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					   VITAL WEEKLY
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					   number   460
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					   week       5
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THE HAFLER TRIO - EXACTELY AS I SAY (2CD by Phonometrography)
THE ANTI GROUP - PSYCHOEGOAUTOCRATICAL AUDITORY PHYSIOGOMY DELINEATED
(CDEP by Die Stadt)
FRANCISCO LOPEZ - LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO (CD by 23Five)
BJ NILSEN & STILLUPPSTEYPA - VIKINGA BRENNIVIN (CD by The Helen
Scarsdale Agency)
SCANNER - REASON BY HEART, SLEEP BY TWILIGHT (CD by Bine Music)
RODRIGUES & THIEKE & RODRIGUES & SANTOS - KREIS (CD by Creative Sources)
BETRAND GAUGUET - ETWA (CD by Creative Sources)
THROMBOSE (CD compilation by Thrombose Records)
MANUAL MOTA - QUARTETS (CD by Headlights)
CONDOMINIUM (CD compilation by Mousike Lab)
JABOM - INSIDE THE ELECTRIC Q (CD by 518)
SLOW SIX - PRIVATE TIMES IN PUBLIC PLACES (CD by Habit Of Creation)
THOLLEM MCDONAS & RICK RIVERA - I'LL MEET YOU HALF WAY OUT IN THE
MIDDLE OF IT ALL (CD by Thollem McDonas)
KEIICHIRO SHIBUYA (CD by Atak)
ZEBRA - LEIF IS LEIF / LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY FILE (7" by Ole Records)
R.R. HABARC - EL (CDR by Avult)
CHAOS AS SHELTER - WAVES (CDR by Verato Project)
NID - SOLAR FLARE (CDR by Verato Project)
FLUCHTWACHT - UNBEKANNTE TONBANDAUFNAHMEN (CDR by Verato Project)
A-UX - DUOTONE (CDR by Sigma Records)
DALNOVOD - DOVOD (CDR self-released)
THE CHOPSTICK SISTERS - L'UNE BOUGE, L'AUTRE PAS (3"CDR by 3Pattes)
MAULED BY SLOTHS - SNIP SNIP SNIP (CDR by Mordisco Recordings)
POSTBLUE - THERAPIST IS THE RAPIST (CDR by Phase! Recordings)
PANAGIOTIS SPOULOS - SICKEND (A BLEND) (CDR by Phase! Recordings)
ROBERT PIOTROWICZ - THE PATH TO THE DEATH (CDR by Phase! Recordings)
DAVIN BRAINARD - TANK TRAX (CD+DVD by Time Stereo)
ASHER - TWO COMPOSITIONS (MP3 by Term.)
OBADIA - WHERE DOES DUST COME FROM (MP3 by Autres Directions)


THE HAFLER TRIO - EXACTELY AS I SAY (2CD by Phonometrography)
THE ANTI GROUP - PSYCHOEGOAUTOCRATICAL AUDITORY PHYSIOGOMY DELINEATED
(CDEP by Die Stadt)
Much of what I said last week about Mirror can be said of The Hafler
Trio. Many people ask: why is it necessary to have all new Hafler
Trio releases? I simply argue: why own music at all? There is perhaps
no rationale in owing a small plastic circle with music somewhere
hidden on it. When it comes down to music, it's all about liking it,
despite such arguments as: 'yes, it's rather new' or 'well, nice, but
been there before'. The sheer amount of work released by The Hafler
Trio in the past two or so year may sound, well, similar to the not
so keen ear, but then probably all Mirror releases do (or perhaps
Merzbow). A long time ago it was asked to Andrew McKenzie about using
similar sounds and he said: "well Frank Sinitra sings with the same
voice (and probably the same suit, and nobody seems to care". It's
hard for me, as true devotee of The Hafler Trio to say something
negative about this new release, which are no less than two discs of
music, all based on the voice of Jonsi Birgisson of Sigur Ros. The
processed (time-stretched? who knows) sounds of him breathing play a
big role on the first disc, before leaping into weightless space
drone music. On the second disc these proceedings continue until they
have entirely moved below hearing range. As a subjective listener, I
can only say: great again.
Related to The Hafler Trio is The Anti Group. Originally founded in
1978 by A. Newton and S. Turner, both of Clock DVA, they wanted to be
more than just a music group, but a multi-disciplined group in many
different fields, with a fluctuating membership (at one point Justin
Bennett of BMB con was also a member), where the individual ego's of
the members was no longer important. It wasn't until the mid-eighties
that releases started to appear and that The Anti Group played live.
The last release before this new one was in 1995. Now, The Anti Group
returns, with a line up of original members M. Hogg, R. Baker and A.
Mckenzie. The latter had been on tour with Clock DVA in the nineties
and the piece on this maxi CD was played live at some Hafler Trio
concerts in 2003. As much as I tried, I failed to read the booklet,
so I am a bit in the dark what it is all about (and with a 16 page
book it should be about something, right?). I do decipher that I am
supposed to play this loud. With the first few minutes hoovering
below ear-range, not a strange thing, but as the work evolves, it's
building in a large crescendo for the entire almost seventeen minutes
this works lasts. If you have the volume all the way up, your
speakers will burst. It's hard not think of this as a Hafler Trio as
the sounds used reminded me of some of the 'Masturbatorium' or 'Fuck'
sounds, before leaping in this gigantic wave of drone like sounds. A
short and powerful work, and hopefully a good start for a powerful
resurrection of The Anti Group. (FdW)
Address: http://www.phonometrography.net
Address: http://www.diestadtmusik.de

