REVIEWS November, 2003


BRADBURY- "Ruffini Corpuscle"
CD Dual Plover
Gary Bradbury is an ex-member of Severed Heads and this is apparently his first solo album in over a decade. Track titles like "Chubfuddeling", "Fabio Goose" and "Sinistrogyric Mobius Disc", coupled with some amazing, eye-popping photo-collage on the booklet left me wondering what to expect. Short opening track is a brief but nicely melodic quiet ambient swirl. The second track gets weirder and noisier, full of tiny vocal snippets, clipped Gary Glitter-esque drums, deranged narration and stolen melodies stitched together in a humorous, plunderphonic style. Add a judicious amount of distortion and digital processing and you do get the aural equivalent of the collaged goat-like creature fashioned out of cut-out glossy mag bits. The following tracks veer wildly from sweet melodic keyboard-led ditties to darker, more percussive cut-and-paste affairs. All of it done pretty well, with a flair for wistful melody and a nice sense of looped and quite funky machine-rhythms. Also of note are the interesting digital textures on display throughout- sometimes veering off into white-hot distortion but always keeping the listener at bay and throwing in totally unexpected and unique sonorities at odd times. Perhaps this plays like a punkier, (and smarter...?) dsp-fueled take on the Ninja Tune sound, with the added weirdness of those pretty melodies, which sometimes seem too sincere and out of place. Pretty unique stuff worth tracking down.

ERIC CORDIER- "Digitalis Purpurea"
CD Ground Fault
The title track begins as a barely audible background tone is interrupted by sudden tape-mangled explosions. The piece develops and builds into a deep shimmering drone- I found myself captivated by Cordier's subtle layering of hurdy gurdy and church organ sound textures bathed in thick reverb and transformed into floating helicopter-like sounds fading in and out of the stereo field. At around the 12 minute mark the piece shifts gear and throws in some crazed variable speed tape games and Doppler effects that sound like a fleet of hurdy gurdys storming through a raceway. Things begin to slow down and fade away into silence as the piece comes to a somewhat sudden close. Track two, "dactyle aglomeree" uses a dulcimer as its sound source and features an opening of crazed multi-tracked string sawing and some nice stereo effects. The sounds grow higher in pitch, into something that resembles feedback squeals. Slowly the sounds begin to morph into a swarming mass of hiss that builds in volume and intensity until the string sounds are inaudible. This hiss begins to oscillate wildly as the composition's pace slows down and fades to end. Sound source is field recordings on the third piece, "les os longs"- This piece appears to be very digitally transformed. Spacey and grainy, high pitched noises with some deep bass tones floating in the background. Around the 4-minute mark some creaks and stretched out horn-like tones appear which might be location recordings. The piece remains mysterious and impenetrable throughout. Sounds slow down for the piece's second half, foghorns in the distance, slowly wavering tones that rise and fall slowly in pitch. This portion on the track might be the best thing on here. The disc ending "postface" is made up of church organ sounds- a note in the booklet says: "no tape manipulation". This beautiful piece plays almost like a cross between thoughtful improv and a field recording of someone tuning a church organ- complete with glacially paced awkward pauses and randomly placed, gentle slivers of sound. All of these tape pieces were originally performed as sound environments through multiple speakers at venues ranging from a gallery to a factory tower. The idea of sitting through just one of those events is mouth-watering, but since that is not an option this recording is the next best thing.

