============ VITAL WEEKLY ============ number 382 ------------ week 31 ------------ contents: SUBSTANZ-T - ELECTRIC OPIUM (CD by Hymen) SONORITY #1 (CDR by Arret Arret Recordings) BROKEBACK - LOOKS AT THE BIRD (CD by Thrill Jockey Records) LOAM - TERRA OBSCURA (CD by Topscore USA Records) SOGAR - EEL AND COFFEE (CD by Mr.Mutt Records) J. FREDE - LIVE DOCUMENTS (CDR by Doctsect Media) MICHEAL J. SCHUMACHER - ROOM PIECES (CD by XI Records) PAL ASLE PETTERSEN - SPOR... (8" Lathe Cut by Humbug) KEIICHIRO SHIBUYA + YUJI TAKAHASHI - ATAK 002 (CD by ATAK) V.A. - 60 SOUND ARTISTS PROTEST THE WAR (Compilation CD by ATAK) BERTRAND DENZLER & HANS KOCH - ASYMéTRIES (CD by Ambiances Magnétiques) SUBSTANZ-T - ELECTRIC OPIUM (CD by Hymen) Arne Stevens and Alex Lange, both from Frankfurt have been collaborating under the project name Substanz-T since 1991. The project is first of all known for its use of down tempo rhythms, industrial beat textures and atmospheric soundscapes. In its quite gentle expression this fourth release titled "Electric opium" is definitely one of the more easy musically accessible shots from the usually harsh technoid German label Hymen. A change on "Electric opium" compared to the previous Substanz-T album, "Tripped experiences" released in 2001, is that the atmosphere is more directed towards lounge rather than the more dark breakbeat expression of "Tripped experiences". Guest appearance comes from FM Einheit of Einstürzende Neubauten delivering elements of theremin soundscapes as well as industrial percussive elements. During the 70's playing time the duo comes across moments of hip hop, techno and jazzy funk ending out with the darkest and most beautiful part of the album: the flowering piece of atmospheric ambience titled "Ubique", putting an end to another great achievement by Substanz-T. (NMP) Address: http://www.klangstabil.com/hymen/ SONORITY #1 (CDR by Arret Arret Recordings) The first release on a new Belgium label, with three artists who are new to me. I tried checking out the website for their mission statement, but couldn't find much. I learned that the artist Mik Prims has a track for download there, which is called 'Korm', which I thought was funny - not that anyone else who care of course. Prims is also the guy that opens this CDR with eight sketchy pieces of laptop electronica. Scratches, hiss, deep drones and peeps. All of the common elements of microsound are there, but it's nicely executed. Japanese Akihiro Kubota has five pieces, also of laptop techniques. His work is along the lines of Prims. Sketchy. Using similar elements in a real-time processing vein. Also Kubota executes his works finely, but as with Prims, also without much surprises. The last one is Thanos Chrysakis - that sounds Greek but his e-mail address is in the UK. He offers one long piece, eightteen minutes of drone like material. I assume some Max/MSP patches which slowly built in intensity, but do not break beyond or out of the set context. It stays on similar surfaces throughout and is a nice, intense piece. Overall it's a nice compilation, which actually doesn't sound very much like a compilation. There is an overall similar feel to the pieces, in approach and end-result. (FdW) Address: http://www.arret-arret.tk BROKEBACK - LOOKS AT THE BIRD (CD by Thrill Jockey Records) The Old West is realized as 'From the Black Current' acts as a serendipitous prelude to the newest release from one of Chicago's newest shining stars, Brokeback. This is not your typical splinter band (Tortoise), Douglas McCombs has employed the skillful and realized basslines of the Chicago Underground Trio's Noel Kupersmith. And so goes an aural fantasy, passages in time, space and drama. These works are at times barren soundtracks to an alienated desert ala the early 80s road film 'Paris, Texas' and suddenly flash to moments that transmorph the likes of Meredith Monk and David Van Tiegham. Steeped in a wide-angle range of jazz and indie-pop these two men make for some sweet harmony by way of slow motion guitar riffs that blaze saddles and bear witness to 70s Easy Rider chic as in 'Everywhere Down Here'. This is another semblance of like bands (The Dylan Group, Godspeed, Sea & the Cake) creating atmospheric, full-frontal Southern-fried sounds with panache to spare. On three tracks here Sterolab's Laetitia Sadier and the late Mary Hansen add their very special, timeless vocal stylings. Most moving are 'Pearl's Dream', and the enigmatic closing track on 'Looks At The Bird'. (TJN) Address: http://www.thrilljockey.com/ LOAM - TERRA OBSCURA (CD by Topscore USA Records) Out of the blue, out of nowhere, comes a sublime reckoning called 'Terra Obscura'! This is what one might even call the next great record that Maeror Tri never released, but by divine intervention of a virtual newcomer. On his second full-length effort, Loam (James Warchol) compiles a wiggly whirr and coy sound effects, to ascertain a particular dimensional vibe that is built methodically with brilliant lightness of being. 