Latest Discography Additions:
| Bon Jovi - I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (Jambco Records, Mercury) |
| Foreigner - Say You Will (Atlantic) |
| Allman Brothers Band, The - Reach For The Sky (Arista) |
| Bill Evans - You Must Believe In Spring (Warner Bros. Records) |
| Travis - 12 Memories (Independiente) |
| Diamond District - In The Ruff (Oddisee Music, Mello Music Group) |
| Leo Addeo And His Orchestra - Musical Orchids From Hawaii (RCA Camden) |
| Elton John / Kiki Dee - Bite Your Lip (Get Up And Dance) / Chicago (The Rocket Record Company) |
| Scott Folsom - Listen To Me (Columbia) |
| Bon Jovi - Someday I'll Be Saturday Night (Mercury) |
| Bon Jovi - These Days - Australasian Tour Package (Mercury) |
| Captain Tinrib* / Dr Willis - Captain Tinrib Live San Francisco (Venom Music) |
| Vienna Noise Choir* - City/Port Liaison (Brick Factory Records) |
| Tyrants In Therapy - Boy (Sheik Records) |
| Alarm, The - Electric Folklore Live (I.R.S. Records) |
| Thee Headcoatees / Thee Headcoats With Thee Headcoatees - Full Blown Square / Now Your Hungers Gonna Be A Coming (Hate Records (Italy)) |
| John Fogerty - Vanz Kant Danz (Warner Bros. Records) |
| Drowning The Light - The Serpents Reign (Zyklon-B Productions) |
| Drowning The Light - The Serpents Reign (Zyklon-B Productions) |
| JoBoxers - Like Gangbusters (RCA) |
| Bon Jovi - Lie To Me (Mercury) |
| Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Los Sueños De Un Hígado (Rodriguez Lopez Productions) |
| Drowning The Light - The Serpents Reign (Zyklon-B Productions) |
| Mireille Mathieu - Meine Welt Ist Die Musik / Der Stern Unser Liebe (AMIGA) |
| Alexandros Perros And The Lone Stars* - Alligator Walk (Cactus Records (5)) |
| Flesh For Lulu - I Go Crazy (Capitol Records, Beggars Banquet) |
| Omega Massif / Mount Logan - Omega Massif / Mount Logan (Vendetta Records (3)) |
| Alarm, The - Eye Of The Hurricane (I.R.S. Records) |
| Drowning The Light - The Serpents Reign (Zyklon-B Productions) |
| Bon Jovi - These Days (Polydor) |
| Drowning The Light - The Serpents Reign (Zyklon-B Productions) |
| Bon Jovi - Crush (Mercury, Mercury) |
| Guiomar Novaes, Mozart* - Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor, K.466 / No.9 In E Flat Major, K.271 (Vox Productions) |
| Drowning The Light - The Serpents Reign (Zyklon-B Productions) |
| Frank Schöbel - How Do, You Do / Komm, Komm, Komm (AMIGA) |
| Rec Center - Lonely People (Rotten Soil Entertainment) |
| Christoph GallioOlaf Rupp - Fasane Hula Punk (Rapid Moment) |
| Nuff People - Easy / Einstein (Catch) |
| Frank Schöbel - Wie Ein Stern / Stop, Mein Freund (AMIGA) |
| AC/DC - If You Want Blood You've Got It (Atlantic) |
| Bon Jovi - It's My Life (Mercury) |
| Drowning The Light - Poisoned Summer (Winterreich Productions) |
| Weltschmertz - Weltschmertz (Ariston Music, Ahorn) |
| Depeche Mode - Master And Servant (An ON-USound Science Fiction Dance Hall Classic) (Intercord Tonträger GmbH, Mute Records Ltd.) |
| Drowning The Light - Obscure Worship (Winterreich Productions) |
| Bon Jovi - Say It Isn't So (Mercury) |
| John Fogerty - The Best Of John Fogerty (Atlantic Records (1)) |
| Jayne Edwards - Baby You Can Work Me (Nightwave Records) |
| Drowning The Light / Forbidden Citadel Of Spirits - Drowning The Light / Forbidden Citadel Of Spirits (Winterreich Productions) |
| Holly Golightly And The Brokeoffs / Stratford Sparrows, The - Untitled (Damaged Goods) |
| Hootenanny Singers - International (Polar Music International) |
| W.A.S.P. - Animal (F**k Like A Beast) (Music For Nations) |
| Various - Heide Sez - 1996 Lookout Records Sampler CD (Lookout! Records) |
| Costa Cordalis - Anita (AMIGA) |
| Tony Carrasco - Presents Underground Andrew (Disco Magic) |
| Henry Mancini His Orchestra & Chorus* - Darling Lili (RCA Victor) |
| Xhin - Fixing The Error // Link (Stroboscopic Artefacts) |
| Dr. Herom - Mental Beats (GabberMex) |
| First Class (7) - Strictly Rollin' (RCA) |
| Johnny Fiasco - Higher (Large Records) |
| Script, The - The Script (Sony BMG Music Entertainment) |
| Nitzer Ebb - As Is (Geffen Records, Geffen Records) |
| Reinhard Mey - Reinhard Mey (AMIGA) |
| Bob James - BJ4 (Tappan Zee Records) |
| Lonely People (2) - Ember (Polybonk) |