FRANCISCO LOPEZ - LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO (CD by 23Five)
The discography of senor Lopez is an extensive one, but only a few
deal with live recordings. The only one that springs to mind is his
'Live In 's-Hertogenbosch' on Bottrop-boy, which came, just like this
new live recording, with a blindfold (which he insists that the
audience should wear). Francisco Lopez live is something different
than Francisco Lopez studio. In the latter he carefully constructs
pieces of silent music, almost inaudible, that only start to make
sense if the listener takes over control by adjusting volume, bass,
mid and treble. The listener doesn't have this control in the live
situation and here Lopez goes for the all out attack on the listener,
who, with his blindfold, can do nothing else than sit back and
listen. This CD has two pieces (rather unusual for Lopez), both
recorded in San Francisco. The first one is from 2000 and starts
right away with an oppressive wall of sound, until things collapse
with great dramatic care. From there the proceedings start all over
again, building up yet again another dramatic crescendo. When it
stops, the sounds is literally sucked away. The second track is a
different one. Much less present in the space, this is a softer
piece, although it doesn't come anywhere near his studio CDs. Here
too it can be noted that there is quite a dramatic built, with abrupt
changes. Most likely this is built from field recordings made in the
jungle, but with an undefinable background drone being present. Two
entirely different performances, but both bear the signature of
Lopez. And it's great stuff. (FdW)
Address: http://www.23five.org

BJ NILSEN & STILLUPPSTEYPA - VIKINGA BRENNIVIN (CD by The Helen
Scarsdale Agency)
Drinkers out there: pay attention, because our favourite drunks are
here and they celebrate their favourite drink: brennivin. Never heard
of? No problem. It's an Icelandic liquor made of potato and flavored
with cumin, which burns down your throat - and I know: the only two
times I was really sick of alcohol in the last 10 years was of
brennivin. The first time I got this poison served was at
Stillupsteypa's house - no wonder, they are from Iceland and like
everybody from there they drink. A lot. An insane lot. These days
Stilluppsteypa is Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson and Helgi Thorsson and
they team up with BJ Nilsen - our man in Sweden (and known from Touch
releases, more than his drinking habits, at least here). Of course
it's hard to tell wether one would think of the booze if it didn't
have that title, nor is it easy to relate the music to the drink. The
five lengthy pieces here all deal with a hermetically closed sound.
Processings of field recordings perhaps, but no longer recognizable
as such. Some ten or so years ago, someone invented the term
'isolationism' for this kind of music, but basically it was what
everyone else called 'ambient industrial', but somehow 'isolationism'
sounded better. It's certainly an appropiate term for this CD. It's
either music you hear when you try to make it home after a night of
heavy brennivin intake and if that didn't do the trick it's music you
hear in your head when you wake up. It's almost claustrophobic music,
but beautiful claustrophobia. Lovers of Nilsen's other work, or
Thomas Köner's old work, should keep an eye open for a CD packed in
copper-plates inside a jewel case. (FdW)
Address: http://www.helenscarsdale.com

SCANNER - REASON BY HEART, SLEEP BY TWILIGHT (CD by Bine Music)
Although I wouldn't call myself the greatest Scanner alive, I can
safely say that in the last ten to fourteen years I have been off and
on following his work, not everything but whenever I came across it.
It's hard for me to paint a complete picture of his evolution, but
somehow 'ambient' music has been a main ongoing thing, despite
whatever rhythmic hype of the day (techno, drum & bass and
microglitches were all present in some way on his CDs), Scanner's
music has always been spacious, warm and ambient. This new CD is
perhaps not different than before. After a short opening piece, there
are two epic long pieces (thirty-two and fourteen minutes) of
computerized ambient music, a microsounding click and field
recordings of street sounds, a cellphone seeking network or any some
such. It's hard to tell wether this work is part of any sound
installation or dance or whatever, and that's a pity. It stretches
out over lenghty moody sequences in which not much happens,
especially in 'Drifted... Drifted', which sounds perhaps a little too
simple. But at the same time, reading a book, sipping coffee, this is
nice late sunday morning wake up music anyway. Not his best work, but
nevertheless quite nice indeed.
Address: http://www.binemusic.de

RODRIGUES & THIEKE & RODRIGUES & SANTOS - KREIS (CD by Creative Sources)
BETRAND GAUGUET - ETWA (CD by Creative Sources)
On the ever so active label Creative Sources two more releases. Like
all releases so far they deal with improvised music. Labelboss
Ernesto Rodrigues plays violin and viola. Other plays on 'Kreis' are
Michael Thieke (clarinet, alto clarinet), Guilherme Rodrigues (cello,
pocket trumpet) and Carlos Santos (computer). 'Kreis' is german for
circle and the seven pieces on this CD are indicated with degrees of
a circle. I'm not sure how that works out in the music, for instance
if instruments take leads during specific parts. Despite the use of a
computer, I thought this was a very acoustic sounding disc, save for
the last track which has an extended use of electronica and
amplification. Without any sort of electronic treatment, the sounds
are pretty upfront and the players play their instruments as objects
rather than producing the sounds that these instruments were made
for. This is the modern form of improvisation: an investigation of
all the sounds that an instrument as an object can produce. The music
on this CD fits the tradition of recent developments in improvisation
very well.
'Etwa' means 'somesuch' or 'more or less' in English and is the work
of the for me unknown Betrand Gauguet, who plays alto & soprano
saxophones. The seven pieces were recorded at two different chapels
in France. I suspect that has nothing to with some religious aspects
of improvised music, but rather the spatial qualities of such
locations. Placing the microphones seems to be an important thing for
Gauguet. By placing them in various positions in the space, they will
pick up both his playing aswell as the space it is played in. This is
done rather well: Gauguet's music has indeed a spatial quality. Like
the quartet disc this is music that lies in the modern improvisation.
His saxophones never sound like saxophones, but could very well Axel
Dörner's trumpet or Alessandro Bosetti's clarinet. If you are aware
of my reservations against traditional saxophone playing, you can
imagine that I am more than happy with this new form of playing. The
saxophone becomes an electro-acoustic object, albeit one in a bigger
space, investigated and proved to be a usefull thing. 'Etwa' has some
intense playing, leaving the attentive listener breathless. Probably
the player aswell. (FdW)
Address: http://www.creativesources.com