'L@dy n My Life', while supposedly using a Michael Jackson one note sample (good luck rummaging for it), takes funky warm overtones to blissful highs and lows. This disc is subliminally seductive, and it's not completely clear why, but it works its magic, locking the listener in its thick, fog-like haze of harmony - no doubt a testament to Warchol's many years playing guitar alongside bandmates in Sometime Sweet Susan. On 'Long Min Live' the upshot is something that could be easily confused for the newest record on the Raster-Noton imprint, ticking, a bit nervously, built on a geyser-like drone. The ulterior 'Middle Inlet' gallops and roundly tinkers with a curious repetition. In conclusion Loam descends, naked on "Wrong Tack" in all its watery translucence. Here, an open space becomes an audio playground, slowly filling up, broader and wider, until thinks crackle and dissipate slowly from all reason. This nearly twelve minute gem is that falling star you missed. It is great to know that this artist has already employed his hand in the area of site-specific installation as the work certainly harkens to atmospheric spaces. And there's more coming soon on an EP called '1:11' also from TopscoreUSA. Watch, wait and listen (closely). (TJN) Address: http://www.topscoreusa.com/ SOGAR - EEL AND COFFEE (CD by Mr.Mutt Records) In the second release in their new live CDR series, Mr. Mutt unveils a minimally frenetic set by Sogar (Jürgen Hechel, formerly heard on 12K). The label is run by Italian composers Tu m' whose first release on the label was Scanner's eclectically charged 'Publicphono'. This set contains excerpts recorded in three Japanese cities: Kyoto, Nagoya and Tokyo. A slice of futuristic noise/sound art this is a completely digital recording that has a medicated theme park feel to it. It is playful yet embodies lives of robots running on low battery power. That's not to say the sound isn't fully alive, it just captures dreamy Coney Island-like sequences in the flash of cotton candy swirl. Crispy rotations like those of old-fashioned telephones coil sumptiously. I hear guitars, or are they cans, or is it water on some type of flexible surface? These three tracks run at about 45 minutes and Heckel seems to use every second in a way that avoids electro-filler. From sine waves to gurgling bass, 'Eel and Coffee' seems to find good measure in the balance of taking its minimalist chances to maximum advantage. If you amplified the sounds of a music box ballerina, reversed it and subtracted every other note you may be dining with Sogar. (TJN) Address: http://www.tu-m.com/ J. FREDE - LIVE DOCUMENTS (CDR by Doctsect Media) This new Doctsect disc archives live performances from Nantes, France (2001), Rotterdam, the Netherlands (2001) and Telluride, Colorado (2000). A primal opening where crickets meet vibrant harmonious impulses, frede captures the sparse essence of the night and lights it with understated tonalities that form a finite resonance. As the initial untitled piece plays it masks the natural for the familiar repetitious boom of motors. Part way through there is a breakdown of linear sound, a chasm of technicalities with a cryptic cut-up of patched mechanics. "Live Documents" presents an imaginary horizon where nature and man are at obvious odds. Throughout the first piece there are moments of repose, venting some predisposed alienation of its environment. Part two has a plot, a pace, a path. The vibratory white noise and silvery silence is like an atonal breathing pattern. Live at Worm, this performance was organized by Roel Meelkop. About half way in things spin into a vortex of slow-motion percussion that richochets irresistibly. There's a firestarter here. The collage of birds on birds on