it's posting overload night but so be it.
~ 833-45, distance cd-r (no type, canada; nts012r)
k.m. had described it in his package as 'sähkö meets drill n bass'. if
the sähköesque soundscapes are indeed prominent enough (& made of
shortwave samples for that outerworldly sound), the drill n bass part
comes off later, in some abstracted way ~ & it is taken seriously, for a
change.
~ funckarma part 2 white 12" (djak-up bitch, netherlands; dub10)
~ funckarma part 3 2*12" (dub, netherlands; dub14)
i don't know what it is about funckarma. what exactly do they smoke to
get this sound is beyond me. i was afraid of _part 3_ sounding
more-of-the-sameish, but it retains enough of the original sound while
exploring even beyond. & the songs are just so _varied_ throughout.
for a change!
~ hrvatski, oiseaux 96-98 cd (reckankreuzungsklankewerkzeuge, usa;
rkk1cd)
~ attention: cats clear 12" (reckankreuzungsklankewerkzeuge, usa;
rkk0lp)
1999, year of the hrvatski? 'attention: cats' was a more than
worthwhile release: fierce, furious & completely bezerk. now, 'oiseaux
96-98', that's something else. mr. whitman is so uncompromising in his
sound, he manages to justify every abuse it commits with a glimpse into
a universe of pure research. more than just thought: profound thought,
too.
~ i'm so bored with the usa red 12" (diskono, scotland; 02)
~ i'm so bored with the usa #2 blue 7" (diskono, scotland)
this is almost pop, in a sense (& i mean in the art sense as opposed to
marketing, though when are those two ever unlinked?) & its appeal is
through the trashy aesthetic it conveys. so you get from a noise
collage to a plink plank melody to extreme drum n bass in enough easy
steps to keep you occupied for a while. the concept is almost
ridiculous, but the music that comes out of it is quite unbelievable.
~ tomas jirku, immaterial handmade cd-r (no type, canada; nt6012r)
mr. jirku doesn't approach minimal techno with boredom in mind. the
tones are arranged masterfully, & even with the simplest drone,
something is always on the verge of happening. digital has never
sounded so... analogue.
~ modulor cd (modulor, canada)
a tiny 3-tracker i got through the mail with no other explanation.
scarce use of melodies, but man, what drum programming. david
archambault has produced three surprising, intricate tracks that go way
beyond a mere decomposition of the breakbeat.
~ shirt trax, good news about space cd (or, uk; lip9)
how can you expect to like an album like that? or more appropriately,
how could you not? there's an impeccable optimism which emanates from
this music, a sentiment very well replicated into the title & the cover
art which looks like a cross between 'cichlisuite' & 'post'. maybe sun
ra would make music like that if all he had to play with was a synth
with 3 keys.
~ solutiore of stareau 3*cd-r (solutiore of stareau, usa)
another surprise in the mail, though this one an inescapable treat. one
disc of minimal bass, another of click architecture, & then a third with
a bit of both, reorganized to form 'songs'... the compositional method
is quite novel; music sometimes sound like it's coming out in clusters,
to be appreciated in presented doses. a freeform assemblage ensures an
astoundingly fluid listen throughout. but the bottom line is that this
music is extremely enjoyable & that nobody should miss it.
~ supersilent 4 cd (rune grammofon, norway; rcd2007)
'impossible' comes close to describing this cd. that it wasn't
attempted before shows how much of a feat it is. that it makes for such
a rewarding listen is a proof to its utter worth. somewhere along that
still blurry line between free jazz & electronic music. & to think
there's some people to bother with fusion! put the words 'exploratory',
'lyrical' & 'relentless' together & you're halfway there. this is more
than good.
~ transient, various mp3s (1999)
it's a shame this guy's site went down, but when it was up, leonard
krylov was offering over 30 tracks of his which were some of the most
fiercely abstract electronic music i've heard all year. the imaginary
musical landscapes he depicts have a strangeness to it which is as
disconcerting as it is appealing. even his few more melodic numbers are
masterpieces. by the time you've gone through a couple tracks, you
really don't feel on earth anymore.
~ v/vm, machine set of 4 gray 7" (v/vm test, uk; vvmt0007)
~ speedranch^jansky noise, welcome to execrate cd (leaf, uk; bay4cd)
the v/vm-by-s^jn axis makes a lot of noise, & that's the way it should
be.
~ while, seek 12" (musik aus strom, germany; mas11.02)
at the risk of sounding redundant, i'll still recommend this gem of a
dub plate, which, i must point out, must be played at 33 to provide the
complete experience.
god, i can't believe i typed all that. go to sleep.
~ david
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