THROMBOSE (CD compilation by Thrombose Records)
Thrombose Records is a new French label and their first release is a
compilation, by which they probably introduce their musical interests
to us. I recognized some of the names, like Köhn, My Jazzy Child,
Kotra and Tin.rp, but the other thirteen are all new to me. However
there are some general notions to be discovered here. All of the
bands operate in an electronic style, most likelt they are all people
armed with laptops and they all seem to be, in one way or the other,
playing their own version of techno music. Nothing here could fill a
dancefloor, but the idioms are clearly borrowed from techno, but all
with a healthy sense of experimentalism. Cracks, cliks, cuts, rhythms
built from machinary defaults: they all play their role here, but the
common interest is however to make a short and almost poppy piece of
it. It's abstract music, but yet it's still recognizable and
accessible. There is no particular stand out piece here, but on the
other hand there is no weak brother either. Other musicians included
are Analog & Digital Sound, Trombone, Peerspex, Darky, GNG, Tô, Poo,
Wunderlitzer, The Guy Who Invented Fire, Margrave Ruediger, Lema,
K.I.O.L., ending with the most accessible piece by Rock 'N Roll. Nice
introduction to many new names. (FdW)
Address: http://www.thromboserecords.free.fr

MANUAL MOTA - QUARTETS (CD by Headlights)
For maybe more than ten years now Manual Mota is one of the leading
guitarists in the Portugese improvisation scene. Still not as
well-known as Rafael Toral, but the reason might be that Mota is a
more a traditional improviser. On 'Quartets' (a title which is hard
to understand since it's one quartet playing, unless Mota refers to
the nine pieces being played by the quartet), he plays along with
Fala Mariam (alto trombone w/fh mute), Margarida Garcia (electric
upright bass) and Cesar Burago (carillon). In the opening piece
'Shield' one could think that jazz has become an influence on Mota
and the way he plays guitar here, but the other eight tracks rely
more on the known patterns of improvisation. I thought this was not
an easy album. Throughout it stays on the same dynamic level, which
is not easy when nothing new is added to the total sound. The
plucking of the guitar and bass, the bumps on the trombone and
occassional carillon notes are known at one point - even when this
album only lasts forty minutes. It threads common grounds a bit too
much I think. At one point one started to wish something radically
different would kick in, but you know it won't happen. Having said
that, this is not a bad album either, but maybe something that I
could digest only in a smaller dosis. (FdW)
Address: http://www.geocities.com/headlightsrecordings

CONDOMINIUM (CD compilation by Mousike Lab)
We've already had one release by Mousike lab, so this is the second
one to observe. At first this is a release that contains the interest
in sound of Mousike lab people, including artists that they admire
and music that they regard. Practically they build a sound
condominium where they can invite artists that produce music they
will probably release in the future. They didn't expect to get
positive feedback from all artists invited, but things went in other
direction resulting in receiving wonderful unpublished tracks. Here
you can find tracks that deal with calm electronic sound, that
changes into slow rhythmic, idm, instrumental hip hop or electronic
pop music. Some established or not so recognizable names from around
the world are included. From Clauia Bonarelli, Dj Vadim, Populous,
Mum, Tarwater, Retina.it to Slicker, Frame, Velma? and a couple other
artists, that build this really strong sound building. (TD)
Address: http://www.mousikelab.com

JABOM - INSIDE THE ELECTRIC Q (CD by 518)
The first time I'm getting in touch with this label and this, as it
seems, band. Yes, it's a band consisted of: Rob bass, Mando mix,
Chaves, Sergio, Dmtz. When I saw the picture of the band I got the
idea that it's some kind of a guitar oriented rock n'roll band. But
when I started playing the CD I changed my mind. On the first track
called Astronaut Song, I heard some new wave, 80's electro sound that
continued in the rest of the release. It is quite an old school sound
that reminds of 80's new wave sound, subtle industrial moments and
electro production. A sound that can be compared and that seems to be
influenced by Depeche Mode, Human League, Duran Duran, Erasure,
Cabaret Voltaire, Front 242? and on the other hand it is made today,
with a completely contemporary production of the new electro revival
sound that many bands like Client, Goldfrapp, even Miss Kittin or
Hacker? seriously treat today. Vocals are suggestive and deep at
moments seriously reminding of Depeche Mode or even Cure. So from all
this we can easily see that all this is highly influenced and reminds
of the whole Mute scene from 80's till today maybe even without the
intention. They are just caught up in that period when the electro
and new wave revival is popular and trendy. Modern and highly
appreciated. (TD)
Address: http://www.518records.com

SLOW SIX - PRIVATE TIMES IN PUBLIC PLACES (CD by Habit Of Creation)
When I read about their sound I got the idea that it is something to
do with contemporary classical music, a sound that I don't like at
all. But it proved itself to be something different. From other side
its not that there are no classical moments in their music but it is
combined with a nice calm guitar streams that give a completely
different feeling. So at the end it becomes a fine combination of
calm and mellow guitar post rock, something like the early Mogwai
phase and Rachel's classical impression. Slow six is at least a
classical musicianship that plays guitars, strings, all spiced up
with computers, transfiguring them into their own interpretation,
giving irresistible ambient feeling reminding of Brian Eno, of
course. With this debut they achieved their intention; creating a
completely relaxing, introspective, ambient feeling for filling
different spaces, conditions and activities. This is a really nice
release. (TD)
Address: http://www.habitofcreation.org

