============ VITAL WEEKLY ============ number 370 ------------ week 19 ------------ FARMERS MANUAL - RLA (DVD by Mego) PAIZS MIKLOS (CDR by Ultrahang) PRELL - 23.09.11 (CDR by Ultrahang) STEVE CURTAIN - WIRES ON DRY TRESS TURN NIGHT INTO DAY (CDR by Foreign Lands) BRANCHES & ROUTES - A FAT CAT COMPILATION (2CD by Fat Cat) 87 CENTRAL - FORMATION (CD by Staalplaat) ELECTRIC PAVILLON (CD compilation by Medienkunst Tirol) JARRA - SAMA 2 (CDR by And/Oar) POWERBOOKS FOR PEACE - YOUR BRAIN IS A CRAZY GUY (CDR by Alienation) APPARAT ORGAN QUARTET (CD by Thule Music) ASRA - SOUVENIR A ASRA, LA POUPEE VIVANTE (LP by Le Souffleur) JASON LESCALLEET - ELECTRONIC MUSIC (LP by RRRecords) JASON LESCALLEET'S DUE PROCESS - COMBINES XIX-XX (LP by We Break More Records) EMIL BEAULIEAU - ABUSING THE LITTLE ONES (LP by Self Abuse Records) SCOTT FOUST - THE FIGHTING SENSUALIST (2x cassette by Pineapple Tapes/Swill Radio) TART - BRING IN THE ADMIRAL (LP by Swill Radio) KAPOTTE MUZIEK - COLUMBUS, OHIO (CDR by Gameboy Records) CONTEMPORARY CULTURE CONVENTION III (CD by Everest Records) DJ NAMEZ (CDR by Boxmedia) DJ ELITIST SNOB (CDR by Boxmedia) DJ JUNKROC (CDR by Boxmedia) DJ SPARE TIRE (CDR by Boxmedia) AVANT COLLECTIVE - THE LOST (CDR) AVANT COLLECTIVE - AVANT COLLECTIVE (CDR) ROCCO DI PIETRO - TEARS OF EROS (CDR) E*ROCK - CONSCIOUS (CD by AudioDregs) DRONAEMENT - YR (CDR by Afe Records) SELFSERVICE - HOT PIXEL (3"CDR by Piehead Recordings) CORNUCOPIA/PABLO RECHE - NEBULA 9.3 3" CDR (TESTING GROUND) GREG DAVIS - PRECURSORS (7" by Melektronikk & Safe As Milk) MILKLAND 2: PHONOPHANI & VIBRACATHEDRAL ORCHESTRA (7" by Melektronikk) KUWAYAMA / KIJIMA - 02.08.23 (CD by trente oiseaux) FARMERS MANUAL - RLA (DVD by Mego) Of course I wasn't made for these times, all these fancy machines, gadgets and toys. Internet, computers, SACD, DVD: as long as it comes with a very clear instruction of how it works, I might be able to get it working. My natural enemies in life are of course multi-media pranksters Farmers Manual, who offer their entire live recordings archive on one DVD (that is, as far it was saved). When I put this DVD in my computer and to start to play I just got a fifteen minute some movie of some guys smashing a wall. Nothing else. Not the promised live material by Farmers Manual. No menu to choose from. The DVD file on the computer showed a hmtl linked so I went there. But it seems kinda silly to buy a DVD for music, which then reverts to a website. So I asked Mego and one has to open the folder that says 'rom' and drop everything in say a Mpeg player, I tunes or whatever. I picked one file and that is a concert from 1995 at the phonotaktik festival and that lasted just over an hour. In the 'rom' folder there are no less then 51 sub folders and each is a concert, so one can easily there is more music in there then in the entire Merzbox and Throbbing Gristle 24 hour box together (the total length of this DVD is 3 days, 21 hours, 38 minutes and 3 seconds). I hope you will excuse me for not having heard all of them before setting myself to write this review. Information comes here as a massive overload (right so, of course in this day and age of information overload - in that respect Farmers Manual do whatever is expected of them). I can't imagine anyone playing all of this is a row, but I can imagine people returning to this every once in a while and play the odd concert. A lot (if not all) is also on the Farmers Manual website and luckily there newly live recordings are added, so if this DVD is simply not enough one can of course start downloading... And oh yes, the music itself, you may wonder? Farmers Manual has been of the more interesting bands to work solely with computers, and each concert was an unique jam of the band (sometimes four members, sometimes less) but unlike so many newer laptop bands, they incorporate (techno, dub) rhythms, synths etc. They might be staying much closer to 'real' music, as opposed to the all improvising laptop bands and that makes a three day listen session all the more endurable. Even when there is a weak spot during a concert... (FdW) Address: www.mego.at PAIZS MIKLOS (CDR by Ultrahang) PRELL - 23.09.11 (CDR by Ultrahang) In Vital Weekly 363 we reviewed the first two releases on Ultrahang, an organisation from Hungary, who are about to release twelve CDRs with musicians from Hungary. After they are all released we might be hearing some more about them, since the CDs themselves do not come with much information. If would have been nice to know more about Paizs Miklos for instance and what he is doing. Apperentely, based upon hearing, he's is into voice music, maybe sound poetry or vocal improvisation. Sometimes it is close to overtone singing, sometimes he produces sounds by slapping his cheeks and it's all wordless singing. In some piece he seems to be using electronica, like in the third piece, but the voice is the main thing. A fascinating, but short release that should appeal to fans of Henri Chopin or Jaap Blonk. Also no information about Prell, whose CDR is called '23.09.11', so I assume it was recorded that day. He has four lengthy pieces of really strong ambient material. It hiss a lot (not recording wise, but in a musical sense), with sounds arising from the mass. Probably