RUDOLF EB.ER- "Rudolf Eb.er's Runzelstirn & Gurgelstock" (Sieben 7.5-45)
12" Sieben
Swiss art/noise terrorist Rudolf Eb.er returns with a new release on A-Musik's always confounding Sieben sub-label. Along with a nice drawing by Rudolf on the labels you get two sides of head-scratching, semi-comical, cartoon squelches interspersed with clanging, unidentifiable percussive sounds and puzzling silences. Occasionally looped noises might suggest a sampler is at work, and strangling throat gurgles suggests the human voice as one possible sound source. Unsafe at any speed, though perhaps especially at 45, the noise loses a bit of the comic appeal at 33rpm, and gains a bit of playful dread. I admire the randomness and completely non-musical quality of the whole thing. Midway through side A (the "Runzelstirn" side), it almost seemed like a beat wanted to take form around the blurred cackles, quacks and fumbling noise- but the track remains enjoyably random almost until the end, where a few moments of locked-groove-like repetition flirt with rhythm. The "Gurgelstock" B-side is sparser and (at least for the first half) the loops seem to dominate the mix, from the clicked vinyl-pop that opens the side to the repeated sequences of samples the recur throughout the track. Gaps of silence remain an integral part of the piece, breaking up any semblance of structure one might look for in the looped bits. The cartoonish feel is even stronger on this side- it is easy to imagine some sort of crazed animated accompaniment to the series of whistles, laughs, creaks, pops and squeals that emerge through the oddly-timed silences.

GOAT- "Baphometamphetamine"
CDR Cyberblast Records
Two long tracks of claustrophobic bass-heavy electronic noise from honorary Texan Andy O'Sullivan on the Dallas-based Cyberblast Records label. The first track, "Raising The Temple of The Goat" is a nearly impenetrable wall of thick, endlessly cycling low frequency rumbles and hums. Some abrupt left-to-right pans unfortunately disrupt the monolithic quality of the piece, but otherwise this turns the harshness on and lets it go for nearly half an hour. The thick looped and delayed layers of feedback and distortion build up into huge swirling drones that can be quite soothing (honest...) as the track progresses. At the 21 minute mark the track startlingly descends into near-silence as a pulsing tone floats over a gentle bed of ambient hisses, buzzes and clicks. The endlessly echoed clicks and glitches grow in volume and density for a few minutes before the solid sheets of white noise return and ends abruptly. The second and shorter track, "Razing The Temple of The Goat" is another dense noise epic, perhaps with a few more high-pitched out-of-control feedback squeals flying out of the bass-heavy buzz. This piece is also a bit less linear, with more variety of sound a few more broken-up (if not cut-up) segments of noise crowding the mix.

DAVE GRUBBS / AVEY TARE- Split Series 12"
12" EP FatCat Split Series
The Dave Grubbs side begins with fairly straight piano stylings and nice romantic melody (am I supposed to recognize it...?) fighting it out with the scratchy vinyl. A very short interlude of reverb-heavy rumbles gives way to another piano piece of repetitive flowing sequences. A final piano chord stab descends into more rumbling reverb ambiance. This is all very nice but the final piece really grabbed my attention- a slow motion free-flowing fuzz (dsp...?) guitar piece full of stuttering and mysterious beauty. I could use a whole side of something like this. Avey Tare of the Animal Collective presents two tracks on the flip. The first begins with very digital-sounding scratchy, trebly loops over which a child-like organ melody develops around AT's effected and multi-tracked munchkin vocal. I wasn't too thrilled with the recent FatCat reissue of two older Animal Collective titles but this sort of charmed my socks off. The mix of digital noise, chirpy melody and lyrics like "feeling like a werewolf" hit me just right. Makes me imagine what a laptop-era update of the Tall Dwarfs might sound like. The second track is a bit sparser and stranger, full of water-drips, distant voices and mic rumbles. A delicate gauzy melody does eventually emerge- enveloping the whole in a beautiful and hazy warm glow worthy of the gentler side of Fennesz. Damn- I might have to give those AC reissues another spin.

HECKER- "2 track 12"
12" Mego
You could do a lot worse than have your press sheet consist of an andy beta review. Hecker does his best to live up to the attached text (but how could he?) with two sides of noise and a handful of locked grooves. The sound is strongly digital- analog purists should avoid this because there is nothing here to change the minds of laptop-haters worldwide. Show-off morphing of hisses and trebly squiggles and sinewave squeals. Bass rumbles and tinny, grainy distortion. The sound of many bleeps being flushed down the toilet. Maybe the use of the word "acid" in one of the titles makes me want to imagine this as some sort of techno track deconstruction. But who can tell. I'm feeling a bit ambivalent about this one- I like the random feel, but I'm not crazy about the digital textures. It sounds really good pitched and slowed to a crawl. When it comes to noise, a bit of sweat is a nice thing, and Hecker keeps it too cool on this record. But seriously, this thing has a bunch of locked grooves on one side- and you just can't argue with that.

