\ / | ----- /\ | \ / |== |== | / | \ / Week 21 \ / | | / \ | \ /\ / | | |/ | \ / Number 81 \/ | | / \ |--- \/ \/ |__ |__ |\ |__ | EM:T 1197 (CD by Time Recordings) And Time... well they just continue on their own track. Again with a compilation introducing some new artists and some from the Time stable. Richard Bone offers his best track from a CD released on Quirkworks some time (Vox Orbita). Bad Data is in ever too familiar territory with their ambient doodlings. I will never know what 8 square meter of stereo will sound like, but they have a slowly building track of ambient sound and acoustic percussion and Woob continues where he left off with his second CD (and is similar to the 8m2 Stereo track) - adding a Didj now. More digital ambient by Gas and International Peoples Gang is, again, more of the same. Now the big surprise comes from somebody called Dallas Simpson. His 12 minute piece is called 'Waterpump' and consist of walking through a forest, bird whistle and of course water sounds with sound processing kept to a minimum. Em:t won't be rich, but here is a consideration for them: do a compilation with just these sound scaping pieces, and praise will be their part. Miasma is in dark territory with a moody piece. The CD closes with Hywel Davies with an odd piece of acoustic sounds (mainly flutes being played) and deep bass rumbing, this is more orchestral piece. End survey: one outstanding piece, a lot of average material and nothing really bad. (FdW) Address: REHBERG & BAUER - <> (CD by Touch) Someone wrote me a while ago stating he wanted to see more drum & bass reviewed in these pages, since D&B were the only true successors to industrial music. I don't agree. D&B is in many ways the true successor, the electronic version of Jazz Rock of the 70s. If Industrial music needs a succssor, or if we need to find something, I would classify this CD as being it (or Panasonic, Oval, Microstoria, anything on Mego): music made with broken down technology (preferably digital) that have a raw sound aswell as a groove to it. It may not be surprise that these two boys from Vienna have a background in dance music, but growing into a new sound. Ramon Bauer is a member of General Magic and Peter Rehberg is known as Pita (with an outstanding CD on Mego). This CD offers 10 tracks (20 index point on the CD however) of noisy, yet accurate sound processing. Noisy indeed, but with a groovy (as not in danceable) rhythm. Check out the future of industrial music: check out this. (FdW) Address: CRAWLING WITH TARTS - I AM TELEPHONING A STAR (CD by ASP) CWT are sympathetic duo from Berkeley, California doing their stuff, without caring about what is hot or not. They released a whole bunch of CD's, and here is another odd one: 15 tracks spinning in 44 minutes. There is acoustic, improv sounding stuff, along with weird record playing stuff (as on their 'Grand Surface Noise Opera'). Their concept for this one is beyond me, but maybe it's just highlights of what CWT is capable of. By putting short tracks we get a nice birdview of their many sounds and never bores. So if you ever need one CWT CD (and you do!) - then this is it. (FdW) Address: JLIAT - THE NATURE OF NATURE (CD by Jliat) Jliat's fourth offering on CD is the longest thus far, and also, to some extent the darkest. The cover is all black with just a tree and the remark 'a single piece of electronic drone'. Now that the Jliat novelty is out there (read: picked up by those who tell you the novelty - only months after you found yourself), and minimalism is hip, we may except more interest in this one. The description is very apt. This is nothing else then a single piece of electronic drone, but let this not put you to sleep. The drone on this CD changes slowly and takes various shapes, but only noteable to the concentrated listener. The unconcentrated one, he/she who plays this at this a soft volume will find a meditative piece of music. Just wonderful! (FdW) Address: RUNE LINDBLAD - DEATH OF THE MOON (CD by Pogus) Now here is welcome re-issue of something that I would consider essential. Rune Lindblad was a Swedish composer (1923-1991), the first in his country to compose electronic music. Before his first "official" release, on Radium in 1988, he only had two record releases and although he is largely ignored and forgotten by the serious big avant-garde people, he had many students who continue his work (among them are C.M. Von Hauswolff and Ulf Bilting). This CD is the re-issue of the Death Of The Moon LP (his second "official" on Pogus in 1989), with some material added from the Radium double LP. The CD opens with 'Party', his opus 1, taking shortwave sounds and people speaking. The title piece sounds like a slowed down speech tape, with electronic added, and is maybe a key piece to Lindblad's work: electronics and tape manipulations are mixed with eachother, as early as the mid-fifties when this was composed and Stockhausen (plus the rest of German gang) and Schaeffer (and his french mates) were arguing whether electronic music should either electronic or tapes. The three following pieces are titled 'Fragment 0, 1 and 2' and are again manipulations. The percussive sounds in Fragment 0 are surpriselingly fresh, but the breathing in a microphone gives this a primitive turn. Guitars or other snare sounds are the totured object in 'Evening', with doors squeecking and sped-up tapes. The last piece on this CD is 'Optica 1' is quite famous, since it uses damaged 16mm film. In all an interesting overview of extreme early musique concrete work, that sounds raw and maybe primitive but didn't loose much of their original intensity. Together with the re-issue of Roland Kayn's work, and recent works by Henric Chopin another essential historical work. And more to come. (FdW) Address: LIMINALITY (CD by Digital Narcis) Already available since 2 months, but good enough to be ignored. This is another fine collection of 6 lengthy tracks by six young 'musique concrete' composers. The CD opens with a soundscaping piece by Eric LaCasa that moves from from nature sounds into the city and back into nature again. Something similar, soundscaping wise, is offered by Nick Peck. He takes water sounds ('that