heavily influenced by people like Francisco Lopez or the older work of Jim O'Rourke, this is still pretty much something of his own. Ambient industrial at it's very best. Music of nature, music of a radical nature. It's like a sea of sound that totally immerses the listener. Of the four releases on this label so far, the best! (FdW) Address: http://uh.hu/uhcdr STEVE CURTAIN - WIRES ON DRY TRESS TURN NIGHT INTO DAY (CDR by Foreign Lands) Steve Curtain is from Detroit and has been 'exploring the analog world since the late 1970's and has incorporated modern technology into his compositions for a blend that is most pleasant listening'. With such titles as 'Space Machine', 'High Frontier' or 'Moonbase' one can sense which direction this goes: downright into the realms of cosmic music, inspired by the likes of very old Tangerine Dream or Klaus Schulze. Unlike those, Steve Curtain rather goes for the drony aspects of sound, with continious blocks of sound and occassional bleeps of space craft landing or taking of. Also unlike the aforementioned German masters, Steve Curtain's music sound rather recorded lo-fi, but that makes it rather nice and raw. None of the fourteen pieces sound really earthshaking new but it's a nice space journey anyway. (FdW) Address: BRANCHES & ROUTES - A FAT CAT COMPILATION (2CD by Fat Cat No doubt Fat Cat is one of the nicest labels around. Last week (May 1st) they presented their label in Belgium, with a whole range of artists, all of which are to be found on this nice double CD compilation. In case you don't know the eclectic taste of Fat Cat, I recommend that you rush out to your local dealer to get one. Fat Cat has post rock (Sigur Ros, David Grubbs, Set Fire To Flames), dub (Seen), techno (Matmos, Grain, Duplo Remoto), guitar noise (Xinlisupreme) and laptop-heads (Fennesz, Com.a, Funkstorung, Sylvain Chauveau) and everything in between. Twenty-seven acts in total. If you are a keen and open minded follower of the label, I suggest you bypass this release, since only five tracks are previously unreleased (Stromba, Seen, Sigur Ros, Drowsy and Crescent), but no doubt these pieces will pop up on their next full lengths? That is a pity, but taken all in account, Fat Cat is a damm fine label. (FdW) Address: http://www.fat-cat.co.uk 87 CENTRAL - FORMATION (CD by Staalplaat) This is one of those names which one sees popping up in our announcement section, but whose releases so far are quite small. It's no wonder that all three of his releases so far were on Dutch labels, since Jeff Carey, whose origins are across the ocean, lives in that beautiful small country since some time. 'Formation' is the release that was recorded between his debut LP on ERS Records and his recent "Sax Mower" (see Vital Weekly 359), but released just after "Sax Mower". The cover of this CD lists his instruments: no-input mixer, computer models of feedback systems, field recordings and samples of dan armstrong playing guitar. The funny thing about 87 Central is that he drags all of this (save for Dan Armstrong) onto the stage, where he starts fiddling about with it; it's certainly not just another laptop artist. The combination of all of this modern-day gadgets result in highly rich tapestries of sound. Bird calls and fire sounds in combination processed feedback and the washy sounds of Dan's guitar (only in one track though), make this into a kind of ambient record, in which happens more then the usual washes of digital synths and plundered sound effect CDs. 87 Central plays around with environmental, concrete and abstract sound, and does it with great care. The glitchy elements present on "Saxmower" are not apperent on this release, so I recommend this to all ambient hearts out there. Strong stuff. (FdW) Address: http://www.staalplaat.com ELECTRIC PAVILLON (CD compilation by Medienkunst Tirol) "This CD is not specifically a political comment but definitely a message of solidarity to the anti-globalization movement" - you bet, just looking at the cover, one could easily be mistaken to think that this is a political statement. This CD is a documentation of a festival held held in Innsbruck, Austria in september 2001. The music here is a pretty mixed affair: from lo-fi techno pop (Musikkreis MS20, Gelee Royale, Lampe, Landschaftspflege), dub (Martinek.C-deluxe), environmental oriented (Mnortham), clicks & cuts (Curd Duca, Thilges 3, Iftaf, Fon), noise (Joma Sounds, Auction) and punk (Weigand/Pettibon, Tight Finks). As you can see a pretty mixed affair, so I am not sure who is really attracted by this release - unless of course if you are that anti-global that you wish to break down all musical structures too. Pricewinning track here is by Bidner and Martinek, who cleverly rape Bowie's 'This Is Not America' into 'This Is Not My Government' - staying awfully close to the original, which makes it all the more scary. (FdW) Address: http://www.transporter.at JARRA - SAMA 2 (CDR by And/Oar) This is the follow up to 'Sama 1', which was reviewed in Vital Weekly 343. Made on the same trip to Malaysia, but now at dawn, while sun is rising. Jarra is awake early and outside the hide where he spent the night, he sits there with his microphone and minidisc to record the events in the jungle. Quite contrary to 'Sama 1', this is a much more minimal affair. In 'Sama 1' we could hear the rain coming, which eventually grew into a large tropical rain. Nothing here of that kind. The jungle comes alive after the night of rain and we hear the insects, birds and other animals waking eachother. 