NO- "ßen"
12" LP Darkness Productions (Germany)
"No" is an alias of artist Jan Iwers and this is an LP of his odd and confounding music. The LP is packaged in a simple but elegant sleeve that features two slightly blurry color photographs super-imposed over a chart showing drawings of sign-language hand positions. Appropriately enough, the A-side is designated by a drawing of a fist, and the B-side by an open palm. Both sides are side-long pieces composed primarily of stark and unprocessed chirps- perhaps short samples or a looped vinyl glitches. On the A-Side, these clipped tones are cartoonishly high-pitched and are frantically deployed over an organ-like drone that slowly emerges as the piece begins. Bass-heavy loops enter the mix with a seemingly random logic as siren-like loops move in and out of phase. The organ-drone continues to recede and return slowly as the sounds fade out into silence. The piece remains almost impenetrable- and sounds disorienting at any speed. The B-Side begins with the organ-drone fading into audibility. Intermittent fuzz tones and a two-note keyboard progression appear as those crazed chirp-loops return- this time a bit lower in pitch. The mood of this piece is a bit more subdued and somber, though still moving with an indecipherable logic. Towards the end, the static fuzzy tones solidify into a subtly pounding steady rhythm that is cut out abruptly, leaving nothing but the organ drone and distant bass-heavy loops as the whole fades into silence. The strangeness and random-feel of the compositions has an awkward beauty that is difficult to pin down.

CHRISTIAN RENOU- "Fragments and Articulations"
CD Ground Fault
Christian Renou, as Brume, has been making quality electroacoustic music since 1985. This CD is a fantastic set of long pieces demonstrating Renou's considerable skills as a thoughtful and very entertaining composer. The opening 25-minute track uses as its sound source a segment of percussion taken from a 1982 performance by Renou's jazz-rock outfit URIA. Metallic sonorities dominate the opening 8 minutes but slowly dissolve into a swirling mass of buzzing, shifting sound. The piece moves slowly and delicately, but the mix is dense and full. The metallic sonorities occasionally reappear completely transformed but still retain some of their cymbal-like resonance beneath the layers of digital processing. Around the 13 minute track the whole fades down almost to silence, as a loud electronic pulse erupts suddenly. The slowed-down metallic sounds flow by endlessly, disappearing in the distance. The pace begins to quicken as clanging tones begins to multiply and play at multiple speeds, like a crazed, arrhythmic gamelan. Though 25 minutes long, the track remains interesting throughout and might just be the highlight of the disc. The second piece consists of field recordings mangled by a computer with a faulty processor. The piece begins with what appear to be recordings of water drips processed into tiny grainy trebly bits exploding in all directions. The mix slows down, walls of reverb are erected, sounds rush by at lower speeds. Tones are stretched out into spacier, serene washes of echoed frequencies interspersed with mysterious silences. Again, like the first piece this track goes in many directions throughout its length and is a pretty great and rewarding listen full of detail and well worth playing multiple times. The opening sequence has a bit of glitchy "digital error"-like moments but the remainder of the piece is smoother, even if some hissy and scratchy noises fly in around midway. Towards the end you do hear a non-processed segment of what sounds like rushing water- perhaps the originally sound source briefly unveiled, before the totally obliterated versions of this take us to the quiet fade-out. The final piece is composed of processed sounds generated by an old AM-radio receiver. After a noisy opening bit an awesome glitched-up hum explodes loudly and disappears just as quickly. The track shifts into a blend of quiet subtle delicate glitches, loops and spaced -out atmospheres which are interrupted frequently by loud explosive and occasionally distorted blocks on noise that retreat to silence. Pacing and dynamics are again top-notch.

