Dense News 089. Click For Infos
Bonjour et Guten Tag.
Lots of sweet news, MU has never been stronger it seems.
Say HI in case you find something of interest for your work.
Best de Berlin,
Ed
A_DONTIGNY – Geisteswissenschaften CD No Type
BJ NILSEN – The Short Night CD Touch
BOXCUTTER – Glyphic 2LP/CD Planet Mu
CENTROZOON – Lovefield CD Unsung
COH – Strings 2CD raster-noton
FROG POCKET – Come On Primates Show Your Teeth! CD Planet Mu
GOGOOO – Long, lointain CD Baskaru
MARKUS REUTER & ROBERT RICH – Eleven Questions CD Unsung
MINORU SATO + ASUNA – Texture In Glass Tubes CD Spekk
OH ASTRO – Champions Of Wonder CD Illegal Art
PIA BURNETTE & FELIX KUBIN – Detached From All Objects LP/CD Gagarin
THE GASMAN – Audiogold CD Planet Mu
V.A. – 10 Tons Heavy 2CD Planet Mu
V.A. – 200 2LP/2CD Planet Mu
VILLALOG – Zwei CD Angelika Köhlermann
YAIR ETZIONY – Flawed CD Spekk
+ + +
A_DONTIGNY – Geisteswissenschaften
CD No Type IMNT0715
http://www.notype.com
This first solo CD by composer A_dontigny (
morceaux de machines, Napalm Jazz, Ensemble
CampŠ) has been deliberately conceived to be in
the margins of electroacoustic music, electronica
and audio art.
Thought up as a series of short sarcastic
vignettes, Geisteswissenschaften skilfully
manipulates common aesthetic postures in order to
create a sound mosaic where one can find hints at
modern art history and philosophy. To an arsenal
of cut-and-paste and cut-ups, to which we may
include encoding glitches and all matter of
samples and quotes, A_dontigny adds the sonic
interventions of three of his usual
collaborators: PAUL DOLDEN (electric cello,
guitar and bass), DIANE LABROSSE (sampler) et JON
VAUGHN (remix).
An ode to freedom? A manifest against all dogmas?
That’ll depend on the mood of the listener. In
the end, Geisteswissenschaften wishes to be a
celebration of independance of spirit and human
intelligence, one of those rare works that
continue to be nourished by great hopes.
+ + +
BJNILSEN – The Short Night
CD Touch TO:75
http://www.touchmusic.org.uk
http://www.bjnilsen.com
Using location recordings, weather, birdsong and
radio, BJNilsen continues to map and explore
uncharted territory.
A follower to 2005’s Fade to White [Touch #
TO:65], BJNilsen develops his work further, based
on field recordings and electronics. This time he
adds harsher yet clearer harmonies with musical
elements to the compositions, creating a
beautifully complex and detailed study. Recorded
in 2006-7 with mostly analogue equipment, using
up to 50 year-old tapemachines, filters and
generators that end up being the soft cushion in
these cold location recordings.
Location recordings from Mälaren, Stockholm,
Sweden; Coombe Gibbet, Berkshire, England and
Landakot, Vatnsleysuströnd, Iceland.
Telefunken M10 and M5, Studer B67, Ferrograph
Series 4, Bruel and Kjær Sine-Random Generator
and Frequency Analyzers. Also Monowave,
Sequential Circuits ProOne, Korg MS20, Esq1, MOTU
828MK2, Ableton Live, Logic Audio 6
Morin khuur on Black Light played by Hildur Ingveldardóttir Gudnadóttir
You can hear ‘Black Light’ at http://www.bjnilsen.com/mp3s/BlackLight.mp3
+ + +
BOXCUTTER – Glyphic
2LP/CD Planet Mu ZIQ187
http://www.planet-mu.com
http://www.myspace.com/barrylynnmusic
BARRY LYNN returns for album number 2 on Mu.