THOLLEM MCDONAS & RICK RIVERA - I'LL MEET YOU HALF WAY OUT IN THE
MIDDLE OF IT ALL (CD by Thollem McDonas)
From time to time a name pops up completely out of nowhere that
grasps you by your throat. That is what happened to me when I putted
this cd in the player not knowing what to expect. This one heavily
knocks on your door. It had an overwhelming effect on me. Coming back
to my senses my first question was who is this Thollem McDonas? There
is not that much information available about him I found out. He is a
composer and pianist from the San Francisco Bay Area. He performed
solo as well in groups over many years, in many different musical
contexts. That's about it. I'm not sure whether "I'll meet you..." is
his first solo album. If so that's a little late for such a talent.
On the other hand 3 more cd?s are planned in the coming months.
Anyway, "this album is a representation of some of the many
directions I have taken throughout my life as a composer", Thollem
soberly explains. And this not by accident I suppose, but it?s meant
so by McDonas. So it?s no wonder that this cd impresses because of
the richness of musical ideas. In the 13 songs McDonas took
inspiration from many different musical styles and idioms (jazz,
classical, pop, caribean music, new orleans style, theatre, etc. ).
Too many to mention and often transformed beyond recognition into
something very unique and enjoyable, somewhere "in the middle of it
all" and very much McDonas. So it's absolutely no eclectic potpourri
that wants to impress : hear what I can do! Not at all, the
compositions are very ingenious and come from a very idiosyncratic
composer who has something to tell. With each song McDonas creates a
universe of it's own. Here we have a composer with ideas! Impressive
is also the great playing by Thollem himself on piano and Rick Rivera
on drums. Piano, drums and voice go wonderfull together. Both
musicians are able to generate lots of energy. Happily they chose for
a live recording of the songs which strengthens this effect. They
were recorded in 2004 at AC Studios in San Francisco. To mention a
negative point, McDonas is not the greatest singer, though it fits
perfectly with the atmosphere of the songs. I can't help it, but this
is really a very original CD by a fresh voice. (DM).
Address: http://www.thollem.com/

KEIICHIRO SHIBUYA (CD by Atak)
The name might not ring a bell or two, but Keiichiro Shibuya is the
man behind the Atak label, of which we recentely reviewed a few new
titles (Stillupsteypa, Kahn/Steinbruchel/Cascone and Goem). I am not
sure if this is an older release or something new (it's catalogue
number 000), at least it has a different cover then the recent
releases. The nine untitled pieces (that they have in common with the
other releases) are best described as the missing link between Ryoji
Ikeda, Pan Sonic and Goem. A strong rhythm, quite pulsating but
without being danceable form the basis of each track, but the
piercing electronics (synthesizers? sinewaves? oscillators) had a new
deeper layer to the material, like a sort of subsonic extra layer.
The clicky rhythms are Ikeda's influence, the layers are borrowed
from Goem, while it has the same mechanic grooves of Pan Sonic. Only
the eight pieces, with it's sparse piano notes is something new and
not easily going back to something. Does this mean that Shibuya is a
mere copy cat? Not really, in my opinion. He combines the best of the
others, but knows how to built strong pieces of music with that,
taking things to a new level. The best clicks n cuts in quite some
time. (FdW)
Address: http://atak.jp

ZEBRA - LEIF IS LEIF / LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY FILE (7" by Ole Records)
Zebra are the (not so) new kids on the block Frans de Waard and Roel
Meelkop doing some trickery music/remixing for Ole Records from
Nijmegen, The Netherlands. 'Leif is leif' has a more full
compositional structure. It reminded me a bit of Laibach, but I'm not
their greatest fan. More fun for me is the other track, the dj's
anthem 'Last night a dj saved my life' mutated into the kinda glitchy
'Last night a dj saved my file'. Quite funny and carefully done.
There's singing, telephone ringing, even 3-4 more proper beats appear
sometime. Like something that might have been done by Kid606. Don't
expect drones or contemporary minimalism here. These new kids on the
block are just having fun. May I request a remix of Madonna's
'Music', please. (BR)
Address: http://www.ole-records.com

R.R. HABARC - EL (CDR by Avult)
It's been a while since last reviewing work by R.R. Habarc from
Hungary. In the past he had a couple of highly limited CDRs (editions
of 10 or 20), and this one is an edition of 40 only, in a simple
handmade, but effective cover. On his previous release Habarc showed
an interest in minimal sounds, either made through synthesizers (or
perhaps oscillators) or sheets of metal being softly rubbed. Usually
Habarc divided these over his various releases, but on 'EL' we find
them all joined on one release. Some of these pieces were made by
using a drill over metal sheets, but the title piece for instance is
a soft, almost inaudible drone piece made on an oscillator. Even
noise lurks around the corner in 'Tajkep Langokkal', although it's
not some over the top blown thing. Habarc is walking the paths of
minimalism as usual on this releases. The nice thing here is the
variety in the used sound sources, showing his different approaches
towards music. If I didn't know him that well, I'd say: this is a
good place to start. And if someone deserves a little bit more of a
name-check then I think Habarc is the man. (FdW)
Address: <r.r.habarc@axelero.hu>