ROTTEN PIECE- "Within the Apparatus are Pockets of Quiet"
CD Fleece
The husband and wife duo of Shaun and Carol Kelly have been a part of Houston's underground noise/improv scene for over a decade now, and their discography contains an almost innumerable series of CDs, CDRs and cassettes. This new CD on Fleece (who also issued RP's "The Incarcerated Dwarf Heiress" full-length) might be a good place to start. I've always felt that Rotten Piece were an outfit best experienced live, but I think this CD changes my view as it is a fairly solid piece of work. Occasionally guilty of trying to do too many things at once, and explore too many musical ideas simultaneously this CD maintains the focus on the psychedelic acid jamming side of things and it works very well. Shaun Kelly's one-stringed "Stick Cello" is deployed to great effect, bringing to mind the sounds of Spacemen 3's "Dreamweapon" as well as Manuel Gottsching's endlessly delayed guitar playing. Of course, with a name like Rotten Piece, the Kelly's take on acid jams has a bit of a twisted and nasty edge. The tracks on here could be divided into two types- the ones that work with industrial-tinged percussive loops, and the extended lysergic guitar jams. Of the two I think I prefer the latter- the grasp of psych rock dynamics and nod to Krautrock, Texas and Kiwi acid-rock gods of ages past is handled with wit and swaggering self-assurance. But really, both types of tracks often blend together into dense walls of psychedelic noise- like on "Burly Mantra #5" where the main sounds possess a slightly bluesy, slide-guitar feel over which variable speed loops and delays are interrupted by extremely disorienting left/right channel dropouts. My favorite track on here is "Communists in Space (pt2)", a spaced out minimal "guitar" jam that builds and builds for 19 tranced-out minutes but never really goes anywhere- and I mean that as a compliment. Recording quality is very good and all sounds play through a well-balanced and clear mix though at times I think RP are a bit too enamored of the delays/echoes. Of course this only adds to the acid-damaged feel so that might be nitpicking. Overall, if you ever wondered what a Texas-flavored cross between early Throbbing Gristle and Spacemen 3 might sound like- this could be the CD for you.

SPAZZMODICS- "Vermin Perm"
CD Dual Plover
Wrapped in another vibrantly printed photo-collage booklet (a Dual Plover trademark perhaps?) is this short and fragmented set of collaged pop songs. Over a base of looped percussion this appropriately named Sydney-based duo add real, sampled and digital sounds, often shifting from lo-fi to hi- fi (and back again) in mid-song. Audio bits fly in and out almost at random, and tracks shift gear as soon as a groove is introduced or spoken word sample deployed. Over the first half of the disc the cumulative effect is deranged and hallucinatory- more along the lines of what a glitchy Boredoms might do than any mash-up styled deconstruction of pop tunes. Midway through the disc the tunes begin to display a quieter gentler side to the Spazzmodics, interspersing welcome snippets of silence around the sonic bits- which are in this instance melodic and almost pretty. A twisted sense of humor is displayed throughout- though they never get too wacky for their own good. There is a great photo of the duo (on the Dual Plover site) performing live-, which makes me wonder what sort of show these two put on.

HOWARD STELZER and JASON TALBOT- "Four Sides"
2x7" C.I.P.
The Boston duo of Stelzer (tapes) and Talbot (turntables) present seven live tracks spread across two seven inch singles packaged in a very handsome mini-gatefold sleeve. Side 1 and 2 were recorded in Boston and sides 3 and 4 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. I always worry about the speed on records like these- and it always seems to turn out that the artist plays coy when it comes to letting the listener know if there is indeed a preferred playing RPM. Not to worry on this production however- each slab of vinyl comes vividly stamped with a nice big "45rpm" on each label. The music on here is scratchy, rumbling noise improv of variable density but leaning towards the sparse end of things. The apparent lack of effects processing lends an attractive starkness to the whole. The manipulated tape and vinyl sounds are at the forefront and never obscured by delay or distortion. The pair isn’t afraid to build up the noise, but they do so with a great sense of pace and dynamics, and always pull back and cut out the racket into (near) silence before switching into another series of sounds. The two tracks on side 2 might just have the best sequence of rodent-like scratches, electrical hum, scurrying, metallic rattles and jump-cut, stop-start noise collage.