birds is a nice touch. The last piece, recorded at the Sheridan Opera House is an unexpected rumbling, hissing icestorm. Its subtleties surpass its basic construct as it bathes so softly in the magic of smokescreens and fissures. Or this could be a haunted Turkish bath. It will ring in your ears. (TJN) Address: http://www.doctsect.com/ MICHEAL J. SCHUMACHER - ROOM PIECES (CD by XI Records) "Room Pieces" was recorded between 1999-2002 at Diapason in New York, a sound art gallery run by composer, Michael J. Schumacher. This two-disc set starts out with an enigmatic 75+ minute single track, "Room Piece XI". At first the pleasant harmonies dance slowly and sweetly into distilled calm. In time there are eerie cinematic squeaks that turnsharply with a bite. The fortuitous digital design draws some primal attention on the negative space here. The concentration on the void may be central, but the hazy isolation of its other presences are showcased through the process. The silences are somewhat uncomfortable where they transcend into cautious tales selectively permitted only to key primitives to the world of sci-fi and other tribal derivatives. There's just a bit too much quiet, if that's possible. As disc two unfolds open with "Piece in 3 Parts" an informal set of musicians speak with strings and objects. Jane Henry's violin is rambunctiously set adrift while Tim Barnes‚ percussive drive seems to focus primarily on the finite timing of free improv. There is a simplicity to the chaos most apparent when Schumacher enters. The liner notes discuss mythologies, though what you hear is more based on the purity of remote sounds. This music communicates an extended application as if it were built for performance art and dance. The quirky erasure sounds which are almost birdlike playfully dip and emerge from watery sources. "Untitled" (1999), from the start, is acceleration personified. By far the stand out track here, this piece is voluminous in its approach to shaping large sound. It shakes and zooms through the air, completely filling the listener‚s space with a pulsating aura. Finally, on the chirpy "Still" Schumacher may simply be feeding humingbirdus digitalis in the aural equivalent of taking field recordings and converting them into keepsake digital renderings. No vacancy in a room where liquids and solids dance so gawkily. (TJN) Address: http://www.xirecords.org PAL ASLE PETTERSEN - SPOR... (8" Lathe Cut by Humbug) The subtitle for this EP by Norwegian composer Pål Asle Pettersen is "12 Short Tracks". On 45 rpm that is very true. The tracks are short and distinct indeed (and obviously succinct as well). These are miniatures, delicately constructed from a great variety of sound sources. There is no such thing as a general mood or atmosphere; the tracks are too varied for that. The only thing one might say is that they are all sampler based (which says nothing much really). The other thing one might say is that this is a real small beauty of an EP. It is a real plaesure to sit down and carefully listen to this work. There is enough difference between the tracks and still enough coherence to appreciate each seperately and as a whole. A genuine electroacoustic feast. (MR) Adress: tchartan@yahoo.com KEIICHIRO SHIBUYA + YUJI TAKAHASHI - ATAK 002 (CD by ATAK) I believe this CD is a debut, but I wouldn't put my money on it. It contains 15 tracks in the genre now known as glitch or clicks 'n cuts. But there is something strange about this record: tracks are quite varied and only slightly rythmical. It is certainly not the type of music that will fill the old dancefloor. And that makes it all the more interesting of course. The general tendency on this disc is minimalistic, but with a certain humoristic twist. Rythms are constructed from looped cuts and other sounds are layered on top of that. Things are sometimes on the edge of going berserk, but never really do. Noise is always lurking somewhere around the corner, waiting for the right moment to erupt. And that keeps things exciting and fun. (MR) Adress: http://atak.jp V.A. - 60 SOUND ARTISTS PROTEST THE WAR (Compilation CD by ATAK) Well, the title really says it all: this CD contains 60 tracks by 60 artists and they are all protesting the war (the war in question being the invasion of Iraq by the so called allied forces), simply by being present on this disc. The initiative for this compilation