Saturday, 31 December 2016
Audiodélica – 1993 – 1997 (CD)
I found this CD while
doing some house cleaning. It was in a pile of zines and comix in my library. Audiodélica
was an Argentinian project. This is a compilation of songs recorded between
1993-1997 (nine pieces = 50.43 minutes) it came out in 1998 on Planeta X.
The obscure item of the day (not much information on the internet). The music
is experimental, yet slightly relaxing, be it: slowly shifting / moving synth /
found sounds with lo-fi percussions in the background (i.s.), dark
swirling processed sounds with elements of droning ambient noise (x),
shifting ambient noise / darkwave (aural), minimal space ambience
(Trotsky), dark ambience with hypnotic undertones (Nadja),
ambient noise minimalism (interzone), minimal classic
instrumentations with ambient elements thrown in (Salvador & inferno)
and death ambience colliding with a plethora of drones (dronephobia).
This CD is a highly meditative, hypnotic at times listening experience. Dark chill-out
ambience perhaps (I didn`t mean chill-out electronic music here). Good stuff. https://audiodelica.bandcamp.com/album/1993-1997
Suitcases of sound – it`s science! (CD)
I got this as a trade
from my good friend Thompson. Suitcases of sound is the solo
music project of one Elizabeth A. Baker, from St-Petersburg, Florida.
USA. There`s some strange musical stuff happening in Florida, a yearly noise
festival and a good selection of local underground acts / artists; Hell
Garbage, Dollmeat, Trotsky`s Watercooler, Suitcases of
sound, just to name a few. This is a nice and long (11 tracks, almost 80
minute of music here). I`m just turned fifty this year. I heard a good quantity
of strange, weird, bizarre, scare, beautiful, out there music (this one takes
the cake, at least for the moment folks). Using synth, guitar, Elizabeth
mixes elegantly electronic, contralto cross, experimental electropop,
psychedelia and lounge. The songs fall under different styles quirky sound
collage, minimal melancholic electropop, minimal instrumental piano and spacy /
lounge electropop. Imagine a jam session with The Moody Blues, Pink
Floyd (circa Syd Barrett), Wendy Carlos (on the
side), The Byrds and early Tangerine Dream. Some info
here; https://suitcasesofsound.bandcamp.com/
Hiroshima Yeah! # 142 – December 2016 (zine)
The latest issue from this
magnificent 8.5 by 11, black & white, cut & paste, monthly, photocopied
five pager. We open things up with poetry `sperm and regret `department (what a
quote). Standout poems this time around are
Unsteady Eddie
Not for the first time,
I see you,
Unsteady in the doorway,
Smoking,
Talking to yourself,
Having been in the pub
For at least six hours now
Someone told me
They were worried that
I`d end up just like you.
And I still might,
I still might.
And
Pointless things
All the pointless things
They teach you.
You will forget them all
Over time.
If you ever really
Remembered them
In the first place.
And finally
Thing you do to yourself
The things you do
To yourself
Can often be
Worse
Than anything
That others
Do to you.
Man I love this stuff. There`s our
monthly insanity from the likes of Gary Simmons `13.82 billion years
of hell `. Gary reviews Maurizio Bianchi`s – aeternum aevum
CD. I also enjoy MB type of industrial / noisy experimentations with
some ambience on the side. There`s also some music, chapbook and concerts
reviews (Ryley Walker, Lou Barlow / Eugene Kelley and Dinosaur
JR). We end this zine with Mark Ritchie`s shorty `clean
and sober `. I`m getting thirsty after reading this. I open my fridge and
I`m out of beer. There is no God. Contact; donbirnam@hotmail.com
DJ Morpheus – if u can`t beat` em, break` em 21 (CD)
I bought this album out of sheer curiosity
at Renaisssance Montréal. Ok I admit it all their CD`s are 2.00 $ and
for such a small price I`m willing to try music I never heard of (especially if
it`s electronically oriented). DJ Morpheus is one of the numerous
projects (Lord Solomon Pearbrook, Earth, Minimal
Compact, The Gruesome Twosome and The Morphtwins) of Samy
Birnbach. This DJ mix album came out in 1998 on SSR records. You
will hear the following bands / artist; Small fish with spine, UMO,
Renegade soundwave, Le Rosbifs, Bassbin twins, Dan
mass, Freestylers, Kurtis mantronik, Zum, Groove
armada, Cut and paste and Makesome breaksome (12
tracks = 66.06 minutes). On this recording DJ Morpheus passionately
mixes (and with success I might add) electro, hip hop, big beat, techno,
breakbeat and rap. The music sounds a little bit dated but I like it. When
it`s good it`s good and when it`s bad it`s really really bad. A good choice
of old school techno / electro cuts.
|
Hiroshima Yeah! # 141 – November 2016 (zine)
My favorite 8.5 by 11,
black & white, cut & paste photocopied monthly six pager. On the front
page, we begin with poetry and `such opulence, such misery `department.