'Sama 2' is a very minimal work, that, when superficially heard, is maybe one static work, but when listened more closely is a very vibrant work. Small events happen, sounds disappear as they rise, outbursts, far away, of insects. It's not as impressive as 'Sama 1', but once again Jarra proved to have a great pair of ears to capture, in all it's simplicity, the sounds of the jungle. Great work of soundscaping. (FdW) Address: POWERBOOKS FOR PEACE - YOUR BRAIN IS A CRAZY GUY (CDR by Alienation) This is the second Powerbooks For Peace release I'm aware, after the 3"CDR for Alku, which was reviewed in Vital Weekly 361. This trio from England (whom are also active in various solo projects) play of course powerbooks and in general go wild opening up soundfiles, plug-ins and patches. As you can imagine, they still lurk around in Mego/Pita/Farmers Manual areas, and whereas that 3" was nice enough by itself, I must admit I have a bit of problem with this one. The eight lenghty excursions into the world of bites and bits is a bit too much. Just under an hour this is, and that is simply too much for me. There must be quite a bit of fun playing around like they do, and maybe in a live situation it might also be enjoyable, but captured on disc it is a bit too much. The first few pieces are alright, but once we get to the seventh and eight track on this release, we know their game. If they were left off, it might have been a well endurable disc. More is not always good... (FdW) Address: http://www.ops.dti.ne.jp/~thirdorg/ APPARAT ORGAN QUARTET (CD by Thule Music) You remember 'Four Organs' by Steve Reich? (of course you do) It's not just four organs, but also maraccas playing. Something similar is here on the Apparat Organ Quartet - four guys playing organ and one is drumming. This Icelandic quartet however don't get their ideas from good ol' Steve Reich, but from Kraftwerk. Uplifting techno-oriented electro music, with pounding rhythmlines (a drummer, a rhythmbox) and tons of vocoder voices. Ein Zwei Drei Vier - Stereo Rock N Roll. Kraftwerk on acid, certainly for the more uptempo pieces, which are in favourite with me. They have a great drive and wit to them. The slower tracks, such as 'The Anguish Of Space-Time' or 'Sofdu Litla Vel' are nice, but don't really seem to work for me. The others are great poppy tunes and with the right amount of attention, they could easily score an underground hit with it. (FdW) Address: http://www.thulemusik.com ASRA - SOUVENIR A ASRA, LA POUPEE VIVANTE (LP by Le Souffleur) Asra is a duo, consisting of Af Ursin and Raymond Dijkstra. Both of these people have by now quite some history in releasing music. Their interest is mainly in releasing vinyl, for whatever obscure reasons, and they both have done a few. Both Af Ursin aswell as Dadaphon (in whatever guise he pops up) have a personal way of creating music. Using an old eight channel reel to reel tape machine and a mixing board, they record densely layered sounds. Rubbing sounds, scratching objects, but also they play a wide variety of instruments, such as wind instruments and violins. Just as they don't like CDs, they also don't like electronica that much. So it's a highly analog affair. It's hard to describe what it sounds like. There are traces of old Nurse With Wound (but not as collage like) or the recent minimalist drone masters (Mirror, Ora, Monos), but it's less closed. On their collaborative record, they of course do whatever they can do best. The a-side has three tracks (although one is so short it's merely an intro), staying close to the recent Af Ursin LP or the Dadaphon 10". 'Electronisch Samenspel' (meaning 'electronic interplay') is a short track on the b-side (being clueless why they used only one third of the available vinyl) and a rather lo-fi theremin play, I assume by the both of them. Strange to hear them doing electronic music, but it's kinda of nice, really. Strange and remotely playing. A very nice record by two lovely boys. (FdW) Address: JASON LESCALLEET - ELECTRONIC MUSIC (LP by RRRecords) JASON LESCALLEET'S DUE PROCESS - COMBINES XIX-XX (LP by We Break More Records) EMIL BEAULIEAU - ABUSING THE LITTLE ONES (LP by Self Abuse Records) USA's beloved underground star these days is Jason Lescalleet. I reviewed some of his work before and per new release, I think he gets better. This record, on the recentely resurrected RRRecords (with cataloguenumber 001, as if Chadbourne's LP never existed), consists of four pieces of electronic music, all in that very fine Lescalleet style. Using analogue machines (old reel to reels, tape effects and guitar effects), Lescalleet creates a very fine, yet very thick tapestry of sound, that is close the older, more intelligent forms of industrial music (think P16.D4 for instance, but less collage like), but via computer edits, he has found his own way and has updated the sound idiom of the past. More so then before, the dynamic aspect of his music is important. Things happen on various levels of the music, and