And the whole world was in a state of change with the Berlin Wall coming down and, let's call it, 'the end of the cold war'.</p><p>So yes, the tension of that time is well placed in this release, but with this kind of music, 'tension' is one of the code words to keep compositions interesting. However, the info sheet also labelled this release as being power electronics, and that's where I must put a few question marks. Power electronics, i.m.h.o., has constant throbbing bass loops or sequences and vocals that are in your face / confrontational in some way. Composition-wise, these tracks are more focussed on higher frequencies and noises, in combination with samples and a few vocal outbursts, so if I should label it, it wouldn't be power electronics. It's noise, proper noise, minimalist noise with a hint of maybe death industrial. The entire release is 33 minutes, and that's a bit on the short side to be considered a full-length release.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-45365483420233115632023-02-20T23:30:00.000-08:002023-05-02T12:18:41.965-07:00AMPSCENT - NOTHING BUT THE WORLD<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgWywLuMPPnXF0PXHy-N5mn2gi1pYJz9kKxvMsBnZEvX-hgCAsmPKYsPG67_YTCPsbx1tE3XOUKLe8dVni6iRiXecX7Ndjll63F2g6M-6Ig66bjkpH6jfDkbIf230J6JtmXWE6jbYwOPyFsQ65iMw3ZqwWO6y6E3w_xjsHdUv-Nf2GeIs82p7RVP5UQ/s1200/a0642487501_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgWywLuMPPnXF0PXHy-N5mn2gi1pYJz9kKxvMsBnZEvX-hgCAsmPKYsPG67_YTCPsbx1tE3XOUKLe8dVni6iRiXecX7Ndjll63F2g6M-6Ig66bjkpH6jfDkbIf230J6JtmXWE6jbYwOPyFsQ65iMw3ZqwWO6y6E3w_xjsHdUv-Nf2GeIs82p7RVP5UQ/s320/a0642487501_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Cassette, <a href="https://zoharum.bandcamp.com/">https://zoharum.bandcamp.com/</a><p></p><p>With their 300 releases, I doubt there is any need to tell something about the Polish Zoharum label. They release a lot of music. Some known, some lesser known, some famous names and then some completely new artists. New stuff and rereleases, everything. So this time, there are two releases, one of which has quite a discography already, while the other is brand new.</p><p>Ampscent's "Nothing but the world" is also 33 minutes, but this one is sold as mCD, weirdly enough. Jacek Doroszenko and Marcin Sipiora are - like Brandkommando - from Poland, but this is only their first release. The three tracks on this one are 16, 6 and 11 minutes long, so there is enough space (ok, time) to generate an atmosphere. And with their key genres "industrial, noise, harsh electronics, ambient, experimental, techno," it can go all directions, so let's first just listen to a bit ...</p><p>( half an hour later )</p><p>Wow ... there is some powerful stuff here. First of all: the versatility of Zoharum must be mentioned here because this is the opposite of the other release. It's a mixture of the styles discussed before, and if this is only their first release, I am already interested in how these guys will develop themselves as artists. The 16-minute title track has a slow pulsating beat in the background and keeps evolving into an atmosphere. And it's exactly that. "Boiling Field" is an experimental approach to an uneasy feeling. Something is wrong, but you can't put your finger on it. "Side Loan" closes the release and, from a distance, is a bit more "formed" (I don't know what to call it - through the use of what seems to be sample-based sounds, it's more of a fully distilled sound, more 'grown-up' or so). Beautiful ambience / ambient piece. This is the beginning, "a longer release later this year" says the info-sheet. Can't frickin wait!</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-69062238028367983712023-02-20T23:00:00.000-08:002023-05-02T12:18:39.332-07:00LESLIE KEFFER - POLLUTES<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjymMSEUGCpq7rA_DhgO8s7kR24rdS3DLtJqKoASYStK8RQpXZb09xY8UwSZuwsPS15YcLogjfcYGQiG3XhrVcGNWmJlHLz58Wf1HsJwotLV8THWIwLu3679ukosWP3_crY-G2umwrNMWGBRvZvXMjqKZX6QiBvKXPpxJkKmHB-11mG20Kw3QMtoyZbHg/s1200/a2765973699_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1185" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjymMSEUGCpq7rA_DhgO8s7kR24rdS3DLtJqKoASYStK8RQpXZb09xY8UwSZuwsPS15YcLogjfcYGQiG3XhrVcGNWmJlHLz58Wf1HsJwotLV8THWIwLu3679ukosWP3_crY-G2umwrNMWGBRvZvXMjqKZX6QiBvKXPpxJkKmHB-11mG20Kw3QMtoyZbHg/s320/a2765973699_10.jpg" width="316" /></a></div>CDR, <a