Continuing his hugely successful trademark
dubstep/electronica sound from the 2006 album
‘Oneiric’, the ante has definitely been upped and
‘Glyphic’ certainly delivers. From the opening
title track, Boxcutter’s totally unique sound
excels. Floating pads and astral jazz samples sit
above deep dub basses, with all manner of
instruments thrown into the mix, resulting in a
beautiful noise throughout. He pursues dubstep
with ‘Bug Octet’ and the dub inflected ‘J Dub’,
and break orientated electronica with ‘Kaleid’
and ‘Fieldtrip’. With the outstanding ‘Foxy’ he
blends deep bass, soulful organ and vocals with
soaring pads and an infectious 2-Step Garage
skippy break.
Boxcutter is an artist who pushes the dubstep
sound to a new level whilst keeping the dub roots
of the music firmly intact, injecting a truly
unique flavour to everything he produces. Another
huge album from Northern Ireland’s biggest and
best Dubstep producer.
+ + +
CENTROZOON – Lovefield
CD Unsung UR002
http://www.unsung-records.com
http://www.centrozoon.de
CENTROZOON change gear once more with their
latest offering; Lovefield – An intimate
improvisational work, featuring guitar and
synthesizer as seldom heard. With minimal
post-production this album is the closest to an
‘unplugged’ set one can expect such masters of
progressive electronica.
Challenging, engaging, and thought provoking –
Lovefield has a cinematic quality, which colours
the listeners’ imagination, and paints a visual
accompaniment in the language of surrealist
filmmaker David Lynch.
In recognition of these filmic values a DVD-style
‘audio commentary’ has been recorded by
associates of the band that may enlighten
listeners, or potentially confuse them even
further! Either way, it couldn’t be better suited
to this project, and is freely available to
download from www.centrozoon.de
+ + +
COH – Strings
2CD raster-noton R-N 86
http://www.raster-noton.de
http://www.post-pop.org
strings is primarily an attempt to reconcile the
aesthetics of digital sound with that of the
more traditional music instruments and to enrich
the respective domains with the qualities
of each other. in a larger scale, the album
targets the stereotypes in today’s perception
of music, trying to smooth out the borders
between academic and popular, traditional
and contemporary, serious and amusing – all in
favour of music. the choice of instruments
follows COH’s own experience in music: from years
of piano lessons as a child, through
playing in a heavy metal band during teenage,
further to the recent years of work in the
area of digital sound and composition.
composed and recorded in 2006 by IVAN PAVLOV/COH
(computers/guitar/grand piano).
technical assistance: g-race, tin-y.
part I utilizes recordings of a yamaha grand
piano originally made for COH SEASONS 2×12″ at
fylkingen, stockholm in 2001.
part II is recorded with a red musima elektra de
luxe V guitar purchased in the ussr back
in 1988.
part III and SU-U are inspired by and based
around the improvised recordings of saz
and oud played and kindly donated for the project
by andrej abu kolesov (D.A.O.). SU-U
was first recorded as a quadrophonic installation
piece for raster-noton “essential room”,
sonar 2006, barcelona, spain.
+ + +
FROG POCKET – Come On Primates Show Your Teeth!
CD Planet Mu ZIQ197
http://www.planet-mu.com
http://www.myspace.com/frog_pocket
Frog Pocket returns for his second album on Mu.
‘Come On Primates!’ is a tentative, truly
original exploration. Melding electronica and
noise with folk influences, its easy to imagine
the dramatic Ayr landscape Frog Pocket (aka John
Charles Wilson) inhabits inspiring this album,
although it’s not all wistful beauty…
With tracks such as ‘Corn Na Gaeth’ employing
heavy electronic drums, and ‘Dungeon Hills’, a
huge and looming masterpiece full of gnawing
strings and beats, the album gently guides the
listener on a beautiful sonic journey. An
accomplished violinist, and creating the artwork
himself, Frog Pocket inspires with his
creativity, making ‘Come On Primates!’ set to be
one of the electronica albums of the year.