the softer and louder elements play a great role in creating this music. It's hard to tell whatever sounds Lescalleet is feeding into his machines, therefore the sound is too blurry and the original sources can't be recognized. Not that it is really important. Lescalleet bridges the gap between the old school industrialists and the modern day laptop composers. More Lescalleet can be found on the Due Process LP. For those who do not remember: Due Process is a group with RRRon Lessard as it's main member. Over the years other people have joined, but it's always RRRon and someone else. Since some time, it's Ron and Jason Lescalleet. This album, announced as 'Jason Lescalleet's Due Process', is probably just Jason's edit or mix of Due Process, me thinks. In Due Process Ron does what he also does in his Emil Beaulieau guise: abusing records on a turntable. But packed together with Jason's treatments, it sure goes somewhere. The combination of both makes Due Process into something nice of its own and one doesn't have the idea of listening to a DJ record. Halfway through the second side of the record we have the Due Process trademark sound (which I believe comes from an old Michel Chion record) and we know it's a true Due Process record. Maybe in a less serious mood, maybe not, is Ron Lessard's guise Emil Beaulieau. For over a decade or so, he uses this name (stolen from a mayor somewhere) to abuse records. Hilarious it is, certainly in live concert (as I had the pleasure to experience only a while ago). On 'Abusing The Little Ones', he picked nine 7" releases from Self Abuse Records and gives them the good ol' Beaulieau treatment. Of course noise is the thing here. I am honest enough to say I don't know all the 7"s on Self-Abuse, but looking at the names (Crawl Unit, Stimbox, Mlehst, Deathpile, Hanged Mans Orgasm, Atrax Morgue, Dead Body Love and Surgical Stainless Steel), they all share a noise background, so I can easily say Cage like works: "how to improve Self Abuse Records? You only make things worse". And that is a compliment, as Emil is maybe not the greatest living noise artist (anymore?), but he is sure on of the better and wittier ones. (FdW) Address: http://www.rrrecords.com Address: Address: http://www.selfabuserecords.net SCOTT FOUST - THE FIGHTING SENSUALIST (2x cassette by Pineapple Tapes/Swill Radio) TART - BRING IN THE ADMIRAL (LP by Swill Radio) Scott Foust is a genius - let there be no doubt about it. When he is supposed to release at least a CDR of his history, he releases 2 cassettes (that, for the younger readers among you, is a slightly outdated format with the big advantage of the possibilities to re-record it) and a booklet of his work from 1979 until the present day. All of his bands are present, from Y Front to The Braces, but his most known bands are Anschluss, The XX Committee, The Idea Fire Company and Tart. With all of these bands he did one or more records, which gained quite an underground reputation. Roughly his work has two distinct directions: one is free rock oriented stuff (like Y Front, Red Light, Red Disk) or minimalist electronics (XX Committee, Idea Fire Company or Tart) - but both are pretty much lo-fi affairs in terms of recording and production and both ends of the musical spectrum and both are made out of pure love for music, I guess. Wish this was on CDR though... The second tape that comes in this package is Tart live is an extension of the studio sound, see also below. Even more so then on vinyl, it captures raw and minimalist patterns, hammered away on very low level casio samplers and analogue synths, aswell as e-bow processings. At the same time, Tart also release their second LP. Tart is, besides Scott, also Graham Lambkin and Karla Borecky. They play each keyboards, guitar and radio. They offer rather lo-fi drone music, continuous noise played on synths, with occassional interruptions when they hit a bum note - wether or not it is intentional. It sounds kinda similar to the recent show I saw of Idea Fire Company (with the best looking girl I saw in the USA!): very stripped down minimalist electronics, which do not play for the effect being nicely recorded, but rather goes for the effect on the mind. I think I coined the term outsider music before, Scott Foust, for whatever he does is true outsider music. (FdW) Address: www.anti-naturals.org KAPOTTE MUZIEK - COLUMBUS, OHIO (CDR by Gameboy Records) It's been a while since I saw/heard Kapotte Muziek live. It used to be quite a surprise each time and hearing this one I guess it still is. Three people carefully preparing a dish full of secret sounds and which are being served right from the oven. This cd presents an edit of Kapotte Muziek's performance at the 2002 Avantronics festival in (ah, you guessed...?) Columbus, Ohio. Two works clocking out at 37'55". The music has undergone very minimal editing. For instance there is some accidental feedback which is not removed, and the applause at the end of track two is cut off while we can just hear that someone is starting to announce something. The sounds of the performance itself are mostly unedited and especially in the first track they seem to consist of amplified micro-phonics. Accidently there are recorded sounds but for the most part sounds are