My favorite pieces this time around are
Over oceans
Adrenalin can carry
you
Over oceans,
But sometimes it runs
out
When you`re only
halfway across.
And
Certain people
They are certain
people
Whom I keep close
To my heart.
And the rest of them
Can fuck right off.
And also
Fakers
Donovan does it,
Lulu does it,
John Martyn did it;
Talking with a
Scottish accent
Sometimes
And an English accent
At other times.
It strikes me as fake,
Especially because
My uncle Hugh,
Who is 84 now
And has lived and
worked
Abroad for most of his
life,
Has never lost his
Scottish accent.
I hate fakery and I
hate fakers
But can`t shake the
terrible feeling
That the fakers will
end up
Inheriting the earth.
I can relate to that.
I work with a lot of them and yes, they`re in charge. They`re like cockroaches
they can survive / adapt anywhere and everywhere. Gary Simmons has two
columns this time around (13.82 billion years of hell & Soviet
LK moon lander VS relationshits). There`s some music, book and concert
review (Bob Mould, at the Garage, Glasgow 10th October and Richmond Fontaine at The Caves, Edinburgh 18th October). We end this beautifully with a shorty from Mark
Ritchie (something truly wonderful) and some nice black and white
drawings form parts unknown. Contact: donbirnam@hotmail.com
Air – talkie walkie (CD)
The sixth album from this French
electronic rock duo of Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin.
I keep hearing this over and over and it just don`t work for me. All the songs
are impressive in their own right. It`s a nice mix of electronic, downtempo,
trip hop, and synth-pop. The perfect soundtrack for a rainy day; moody,
melancholic, minimal at times. I find most of the songs too syrupy for my taste
buds. On a more positive note I found some standout pieces
3 – Run (4.12 minutes) =
minimal trip hop mixed with downtempo = I feel like chilling out her.
5 – Mike Mills (4.26 minutes)
= beautiful, mellow, relaxing, chill-out instrumental downtempo electronic
music. Recommended if you`re into this type of music.
Saturday, 24 December 2016
Solarus – empty nature (CD)
I got this album as a
gift from my good friend Alex. Solarus consisted of Bill Yurkewicz
(Exit-13, Namanax, Pica and Purge), James
Plotkin (Atomsmasher, O.L.D., Regurgitation, Namanax,
Lotus Eaters, etc) and Kipp Johnson (Candiru, Elixir,
Purge and Namanax). This is their first recording it came out in
1997 on Release Entertainment. They released another album the following
year (Crystallized). Then they seem to have folded or something. Upon
the first listen I really didn`t like this. A wise man told me once give this a
chance let it sink in man. That`s what I did. It took me some listening effort
to fully appreciate this album (seven tracks = 56.29 minutes). This is
electronic music mixed with elements of drum & bass, IDM, dub, illbient,
which goes sometimes into minimal territory. My favorite pieces of the moment
are
5 – Malignant soul
punisher 2 (8.13 minutes) = dark electronic + dark dub + samples of a woman
screaming = this is not a test.
7 – Sunyata
(10.19 minutes) = minimal dub + dark electronics = beautiful, dreamy music. I`m
relaxing, chilling-out as we speak. Recommended if you can find
it.
Sunday, 18 December 2016
Friday, 16 December 2016
Ø – Oleva (CD)
Ø is one of the various solo projects of Mika
Vainio (Kentolevi, Philus
and Tekonivel). Mika was part of the techno / minimal /
noisy electronic duo of Panasonic with Ilpo Vaisanen. Oleva which
came out in 2008 is Mika`s seventh album. The music (13 tracks = 69.58 minutes)
feels like a jam session with the likes of Cluster / Kluster, Plastikman
and Louis & Bebe Barron (during their Forbidden planet
soundtrack period). The end results is a sonic voyage in the land of minimalism
Minimal
electronic
Minimal
techno
Minimal
noise / ambient noise
Lo-fi
minimalism
Subtle
shifting tones slowly colliding, minimal beats in the background, is that some
type of lo-fi noise I`m hearing? An excellent album, an exercise in subtle
minimalism. I`m proud to have this.