| Bob James - One (Tappan Zee Records) |
| Jungle Book's Friends - Bitch (Emotion Recordings) |
| Lonely People (2) - Ember (Polybonk) |
| Liyon - Orange (Polybonk) |
| Liyon - Orange (Polybonk) |
| Theatre Of Tragedy - Theatre Of Tragedy (Teichiku Records) |
| Ernesto Scott & Larry Singh - Talking About Freedom (Dream Land Records) |
| Egg (2) - Egg (Deram) |
| Donna De Lory - On And On (Myco Records) |
| Hasan Salaam - Tales Of The Lost Tribe: Hidden Jewels (5th Column Media, Day By Day Entertainment) |
| Kavafortet - Macau (Polybonk) |
| Life Of Agony - Ugly (Roadrunner Records, Intercord Record Service) |
| Earl Brutus - Larky /Teenage Opera (Fruition Records (2)) |
| Various - Midwest Funk - Funk 45's From Tornado Alley (Jazzman, Now-Again Records) |
| Bon Jovi - Thank You For Loving Me (Mercury) |
| Swans - Children Of God (Product Inc.) |
| Kavafortet - Macau (Polybonk) |
| Bon Jovi - Thank You For Loving Me (Mercury) |
| Faust (13) - The Struggle For Existence (Polybonk) |
| R.E.M. - Electrolite (Warner Bros. Records) |
| Faust (13) - The Struggle For Existence (Polybonk) |
| Bon Jovi - Everyday (Island Def Jam Music Group, Island Def Jam Music Group) |
| Sonny Rollins With Elvin Jones & Wilbur Ware - New York,Greenwich Village,Village Vanguard,November 3,1957 (Giants Of Jazz) |
| Čobi* - Ova Tiha Noć / Nekada Moja Si Bila (RTV Ljubljana) |
| Bon Jovi - Everyday (Island Def Jam Music Group) |
| Faust (13) - The Old World (Polybonk) |
| Bon Jovi - All About Lovin' You (Island Def Jam Music Group) |
| Jon Hassell & Bluescreen - Access Codes For A Culture Of Decorative Eroticism (Warner Bros. Records) |
| Gilbert Coley - Tarry (Norm Records) |
| Bon Jovi - Misunderstood (Island Def Jam Music Group) |
| Various - No Sweat 11 (Sony Music Media) |
| Bon Jovi - Misunderstood (Island Def Jam Music Group) |
| Bon Jovi - One Wild Night (Mercury) |
| Current (4) - Theme From "Rocky" (Gonna Fly Now) / Peter's Theme (Playboy Records) |
| Head Wound City - Head Wound City (Three One G (31G)) |
| more... |
| Add Release |
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Latest Music Reviews:
Burial + Four Tet - Moth / Wolf Cub - Headphone_Commute
In May, the music scene was abuzz with a new collaboration from Burial and Four Tet. It seemed that everyone was talking about two tracks pressed on black vinyl with just an etching of the suspects. What should one expect when you combine the skills of an early child of electronica, Kieran Hebden, and the previously anonymous face of a euphoric dubstep artist, unmasked to be William Bevan? You get just that – infusion of dubstep over silky rolling beats. The A-side’s Moth is the winner for me on this record, with its memorable minor chord hook, vocal echoes, and minimal tech-house beat. That single track alone deserves a full writeup, and I wish the duo would take this formula and create a full length album! |
Bop (5) - Song About My Dog - Headphone_Commute
In July, Bop (pronounced “vor” which means “theif” in Russian) has finally released his debut full length on Med School (sub label of Hospital Records), titled Clear Your Mind. But prior to that, he teased us with a 12″ featuring only two tracks, Song About My Dog, and Random Thoughts. The music that Alexander Dmitriev releases is some of the most amazing, melodic, and intelligent drum’n'bass I have heard to date. In a way, it defies classification and begs for its own genre. You’ve got the thick deep rolling bass, the glitchy clicks, and the melodic synth sweeps, that all get wrapped up into a micro-programmed solid beat. Both tracks re-appear on his full length that you must hear. I have yet to give the album a proper writeup this year. But if you’re a vinyl junkie, this one is for keeps. Also check out Universum EP out on Sonorous and his free Autumn Studio Mix. |
Vladislav Delay - Tummaa - Headphone_Commute
