+DOG+ – X9

CDr, http://www.loveearthmusic.com/

The ongoing series of “X#” by +DOG+ is fun. Yes, it truly is! I have no clue how many copies are being made, but each time we get these in, Frans knows how to reach me, and I’m always happy to review them. For several reasons. First, because of the sounds on there. It’s not super high-produced released; they always have a LoFi attitude. From what I understood of Mr +DOG+ himself, it’s primarily experiments of projects, live recordings, and outtakes, and they are put on a release because they somehow fit. And because there is no ‘overproduction’, the atmosphere is a bit ‘demo’-like. And for me, that is the same charm I found on overdubbed demos or live recordings back in the 80s when there was still an active tape scene.

The second reason why I always like them is beCAUSE of that experimentation. Please don’t get me wrong, I like sounds, just sounds, and a proper CD with an ongoing theme and production, a solid choice of instrument, and a coherent sound is excellent: it can be like a hard-cover book from an authorized writer, looks and reads great, but it can still be a shitty story. However, the X-series are a collection of stories, forming a whole; A journey. You read the stories, and if there is a story you don’t like, it still has meaning in the book. Same here. I wouldn’t be surprised if these X-releases somehow form the basics for a new full-time +DOG+ release. Or at least the experiments.

The theme of “X9” is landscape or related terminology: “Fields”, “Mountains”, “Rivers”, “lakes”, “Ponds”, “Skies”, and “Glaciers”. +DOG+ always manages to have the titles somehow in sync with the sounds. “Fields”, for example, has an empty feeling where a pitched down vocal sample creates a somewhat ‘wobbly territory’ while “Mountains” seems based on a noise sound being faded in and out of volume depicting the peaks of a mountain view in the distance. “Rivers” has a constantly moving flow, and in its turn, “Skies” is super minimal and empty, while a raincloud passes through in the middle of the track. The crackling /distorted sounds in “Glaciers” seems fitting also … So, to make a long story short: +DOG+ did another “X”-release, and I liked the others; I liked it again.