CHAOS AS SHELTER - WAVES (CDR by Verato Project)
NID - SOLAR FLARE (CDR by Verato Project)
FLUCHTWACHT - UNBEKANNTE TONBANDAUFNAHMEN (CDR by Verato Project)
Perhaps the name Chaos As Shelter is known for his shared Ground
Fault release (see Vital Weekly 372) or his 3" CDR on Taalem (Vital
Weekly 410). Here our man from Israel comes with one thirty-one
minute work. It's ambient music for sure, but one of a lighter nature
than I would have expected. A repeating bleep is played on a synth
and things hum nicely in the background. This is ambient music as
once intended by Eno: music that fills your environment in a rather
pleasent way, without forcing itself too much upon the listener. A
nice background drop, while you are at work. One to put on repeat for
a while.
From what I gather from the website of NID they have been around for
some time, but somehow escaped me. They are a three piece band from
Munich, consisting of Jürgen Eberhard, Chris Sigdell and Oswin
Czerwinski. The pieces on this release were captured at three
different sessions and all a certain live feel to it. Based upon what
I hear I think they use a variety of synths, guitars, samplers and
effects. I also believe that the material was recorded on a two track
recorder, leaving not much room to mix or edit the material.
Especially in the longer tracks this can be heard all to well. A long
piece like 'Post-flare Loop' doesn't have enough variation or
dynamics to hold ones attention throughout, which is a pity. Some
form of editing and mixing would have made this into a much nicer
release. Now it comes off as a not too well imitation of Troum or any
some such darker ambient industrial bands.
In Vital Weekly 453 I was introduced to great extent with the music
of Germany's Fluchtwacht and now they return with some more 'unknown
taperecordings' as the translation of this is. Although Fluchtwacht
operates in the realms of noise, this release is particular more
rhythmic than their previous releases. Some form of mechanical
rhythms is the backbone of the most of the tracks, with the sound of
distortion from analogue synths and footpedals on top. But some of
the pieces are full-blown noise blasts, and this makes the release
into a somewhat unbalanced affair. The rhythmical pieces are less
present in volume compared to the noise pieces, which is a pity. But
otherwise this is the most varied and therefore best Fluchtwacht
release so far. (FdW)
Address: http://www.verato-project.de

A-UX - DUOTONE (CDR by Sigma Records)
The name A-ux is new for me, but apperentely it's one Tae Gyun, an
electronic musician from New York and 'Duotone' is his second release
(and I'm pretty sure that his label Sigma Records has nothing to do
with the Australian label of the same name) and A-ux cites as
influences such diverse inspirations as Claude Debussy, Stone Temple
Pilots and Boards Of Canada. As a child he studied classical piano
before turning electronic. After hearing the eleven tracks on this
release, I think Boards Of Canada are his biggest influence, yet A-ux
maintains a strong person himself. Many of the beats he uses are
bigger and fatter, and less complex that the Boards or Autechre would
do it, and his synthlines are likewise easier. The pieces are pretty
straight forward in approach, no intelligent breaks, but nice little
melodies around generally forceful rhythms, with softer spots on
'Hallucination pt i' and 'On The Horizon Of New Beginning'. Nice and
pleasent electronica here. (FdW)
Address: http://www.a-ux.com

DALNOVOD - DOVOD (CDR self-released)
I don't often get a proper demo CDR from Macedonian artists and this
is one of those, packed in a nice cover-design. Dalnovod are two
people, both making music solo, and here they play on: Zoran Madzirov
- tuned bottles, vibes, drums, steel drum and percussion; and Petar
Tashev - electronics. This might have been an excellent set-up for
improvisational music (in a For4Ears style, so to say), but these 2
mostly go in other directions. I've heard Petar's solo electronic
music before and liked it and I also like Madzirov's solo acoustic
music, he's most known here for playing on bottles which are filled
with different amounts of water, and he's quite good in that. And
famous too, being in a beer-commercial. So, electronics meet glassy
acoustics plus percussive elements thing going on here. In some
tracks, like 'Glasstica' and 'Momichka', the electronics are more
up-beat, pretty much Autechre/Squarepusher inspired and done in a
fine manners of today's Planet Mu/Merck productions, but that's not
always. In 'Tegla med', 'Paneuma' and elsewhere they go in a more
relaxed ambient and minimal-glitchy areas. Sometimes even getting
closer to the improv ways of playing. I think it would be nice if
they work out those ways of playing more and come up with a more
serious improv album. Otherwise, this is just fine as it is, music
with a great potential in it and quite a satisfaction for listening.
Seven tracks and 40 minutes, perfect length. Two of the tracks are
featured on a Fat Cat's label demo page. Check them out. (BR)
Address: dalnovod@cosmo.com and http://www.fat-cat.co.uk

THE CHOPSTICK SISTERS - L'UNE BOUGE, L'AUTRE PAS (3"CDR by 3Pattes)
The names Alain Neffe, Nadina Bal and Anna Homler are music in my
ears, but are they in yours? The first one is probably best known, at
least to some, as the man behind Insane Music (one of the more
legendary cassette labels of the 80s, and now getting them out on
CDR, which is great, but another story) but also the man of Human
Flesh, Pseudo Code or with Nadina Bal the duo Bene Gesserit. Anna
Homler in the late eighties was quite known for he vocal
improvistaions with David Moss, Voices Of Kwahn or Tom Cora. The
three met by accident (or that should be Alain and Nadine met Anna)
at a festival of women's music and they hit it off. They meet up once
a year (Anna is in the USA and the others in Belgium) to record and
play live. The ten short tracks on this 3"CDR are all based around
the voices of Anna and Nadine (although apperentely they also use
toys) which produce sound, rather then words. Alain is the man to
record them and layers them in studio, until a slightly chaotic but
captivating play of mouth. Only on the final two tracks, electronics
seems to play a role. Fake chinese singing, giggles, chants, it's all
there in an intimate atmosphere. With a length of twenty minutes this
has the right duration for such a thing. Cosy indeed. (FdW)
Address: http://3pattes.free.fr