what they were like when recorded. Rasping is important, background city noise. There is a small toy car in track one. Whereas in track one sounds the atmosphere is mostly intimate because of the focus on 'small' sounds, track two starts off with the sounds of the performance space. We hear people cough, shifting their positions, sighing, clapping. After which the noise begins. The recording of this session is not a focus but the total sound of the performance space. We hear people coughing, humming of an engine, some slides of this over concrete. Though it was shorter than the first track I like the second one more. Kapotte Muziek's use of live acoustics is quite refreshing and I think that they are a welcome guest at many a festival where laptop and mixing desk music seems to be the standard nowadays. The cd could have been more carefully finished. But i guess the goal here was to give the listener a good insight into what KM sounds live. You should go and see them. (IS) Address: CONTEMPORARY CULTURE CONVENTION III (CD by Everest Records) I am not entirely sure what this compilation is about... is it an annual compilation or part of some festival? In any case, it has eleven Swiss artists of mostly electronic music. Involved are some known names such as Steinbruchel, RM 74, but also some of which I never heard before. It is quite somem mixture here, even when they all stay in the realms of electronic music. From glitch to dub, from techno to ambient industrial, it's all there and most of the times the tracks are quite alright - the Wolfgang Voigt rip-off by Niels Jensen is in fact very nice, but overall none of these tracks showed really much else then what is in truckloads available. Maybe this is the clicks and cuts of Switzerland, but that series is a cliche by itself too. I may sound a little negative and that doesn't entirely justify the music, because like I said, by themselves they are quite nice tracks. And to be complete, names include also Kaleidophone, Everest, Balduin, Dimlite, Person, Peter Baumgartner, Herpes ö Deluxe and And Me. (FdW) Address: http://www.everestrecords.ch DJ NAMEZ (CDR by Boxmedia) DJ ELITIST SNOB (CDR by Boxmedia) DJ JUNKROC (CDR by Boxmedia) DJ SPARE TIRE (CDR by Boxmedia) Boxmedia just started to release a whole bunch of CDRs with DJ material, DJ sets by people who give themselves silly names but with some nice results. DJ Namez is Micheal Hartman of TV Pow fame, whose fifty minute set is built around microscopic crackles, techno beats and ambient noise. DJ Elitist Snob is mister Gameboy, Mike Shiflet. His DJ set is less coherent, and rather all over the place, from noise to drone to rap and hip hop. But even for one that is not known to be a lover of rap and hip hop, this ecletic mix is quite nice. A well-untuned radio. Very close to the traditional DJ mix is DJ Junkroc, aka Junko Okada. His (her) DJ set is a traditional techno set, in the best Cologne tradition - nicely mixed, as far as I can judge, because I am not a DJ and not a technohead. Last but not least is DJ Spare Tire, and here we find Brent Gutzeit, the man behind Boxmedia. His DJ set is along the lines of DJ Elitist Snob, even when Brent is more the man of drones and free rock, in combination microsound electronics. Also on his set I recognized just one track (and none on the others - so either I don't know much about music, or there is just too much): Oscillations by Silver Apples pops by for brief moment. (FdW) Address: www.boxmedia.com AVANT COLLECTIVE - THE LOST (CDR) AVANT COLLECTIVE - AVANT COLLECTIVE (CDR) ROCCO DI PIETRO - TEARS OF EROS (CDR) I received these promo's with a couple of leaves explaining about the music. In some cases you really need accompanying texts but they can be quite annoying and actually interfere with your trying to relate to the music itself. So most of the time I decide not to read. Okay, away with the paper and on to the music itself. The theme of the music on the first cd (The Lost), composed by Rocco di Pietro, is serious matter: the lost children. Every year thousands of kids get lost. They are abducted and you really get sad when you think what could, and too often will, have happened to them.... The titles of the first part of this cd-r refer to a few of them. Their titles are the names of lost children. The music is spatial, tense, morose. Instrumentation: sampler, bass, percussion, accordion, guitar, trombone. The name of the child is mentioned at the beginning of each track, which adds to the gloomy atmosphere. The recording is acoustic, I think in a jazz-like setting. It does have its moments, although at first I had trouble listening to it. Worth paying attention to. The next Avant Collective (untitled) too, was at first too much for my already burdened mind. It took the whip of editor in chief Frans de W to get me going and hear this out. The start of this same titled/ untitled release is anarchistic and tense but fun too. It reminds me of oldfashioned 60s Zappa (uncle meat experiments) and John Zorn in his (for me) best period (big gundown). Bass, piano, tape, guitar, computer, voice. All very well constructed, edited and mixed into a nice soundscape. Then somehow, when we arrive at track 4 Avant Collective suffers from a collective loss of their senses. It