so, 'sfwd' wanted to know about heterarchy,
well here's my LENGTHY take on the matter. -asg
//to sm@4thworld - copy away!//
freeform - heterarchy - special edition CD (worm interface, 1996)
simon¹s most VARIED work to date (granted, it¹s a full length, special
edition extravaganza) without question. moving through the
ever-so-experimental, to the skam-goes-tribal(!) forms of sound
frequency, simon pyke goes to the edge and beyond with this one. not as
accessible as elastic speakers,¹ but with enough patience and openness,
the listener should see/hear that heterarchy¹ delivers as simon
proceeds forth into sampled sounds unexplored. simon¹s breaking down
some barriers here.
** that's the micro-review, the macro follows **
and now some thoughts on the tracks (which shall remain nameless).
track 1 - throw simon pyke and luke vibert (circa wagon christ¹s phat
lab nightmare¹ days) in a blender and here you have track 1 of
heterarchy¹. nothing too severely disturbing, but just enough
off-kilter to you make you wonder what the hell¹s really going on. very
mysterious, ambient-styled intro to this cd as the typical freeform
clank and circumstance is noticeably absent. sounds like it was played
in your walkman with the batteries running LOW....very low. interesting.
track 2 - quick (about 1.20) little tune (facetiously speaking) that
sounds just like two silver balls hitting each other in a vacuum! huh?
yeah, this is a wobbly, ballsy and very bizarre experience indeed. all
momentum is perfectly conserved (yeah, the physics purists are gonna
love this ditty!) must admit though, simon has me seriously guessing at
this point. nothing spectacular...yet.
track 3 - much more recognizable sound to this slow plodder (about 7
min), as it could have easily found a comfortable environment on the
free ep¹ (skau cm 004, 1995) or his other full-length effort on worm
interface, elastic speakers¹ (1995). nothign extraordinary, but if you
liked the aforementioned releases, this shall suit your fancy.
track 4 - plip plop, squeek squeek, plip squeek...then, a bizarre
cello-esque atmospheric line swirls in and out (not that unlike the
atmospherics associated with tom j¹s ufo¹s over leytonstone' from uhhh,
'that album from 96'). ahh yes, here we have an evolving track, always
a good thing.
track 5 - begins with a slightly muted tribal tone, as if someone is
plucking away at a very THIN rubber band. another player¹ is spinning
a (presumably stone) plate on the ground - making uneven, irregularly
occurring sounds on the ground. and before you know it, it¹s on to...
track 6 - somewhat like track 5, maybe a remix? no, it does have it¹s
own name but the light element (plucking the high keys on a xylophone)
and a dark element (stabbing atmospherics - if yoan imagine it).
overall, somewhat eerie. simon says "i can do dark!" ok, it¹s not
really that dark, but it¹s a real lurky 8+ minutes that¹s for sure. oh
yeah, and the winner (of light v dark? no - this is not some lousy
lager v stout call to arms) the xylophone keys.
track 7 - wobbly number that has kind of a dingy loop pervading, but
with the ever-prevailent (from mista pyke that is) metallic clank and
caboodle (as i like to call it, see glob¹ review at 4thworld), this is
pure freeform. clicks, spikes and drippy chords follow in line and all
contribute to another one of simon¹s solved puzzles. 2 minutes of
madness (well, relatively) followed by 4 more of wonderful experimental
rhythms and loops. simon says GROOVE ON. this is definitely one of the
better cuts on the album. for those freeformally challenged, this is a
repeated occurrence in many of simon¹s pieces (and i think that¹s one of
his finest attributes) and in some of funkstorung's efforts (i.e.,
'awkw' on the 'breakart' ep - storming by the way).
track 8 - bizarre drone, noise (WHOA simon!, you¹re faking me out!)
squelches and a very strange synth loop. two minutes of total
uncertaintly. can you spell experimental?
track 9 - tied-up, pulsated sounds eventually get free and start to
interact with each other. slowly but surely, a NICE (sampled guitar?)
riff starts to saw through everying SO subtly. at times, that riff has
all my attention. and what¹s to make of the knick-knack clicks and
beeps over the top? well, they seem to be playing with each other on a
wonderful jungle gym! meanwhile the (evil?) riff periodically saws away
at the legs of the gym which are holding the thing up. this tops track
7 (if you¹re keeping track¹). one problem? too short. damn you
simon.
track 10 - and what does simon do next? follows track 9 up with an
11-minute epic of TRIBAL proportions!! a white noise/white dove intro
(nice juxtaposition ehh?) flows into some japanese-style ritual complete
with harp-string, hustle and bustle, noise beats and clanks. rupert
parkes and his ni-ten-ichi-ryu¹ (that¹s two swords technique¹, for
those who have been in a coma since march of 97) have ENTERED the
building (well, i guess it¹s some DOJO or something) not in terms of
drum programming but overall feel and rising sun appeal. the track
heads out in a sea of rin-tin-tin strumming along with some of the
globular loops from (you guessed it) pyke's glob¹ ep on musik aus strom
(highly recommended to all pyke fans). in short, this track has me
BLOWN away. without question, THE highlight of the album.
track 11 - another epic (9 min), this time more vintage
'free/speakers'-esque sounds and some more of those vibert-esque
soundscapes. yeah, the dead-batteries-in-the-walkman-syndrome. but
this time (unlike track 1), the track builds some (non-percussive,
imagine that!) momentum almost gets galactic (in a pyke-ian way though).
face it, you haven¹t heard many tunes like this one.
track 12 - plodding through it¹s 5+ minute existence, the closer
trickles about. pulsing bass drips along with some wheezy slices of
metallic sound. dripping till the can of simon is empty. solid effort.
//end//
ok, time to get some sleep...
to be put on while zzzing?
aedena cycle 'albite' (1997)