The Magic Sound of Fenno'berg is the latest release from the extraordinary
Austrian label Mego, and one of the best releases in the digital glitchy
electronica mould of late.
Sorry for this rather long review... It incorporates mini-reviews of
Fennesz/Pita as well. Hope it's enjoyable and informative.
Fenno'berg (or Fenn O'Berg perhaps) is Christian Fennesz, Jim O'Rourke and Peter
Rehberg. Fennesz is, deservedly, the best known of the Mego artists. His 7"
_Fennesz Plays_, later rereleased on CD by Jim O'Rourke's label Moikai, consists
of two "covers" of pop songs from 1969: a Beach Boys song and the Rolling
Stones' _Paint it Black_. Whilst neither song is recognizable amidst the
floating processed guitar, occasional acoustic guitar strums and electronic
glitchery, the release has a fragile beauty that's quite extraordinary. His
earlier album Hotel Paral.lel is similarly impressive; much is rather
challenging to the listener, but worth the effort, with deconstructed
techno/drum'n'bass and strange loops and glitches drawing beauty out of the most
surprising places. The last track, _aus_, is as gorgeous as either of the Plays
7" tracks.
Jim O'Rourke is well known as a member of Gastr del Sol with David Grubbs (for
their last album they gave a number of the tracks to Marcus Popp of Oval, and
let him overlay whatever he liked on top...), associate of Tortoise (his glitchy
broken-down drum'n'bass remix being a highlight of the Tortoise Remixed comp/12"
collection), free improv guitarist, and on his latest couple of solo albums, pop
singer. His is one of the more interesting tracks on the recent Warp 10+3
Remixes comp.
I'd be interested if anyone has heard his album "Terminal Pharmacy" on John
Zorn's Tzadik label...
And Peter Rehberg, aka Pita, is head of the Mego label. The second Pita album,
"Get Out", has one gorgeous distorted looping track (tk 3) that people were
raving about last year on this list, comparing it to My Bloody Valentine. His
Rehberg & Bauer stuff with Ramon Bauer (aka General Magic) is very fucked up
distorted stuff, hard to listen to, with high-pitched squeals all over and
hardly-identifiable structure - I haven't managed to get into any of it yet.
So what happens when you take all three of these and let them tour Japan and
Germany/Austria with their laptops? Something somewhat unlike what any of them
does separately it seems. And surpassing both the latest Fennesz album (on
Touch) and the latest Pita. The tracks were all recorded live, and were
presumably pretty much conceived and improvised on the spot (although obviously
made up of sounds already on their hard disks).
It's hard to identify which artist is making which sounds, although there are
points where a bassline from Fennesz Plays briefly makes an appearance, or a
type of digital effect appears which sounds like Fennesz, and occasionally there
are high-pitched sine-waves and distorted noises which challenge one's annoyance
resistence somewhat ;) and I suspect these would be Pita's responsibility. The
range of samples used is considerably greater than anything I've heard from
either of these artists, and I wonder whether this is Jim O'Rourke's influence.
There are pointy little piano lines, rock guitar solos (obscured by all sorts of
other sounds), classical-sounding orchestral samples, pitch-shifted vocal
samples...
The album is considerably more easily listenable than most Mego stuff (not that
it's "easy listening!) I've found I want to listen to it all the way through a
lot, and it's quite a trip. Surprisingly for an improvised live record, there's
quite a lot of structure in the tracks. Sometimes there are previously
constructed drum loops, which one can hear being chopped up live... Occasionally
the workings of the sound programs are audible in the way the samples are being
pitch-shifted and broken down, but it's never in an obvious way, and these
moments of comprehensibility are exciting for at least this listener, rather
than disappointing.
The last track is something truly majestic and beautiful. I wonder whether some
Mego purists would be offended by it in fact; it's based around an orchestral
loop (or a few, presumably from the same piece) which reminds me in tone of
nothing more than a Ninja Tune or NTone track, something from Journeyman's
second album or Amon Tobin or DJ Food... Cinematic, with a lovely walking double
bass line and slow marching snare and kettle drums. Occasionally a fabulous
lower brass section is allowed to break out. Overlaid over the top are the
trademark distorted loops and odd sounds... It goes for over 10 minutes, a
wonderful closer for the album.
I strongly recommend this release for those who haven't braved the Mego label
before, and for those who are into Fennesz or Farmers Manual and the like, it's
essential listening.
Cheers,
Peter.
P.S. Coming up next (within a day or so) in Peter's Summer Review Series, Kid606
and Friends. After that I'll delve back a little in the archives for some more
CD & vinyl reviews...
Plus, in a little over a week the What Is Music? Festival happens in Sydney, at
which Fennesz, Rehberg & Bauer, Skot (digital video group with a member of
Farmers Manual) are all playing. Expect breathless live reviews after these
shows!
--
Peter Hollo raven@fourplay.com.au
http://www.fourplay.com.au/me.html
FourPlay - Eclectic Electric String Quartet
http://www.fourplay.com.au
Raven: experimental electronic
http://www.fourplay.com.au/sound.html
"Of course, dance music can be a music where you lie on your back and
your brain cells dance" -Michael Karoli of Can, quoted in Wire mag.
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