all descends into a nightmare of cheesiness. Track 8, 9 and 11 succeed in getting somewhere but after that it's really over. Too bad, cause the music totals no more than 32 minutes. So in all the really brilliant music is approximately 12 minutes while the rest is a bloody nightmare. Di Pietro also composed the radio play 'tears of eros'. This is rather disappointing. Basically ( that's always a dangerous approach, because it most of the time is not fair to the composer to regard things 'basic' ), basically this composition consists of a juxtaposition of the soundtrack of hardporn movie and the recitation of the sublimated wet dreams of two writers/philosophers Mangwana and Bataille. The latter two explain about their relation to sexuality in general and women more particularly. Okay, yes and in between there are sounds of tuning forks and computer generated noise. All fine and dandy, but too brainy for my loins. (IS) Address: http://roccodi.freeyellow.com E*ROCK - CONSCIOUS (CD by AudioDregs) Portland's E*Rock has released a melodic piece of sound design. Small, unfiltered blips and careful beats with the inclusion of wind instruments by guest Colleen French. Opening with the unconsciousness of 'Living, Breathing, etc.' this is a welcome audio sideshow, crafted for slacker artists everywhere. It just moves like liquid, whispering of fine grooves and confident quietude. There are certainly moments here that may have been originally paved by Dr. Seuss, tiptoeing around the Meredith Monk infused 'Them What Do' with breathy voice and silly toy-like sounds. But unlike other recordings that are steeped in humor as the primary catchy concept, here there is a cerebral blend of other drifting passages which counter frivolous levity. 'Lightest Blue' is a bit too light, and veers in the dayglo spontaneity of 60s psychedelic folk rock, making it a bit of a square peg here. The flute draws too much attention to itself and masks the sounds in a way Mr. Rogers might wish you a happy day, neighbor. The bright 'Shrink Ray' plays with Microstoria-like impulse, with a hint of an awkward lost female voice. The backwards playing darker drone compliments the baby-crib mobile like sparkle instead of countering it. There is some modulated sound warping going on throughout 'I Was Thinking of Things To Draw' - in many ways paying homage to latter day Parker Bros. and Milton Bradley. This is the most fun you may have outside of a thematic thrill ride this Summer. E*Rock doesn't exactly 'rock' instead they make an attempt to caress your sense of play, making your eardrums luminous and wide open to the power of its suggestion. (TJN) Address: http://www.audiodregs.com DRONAEMENT - YR (CDR by Afe Records) The man behind Dronaement is a busy bee. Besides the Dronaement project, Marcus Obst is also involved in Das Rhythmische Ornament and Oscillator and he runs a small label, Nauze [Muzick]. His releases find their way usually on CDR or tape. This new release is no different, expect that the packaging is really nice and some badly xeroxed white paper. For this release he plays around with an old organ, synthesizers, a little sampler, lots of guitar effects, field recordings and, that is what makes this into quite a nice release, is the addition of a cello and an acoustic guitar. With music that dwells very much on the effects of drone, you can easily imagine that the pieces on this release are lenghty. Six tracks, totalling some fifty-five minutes, of dark and drony soundscapes, with sounds being fade in and out, guitar playing being looped ad infinitum, or the sound processings being done on the recordings of a thunder storm: it all evokes bleak and dark images of industrial sites, sparsely lit at night, with fog-covered swamps and misty seashores. Nothing spectacular new to the likeminded of Troum or Tarkatak, but certainly one that can easily meet with them. Extra data is also enclosed on the release, in case you want to know more. (FdW) Address: http://www.aferecords.com SELFSERVICE - HOT PIXEL (3"CDR by Piehead Recordings) Reading the press text that comes along with this, I see that Selfservice is a duo of Rebecca McClellan and Jakob Thiesen, both from Toronto, and that they are helped by David Fortino on guitar. Especially in the first two (of four) tracks, this influence is apparent, since they sound very much like a cross-over between postrock and post electronica. What helps of course is the fact that there is some real, live drumming going on. The result, and here especially in the opening track 'Neon Band' is a very psychedelic sound, with sounds coming in and out of the mix and is indeed a nice trip. The other tracks, while shorter, don't have that same feeling, but, again while shorter, they are maybe much closer to the ordinary poptune, which is nice too. I wondered, if this was a full length CD, which of the two, psychedelic or pop would have prevailed? Maybe the further can tell, after this nice starter. (FdW) Address: http://www.pieheadrecords.com CORNUCOPIA/PABLO RECHE - NEBULA 9.3 3" CDR (TESTING GROUND) The 19 minute track contained on this professionally packaged 3" cdr is a collaboration between Cornucopia (Puerto Rico) and Pablo Reche (Argentina). At first I was planning to describe it as one long