Swayzak – dirty dancing (CD)
Swayzak are a tech house duo (James S. Taylor and David
Brown) from London, England. Dirty dancing which is their third album, came
out in 2002 on !K7. I found this CD in the cheapy bin section of a
second hand record store, it cost me 2.00 $. The music is a potent a mix of
synth-pop, house, electronic, and minimal. Most of the tracks are song oriented
and aimed for the dance floor. I`m not much of a dancer though. To be honest
the whole shebang sounds great, a nice blend of subtle arrangements, definitely
not your top twenty commercial garbage. This album doesn`t work for me at all.
I still recommend it because it`s that damned good. A couple of tracks caught
my attention big time:
2 – Buffalo seven (5.12
minutes) = cold, minimal synth-pop.
6 – The punk era (3.55
minutes) = beautiful instrumental minimal house.
10 – Ping pong (7.20 minutes)
= instrumental minimal electronic / house. You can feel some influences at work
here: Suicide, John Foxx, Japan, old OMD, Human
League / Ladytron and a dash of Thomas Brinkman. Some info
here: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swayzak
Monday, 12 December 2016
Sunday, 11 December 2016
Friday, 9 December 2016
Lustmord – the place where the black stars hang (CD)
This is Lustmords sixth album (it came out in 1994 on Side
Effect). I`ve been hearing this one all week long. We`re in 2016 and this
recording came out more than 22 years ago. It still sounds great. So far, it
passed the test of time. There`s five tracks which feels like listening to one
long (75.59 minutes) piece divided in nearly five part. Brian Williams (Lustmord)
combines lo-fi hums, processed static, drones, uses processed field recordings,
low tones, ambient noise, dark synth washes and a good dose of dark ambience.
The end results an inner voyage through a deep & vast area of space with
dark overtones / atmospherics, outer worldly soundscapes, dense / thick / foggy
/ murky synth sounds, dark minimalism, a strangely rhythmic yet highly
hypnotizing introspective listening experience. You`re alone, drifting in
space, you feel your heartbeat getting slower, you hear lo-fi hums from the
surrounding darkness. You feel someone / something slowly pulling you in.
there`s not much air left in the tank. You`re sweating. It`s getting harder
just breathing. You`re slowly pulled even deeper. Half way through. A black
hole is slowly tearing you apart. Your body and your soul`s getting shred piece
by piece. It feels so good. Lost in the void. Lost in nothingness. Time to wake
up (the album`s finished) and go back to work. Dark ritual music for sleeping
and meditation (nightmares included). Brilliant. http://www.lustmord.com/
Node Pajomo # 21 (zine)
When mister PJM told everyone, he was going to stop writing Node
Pajomo and call it quits. It broke my heart. He made me discover some
amazing people via his zine; Malok, The Haddock, Hiroshima
Yeah! & Les carnets de Rastapopoulos (with the expensive and
nearly obsolete postal service). Lo and behold, I get a small package with a
rebooted Node Pajomo. This issue is a half size, black & white, cut
& paste 20 pager. There`s a good deal of zines (44) and some music reviews
(10). We have a give-aways contest for US residents only (too bad if you ask
me). We end this with mail art listings, tape traders, zine seeking submissions
and postcard exchange. In case you`d like to have a copy of Node Pajomo send
this fine gentleman well-hidden cash, some stamps, a trade, something for God
sakes. Well don`t just stand there, go for it;
Node Pajomo
PO BOX 2632
Bellingham
Washington
98227-2632
USA
Jerry Snell – cash (CD)
A couple of years ago
I bought in a second hand record store Jerry Snell`s first album
` life in the suicide riots`. The CD freaked me out combining
free improvisation with elements of jazz, avant-garde, electronic with some
spoken word, intense / insane ramblings. I never heard anything like this
before. Then six months later, I discover Steven Jesse Bernstein. Back
to our story. It`s a warm Sunday afternoon. I`m in a second hand record store
browsing through the cheapy bin section. The bin was full of CD`s for a dollar
or 2. Most of the times it`s crammed with crap, except at the bottom of the bin
I find this Jerry Snell album titled `cash`. I didn`t know
he released more than one CD (3 albums in fact). I buy it, go back home fix
myself a coffee, sit down and away we go. WOW! This is a different listening
experience. The music is a mix of pop rock, folk, rock and psychedelic bluesy
numbers. Feels like a three-way jam session with Neil Young, Bob Dylan
and Tom Waits. There`s a couple of songs that sounds totally out there
schizophrenic / insane / claustrophobic anthems. If anyone remembers `shake
dog shake` (The cure – The top album) and `21st century schizoid man ` (from King Crimson – in the court of the
crimson king album) then you know what I mean here.
