VITAL WEEKLY 20 WEEK 46 LOSD/AUBE SPLIT MINI CD (by Staalplaat) The first track on this CD is by LOSD and it establishes itself as a huge expanding space which varies in intensity and which seems to cast a long shadow throughout the room. Strange scratching sounds creep in over the drone as if some odd isolated entity were taking a crowbar to the skin of a universe, trying to prise a way in. Occasionally it seems as if the fabric weakens slightly, threatening to give way and allow a mystery to gain access. Towards the end a strip of water (?) runs through the space only just relieving the tension. Aube fills the last 10'00 of this miniCD with a soft cycled roar which provides a backdrop for what sounds like a calcified cappuccino machine enduring further abuse during it's final spurts through some sound processors. This track does not cover the same distance as the track by LOSD and it appears to be an attempt to fuse the jagged with the smooth. It failed to captivate me in a way so I put Track 1 on repeat and attempted to figure out just what it was trying to get in. (MP) // Address: DENNIS SMALLEY -NEVE (CD) This was composed (and released) in 1993, so consider this a retrospective review. I heard Dennis Smalley's CD Impact Interieures released on Empreintes Digitalis in 1992 and was suitably impressed especially by the piece titled Valley Flow. Neve is a continuation of Valley Flow and also conveys geological formations through sound. It consists of three parts - the first track is comprised of very low shifting sounds which manage to express the enormous pressure and slow shifts of deep glacial activity. This glacial movement continues in the second track 'Corrie' (a round hollow formed in rock by glacial erosion) which being shaped somewhat like a mortar in which spices are ground, provided by Smally with the inspiration to record the frictional sounds produced by a Mortar and pestle. These were amplified and compressed to the point of bursting and again the sensation of great pressure is conveyed. The third and final piece 'Sandar' represents the flow of water from melting snow and ice amongst the sand and gravel found at the mouth of a glacier and is a pointillistic study in micro sound impressions. This is an absorbing and thought provoking work and comes highly recommended. (MP) CONSUMER ELECTRONICS & MERZBOW -HORN OF THE GOAT (CD by Freek Records) UK just discovered jap-noise, oh well sometimes the British can be late. This is an odd collaboration. Can't remember hearing any recent Consumer Electronics work lately, yet they do collaborate. ..Merzbow is as usual Masami Akita, while CE consist of core member Philip Best teaming up with Matthew Bower, Gary Mundy and Stuart Dennison (now there is 15 years of UK power electronics represented) .Unlike other collaboration works I know with Merzbow, this very much sounds like a collaboration. Normally the 'others' work is incorporated by Merzbow's set of electronic sound, here it is sometimes apparent a collaborative. Only in the fifth (and longest track) we can hear a classical collaboration piece: ongoing shortwave sounds, feedback and droning sounds. In 'Korean Comfort', on the other hand, we hear all the elements apart, resulting in a disjointed, and thus disappointing track. The other 3 tracks sort of fall in between these two categories. I really can't say what I expected from this collaboration when I first heard about it. It is not a bad CD, but, in parts a somewhat disappointing collaboration. (FdW) // Address: Freek Records - P.O. Box 3585 - London NW3 3RH - UK JACOB'S OPTICAL STAIRWAY (CD by R&S) Occasionally a CD comes along which encourages me to think about the issue of genres and classification of music (and everything else, I suppose) and how wonderful it would be to remove all the labels. Unfortunately this would probably result in massive confusion (chaos, more chaos) and result in kilometres of queues at the required multitudes of listening posts in the stores. Jacob's Optical Stairway is one such CD and the extent and the scope of programming on it is another badly needed nail in the coffins of that dying breed who maintain that if it isn't made on something with strings, then it's not music. It draws from all styles but undeniably has roots in the bass/drum exploits of the better junglists. The glittering rhythms and solid basslines are so awesome and so captivating that the equally buoyant drones, tones, chords and melodies which seem to dart around avoiding them are initially missed. However, a few more sessions with speakers up loud reveals the depth of this glorious union. There are a few contributions from guests (Juan Atkins gets a go, though I don't know if he was necessary) and Samatha Powell sings one of the most amazing (& difficult) vocals together with sax and trumpet on the fifth track. Bury this CD with me (or vice versa) when one of us stops playing. Please Katrien, may I have some more. .. (MP) // Address: SWARM OF DRONES (double CD by Asphodel) This is a 2CD compilation on the Sombient series and perhaps because it's a double and it scope of contributors has broadened appreciatively, it manages to hold the attention far better than it's predecessor 'Throne Of Drones' released earlier this year. Touted as 'Sombient Noir' it explores , ...darkened subterranean sound worlds in transparent isolation. ..' Apart from sounding pretentious, this definition also clearly demarcates the territory and holds true for some but not all of the tracks. There are unfortunate contributions from Robert Rich, Steve Roach, Vidna Obmana or Jeff Greinke, who also appeared on Vol. 1 and whose work does little to explore or transgress the boundaries of what this collection purports to be. There are however, a bunch of pieces which are more aggressive and succeed in provoking the listener. A lot of these tracks are provided by the 'curators' of this compilation who collectively call themselves Sound Traffic Control. Michel Redolfi mixes himself on the first disc and there are also contributions from Cheb I Sabbah and Robert Fripp. Disc 2 is by far the better of the two and most of the material does more than satisfy the definition on the sleeve. Ned Bouhalassa (of STC) , Lull, Null & Plotkin and the remaining members of STC fill this disc with excellent material. It ends with a piece by Maryanne Amacher who also provided on the good very good tracks on Vol.1. Idiotically this 2nd CD starts with index #11, rendering it decipherable to some (older?) machines. Ah well, all well that ends conceptually. ..perhaps it's art and art to play it. (MP) // ddress: Vital Weekly is published by Frans de Waard and submitted for free to anybody with an e-mail address. If you don't wish to receive this, then let us know Any feedback is welcome . Forward to your allies. Snail mail: Frans de Waard -P.O.Box 11453 -1001 GL Amsterdam - The Netherlands // All written by Frans de Waard (FdW) and The Square Root Of Sub (MP)