+ + +
GOGOOO – Long, lointain
CD Baskaru karu:9
http://www.baskaru.com
http://www.myspace.com/gogooomusic
Delicately-played instruments whose sounds, once
sampled and digitally treated, seem to permeate
our ears from a distant world both strange and
strangely familiar. And yet, the resulting music
is intimate as can be, full of untold and
evocative imagery.
GoGooo is GABRIEL HERNANDEZ, born in 1979 in
Grenoble, France. Gabriel started making music
because he wanted to accompany his guitar-playing
cousin. Untrained, he turned to the computer, and
thus came to life their duo Simagrée. Other
collaborations ensued with Alain Basso (Sol III)
and Daisuke Miyatani (Miyagooo).
Long, lointain [Long, far] is GoGooo’s first
professional full-length release, following a
number of net releases, CDR EPs and compilation
appearances. 2007 is a coming-out year for
GoGooo, with additional releases on labels such
as 1.8(sec) records (Canada), Magic Book (Japan),
EKO (France) and his own netlabel Rain Music.
Long, lointain features 10 short pieces exerting
a fleeting charm, populated with field
recordings, found sounds and skeletons of
melodies, all delicately arranged to titillate
and soothe your ears. This music can be compared
to electroacoustic folk for its instrumentation,
but is actually unique in style.
Gabriel Hernandez is also a drawing artist,
photographer and video artist, and most of these
other facets of his art are represented in Long,
lointain’s packaging, including drawings
decorating the digipack cover and four short
videos.
Long, lointain is released by the French label
Baskaru. Baskaru’s previous releases (by Lawrence
English, ENT, Urkuma and (etre)) have established
uncanny artistic and visual standards, by which
this new opus fully abides.
+ + +
MARKUS REUTER & ROBERT RICH – Eleven Questions
CD Unsung UR003
http://www.unsung-records.com
http://www.robertrich.com
13 short pieces, which fall together as a sort of
puzzle, sometimes odd and playful, sometimes
rather intense.
This international collaboration was conceived,
composed and recorded in person in one intense
week at Robert Rich’s Soundscape studio in
California.
Robert Rich is an ambient musician and composer.
With a discography spanning over 20 years, he is
widely regarded as a figure whose sound has
greatly influenced today’s ambient, new age, and
even IDM music. Markus Reuter is an up-and-coming
German producer, guitarist, & composer, working
with such ground-breaking groups as CENTROZOON
and TUNER.
Unlike most releases of the ambient/electronica
genre, each piece on Eleven Questions has an
instant hookiness. The songs form short, concise
statements. The album features mostly acoustic
and electro-acoustic instruments (lap steel,
touch guitar, piano, acoustic guitar, flutes)
rather than synthesizers. With audiophile
sensibilities, Rich and Reuter employed the best
of custom tube, vintage and contemporary studio
equipment to craft a unique sonic landscape.
This is an album for lovers of modern movie
soundtracks, sound fanatics and people who look
for beauty and melody in contemporary music.
+ + +
MINORU SATO (m/s, SASW) + ASUNA – Texture In Glass Tubes and Reed Organ
CD Spekk KK012
http://www.spekk.net
http://www.ms-wrk.com
“Texture in Glass Tubes and Reed Organ” is a
collaboration album by 2 Japanese sound artists
from Tokyo, Japan using self created glass tubes
and reed organ. Minoru Sato has been researching
sounds based on physical phenomenon for over 10
years doing many installations and publications.
He was also the long time partner of Toshiya
Tsunoda known together as “Wrk”. ASUNA is Naoyuki
Arashi who creates music mainly by reed organ and
electronics which you could hear on various
worldwide labels such as Lucky Kitchen,
Apestaartje,
and/OAR etc. Together they create melodious drone
music by documental approach which sounds so live
and beautiful just like the river flowing – pure
natural vibrations reacting every minute to the
air of the atmosphere.