came from Keiichiro Shibuya, himself a musician and working for the ATAK label. Of course, it is easy for people to come up with a one minute sound bite and yes, it has been done before, but somehow, this sampler seems to be better than the others I have heard before. This is probably due to the artists involved and the order in which they are presented (even if this was decided entirely randomly). It would go way too far to name them all, although that could be enough for many people to order the CD at once. Let me suffice to say that everybody that matters is on it (well, almost everybody) and that it is a pleasure to listen to. It was my personal pleasure to listen with the cover in my hand and try to guess who's who. At which I failed miserably of course........All those opposing the aforementioned war will have to buy it anyway, so all the others will have to depend on its quality. Very well done! (MR) Oh well, here's the list anyway: roel meelkop/shirtrax vs. shirtrax/keith rowe + toshimaru nakamura/stephan mathieu/pomassl/slipped disc/bernhard gunter/kim gascone/doron sadja/yamataka eye/numb/steve roden/steinbruchel/go taneda/akira yamamichi/tiziana bertoncini + thomas lehn/yuji takahashi/freiband/cm von hauswolff/keiichiro shibuya/motor/stilluppsteypa/coh/mikael stavostrand/radboud mens/miki yui/andreas tilliander/minimalistic sweden/nao tokui + take3tsu nagano/frank bretschneider/evala/taeji sawai/fennesz/kenneth kirschner/i8u/john hudak/aoki takamasa/mitchell akiyama/burkhard stangl/goodiepal/hideki nakazawa/aelab/christof kurzmann/jos smolders/masahiro miwa/janek schaefer/tv pow/pix/kimken/saidrum/merzbow/m.behrens/maria/klon/mondii/richard di sant/christophe charles/william basinski/carsten nicolai/yasunao tone. Adress: http://atak.jp or info@atak.jp BERTRAND DENZLER & HANS KOCH - ASYMéTRIES (CD by Ambiances Magnétiques) This cd is a collection of 4 pieces for tenor saxophone (Denzler) and bass clarinet & soprano saxophone (Koch). Both musicians create a series of non linear encounters exploring extended techniques on their chosen instruments. Traditional notes and tonalities are ignored altogether in favor of textures created by breath, tongue, lip modulations resulting in percussive attacks, faint whispers, and loving kisses. The cd is appropriately titled: both players come together and then withdrawl as things move in and of sync. But the music is never random as Denzler & Koch make each sound with precision, utilizing space and silence as additional sonic material for exploration. I believe this CD will appeal to fans of microsound and field recordings, as the music avoids the beaten paths of free improv. All in all a very cool cd. (JS) http://www.ambiancesmagnetiques.com/ 1. From: colinpotter@another.com Beyond Baroque and Ground Fault Recordings present: Beyond Music Sound Festival #6 Friday, August 1 - R.H.Y. YAU - TOM GRIMLEY - DAVE PHILLIPS - DANIEL MENCHE Saturday, August 2 - RICK POTTS - SICKNESS - HANS GRUESEL'S KRAENKENKABINET - COLIN POTTER Sunday, August 3 - BASTARD NOISE - IMPROVISATYRS - JEAN-LUC GUIONNNET - ERIC LA CASA with sound based installations by: - JOE COLLEY - installation - AGOG - installation - MITCHELL BROWN & ALBERT ORTEGA - installation - STEVE RODEN - installation Doors open 7:30PM and performances begin 8PM each night Beyond Baroque Literary/Arts Center $10 for one day / $18 for two /$25 for all three 681 Venice Boulevard Venice, CALIFORNIA 90291 310 822 3006 fon http://www.beyondbaroque.org or mail@groundfault.net for information 2. From: douglas benford PRESS RELEASE Sprawl in august Sprawl at the Lifthouse Sprawl happens next august, presenting a special evening of Australian Contemporary digital/electronic music, soundscapes & eclectic sounds, headling with legendary Syndey-based duo Minit. It's an unusual anitpodean sonic art buffet.... date: weds august the 6th live 'Australian Contemporary' line up MINIT Minit is Jasmine Guffond and Torben Tilly formed in Sydney, Australia in 1997. Their debut CD was on the Sigma Editions label in 1999, followed by a tour throughout Europe the same year alongside Vladislav Delay, Parmentier and D. Haines. Further releases on have been on Sigma, Preservation and Tonschacht. They perform regularly at new and improvised music festivals including Australia's What is Music Festival, Liquid Architecture: National Sound Art Festival and Impermanent Audio. Guffond and Tilly also collaborate on sound design projects for film and gallery-based installation, including public art commissions using surround sound design. 