MAULED BY SLOTHS - SNIP SNIP SNIP (CDR by Mordisco Recordings)
There is not much to say about Mauled By Sloths - no website, no
information, except that's a two piece band with loads of technology
at their hands: sampling, digital transfers, tapes and cuts, hacking,
bruised guitars and much more. The hack and plunder their way through
music, or rather popmusic for the most part and they come with tracks
that last around five to seven minutes. But within the limitations of
soundsources used this is a rather long and unfocussed affair, I
think. None of the thirteen tracks really did much to me. An amorphic
mass of sound arises from the these shattered moments of popmusic.
Only the fairly upfront ambient piece 'Honeysuckle Shards' made some
form of head-nodding here. Otherwise I couldn't say I was very much
impressed by these doodlings. (FdW)
Address: http://www.mordisco.com

POSTBLUE - THERAPIST IS THE RAPIST (CDR by Phase! Recordings)
PANAGIOTIS SPOULOS - SICKEND (A BLEND) (CDR by Phase! Recordings)
ROBERT PIOTROWICZ - THE PATH TO THE DEATH (CDR by Phase! Recordings)
Three releases by the for me unknown Greek label Phase! Recordings,
but I recognized the name Postblue, which is a rock band of Aris
Stathis, Panagiotis Spoulos and Theodoris Zioutos. I reviewed their
3"CDR in Vital Weekly and here they return with a full length album.
I say rock group, but actually they use rock instruments to cook up
their own version of post rock and improvisation. This full length
release is, if I understood correctely, an overview of their work of
the last five years and the pieces were generated mostly in concert
situations. The first couple of tracks are probably more recent,
along the lines of the aforementioned 3"CDR, with pyschedelic
influences of synths and samples, after 'It's About Time' things are
unmistakenly more rock oriented. Even when Postblue doesn't have the
refinement of say Tortoise or lacks the studio techniques, this is
still a pretty interesting overview of their career so far. A much
clearer view now of what they are about, and it's pretty good.
The second release is by one Panagiotis Spoulos and I tried
understanding what the cover notes are all about, but I didn't
understand, no matter how hard I tried. It sounds like feminine
unfriendly things, but I might be wrong allltogether. In this one
piece, forty six minute, the guitar is being played, through a lot of
distortion. That doesn't necessarily mean that this is loud release,
for in general it's quite soft. Towards the end there is even a total
electronic manipulation of the guitar sounds. A somewhat crude and
raw release this one, even when it's quite hard to tell what is all
about.
Likewise I never heard of Robert Piotrowicz, who is from Poland.
Apperentely he is an improv guitarist, organising the Musica Genera
festival and a collaborator with Kevin Drumm and Anna Zaradny. On
this release however he doesn't play guitar but an analog synthesizer
- brand unknown. The three pieces were recorded in 2003 and mixed in
2004, meaning that they are probably not the result of improvisation.
Although this is a raw and aggressive work, it's certainly a lot more
than just a pure Merzbowian noise thing. Very upfront in the mix,
with heavily distorted oscillations, this is quite a captivating
work, I'd say. The minimalist distortions have microscopic variations
and it's performed with great care. Even when Postblue and Spoulos'
release are nice, this is certainly the best of all three - also
cover wise. (FdW)
Address: http://www.phaseweb.tk

DAVIN BRAINARD - TANK TRAX (CD+DVD by Time Stereo)
The sound of war? Not really. But 'Tank Trax' sound exactely what it
is: a riding tank for approx. 30 minutes. The machine like rolling of
it's tracks (gettit?), which are slightly amplified and fed through
some distortion. Minimal and captivating, even when it is entirely
unclear if this is a real tank or just a children's model. No
shooting, just riding. The music is the soundtrack for an
installation and on the DVD version of this contains an animated film
of a wooden tank riding in a cardboard forest and a mountain scenery,
but apperentely goes nowhere. One would kind of feel sad for this
lonesome tank for it has no goal, no war, nothing. But on the other
hand that's fine too: let tanks lead a boring life. As far as sound
goes for this one, this highly minimalist soundscape is exactely
right. Right length, small changes and no big drama. A tank sounded
never this good. (FdW)
Address: http://www.timestereo.com

ASHER - TWO COMPOSITIONS (MP3 by Term.)
In the imperium of 12K, Term. is the most unknown country. 12K, Line
and Happy are all labels that release materials people can actually
own, but with Term. you can download nice music for free. Yet Term.
isn't a big store of music, it's carefully selected tunes. The latest
is by someone named Asher, and Term. doesn't provide any information,
except a quote from Samuel Beckett, about music at night. That was
apt chosen since I was playing this at night for the first time. Both
of the pieces are carefully, microscopic and detailled glitches that
are embedded in a bath of drones - which are almost inaudible. Most
suitable music to dimm your lights, open your curtains and watch the
stars and moon on a clear night. As much as I enjoyed this, in a
world with more light (the next day), I must also state that whatever
Asher is doing is nothing new under the sun, but if you buy the
Chartier CDs from Line, you certainly can't pass on getting this for
free at the same time. (FdW)
Address: http://www.12k.com/term/

OBADIA - WHERE DOES DUST COME FROM (MP3 by Autres Directions)
The man behind Obadia is one Stephane Obadia and the seven pieces
(but still lasting under twenty minutes) are, according to Obadia
himself, the most songlike tracks recorded in the period april 1998
and december 2003. If you don't know his other works, it's of course
to judge wether these are really his most songlike tracks, but the
intelligent dance music style he operates in, is a well-known area
and song structures appear all the time - although never in the form
of hum along tunes. But even when the paths are well-known for
Obadia, the seven pieces on offer here are nice doodlings of broken
and skipping rhythms, guitar solo's and nice laidback drums. Pleasent
music without any deeper meanings. (FdW)
Address: http://www.autresdirections.net/inmusic