href="https://nopartofit.bandcamp.com/">https://nopartofit.bandcamp.com/</a><p></p><p>In Vital Weekly 1371, I already reviewed two releases by Leslie Keffer and a fundraiser project to help her out in the difficult times she's going through right now (still valid *hint hint*). And before me, a new release, although not really 'new'. It's a rerelease from 2005 where she explores the radio as a sound source from a more noisy perspective. Originally as a cassette and later as a limited CDR in support of a tour and now as pro CDR by No Part Of It packed in a so-called DVD case.</p><p>Eight tracks and almost an hour of loud experiments with radiosounds, an Echoplex tape machine and probably a mixer and cables, no chains of guitar pedals and such. The result of these experiments is, on one side, the noise, as we all know noise. A sound source, feedback loop, and control over the sound through filtering and using the equalizer. If done well a feast for the ears and the possibility to go from ultra-deep bass drones to high-pitched mechanical feedback / screaming sounds. But because the radio is as sound source, things get added to these experiments. During the track "Noble", for example, it seems like a radio station broadcasted just the right track for Leslie to start working from. And during "The Wheels On The Bus", a detuned station (or maybe a short sample looped into the Echoplex) breaks the massiveness of layers enough to let the whole track sparkle. Yes, sparkling noise. There. I've said it.</p><p>So, is "Pollutes" something I haven't heard before? No, but it has a massive sound and shows Leslie's development as an artist. So from that perspective, it's an interesting document.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650570211440203737.post-27465456143926790142023-02-20T22:30:00.000-08:002023-05-02T12:18:36.722-07:00BLOOD RHYTHMS - GOOD GRIEF<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNq1jxJjekKYCoWpA-s3u_isljj1hhM2IBXf1RF-vEgyOT4hVJbILLqlavWwQN9RfdsrcGeng7Istq_IbQwrQInbOYm1S5xg97p9WXB7QLFUz378-aoS0isH9uCh8v1J6FXK3iXMVCnjyhPbHfQ_Ocm8bjVXobVSH8Jh47YrbvlSAQZYNv0k0eGI-HzA/s1200/a3488145193_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1198" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNq1jxJjekKYCoWpA-s3u_isljj1hhM2IBXf1RF-vEgyOT4hVJbILLqlavWwQN9RfdsrcGeng7Istq_IbQwrQInbOYm1S5xg97p9WXB7QLFUz378-aoS0isH9uCh8v1J6FXK3iXMVCnjyhPbHfQ_Ocm8bjVXobVSH8Jh47YrbvlSAQZYNv0k0eGI-HzA/s320/a3488145193_10.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>CDR, <a href="https://nopartofit.bandcamp.com/">https://nopartofit.bandcamp.com/</a><p></p><p>Arvo Zylo and Leslie Keffer - as a duo - have been quite busy in 2022. First, they did their own stuff, which you can read about in the Vital quite often, and then there was a project we haven't discussed yet because it's massive. After that, they did a six vinyl series, 'Horror Pilation', and right after those sessions, they still had the energy to record more. "Good Grief" started with a recording by Arvo, which was sent to Leslie in dire times. This track was called "Grief" (and is still unreleased) and formed the base for this one. The three tracks cover over 70 minutes of deep droning with lots of stuff happening, yet always in a stable setting.</p><p>'Griefspeak' and 'For Goodness Sake' are both around the twenty-minute mark and quite similar in their approach or 'charge'. At least, it sounds like that a bit. Even though in the subtle layering, a lot of different things are happening, the massiveness of the ground note is comparable. In between these two tracks, there is 'Goodness Gracious', a 40 minute with a slow change of the ground notes several times, as well as beautiful interpolation patterns in those changes, and a complete change of its 'emotional charge' as I tend to call it sometimes in the last 10 minutes. And yes, *still* stuff is happening in those other layers. This track could have been a release on its own, but the sandwich between the different tracks makes it extra powerful and gives the other two tracks extra meaning.</p>bauke van der walhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10880443389690960160noreply@blogger.com0