static drone, but the more I listen to this ep, I believe it would be more accurate to call it vacuum music. The sound emanating is a deep, submerged, rumbling, like being sucked into a black hole. Drones usually have a linear progression, a single or group of sounds held for a certain duration. Nebula 9.3 stays in one place, and just increases the pressure. Slowly higher tonal pitches are introduced. The bottom drops out, you attain weightlessness, and float into the void. Necessary music for all your cosmic journeys. (JS) Address: http://www.testinground.com GREG DAVIS - PRECURSORS (7" by Melektronikk & Safe As Milk) At 45 RPM, the 7" remains one of my favorite sound storage devices. So everytime I receive one of these I put them on right away, except in this case, because I was gone for a couple of days. So I had a delayed pleasure. Davis presents two short tracks, the first of which starts with a pretty rough part of computer manipulated sounds, but ends with soft guitar and field recordings. The second track basically goes on where the first one ends: it becomes something of a lullaby, because of a short melody that is repeated again and agian. The whole piece is done with a gentle instrumentation of guitars, harmonium and other windy instruments, which adds to the soft character. A good one for a late night. (MR) Address: http://www.safe-as-milk.org/melektronikk MILKLAND 2: PHONOPHANI & VIBRACATHEDRAL ORCHESTRA (7" by Melektronikk) This 7" is the second in a series called Milkland. It is a split 7" series combining the interest of both labels: Melektronikk's experimental electronics and Safe as Milk's experimental rock. The track by Phonophani from Norway is a weird mix of minimal music, combined with electronic distortions. All seems based on traditional instruments, mainly wind instruments, but somehow processed and layered. The result is dense and almost claustrophobic. Vibracathedral Orchestra are from the UK and have a different approach: instead of processing their instruments, they layer them so strongly that a consistent drone is created. Fragments of melodies appear every now and then, only to be replaced by other instruments' melodies. A strange mix of folk and industrial. (MR) Address: http://www.safe-as-milk.org/melektronikk KUWAYAMA / KIJIMA - 02.08.23 (CD by trente oiseaux) Once again these two Japanese string playes have embarked on a tour of Nagoya city. This time they have found an abandoned warehouse in the port area. In this warehouse they have made the recordings for this CD. Of course the acoustics of the location play an important role in the work, as well as other wanted environmental sound events. In this case there are two sounds up front: water and cycadas. The water is not so strange, because the place is in the port and the cycada's make me guess that the 08 in title refers to august. As always the pieces are very well done, concentrated and absolutely to the point. These two have mastered great skills on their instruments as well as improvising with each other, this is clear from the start. It is also no wonder that this work is released on this label: there is is strong sense of timelessness to it, one listens and at a certain moment, time seems to have gone somewhere else and one wakes up from a state of sleepy wakefulness. Very strange indeed. But also high qualtiy stuff. (MR) Address: http://www.trenteoiseaux.com 1. From: Polestar Music Gallery Polestar First Anniversary Festival of Creative Music Polestar Music Gallery, Seattle's dedicated venue for adventurous music and sound art, will celebrate its one-year anniversary with a festival that runs May 8-10 and 13-18, 2003. The celebration will feature performers from Japan, Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Britain, New York, California, and even Seattle. The nine evenings of music will showcase performances of freely improvised music, outside jazz, contemporary composition, noise, and electronic music. ROBIN HOLCOMB * GUST BURNS with ADAM DILLER * DANIEL CARTER, GREGG KEPLINGER & REUBEN RADDING * URS LEIMGRUBER, JACQUES DEMIERRE & BARRE PHILLIPS * CARLA KIHLSTEDT * EVAN PARKER, ALEX von SCHLIPPENBACH & PAUL LYTTON * WOLFGANG FUCHS with REUBEN RADDING & GREG CAMPBELL * OTOMO YOSHIHIDE * WALLY SHOUP TRIO with REUBEN RADDING & BOB REES * MIKRO PROPAGANDA * SORELLE 1412 18th Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98122 USA, (206) 329-4224 http://www.polestarmusic.org 2. From: adriano scerna - NABUKAZO TAKEMURA (SOUNDS & VIDEO) - KAR+TizianaLoConte (SOUNDS & VIDEO) ore 22.00 INIT - via della stazione tuscolana, 133 - ROMA 3. From: den haag film and video festival see[h]ear 2003.1 Den Haag Film and Video Festival 16 mei 2003 audiovisual installations: 4-17 mei Full program at: www.dhfvf.nl Haags Filmhuis Den Haag The Netherlands Live expanded cinema performances by stars of the lid (us/b) cats of tel aviv (us/nl)+pawel grabowski (pol) with live 16 mm film by yann beauvais (france) Labdog+alfa blue (nl) with live super 8 film by jaap pieters (nl) audiovisual installations: 4-17 mei by thomas Koener (d) xavier van wersch (nl/b) peter bogers (nl) Proposals for live audiovisual performances and installations are being accepted for the fall and annual festivals. See submission details on the website. 