1. From: "TU M'" <tu_m@libero.it>

TU M'P3
web label

SOUNDTRACKS FOR IMAGES
http://www.tu-m.com

2005 EDITION

with:

.Black To Comm
.Dälek
.Dill
.Jason Forrest
.Anne Laplantine
.Yoshio Machida
.Frank Metzger
.Sergej Mohntau
.Secret Mommy
.Joerg Piringer
.Akira Rabelais
.Sinistri
.Skyphone
.Joshua Treble
.Simon Fisher Turner
.TV Pow
.Hiroyuki Ura
.Voks
.Wilbo Wright
.Yutha

Tu M'p3
www.tu-m.com

2. From: koji tano <msbr@group.email.ne.jp>

"DENZATSU LIVE AKTION 2005 Europa by MSBR & CULPIS & MAG NECRO"

29th/30th jan
the ELECTROGRAPH FESTIVAL 2005
"the BENAKI MUSEUM"@Atens Greece
New Annexe (Pireos138) Athens, Greece
www.electrograph.gr
JOE COLLEY (USA), XABIER ERKIZIA (ESP), C.M.VON HAUSSWOLF (SWE),
KONTAKT DER JUENGLINGE (GER), THOMAS KOENER (GER),MECHA ORGA (GRE),
NORBERT MOESLANG (SWI), NIGHTSHIFT (GRE), ASMUS TIETCHENS (GER) ,MSBR
(JPN), CULPIS (JPN)

JAPANOISE OF DEATH 2005
1st feb
"Roter Salon"@Munich Germany
www.stupor-arts.de, www.roter-salon.de
MSBR (JPN), CULPIS (JPN), more

3rd feb
"Intro/In Situ"@Maastricht Holland
www.sdim.org, www.stichtingintro.nl
MSBR (JPN), CULPIS (JPN), more

4th feb
"ZAKK@Bremen Germany
Sielpfad 11  28203 Bremen  phone: 0421-76113
zakk.klubraum.org
MSBR (JPN), CULPIS (JPN)

5th feb
"Det Jyske Kunstakademi"@Aarhus Denmark
Mejlgade 32-34  8000 Aarhus  Denmark
www.noisejihad.dk
MSBR (JPN), MAG NECRO (JPN), ULTIMATE COMBAT NOISE (DEN)

7th efb
"Brugata 3A (this is also the adress) " Oslo Norway
apartmentrecords.com
MSBR (JPN), MAG NECRO (JPN), ANDREAS MELAND (NOR)

3. From: "o.m.s. - n.m.a." <info@omsnma.be>

o.m.s. - n.m.a. european tour 2005
(experimental electronica, electro-acoustic music, noise, (dark)
ambient and related...)
http://www.omsnma.be

dates:

16/02/05 forum für experimentalelektronik tanzhaus west frankfurt am
main germany
live: nichts vielleicht nicht vielleicht nichts aber nicht nichts
(ger), o.m.s. - n.m.a. + others tbc
address: gutleutstrasse 294, 60327 frankfurt am main, germany

17/02/05 fluc vienna austria
live: o.m.s. - n.m.a.
address: praterstern, 1020 vienna, austria

19/02/05 mozg mozg bydgoszcz poland
live: o.m.s. - n.m.a.
address: ul. gdanska 10, 85-006 bydgoszcz, poland

25/02/05 hörbar b-movie hamburg germany
live: o.m.s. - n.m.a. + others tbc
address: brigittenstrasse 5, 20359 hamburg, germany

26/02/05 mental hell + o.m.s. - n.m.a. black fleck potsdam germany
live: mental hell (ger) + o.m.s. - n.m.a.
dj: martin secundo
address: zeppelinstrasse 26, 14471 potsdam, germany

27/02/05 salon bruit cafe sternenstaub berlin germany
live: noisiv (irl, fr, ger), o.m.s. - n.m.a.
address: gneiststrasse 10, 10115 berlin, germany

05/03/05 !tbc! münster germany
live: o.m.s. - n.m.a. + others tbc
address: tba

18/03/05 finsternis pleasance cabaret bar edinburgh united kingdom
live: o.m.s. - n.m.a. (exclusive dark ambient show)
dj: deception boy, sublevel 3, dan h, cain
address: tba

4. From: "Keith O Faolain" <Keith.OFaolain@students.ittralee.ie>

where >> ClubHeadBangBang
when  >> Thursday 10th Febuary
time  >> 20.00-00.00 hrs
cost  >> Free

<live>
	Aranos (cz)

<djs>
	ambles
	king dumb

<info>
	www.brainwashed.com/aranos
	www.clubheadbangbang.org

5. From: "Authorised Version" <aversion@gmx.co.uk>

SLOW SOUND SYSTEM
LIE DOWN AND BE COUNTED

THE FOUNDRY : 13 FEBRUARY 2005 : 3-8PM

'Quality avant chillage' BBCi
'Unadulterated bliss ?' RESONANCE FM


The slow sound system explores ambient listening, new electronica and
pixel manipulation ? we return for 2005 with the first of our
listening sessions.

Lining up at the Foundry on 13 February are two of London's brightest
stars of electronica, last encountered at the London Headphones
Festival last year. We're Breaking Up lay down delicate shortwave
experiments and electronic snap, crackle & pop. Meanwhile
Cheapmachines explores darker noise, field recordings and tape loops.

On the bench: digitals, soundscaping and audiocollage from resident
djs iMax and Albert, plus digital artworks and flash workouts from
Janek Ropinsky.

Full details follow.