“We have been performing “music” focusing on the
materialistic nature (physical phenomena) of
sounds by utilizing the reed organ and glass
tubes. Our music is composed and constructed in
such a way that however the phenomena we use
reacts with the circumstances of the space – the
situation of the site including the audience –
our live performance involves and uses these
conditions. Since these compositions are studio
recordings however, we decided to exclude
acoustic spatial matters and the ‘one-time-ness’
of live performances and instead composed the
structure of resonances within certain divisions
of time. This is similar to textiles – weaving
‘resonances’, rather than thread, in certain
patterns.
‘Superposing Five Harmonic States’ was developed
by recording five harmonic states separately.
Each of the harmonies was obtained by finding the
characteristic sound effects made by the
relationship of the chords of the organ and
resonances of the glass tube. It was constructed
by layering the recordings regularly in certain
passages of time. The resonances of the organ and
the tubes are left as they were originally
recorded and the result is five separate
recordings woven into a single piece.
‘Weaving Seven Resonances: With Raw Stereo
Material’ was developed by recording a state
where the resonances keep a subtle balance
between the relationship of the organ and the
glass tubes. From the originally recorded
material we found seven characteristic
frequencies and reconstructed them into a piece,
by giving each individual volume a transition
using optionally assigned periodic variations.
Thus this composition, made of a single
recording, is like a piece woven by one string.
If our live performances were to be evaluated as
music where we are presented with one-time
incidents – i.e. reflecting the real time
phenomena as ‘now and there’ in the music – this
CD could be evaluated as music to analyze the
sound structure of these phenomena and to make
those aspects audible. It is intended to create a
narrative about the phenomena which resonate
through constructed sounds.” – Minoru Sato (m/s,
SASW)
+ + +
OH ASTRO – Champions Of Wonder
CD Illegal Art IA115
http://www.illegalart.net
http://www.myspace.com/ohastro
Married duo JANE DOWE and HANK HOFLER are both
rooted firmly in experimental music, but with the
Oh Astro project they continue their move towards
odd interpretations of popular forms. Club music,
children’s songs, and fragmented samples of
pop/rock all intersect on their first full-length
album, Champions of Wonder, under the Oh Astro
banner.
JANE DOWE entered the international electronic
music scene in 1998 on two critical CD releases,
Institutional Collaborative on Mille Plateaux,
and Deconstructing Beck on Illegal Art. On
Institutional Collaborative, Dowe and Terre
Thaemlitz created abstract music that was
described as a “table-tennis mixing game with
‘lounge’ and ambient soundclips” (The Wire). Dowe
resurfaced in 2005 on Illegal Art with the debut
Oh Astro mini-album, Hello World, which was
hailed as “funky and pretty, Hello World’s
bite-sized samples concoct a weird pop universe”
(CMJ New Music Monthly). While Hank Hofler
peripherally contributed to the project, it
wasn’t until after Hello World that he became
significant collaborator in Oh Astro. Besides
creating music Dowe has also done installations
in galleries internationally and codes
idiosyncratic software for her various projects.
HANK HOFLER’s first performances were in Japan as
part of the live electronic improvisation scene
from 1998-2001, playing shows with Japanese
artists such as Otomo Yoshihide, Merzbow, Ikue
Mori, and Sawako. As Dowe was too shy for live
events, Hank’s earliest shows were actually
performing as “Jane Dowe” (further confusing the
identity of the pseudononymous Dowe). As he
developed his own reputation, Hofler began to be
billed under his own name, began street
performing in Tokyo, and later also took on the
live shows for Oh Astro. As a tenure-track
professor, Hofler currently teaches in an Arts
Technology program at Illinois State University.
Both Hofler and Dowe hold advanced degrees from
prestigious institutions such as Dartmouth
College and Keio Univeristy (Japan), but have
strong reservations about the esoteric qualities
of academic art/music.