'layered folds of mesmeric analogue electronics.' The Wire, September 2002 http://www.sigmaeditions.com ANTHONY GUERRA Working with electric guitar and electronics, Anthony was born in Sydney in 1974 and has been based in London since 1999. His collaborators include Joel Stern, Michael Rodgers (under the name Broken Hands), Matthew Nidek, Margarida Garcia, Paul Hood, Manuel Mota, Eddie Prevost, Nishide Takehiro and Daniel Beban. As well as part-founding the record label TwoThousandAnd, he has recorded for the Touch, Impermanent, and Paradisc Records labels. PHOEBE JEEBE, LUCI DAYHEW, SUMUGAN SIVANESAN & MARCUS LEADLEY *special set by this Sydney-rooted supergroup collective: Phoebe is "an Electronic musician and Digital Artist, who has played in Funky Terrorist (electro pop Japanese hip-hop), Alternahunk (melodic synth rock) & The Family (seriously strange electronica.)". Luci has "played drums in rock bands, made film soundtracks and attacked drum machines and samplers" Sumu has been "playing in a band with Luci Dayhew that toured Australia/the US, and recently producing experimental A/V work, screened internationally including the International Symposium for Electronic Arts in Nagoya, Japan". Marcus "produces severely manipulated six string textures using hardware-based processing solutions. In Australia he worked as a player, producer and live engineer with such acts as One Big Union, Underbelly, Alternahunk and 5 Star Pizzeria. He's been involved with Figment Sound, Yoram Gross Film Studio, the Fork Records (The Saints) label." phew. plus resident (uk) si-cut.db (Bip Hop/Fallt/Tennis/background) dj venue: SECOND FLOOR, THE LIFTHOUSE address: 85 CHARTERHOUSE ST, LONDON EC1M 6HJ tube: Farringdon tel: 020 7251 8787 capacity: 120 info@lifthouse.co.uk, www.lifthouse.co.uk ADMISSION 4, concs 3 7.30pm - midnight enquiries tel/fax 0208 568 3145 www.dfuse.com/sprawl/ for more biogs and photos of the artists e-mail: sprawl@benfo.demon.co.uk 3. From: francisco lopez absolute argentina august 2003 01/08 - posadas (misiones) live show @ escuela provincial de música de la ciudad de posadas shared bill w/ jorge haro (argentina) 02/08 - posadas (misiones) lecture @ escuela provincial de música de la ciudad de posadas organized by the museo de arte contemporáneo de la universidad nacional de misiones 08/08 - córdoba live show + lecture @ centro cultural españa 10/08 - buenos aires dj set @ museo paleontológico 'bernardino rivadavia' ('fuga jurásica' event) 15/08 - trelew (chubut, patagonia) live show @ museo paleontológico 'egidio feruglio' shared bill w/ luis marte (argentina) 23/08 - buenos aires live show @ museo de arte moderno de la ciudad de buenos aires (limb0) 25/08 - buenos aires lecture @ universidad nacional de tres de febrero 27+28/08 - buenos aires workshop @ museo de arte moderno de la ciudad de buenos aires (limb0) more info -> http://www.limb0.org 4. From: john hudak an evening of improvisational analog and digital sounds electronics , turntable, cassette tape , and computer seasonal monthly series of listening environments welcomes: john hudak with bruce tovsky (new york) jason talbot and howard stelzer (boston) jason soliday (chicago) brent gutzeit (chicago) opening and closing sounds from carlos giffoni (new york) projections from b owen (ny) sponsored by free103 fm http://www.seasonalbk.net john hudak and bruce tovsky performance title: "rabbit in a cage" to the side of a wooded path a rabbit in a cage i feel my years john hudak, guitar/processing bruce tovsky, video/processing performance coincides with release of: "old moon" (2 - 3" CDr) on http://www.kissyrecords.com seasonal aug 3 2003 . 8pm $5 office ops . 57 thames st. L train to morgan ave brooklyn new york http://www.officeops.org (3d directions to space) * if you would not like to receive further sporadic information regarding the performance actions of john hudak, please reply to this message with "remove" as the subject. -- john hudak jhudak@pobox.com http://www.johnhudak.net -- 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 ), Dolf Mulder (DM), Meelkop Roel (MR), 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. 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