a fish might hear in daily life') and processes them with the recognizable water as the main focuss. Ora (with some people associated with Organum) offer a fine drone piece in the best Organum tradition. Deep sounds, scraping sounds and an occasional bell. Koji Marutani, a.k.a. boss of Digital Narcis, explores more sound scaping field recording processings with church bells, piano sounds and traditional music. The shortest track and oldest (from 1991) is by PFN - hey who remembers them? They had a great LP on their own Quiet Artworks label but seemed to have disappeared from the earth. Metal sounds rinkel and electronics play a small backgrond role. RLW closes the team with what sounds like a breath sampled and tearing up paper, but you never know with this kind of stuff. Every artist on this CD take his time to show what they can do, so if you ever wonder what they were about, this is a good place to start. (FdW) Address: VARIOUS ARTISTS - SOLAR (CD on Soleilmoon) This is another compilation featuring a bunch of the usual softies, starting with TUU, whose earlier CDs may be familiar to sombunall of you. Their track 'Shiva Descending' is a flutebelldrone which drifts out of the speakers like heavy mist over oily ground. This is followed by true fusin from Jorge Reyes who mixes authentic instruments with body percussion and voice into an excellent hypnotic track. Ancient rituals, new technology. O Yuki Conjugate play the bongos and keep the loups at a distance. Stillpoint sound disappointingly like Jon Hassell, despite being comprisewd of members of other much mopre innovative groups. This is followed by the first of a few audio-photographs which serve as intersections in this journey. It is a way too loud recording of the Hi-Fi Market in Bangkok. A whole CD of this would do very nicely, actually. The group Raksha Mancham is comprised of people who have definitely have difficulty spelling their own names. Their singer is either very good at pulling faces or so intent on looking at the floor, no one knows for sure, but by all the demons in Tibetan mythologies, this is verily a truely appalling track, which even the yards of text in the otherwise mostly informative booklet-thingy, were unable to save. Then a bad recording of a real religious procession in Nepal - just as well these two are together. Two birds with one press of the Skip-Knob. A Small Good Thing create a strange sonic building which is better than most of their recent stuff. This is followed by two tracks which segue perfectly-from the somewhat restrained and carefully paced bell-atmosphere by Frank Perry to the insect-like drone by Max Easterley, which gradually subsides into long, bowed (?) tones. Lovely piece this. Then there is a brief recording of a 'Roadside Gamelan' which is followed by a new and reasonably massive piece by Rapoon, constructed from yedaki (?), voice and effects. And probably more. Sounds like a tour of inspection by a large, introspective beastie. Then there is the final track by Paul Schutze called 'Sleep V', an expansive piece with a feeling of stretched, taut space. Very minimal and still highly charged. And that's it. Mostly for fans. Certainly definitive, albeit a little late. Please God, let there be some truth in the words of the acoustic Bob, may the times be achanging...and music too. Much fresher produce required. (MP) Address: TONTO'S EXPANDING HEAD BAND - TONTO RIDES AGAIN (CD on Viceroy Music) Here's a CD of music originally released 26 years (that's older than you buddy!) ago as 'Zero Time'. I was one of those fortunate enough to pick it up in 1975 on the Atlantic Records release complete with appropriate artwork (This new sleeve is absolutely horrid) (For colour photocopies of the original artrwork, contact this broadsheet and send as much money as you think it may be worth. No pay, no see, gottit!). It is music made by two blokes, Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff, both still active in studios in the States, and an artillery of analog (read mostly Moog) gear and quite possibly a bunch of Owlsley's best. This CD also includes a number (7) of unreleased tracks which don't quite make it (and probably for this reason were not included on the original) and which distract from the original record. Whether they knew it or not (pass the sugarcubes please, Bob), this music was made for tripping, and the first six tracks deserve to be on any psychonauts shelf. Sadly, the words for 'Riversong' were only ever included in the original packaging, so the lyrical content of this tune must remain a mystery. 'Zero Time' was definitive for it's time, so much so that Little Stevie Wonder bought them out immediately and got them to make a bunch of records with him, starting with Music Of My Mind and ending with Jungle Fever. So now we know who to blame. I, for one, have had so many unforgettable experiences with this music that I was overjoyed to hear of it's re-production. Mix it up with E.A.R. or Spectrum and similar hippie-shit for an effective voyage. Enjoy! (MP) 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), The Square Root Of Sub (MP), Ching-Chong Jing-Jong (CP), Radboud Mens (RM), Sister Clika (RTH) http://www.compusmart.ab.ca/tbennett/staalplaat/st-home.htm. -- 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: Vital Weekly/Frans de Waard -P.O.Box 11453 - 1001 GL Amsterdam - The Netherlands All written by Frans de Waard (FdW), The Square Root Of Sub (MP, ), Heimir Bjorgulfsson (HB), Dolf Mulder (DM), Meelkop Roel (MR), Brian Lavelle (BL, ), Gerald Schwartz (GS), Niels Mark Pedersen (NMP), Henry Schneider (SH), Jeff Surak (JS), TJ Norris (TJN), Gregg Kowlaksky (GK) and others on a less regular basis. This is copyright free publication, except where indicated, in which case permission has to be obtained from the respective author before reprinting any, or all of the desired text. The author has to be credited, and Vital Weekly has to be acknowledged at all times if any texts are used from it. Announcements can be shortened by the editor. Please do NOT send any attachments/jpeg's, we will trash them without viewing. Backissues may be found at: www.staalplaat.com and http://www.aesova.org/vital