Also appearing on Champions of Wonder is
part-time member STEFEN ROBINSON, who releases
under the Yea Big moniker. Robinson’s most recent
release is the glitch hop Yea Big + Kid Static on
Jib Door/Locust featuring the vocals of Chicago
artist Kid Static.
Robinson was a key collaborator on the Oh Astro
debut and likewise collaborates on three tracks
on Champions of Wonder (one is a significant
remix of a track from his debut release, The Wind
That Blows The Robots Arms). Other guests include
two of Dowe and Hofler’s children. Lucy, age 7,
does a rendition of a children’s song that is
transformed through the harmonic content of
popular songs from the 1940s/50s. Likewise a
candid recording of their daughter Ella, singing
an improvised made-up lyric, is filtered through
a Japanese children’s song. Dowe also sings on
the album with a strangely beautiful cover of
Olivia Newton-John’s “Xanadu.”
Shortly after the release of Hello World in 2005,
Oh Astro was asked to do a remix for the UK band
ROC. The astounding remix was described as an
“unhinged mesmeric house version” and the most
club friendly track the group had ever produced.
It was released on 12″ by the UK label 12
Apostles. Following that trend, Champions of
Wonder, contains a few tracks that while still
being somewhat tweaked, will bring instant
pleasure to the dancefloor.
The purposely-pixilated digipak artwork for
Champions of Wonder was created by the
internationally known producer/artist TERRE
THAEMLITZ utilizing illustrations by Aiko Tsuji.
The physical release also contains surround sound
mixes of the first three tracks by Aaron Paolucci
(who also mastered the stereo mixes) that can be
played on a computer connected to a 5.1 sound
system.
One of the common techniques on Champions of
Wonder is the manipulation of vocals by spectral
software that is coded by Dowe and long-time
mentor Christopher Penrose. Even the more
experimental or ambient tracks contain ghostly
sounds of vocals that have been stripped from
their original context and placed into the
pulsating electronic world of Oh Astro. The other
common practice on the album is that every sound,
with the exception of some of the vocals, is
sampled from pre-existing recordings. The types
of music sampled range from top 40 songs to indie
hipster music to the obscure. In the end, it’s
more about what is done with the sample than what
was originally sampled.
With this release Illegal Art continues to
challenge the restrictions of copyright as
perceived by the larger music industry. The
uniqueness of Oh Astro, along with other artists
on the label (Girl Talk, Realistic, Steinski, P.
Miles Bryson, Wobbly, Christopher Penrose, etc.),
further illustrates that sample-based music is
strikingly some of the most original, innovative,
and exciting music being made in the 21st
century. Illegal Art claims Fair Use for all of
its releases and has professional legal counsel
nearby if needed.
+ + +
PIA BURNETTE & FELIX KUBIN – Detached From All Objects
LP/CD Gagarin Records GR2019
Streetdate: November 30
http://www.gagarinrecords.com
Spionen und Voyeuren des Kulturbetriebs ist es
vielleicht schon aufgefallen: das Auftauchen des
Namens Felix Kubin und sein popmusikalisches
Grenzgängertum nehmen in letzter Zeit ein
zunehmend verwirrendes Ausmaß an. Und Verwirrung
höchster Güte zu stiften, ist oberstes von
unzähligen Geboten im Universum des
Kulturdespoten und FKK-Verächters Kubin.
Enthusiastisch kämpft er seinen Kampf als
Abgesandter Juri Gagarins wider die Schwerkraft,
für die Befreiung aufklärerischer Harmoniefolgen
aus den Kerkern der Marktwirtschaft.
Mit Pia Burnette hat er jetzt nach sechs
pausenlosen Jahren die zweite gemeinsame
Platte/CD “Detached From All Objects”, ein
elektronisches Songalbum tückischsten Wassers,
veröffentlicht.