Sunday, 4 December 2016
Friday, 2 December 2016
art is everywhere part 72
The Haddock of the day
The Haddock
2760 Willamette street, apt # 205
Eugene
Oregon
97405
USA
The Haddock
2760 Willamette street, apt # 205
Eugene
Oregon
97405
USA
Yen Pox – blood music (CD)
Second album from this American ambient darkwave duo of Michael
J. V. Hensley (Blood Box, Hollow Earth) and Steven
Hall (Gorehallreider, Veil Of Secrecy, Used). Blood
music came out in 1995 on Malignant records with a limited print run
(it`s sold-out unfortunately). This is a nice and long (6 tracks = 70.01
minutes) recording. I was doing music cleaning and I rediscovered this CD
laying around in a box full of trading items. Last time I heard this was more
than seven years or so I think. I`m sitting here listening to this. I keep
thinking to myself how creepy this feels. Now I remember what ambient darkwave
is all about. The `music `is a sonic stew / mix of ominous lo-fi, dark
soundscapes, short noise bursts, blurry voice samples (or highly processed),
drones, bleak atmospheres, ambient noise, and watery minimal ambience. All the
songs are slowly and subtly moving, evolving, mutating. A slow, relentless
attack of the senses. The whole listening experience is creepier, scarier with
headphones. You`re alone at night, stuck inside an abandoned warehouse, you`re
feeling like someone / something is watching you. You hear some type of
movement in the darkness. It`s getting near. It`s too dark to see anything. You
can feel it slowly approaching. Coming near you. You can smell it`s foul breath
behind you. The mere stench. You slowly turn around and… AAHHHHHHHHHH! A
soundtrack of decay, desolation i.e. the end of the world. Simply great.
There`s a blood music 2CD re-issue available here: http://www.malignantrecords.com/releases/3177
Hank Williams – 20 of hank Williams greatest hits (CD)
I got this as a gift
from my favorite Floridian country boy Eric T. When it comes to country
/ western my knowledge / interest is limited. I like the classics like Patsy
Cline and Johnny Cash. I also like more `heavy `oriented country
i.e. cowpunk like The Blasters, Violent Femmes and Jason &
The Scorchers. Hank Williams (1923 – 1953) was an American
singer-songwriter and musician. You will hear 20 amazing songs, like; your
cheatin`heart, move it on over, I`m so lonesome I could
cry, rambling `man, my heart would know, kaw-liga,
cold cold heart, lovesick blues, honky Tonk blues, honky
Tonkin`, there`ll be no teardrops tonight, jambalaya (on the
Bayou), hey good lookin, window shopping, I can`t
help it (if i`m still in love with you), half as much, why
don`t you love me, you win again, baby we`re really in love
and take these chains from my heart. Hank`s music mixes elements of
country, western, folk, blues, honky-tonk, gospel and rockabilly. The second
track `move it on over ` mixes blues with rockabilly it sounds like
another band who was a precursor of rock `n`roll Bill Haley and his comets.
It`s a shame he died so young. After hearing a lot of noise and bizarre alien
ambient music this album is a welcome (and peaceful break) for my poor ears.
Various – night passage demixed (CD)
This CD came out in
1996 on Dorobo. Dorobo was a post-industrial record label
formerly run by Darrin Verhagen between 1992 up until 2004. Darrin has a
solo music project named Shinjuku Thief. Four artists demix and
edit with respect Alan Lamb`s `night passage` album.
Here`s a brief rundown.
1 – Ryoji Ikeda
– # 13 (8.02) = a lo-fi exorcist / exercise of droning ambient noise
minimalism.
2 – Thomas Koner
– kyros (9.54) = a stripped-down, more minimal (if possible) version. Feels
like walking naked on a snowstorm while the wind slowly freezes your heart and
soul.
3 - Lustmord –
fragmented (19.13) = high impact drones + hazy, creepy dark atmospheres /
ambience = sounds like and out-take from `the monstrous soul `album.
4 – Bernhard
Gunther – untitled 1 / 96 (20.19) = starts-off with subtle lo-fi grinding
ambient noise drones and moves slowly into nothingness i.e. barely audible
frequencies (you need some high quality sub-woofers here folks). An impressive
collection of demixes. My personal award goes to Lustmord. Never though
the sound of the wind could be so damned scary at times. Highly recommended.
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