ARTIST BIOS

We're Breaking Up (TwoThousandAnd / Antiopic) (us/uk) : shortwave
electronica, snap, crackle & pop

We're Breaking Up is Michael Rodgers, multi-instrumentalist, free
improviser and (with Anthony Guerra) co-founder of the outstanding
London-Sydney label TwoThousandAnd. Living in London since 2000, he's
now a fixture of the electronica / impro / microsound scene, with
TwoThousandAnd really on a roll at the moment.

Michael brings a sense of urgency and openness to his own musical
projects - collaborators include Paul Hood, Anthony Guerra, Pedro
Lourenço and Manuel Mota. Much of his music reflects personal ideas
of distance, human relationships, density, and things that are
invisible.

Michael plays out regularly in London and has also performed in
Portugal, Germany, Austria and the USA.

'Restless, shifting drones ? a really epic feel. Excellent' SMALLFISH

'Takes the improvisation of electronics to a barren wasteland, it
glows and flashes and fizzes to the end' IGLOOMAG

'Yet another fine, fine release from this superb label. Check it out'
BAGATELLEN


Cheapmachines (KabukiKore / NidNod) (uk) : noise, field recordings, tape loops

Cheapmachines has been in existence since 1997, acting at the
interface between noise electronics, generative software, field
recordings, tape music and drones. Stark, stunning soundscaping and
musique concrete.

'? some fine examples of extreme manipulation ?' VITAL


RESIDENTS

iMax, Albert (Grain Of Sound, 8Bitrecs, KabukiKore, Sprawl) (uk/fr) :
decks + FX

Janek Ropinsky (Hardman Bros, DHR, Pop-Up Recs) (d) : flashwerks,
digital sublime


DETAILS

The Foundry
84-86 Great Eastern St, London, ec2 : 0207 739 6900 : info@foundry.tv
: www.foundry.tv

info@slowsound.net
http://www.slowsound.net


slow sound system
lie down and be counted

info@slowsound.net
www.slowsound.net

6. From: freaksendfuture@skynet.be

Freaks End Future presents...

Saturday 12 February

MIMIR (+ Special Guest !)
MIRROR (A. Chalk / C. Heemann / T. Van Luyck / V. Jackman)
EDWARD KA-SPEL (of the Legendary Pink Dots fame)

Starts @ 20.00

Mechelsesteenweg 90, 2018 Antwerp
reservation(s) advised =
<mailto:freaksendfuture@skynet.be>freaksendfuture@skynet.be

<http://www.freaksendfuture.com>http://www.freaksendfuture.com
<http://www.diestadtmusik.de>http://www.diestadtmusik.de

7. From: geert-jan <geert-jan@staalplaat.org>

date: 6.2.05 time: 5 pm place: transmediale @ haus der kulturen der welt
John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10 10557 Berlin Public transport Bus 100, 248

Staalplaat Soundsystem presents Yokomono live within the transmediale
basement 'radio-topic' on sunday 6th february 5 pm transmediale salon-stage
at the House of World Cultures


Yokomono is the Staalplaat Mono Erosive Surround Sound Installation.
The present setup consists of 10 vinyl killers - toy car record
players, each customised with its own fm transmitter. The sound will
come through a set of radios that receives the signal transmitted by
the vinyl killers You might think Yokomono is just a DJ set with 10
turntables, and in a way that is correct but in many more ways
Yokomono is completely different. First of all; each killer is mono
and has pour sound quality, but much more Yokomono is very hard to
handle, you can not really select a track or make it stop when you
want to, its more putting the needle down blindfolded. The real
difference starts when you realise each killer runs on batteries,
meaning the speed is unstable and it will slow down during the
concert, the fact that the batteries run out will not only effect the
speed but it will effect the fm frequency that the killer is
transmitting too. Making Yokomono unstable on different levels. The
fact that we transmit with 10 fm transmitters at the same time means
that each transmitter is effecting the other. These interference and
the unstable media that is transmitting makes the whole set
unpredictable and hard to control, making Yokomono unique and
adventures. Staalplaat Soundsystem is Geert-Jan Hobijn (NL) and
Carsten Stabenow (GER).

8. From: m@1010.co.uk

crash feb 11th 2005 london uk
crash revelations for holographic binding OS
crash forced expanded opening for new post-software-art
crash melancholia and fascism
crash post humanist ontology
crash abstraction + machinic representation
crash auto-destructive art relation to the computational
crash self-coded post-algorithmic constructivist noise performance

crash florian cramer, stewart home, otto e roessler, anthony moore,
sunny bains, dick j bierman, lisa
jevbratt, martin howse, jonathan kemp

crash andy bolus, russell haswell, yves degoyon, erich berger, ap,
stillupsteypa, farmers manual, kaffe
matthews, pita

crash shoreditch town hall london ec1 [on door £3 / online £3,33] 10 am
crash ica london sw1 [tickets through ica 02079303647] 8.30 pm
crash crashing@1010.co.uk crash.1010.co.uk
crash ap project supported by arts council england, smal + mute


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

crash is a unique event exposing a radical new space for
post-software art and examining links to
theories of endodata, holographic programming and auto-destructive art.

crash builds from two components, a one day symposium at shoreditch
town hall with speakers including
florian cramer, stewart home, dick j bierman, lisa jevbratt and otto
roessler. the evening component at
the ica collides theory with practice, combining constructivist
noise, self-coded applications and
self-constructed hardware. participating international artists
include pita, farmers manual, yves
degoyon, andy bolus, ap, erich berger, stillupsteypa, kaffe matthews
and russell haswell.
--






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All written by Frans de Waard (FdW), The Square Root Of Sub (MP
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<info@fakezine.tk>), Chris Jeely (CJ) and others on a less regular
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This is copyright free publication, except where indicated, in which
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