Pia Burnette bewahrt selbst im schummrigsten
Kneipenlicht noch ihre unantastbare Anmut. Sie
schreibt sich Songs auf ihre magischen
Stimmbänder und blickt auf eine verschnörkelte
musikalische Vergangenheit in diversen
Formationen (Mausi Sisters, Electro Sun etc.)
zurück. Ihre Lyrik ist ein von
Nachmittagsdelirien durchwehtes Kämmerchen,
gefüllt mit Giftpfeilen, Blut und höherer
Mathematik.
Burnette und Kubin als derangiertes
Musiktraumpaar in völlig entgleister
Traditionslinie sind ein Idealfall. Und schaffen
endlich ein Album aus Deutschland, das nicht zur
faden Plörre gesellschaftlicher Mitte schielt.
Die von Aktualitätshysterie fast gänzlich
verschonte Platte ist düsterer und verzerrter als
ihr Erstling “Teslas Aquarium”. Sie treibt mit
Sezierfreude die Möglichkeiten des Songformats
ungewohnt weit, ohne dabei an Klarheit zu
verlieren, eher im Gegenteil. Der Welt gegenüber
schonungslos, haben die beiden Künstler zu sich
selbst eine erstaunlich optimistische Haltung.
“Eure Qual ist unser Quell” spitzbübelt der
mittlererweile – trotz Umsturzfantasien – von
Kulturmedaillen gebeugte Tastenvirtuose Kubin. Er
arbeitet, wie eigentlich immer, denn er ist
Traditionalist, mit historischen Analogmaschinen,
Orgelbegleitautomaten und eingewachsenen
Vorlieben (60er Jahre Elektronik, Geniale
Dilletanten, Franz Lambert und Neuer Krach).
Welche er, denn er ist kein Briefmarkenzüchter,
über Filterbänke, Sampler und autosuggestive
Kurzschlüsse nach Pia Burnettes Herzen formt.
Hinter ihren Gesang tritt er ohne Murren und
bekommt dafür alle stilistischen Freiheiten
geschenkt. So können wir von kubintypischem
Alleinunterhalterswing mit frühen EBM Anleihen,
psychedelischem Kunsttherapielied bis hin zu
Geräuschpoetry verendender Hi-Tech-Labore im
Beisein melancholischer Ogelharmonien alles
hören. Zumindest alles, was aus seinen vielen
Facetten den einen Felix Kubin macht.
Pia Burnettes Gesang ist außen klar und innen
verschwörerisch, mal ironisch lockend oder subtil
agressiv. Einen gewisser Hang zu dunkler
Theatralik wird ihr nachgesagt, aber eigentlich
ist sie dafür zu cool. Wenn Diamanda Galas und
Kate Bush als hypothetische Personalunion sich zu
urbanem Understatement hätten durchringen können,
hätte man vielleicht einen Bezugspunkt, den
Gesang zuzuordnen.
Aber schon der Titel “Detached from all objects”,
also in etwa “Gelöst von allen Dingen”,
signalisiert nicht zu Unrecht, dass das Werk für
sich steht. Wer mag, kann sich ab jetzt
dazustellen. – Reznicek
+ + +
THE GASMAN – Audiogold
CD Planet Mu ZIQ185
http://www.planet-mu.com
http://www.myspace.com/thegasman
The Gasman returns for his 4th album on Planet
Mu, and as the name suggests, Audiogold contains
nothing but the finest collection of aural
stimuli. Blending dreamlike synths with
discordant undertones and processed beats, but
also adding elements of acid and electro it is a
noticeable progression. The Gasman pushes the
envelope of melodic IDM composition with
Audiogold, whilst still retaining his trademark
“Gaylord” sound, somewhere between a haunted 19th
century ballroom and an early 90s rave.