4. From: "Dimentox" Hello, Just a note here.. If you would like to use / feature The Masquerade Project We would be more than willing to let you use our stuff / Create songs/covers etc. The Masquerade Project believes in giving back to the community and allows ALL songs to be downloaded. Check it out at http://www.dimentox.com/index.php?menu=tmp &page=tmp_music If your going to use them we just ask to let us know. Thanks, Dimentox http://www.dimentox.com 5. From: "diskono@gmx.net" an intimate concert by... FELIX KUBIN "Felix Kubin is a Devil in Gods clothes" - Mutek Saturday 10th May 2003, Oboeru, 3-5 Cowane Street, Stirling FREE ADMISSION!! Finest Selection Of Alcohol in town. 9pm-Late. Cajun, Rockabilly, Punk and Psycho Pop plays : Kosten, Ttocshagg, Kaleeva & Felix Information : +44 (0) 7817104504 Links ----- http://www.felixkubin.de http://www.bravenewwaves.ca/bnmedia/archive_i_kubin.shtml 6. From: extra247@another.com SLOW SOUND SYSTEM a walk on the mild side Sound: .m u r m e r (s'agita, staalplaat, framework) : live thorsten sideb0ard (8bitrecs, highpointlowlife, sonomu, not clickable) : dj iMax (53 degrees, grain of sound) : dj albert (scatsta sound system, 8bitrecs) : dj datamath (ladytron) : dj Vision: tom keene (eponymous) : digital shorts jay ropinsky (klik klak / hardman, berlin) : latest flash manoeuvres iMax (53 degrees) : slideshow and photography the foundry : live CCTV and spy camera ----- Details: 18 may, 3 - later, free. the foundry, 84-86 great eastern st, london ec2. corner of great eastern st and old st. nearest tube: old st. ----- Audio: Dual, live plus new RealAudio content: go to www.slow-sound.net/sound%20and%20vision.html. Grain of Sound artists reimagined by iMax, out now: go to www.grainofsound.com. ----- Contact: the foundry: 0207 739 6900 info@foundry.tv www.foundry.tv slow sound system: 07977 190 141 team@slowsound.net www.slowsound.net To get off, reply with 'unsubscribe' in the subject line. ----- Check: www.phonography.org : field recordings online community www.8bitrecs.com : 8 bit records microsite and mp3 library www.highpointlowlife.com : highpointlowlife microsite: DoF lp out now www.sonomu.net : sound noise music www.foundry.tv : foundry interactive anti-microsoft hub www.resonancefm.com : 'the best radio station in the world' - the village voice www.jayropinksy.de : slow sound system microvisuals www.grainofsound.com : grain of sound artists reimagined by iMax, out now! 7. From: douglas benford Sprawl at the Lifthouse, London thurs. 8th may live line up: duul_drv (can.) Microsound artist S. Arden Hill/duul_drv has recorded for 12k/line, mu_label, aperstaartje, deadtech/anechoic; a minimalist sound maker and painter living in the intersecting and isolated climate of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, he has played at festivals such as MUTEK, SALAECO, send&receive, as well as an interpretation of the movie Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky. http://members.shaw.ca/duul_drv/ JOSEPH HYDE (uk) Minimal processed soundscapes remiscent of Fennesz... wonderful evocative stuff in a highly processes digital realm. http://www.theperiphery.com RICHARD THOMAS (UK/lo recordings) A hardy Sprawl annual, Thomas's work is consistently labelled eccentric, and this in part is inevitably due to the conservatism of some critics and is probably due to the rich and unusual sound sources and tools he uses, and the structures in which they are placed. David Stubbs in the New Musical Express, called Thomas's work 'a vital new musique concrete for the 21st Century'. Thomas nonetheless refers to himself as a 'post-acousmatic' artist. http://www.lorecordings.com plus djs si-cut.db (bip hop/fallt/background) BitTonic (bip hop/consume) venue: 2nd FLOOR, THE LIFTHOUSE address: 85 CHARTERHOUSE ST, LONDON EC1M 6HJ tube: Farringdon tel: 020 7251 8787 capacity: 120 info@lifthouse.co.uk, http://www.lifthouse.co.uk ADMISSION 4, concs 3 7.30pm - midnight 8. From: Geoff Dugan Hello all~! I wanted to invite you to a series of psychogeographical events this coming weekend begining on May 8th. Check this URL for a schedule of events: http://www.glowlab.com/psygeocon/pgc_index.html I will be performing a piece called "Beneath" with Sean Meehan on May 11th, at the SubTonic Lounge, 107 Norfolk between Delancy and Rivington. We will start the evening around 8PM as follows: Beneath | Geoff Dugan and Sean Meehan Burun | Jodi Shapiro Krou [DJ] New York Observers | Jake Barton Opsound Audio Blog | Sal Randolph PING | Kate Armstrong Sal Randolph [DJ] Fabio Roberti [DJ] 9. From: Frans De Waard upcoming concerts: FREIBAND BRUNNEN @ Cafe Merlyn, Hertogstraat 13, Nijmegen, The Netherlands 12-05-2003, start: 22:00 KAPOTTE MUZIEK @ Sonorama, Art Gallery Hooghuis, Vossenstraat 10, Arnhem, The Netherlands 16-05-2003, start: 21:30 -- 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 - Acaciastraat 11 - 6521 NE Nijmegen - 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. There is no point in directing us to MP3 sites, as we will not go there. Any MP3 release to be reviewed should be burned as an audio CDR and send to the address above. the complete archive of Vital (1987 - 1995) and Vital Weekly (1995 onwards) can be found at: http://vital.staalplaat.com/