IDM Mailing Archive

Micro-reviews: (including some older stuff) Earthrise.ntone.1 (Instinct) - A pretty mixed bag, with great tracks from Neotropic and Hedfunk. The Journeyman stuff doesn't hold a candle to Woob. Probably worth the $12 or so. Is all of Hedfunk's work this good? Emit 2000 (Instinct) - Pretty disappointing performances all-round. Even Woob, who's full length is a shoe-in for my top ten of 1990's ambient, comes up short. Two thumbs down. Trance Europe Express 4 (Volume) - Batting about .250 here, which is more or less typical of the TEX series. GREAT track from Vulva (gotta track down that Rephlex 2LP), nice stuff from Skylab and LFO, and stomping trippy-hop from Rootless (how's the LP?). Lots of dull acid and some underwhelming jungle. VERY disappointing track from Depth Charge and annoyingly repetitive track from the usually impressive D. Moufang. Macro Dub Infection 1 (Virgin) - Best of the recent comps. V. nice work from Bedouin Ascent, Tortoise, Mad Professor, Wagon Christ, Scorn, and Bandalu, as well as some impressive work by more obscure outfits. Probably worth it for the Wagon Christ alone. Buy. Jake Slazenger (Clear) - Neither shite nor gold. M. Paradinas at his goofiest. Fun funky stuff and some pseudo-ambient duds. Worth having around. Locust - Truth is Born of Arguments (Apollo) - More varied than previous Van Hoen, with some agressive mechanical stuff and tracks that sound a bit like an updated version of Hassell and Eno's Possible Musics. Imaginative and technically sharp. Omicron - Generation and Motion of a Pulse (Instinct) - Rich and very spacey. As good as any Fax record and more consistent than Acrocosm. The pick of Instinct's new ambient litter. (I haven't heard the new Thamelitz or Shaikh yet, though). Chemical Bros. (Astralwerks) - Fierce, fierce beats from "Song to the Siren" to "Chemical Beats." The rest I could do without. (British neo-pop wankery). Probably worth the price of admission just for the above. Vibert - Plug 2 (Rising High) - The best jungle I've heard so far (over Omni Trio, 4 Hero, Gerald). Flipside "cheesy" deserves its name. I'm still on the fence about this stuff. PS: I would like to see more FAX reviews, too, even if they're very brief. PPS: What's the scoop on the second Woob album? I'm first in line.

On 3 Sep 1995, Helen Adriaens wrote:

quoted 8 lines ccue> Locust - Truth is Born of Arguments (Apollo) -

> ccue> Locust - Truth is Born of Arguments (Apollo) - > ccue> More varied than previous Van Hoen, with some > ccue> agressive mechanical stuff and tracks that sound a bit like > ccue> an updated version of Hassell and Eno's Possible Musics. > ccue> Imaginative and technically sharp. > > I must have a listen to those records you mention, as I'm rather curious where > Mark van Hoen gets his inspriration from.

I'm curious as to which tracks the comparison is being made to, since the Locust album *is* so varied. I personally have become completely charmed by The Optimist and have found nothing with a remotely similar atmosphere outside of some select Dead Can Dance and Seefeel pieces, and even then the comparison kind of flies out the window at times. It is one of the most epic, majestic and rich songs I have ever heard. On the other hand then there's Penetration, a hell of a song but I wouldn't think to place the two tracks in the same category or even on the same album, though this album does work perfectly.

quoted 2 lines His music has a certain special

> His music has a certain special > quality that I have yet to hear elsewhere ...

Some of it reminds me of what you might find somewheres outside idmland-- Skinny Puppy, early Wolfgang Press (even up to 1988 and Flood's brilliant Bird Wood Cage remixes), some Legendary Pink Dots and Nurse with Wound. These last two's more, um, challenging? work is at the very darkest end of ambient bordering on pure shit noise, but some of it is very effective. Steven Stapleton is a particularly genius noisemaker. Check out NWW's _Thunder Perfect Mind_ or the Tear Garden's _Tired Eyes Slowly Burning_ (Tear Garden being LPD's Edward Kaspel and SP's cEVIN Key) if you don't mind hearing some good singing now and then. This last makes for killer ambient and shouldn't be written off as Nettwerk-fodder without a good listen or two. Really superb stuff. Sorry if this is too I or not D enough. ;) einexile