+ + +
V.A./DJ HATCHA MIX CD – 10 Tons Heavy
2CD Planet Mu ZIQ195
http://www.planet-mu.com
Dubstep truly is the sound of now, and what
better way for Planet Mu to celebrate its own
unique journey through this fresh genre over the
last few years than an extremely huge
compilation. With Boxcutter, Milanese, and Vex’d
all pushing the sound to an extreme new level and
the more straight up work of Pinch, Distance and
MRK1 ensuring the original bassweight is still
intact, Mike Paradinas takes the sound of now
into the future. CD1 is a collection of the
finest, deepest tunes released on mu over the
last 4 years (including a Milanese exclusive),
and CD2 is a special bonus mix by Kiss FM’s DJ
Hatcha, containing massive new tunes from
Planet-mu’s freshest artists in the scene.
‘Heavy’ is a word overused in describing Dubstep
releases, but compilations such as this are few
and far between. Weighing more than 2 double
decker buses, ’10 Tons Heavy’ is the sound.
+ + +
V.A. – 200
2LP/2CD Planet Mu ZIQ200
http://www.planet-mu.com
Planet Mu celebrates its 200th release with a
massive 26 track double album. Released to
coincide with our 10th Birthday and titled simply
‘200’, it is, as tradition dictates, a
compilation. Bringing together many of the last
year’s classic vinyl only 12″ releases such as
Darqwan and Ceephax with exclusives from
Boxcutter, Venetian Snares, µ-Ziq, Luke Vibert,
Milanese, Neil Landstrumm, Benga and many others,
it’s 200% gold. Featuring tracks from newer
signings ‘iTAL tEK’, ‘The Doubtful Guest’ and
‘FFF’ alongside label stalwarts doing exclusive
collaborations such as Hellfish vs Shitmat and
Syntheme vs Chevron, we hope you’ll agree this is
a worthwhile celebration of two milestones.
+ + +
VILLALOG – Zwei
CD Angelika Köhlermann ak028
http://angelika.koehlermann.at
http://www.villalog.com
Die Veröffentlichung von villalogs neuem Album
“zwei” ist die konsequente Fortsetzung des ersten
Albums “villalog” (Para Rec.; 2003): Das 1998 in
Wien gegründete Duo – Michi Duscher, guit./ Marc
Muncke; electronics – bleibt der toxischen
Melange aus analogen Electro-Beats und
melodiös-psychotischen Gitarrenläufen treu,
erweitert indes auf “zwei” das
2-Personen-Heimwerkertum auf ein
4-Personen-Live-Set. Dafür holte man sich neben
dem langjährigen Live-Schlagzeuger Bernhard
Fleischmann auch den japanischen Musiker und
Weirdo-MC Teppei Ozawa (Miss Hawaii; 19t, Stora)
ins Studio. villalog, gerngebuchte Band für
Konzerte und Festivals im In- und Ausland,
spielten u.a. auf der “phonoTAKTIK” 2002 in New
York und auf zahlreichen Veranstaltungen im
Umfeld elektronischer Live-Musik. Ihre
Soundscapes hatten seit jeher ein Faible fürs
Cinephile, Kompositionen für Filme und Videoclips
resultierten ebenso daraus wie
kontrolliert-ausufernde Auftritte.
villalog spielen auf “zwei” in der klassischen
Rockformation, ohne Rock zu sein, dafür steht die
Rhythmusmaschine mit einem Bein am Dancefloor.
Ein rohes, offensives, direktes Album ist es
geworden: Während die Basics des Erstlings noch
am heimischen Rechner entstanden, ist “zwei” ein
live eingespieltes Album, das in kompakter Form
improvisierte Live-Elemente und komponierte
Grundmuster miteinander vereint. Mit “zwei” kann
man sich diese Rhythmus- und Sound-Mantras nun
auch auf den Dancefloor zuhause holen und dazu
headbangen.
villalog waren noch nie für irgendeinen Trend zu
haben, zu komplex und unvorhersehbar ist ihre
Musik. Zeitlos? Klar, wenn es darum geht, bewusst
simpel gehaltene Muster so weit zu entschlacken,
bis sie sich in teils endlos dahinfließenden,
teils schweißtreibenden Sessions zu einem
hypnotischen musikalischen Trip für Hirn, Herz
und Hüften verdichten. Hoher Wiedererkennungswert
inklusive.
