Vital Weekly 42 Week 42 Number 25 LEIF ELGGREN -TALKING TO A DEAD QUEEN (CD by Fylkingen) It has been said before: Swederi is still one of the few countries where the government is willing to sponsor underground culture. This new work by Leif Elggren opens with a spoken text about the death of a Queen, which after a few minutes stops and then the rest of the CD is filled by an endless drone of sound, with minor changes throughout. It may refer to the work of Alvin Lucier (in a conceptual sense: the only sound source is a copper-pipe of 3760 x 12 mm) and to minimal electronic music, like Jliat (but harsher and more abrasive). Not really easy music this one, but a thoroughly conceptual work. (FdW) Address: Fylkingen -P.O.Box 17044 10462 Stockholm -Sweden bib What ever happened to the world of cassette releases? They continue! From northern Italy comes the label bib, run by M. Gat ti, who is also involved in Hax and several related music projects. On bib they release tapes which seem to belong to the noise edge of the musical spectrum. Many tapes have full color covers or special boxes. Blowhole's 'Reassembled' has a real printed cover and stylistically Blowhole is not far away from their numerous LP and CD releases. Free improvisation weirdness, played on virtually any instrument at hand to what is vaguely described as 'objects' or 'pipes' . Kapotte Muziek -Enhanced Room Acoustics takes the recorded room atmosphere into dark ambient territory on one side and dark industrial on the other. No futher comment Onomatopeia's tape is called 'Interesting Train Journeys Of The West Midlands & Non-Palindromic Place Names' .Onomatopeia belongs to the new generation of noise makers who seem to put more effort in putting together industrial music where there is more happening then just noise. They use metal, guitars and loops. Quite a nice and varied tape. Striving for the harshest in the catalogue are Killer Bug and Macronympha. The first is a relatively new Japanese name, and discovers feedback, distorted vocals, likewise distorted radio noise. The b-side is recorded live, but it makes no difference in sound. Macronympha's Crack offers six tracks of likewise noise. Both Killer Bug and Macronympha offer nothing new under the noise horizon -which makes the 'industrial' music into the heavy metal of the nineties. For the truly addicted only. But: continue to support the underground! (FdW) ~ Address: M. Gatti -via Mozart 13 -20092 Cinisello, Mi -Italy ATOMIC WEIGHT (CD by Iridium) Iridium is the side label of Dorobo, dealing with the more dance oriented side of music. After releases by Black Lung, here is the next one, a compilation of artists from cci/dumb type/spiral from Japan. Dance music with it's roots firmly in the arts, as well as in experimental music. Stylistically the groups move into various territory, such as dub, downright experimentalism or armchair techno. All of the groups and persons featured on this CD have links together, what makes this CD into a slightly incestuous affair. My favorites are the first track (Dumb Type hinting at Sandoz) and the more experimental works of Ryoji Ikeda. Also included are CCI Sound and Yoshio Ojima. A wide variety of music’s by a small selected group. Style (read: arty) cover too. Great CD! (FdW) Address: GILBERT/HAMPSON/KENDALL -ORR (CD by Parallel/Mute) Parallel is another mute side label, this one being run by (the for me unknown) Paul Kendall. Apare~eJ.-y the main material was recorded three years ago 'over a period of three days through guitar pick ups'. Furthermore, according to the cover' a degree of processing has occurred'"' in \the interim. .Humm, not ari 'entirely satisfying description I'd say. As far as I can judge these three guys have been using guitars only, which have been altered beyond recognition. Nothing new under the horizon of post modern musique concretists/post isolationist rockers. But some of this materi!il comes off si~ply' too ,easy and don't give you that isolated feei which you are supposed t~ get. There is too much fragmentation going on to keep my attention throughout. Maybe this material should have been shelved for a longer period, and, added with either more recent recordings or better worked out treatments, been thought over more and more. Now it has just a few moments, such as the track 'Source II' .(FdW) Address: Mute -429 Harrow Road -London WlO 4RE -UK CARL STONE -NYALA (CD by E:MT) Electronic composer Stone recorded this work as the result of a three way collaboration by him, and a dancer and a sculptor. How and what these other two did we do not know, as we are confronted with a CD of music only. Unlike others in the hip ambient areas of E:MT, Stone works more with sound processing, rather than wishy washy synthi sounds. Yet these processing’s never go over the top, and stay on a minimal side of things. Hard to say what the sources are he is using. I thought I recognized treated percussive sounds, and stringed objects. Not that this is really important. The final result is a rather austere piece, which should be listened to without interruption (that worked best, at least for me). Good to see that this kind of work, which steps outside the clichés of ambient, appears on a label such as E:MT. (FdW) Address: <100443.2514@compuserve.com> 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 (HP) Visit us in Amsterdam or in Xyberspace Staalplaat's shop: staalkade 6 -Amsterdam In August 1996 Staalplaat will be for one month in Berlin, opening a temporary shop and staging many concerts, performances and installations. Send an e-mail requesting the complete program that will include: Etant Donnes, J. Blonk, People Like Us, Oval Bad Sector, Kapotte Muziek, Co Caspar, C. Palestine, Deutsch Nepal, Karkowski, Fetisch Park, Muslimgauze, Spoke, F. Tan, BMB Con, TMRX, T. Koner, D. Petitgand and more CD catalogue under the title 'Sonderangebot' with many of these bands will be available mid-july and only be available this period.