SUICIDAL RAP ORGY- "Genital Warfare"
CD Dual Plover
Eight-member fake rap collective doing some sort of porno-horror rap in thick Aussie accents over horribly produced synth-funk. I don't really know what to make of this- it's as bad as Gwar's take on metal, but maybe it's not supposed to be "good"- so therefore it's not really that bad...? The Gwar analogy might be apt as booklet photos seem to indicate these folks like to get naked, put on gory masks and pour fluids over each other. The rapping is inept and the repulsive lyrics don't carry much weight anymore in these post-gangsta rap days. Although i must admit the violent serial killer sex raps when spewed by a woman are worth at least one listen. Maybe you have to be Australian to appreciate it or be shocked by it. Either way I’m putting this one deep in the archives- maybe it will make sense in 10 years.

VARIOUS ARTISTS- "Selflow"
CD Ooze Bap
Ooze Bap, a newish and very interesting Barcelona-based label presents this excellent compilation of tracks from 3 different artists. Artificial Memory Trace offers two tracks of 1994-96 vintage mostly following their trademark mysterious scratchy sound. The first track is a mix of processed and unprocessed location recordings, cricket/insect-like hum, delicate machine-like clicks and interruptions of silence. Really beautiful and perfectly mixed. The second track starts off in near silence for a few minutes but quickly grows much stranger, more surreal and definitely louder than the first piece. This one often approaches a Nurse With Wound level of weirdness- especially around the 6-minute mark, when feedback and cutup voices explode into the swirling mix. The track melts into an uneasy quiet through which odd drones, echoes and more natural sounds flow in and out. Next up are Antenna Farm with four tracks of thick drones, deep sub-bass tones and crackling electronics. Much more digital hiss-crackle on these pieces but the subtle use of silence makes the progression from AMT to AF a smooth one. The disc ends with 8 tracks from Gabriel Amato, a Diskono-related artists previously unknown to me. Tracks 7 and 8 have more of a pop-glitch feel full of swirling snippets of digital tones and blips popping in and out very quickly. No melodies but definitely a more playful, cheeky edge than the more serious AMT and AF tracks. The final five tracks follows AF/AMT's mood of quiet unease and crackling mystery. As a whole the compilation flows very smoothly and is one of the better discs from beginning to end that I’ve heard in a while.

VERTONEN- "The Ocean Is Gone, The Ship is Next"
CD Ground Fault
Vertonen is Chicago experimental music veteran Blake Edwards and this CD continues an ongoing exploration of turntable-fueled drones. The opening track's title is self-explanatory: "untitled for air organ and turntable motor". Recorded live on the radio in Chicago, this piece is a fourteen minute long deep and dense mix of beautiful bass tones and thick breathy hums playing endless phase games with each other. On the second piece, a very heavy speaker-rattling bass tone loops through the beginning as metal-percussion sounds slowly cycle in the background. Scratchy vinyl sounds and dense ambient tones continue throughout as some recognizable vinyl-sourced sounds emerge- like a looped horn-line perhaps. the regular sound of the loop disturbs the drone atmosphere a little, adding some humor to a track that doesn't seem to need any. The next piece, "Four chambers plus their various fluids" kicks out the noise from the get go- fast and loud cycling noise whirring and flanging endlessly. Hissy field recorded sounds predominate as the track fades out to silence. "Soma Trio Study (2)" is the shortest cut one here at 5 minutes and could have used a little more time to develop. The sounds at play are delicate and melodic slowly evolving loops drifting in and out of phase- a bit like Philip Jeck, perhaps and much more romantic than the claustrophobic sounds on the previous pieces. Final track begins with warbly locked groove piano sounds eventually overtaken by a darker, machine loop that slowly fades in as the piano plays on. The mix of endless drone frequencies and more loopish vinyl sounds works wonderfully throughout this disc.

YITUEY- "Sonadores"
3" CDR The Locus of Assemblage
Claudio Chea, a Dominican living in Puerto Rico has this 3" CDR released on a Scottish label. The sound source on this disc are recordings Chea made on the first day in the Dominican Republic after a prolonged abscence. Nature and watery sounds are slowly overtaken by subtle (though a bit over-reverbed) digital processing. The result is very personal and delicate, beautiful and organic- a bit like the abstract watercolor shapes on the CD booklet.