A few reviews/release comments for public consumption. Trying to do
my part tonight to revive the idm list...
. Andrew Duke: demo cdr (Cognition)
Our own Mr Duke was nice enough to send me a cdr of some of his own
music that he has been producing over the years. This cdr contains
five impressive tracks that range from dark ambient to processed
field recordings to glitchy experimental electronica with my favorite
track being one in which he samples and manipulates the sound of
lapping waves. This cdr culminates with a 28+ minute unsettling dark
ambient voyage that would fit perfectly with the best Lustmord can
do. The only real suprise to me was that this is the style that
Andrew would produce in seeing as his Cognition Audio show is so
heavily slanted towards techno and house. Regardless, this cdr shows
that Andrew has as much talent as a music producer as he does for
radio/webcasting. Good job andrew! Will any of these tracks see an
official release anytime soon?
. Jake Mandell: love songs for machines cd (Carpark)
I already listened to the new mandell on carpark and thought it was
mediocre at best (bordering on just plain bad). mandell tries to mix
the more percussive elements (seen last on his force album) with the
more idm-friendly melodies/structures (seen on his carpark and worm
interface releases) but ends up creating an unwieldy sometimes even
painful bastard child of an album. Carpark usually means quality but
proceed with caution on this one.
. Baretta: velvet brick cd (Emanate)
I've not heard previous Baretta releases so I didn't know what to
expect from this new Emanate label signing but I was expecting
something along the lines of previous Emanate label melodic
electronica releases. But upon listing to it I was confronted with an
entirely different sound. This album is wrought with a jazzy
funk-heavy downtempo sound reminiscent of the clear-label as one,
clatterbox, and/or dr. rockit releases. I don't know if you'd call it
jazzy big beat, funky trip hop, or abstract downtempo electro.
Whatever it is, it's definitely a throwback/homage to the glory days
of the Clear label and fans of that sound will definitely want to
check this album out.
. Gimmik: slow motion process cd (Worm Interface)
Having had the two Gimmik 12"s for some time now, I was expecting
this new album to be more in the manic-idm/drill & bass style.
Instead, as the name suggests, Gimmik has slowed things down a bit to
deliver 12 tracks of breathtakingly lush melodic electronica
reminding me of Freeform's classic album Elastic Speakers which also
came out Worm Interface but 4 years prior. Gimmik's slow motion
process cd ranks up there as one of the best releases of it's kind in
2k.
. Mokira: cliphop cd (Raster-Static)
Imagine pole without the deep dub melodies and you have a good idea
of what's going on over the 10 tracks on this new album by Andreas
Tilliander (aka Mokira & Komp). The sound represented here is a very
pristine (pop/click/glitch) one with ghostly mirages of dub
melodies/basslines all mixed with different percussive structures
ranging from downtempo experimental to pseudo hip-hop to even some
uptempo snd/farben-styled techno tracks. Stylistically 'cliphop' fits
right in line with the Raster-Noton sound and fans of previous Raster
or even 12k releases should enjoy this one as well. Another good
raster-noton release.
. Tennis: Europe on horseback cd (Unreleased)
Tennis is the recording guise of Ben Edwards (aka Benge) and Douglas
Benford (aka SI-{CUT}.DB) and Europe on Horseback will be their
second album (whenever it gets released). The first Tennis cd, called
Wooden Sweets, received a limited release on the
ElectroChemicalResearch label out of cologne and featured a playful
eletronica sound with subtle dub influences. But with Europe on
Horseback, Tennis have steered their sound more towards the realms of
deep dark german-sounding glitch-dub ala Pole, Various Artists,
Rhythm & Sound, Gramm and maybe some of the downtempo Kit Clayton
moments. A testament to the quality of the current sound of Tennis is
the fact that a track of theirs has been chosen to appear on Volume 2
of the ~Scape Staedtizm compilation series. Excellent stuff right up
there with the rest of the german glitch-dub masterts and hopefully
being released soon for all to enjoy!
. Kent Sparling: under new manna cd (Purling/Jicama Salad Co.)
. Kent Sparling: route canal diary cd (Purling/Jicama Salad Co.)