In den zwingenden Grooves und mäandernden
Gitarren finden sich zahlreiche Referenzen und
Anspielungen zwischen Techno, Dub, Disco,
Krautrock und Westcoast-Sounds, die es zu
decodieren gilt. Dabei bleiben villalog immer
eindeutig villalog. “zwei” setzt dem Ganzen noch
eins drauf, Ozawas perkussiver Gesang zwischen
Flüstern, Schreien und überdrehten
Stimmmodulationen sorgt immer wieder für
rhythmische Gegenparts. Gleich zu Beginn geht es
mit “Kuri kaeshi” ordentlich zur Sache: Entweder
man liefert sich dem Beat, den Chords und dem
aufpeitschenden Gesang aus, oder man lässt es
bleiben. Ein Rockknaller. Der Song “Westberlin”
gräbt sich mit seinem parolenhaften Sprechgesang
in die Verfallszeit des kollektiven
Gedächtnisses, wenn in einem Punk-Gestus
“Ostzone”, “UdSSR” oder “Kosmonaut” deklamiert
werden, um später bei “Immer wieder Echowaves” in
endlos schlingernden Delay-Wellen aufzugehen. Und
was passiert bei “Knatter knatter”? Genau: Es
knattert und kracht, Ozawa deliriert über
Fleischmanns repetitiven Beats. Am Ende der Reise
von “zwei” steht Versöhnliches, Musik für die
dunkelblauen Stunden.
Unter diesen Vorzeichen war das Anheuern bei
Gerhard Potuzniks kraut- und japanophilen Label
Angelika Köhlermann praktisch ein aufgelegtes
Heimspiel. Nach Veröffentlichungen von Didi
Bruckmayer, Zeebee oder Bunny Lake ist dem
charmanten Wiener Label ein weiterer Coup
gelungen, schräge Electronica-Popmusik unters
zuhörfreudige und tanzwütige Volk zu bringen.
(Heinrich Deisl)
+ + +
YAIR ETZIONY – Flawed
CD Spekk KK013
http://www.spekk.net
http://www.myspace.com/vermontsyrup
Very first beat oriented release from Spekk is an
album by Yair Etziony also known as Faction (Neo
Ouija, Mille Plateaux), Basic Unit and Vermont
hailing from Tel Aviv, Israel.
Flawed is his first full album under his real
name. Even though the concept behind this album
are “flaws” and “mistakes”, these 9 tracks are
simply comfortable and beautiful which proves his
production skills. Superb atmospheric techno with
crispy clicky beats using mainly piano, pads and
field recordings in a minimalist manner.
“When i started working on this project i wanted
to create two separate albums, one with smoked
jazzy feeling with emphasis on beats and second
one with only textures,a piano and pads. At that
time i was performing a lot with this sort of
music in galleries, art events and museums. In my
live show performance i used to combine elements
from both albums, i liked the way it sounded and
slowly i got the notion that i can fuse all the
sounds and ideas into one album.
I tried to use the same working techniques for
all the tracks in the album, most of them were
created on a computer, some beats and stabs that
were created on an old analog sampler. Most of
the work effort was to edit the raw material i
had and than arrange in on my computer.
All composition deal with mistakes, non-perfect
things and flaws. I think that sometimes when
dealt in the right way a mistake or a flaw can be
a beautiful thing, like a broken CRT monitor that
still sends a signal. I got my inspiration from
day to day things like : walking at night, sounds
of machines working and office ambiance at night.
During the process of making the album i lost all
my hard drive data and all the projects i already
created for the album were deleted. I never
backup my work, my only luck was to find a DVD
with some of the projects thrown somewhere around
my studio (i burned one DVD to test the new
burner).” – Yair Etziony
Thanks for reading & best wishes
Dense Promotion
Besten Dank an Gosub.de & Oliver Schneider