If I had judged these two cds by their names and outward appearances
then they would have immediately gone right into the scrap pile. Both
cds feature somewhat clich tribal/aboriginal artwork with equally as
trite album and song titles. But I was bound and determined to get
through my 'low-priority' stack of music the other day so I threw
these on and was pleasantly surprised by what I heard. Instead of
goa-cheese or tribal-trash (which I was expecting to hear), I was
treated to 2+ hours of deep experimental ambient music very much in
the Brian Eno or Pulse Programming style. Some tracks mixed in some
environmental sounds/field recordings while others were more
drone-oriented but almost all were quite captivating to the point
where I listened to both cds in their entirety (which is a rarity
when doing quick reviews). Keep in mind, neither cd is breaking any
ground so if you're looking for something fresh and innovative then
these probably arent for you. But if you want some deep atmospheric
ambient/drone/musique-konkret with a slight tribal edge, then you
might want to check these out. Or better yet, for a freebie trial of
Mr. Sparling's sound visit his mp3.com page listed below.
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/163/kent_sparling.html
. Dead Hollywood Stars: gone west cd (Mad Monkey mmr-05)
The Mad Monkey collective continues the expansion of it's catalog
with the first release of Dead Hollywood Stars - a collective
featuring members from Xingu Hill, Silk Saw, Ammo, Urawa, and
Ulthraphonist amongst others. As the name might suggest, this album
has a very distinct western-country-south western feel but all mixed
with more contemporary electronic styles including dark ambient,
glitch, trip-hop, d&b and downtempo electronica. Some of the
instrumentation & vocal samples used on this album might not
regularly been heard in electronic music but on Gone West the use of
a jew's harp, fiddle, and slide guitar all seem to work well. The
closest comparison to the sounds represented on Gone West would
probably be The West album by Matmos maybe mixed with some Small Good
Thing and a touch of Lustmord. This new Dead Hollywood Stars release
is an entertaining listen and probably the strongest effort from Mad
Monkey to date.
. With Naive Assurance - the Intr_version comp cd (Intr_Version)
Actually i was suprised how experimental many of these tracks were. I
was expecting it to be in the style of Mitchell Akiyama's
(Intr_version label
head) cdr album from last year which was more in the
autechre-funkstorung neighborhood. But on this comp Intr_version
showcases a much more
diverse sound with nice idm, ambient, and experimental contributions.
Standouts here are the tracks by tomas jirku, deadbeat, pheek, and
richard devine but tracks by Akiyama, Tim Koch, Stuekh, Hermann &
Kleine, and David Kristian were also very good. I think Intr_verion
will be a label to watch in 01.
. Rapid Transit comp cd (Chocolate Industries)
A solid little compilation showcasing the idm-flavored hiphop and
hiphop-flavored idm that you've come to love and expect from
Chocolate Industries. A few tracks on here are a bit too much in the
vocal-hiphop style but for the most part this compilation contains
very enjoyable and accessible tracks. One down side is that at least
half of the tracks on this comp have been previously released but
many of them appear for the first time on cd here. Standouts tracks
are from the familiar producers/remixers - push-button objects, east
flatbush project, funkstorung, while, prefuse-73, guineo, sluta leta,
etc. Entertaining stuff. FYI - i believe the cd has 3 or 4 more
tracks than the vinyl version so you get a tad more with the cd.
. Keith Rowe + Kim Cascone: with hidden noise cd (Anechoic Media)
With Hidden Noise is the second release on Kim Cascone's own Anechoic
Media label. The sound of this release harkens back to the early days
of silent records with deep dark textures that remind one of deeper
than space, flask, etc. This cd is a 1-track release clocking in at
just under 20 minutes and, unlike the more recent Cascone releases,
it's a dark drone-based piece with subtle muted electronic accents
dispersed throughout the piece. Since Kim Cascone hasnt incorporated
drones in his more recent works, i'm assuming that they are Keith
Rowe's contributing to the project and Kim is responsible for the
minimalistic compliments and manipulations. Overall a solid and dark
piece of music that can both move and disturb the listener.
. Steven P McGreevy: auroral chorus 2 cd (Auroral Chorus)
This is Steven McGreevy's second release - the first being a
double-cd set released by Irdial recordings back in 1997-98 - which
contains his recordings of the naturally occuring VLF and ELF radio
sounds with a focus on the sounds of the Aurora Borealis phenomena.
If you have heard his first release, then this one isnt much
different and that sound is basically all-natural/organic pops,
clicks, glitches, gurgles, and whirs. These electromagnetic
field-recordings of sorts are really amazing in the fact that
McGreevy isnt doing anything but running his recording equipment -
all the sounds are being produced by natural phenomena. Keep in mind
that there is no discernable structure to these tracks and sound in
no way be considered songs. But this release is enjoyable nonetheless
and will be heard mixed into inaudible broadcasts for months to come!
For those not interested in hearing some of these naturally occurring
VLF and ELF recordings for free online, check out McGreevy's website
at:
http://www.auroralchorus.com/
More coming soon...
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