Listening to Tummaa requires preparation. At least, it requires knowledge of the intent behind this album. Let me set the stage. The intent is 'darkness'. And this is its music. Tummaa reflects the mood recreated by Sasu Ripatti, composing under the moniker Vladislav Delay, while living on a remote island in the Baltic Sea during the time of year known as 'kaamos' (polar night). This is precisely the time from December to February, where there is only a few hours of light per day. This overall feeling of darkness made an enormous impression on Ripatti. The track titles alone construct the following message: Kuula (Kiitos) means Bullet (Thank You); Mustelmia means Bruises; Musta Planeetta - Black Planet; Toive - Wish; and finally Tunnelivisio (ok, can you guess that one?) - Tunnel Vision. Ripatti last made a sizable impression on me with his previous album, Whistleblower, released on his own label, Huume, in 2007. Now, back in Finland after seven years of living in Berlin, Ripatti returns with a few elements from his roots as a percussionist. The album may take more than a few listens for the followers of Vladislav Delay's to get into the groove. There is no dub on here. Instead, gentle piano riffs and Rhodes licks are interrupted with clicks, chirps and musique concrète snippets of sounds snatched from a variety of metallic and industrial sources. Even a deep rumbling sigh becomes a bass here. This is Ripatti's return to the source of acoustic and organic. “I wanted to take a new direction with Vladislav Delay, with more acoustic sound sources,” he explains. “I avoided as much electronics as possible, wanting to bring myself closer to my background as a drummer and percussionist. [...] I just love hitting things... making sounds physically without needing a power plug.” The album incorporates some abstract and jazzy improvisation featuring a live trio – Lucio Capece on saxophone and clarinet, Craig Armstrong on the keys, and Ripatti on percussion. After intensive sample manipulation, some modulations remind me of descending spaceships from the 70s. Some sound a lot like circuit bending emissions. Some sounds are like nothing I've ever heard before (from an organic source). All of this is blended with the swirls of abstract effects, sporadic glitches and scattered ambiance, floating in a three dimensional stereo field. Through this dark and somber concoction, full of dread and isolation, we descend into Tummaa. I can imagine the overall recording to be a flashback to a bad psychedelic trip. At times groovy, hypnotic, and rough around the edges. The entire experience will keep your ears prickled up, and your eyes wide open. A serious juxtaposition of sounds even for a seasoned listener. Be sure to check out Ripatti's percussion work as a member of Moritz Von Oswald Trio (with Max Loderbauer and of course, Morritz von Oswald) on their latest release, Vertical Ascent (Honest Jon's Records, 2009), as well as his other works under aliases like Conoco, Luomo, Sistol, and Uusitalo. Oh, and don't forget his collaboration with Antye Greie as AGF/Delay and their 2009 release, Symptoms out on BPitch Control. |
Ben Frost - By The Throat - Headphone_Commute
I first listened to Ben Frost when he released his sophomore full length album, Theory Of Machines on Bedroom Community back in 2007. I described his music as ambient hardcore - psychologically raw, punishing, and overdriven guitars, with reverberated pads and rhythms that mutate into white noise and back, sending chills that originate deep from within your ear canal and slide down to your toenails. That album left a lasting impression on me. Enough to select it as one of the best albums of the year. I didn't think that Theory Of Machines could be outdone... That is... until I put on By The Throat. While listening to Theory Of Machines, I compared Frost's sound to that of an angry furry armadillo, creeping up the inside of my legs with a cold long needle, leaving me drenched in sweat. And with this latest installment, the chills rise up my spine and hold me, in perpetual, electric shock. The cover art alone puts into my mind the images of my final moments, lying naked on the snow, steam rising from the breath of a hungry wolf, his teeth sunk into my throat. And the track titles do not let up. Through The Glass Of The Roof, Through The Roof Of Your Mouth, Through The Mouth Of Your Eye. And the music? Dark grinding metallic strings scratched through distorted pads, deep breaths, growls, and choking melodies. The intensity of the bass and guitar riffs create instant goose bumps, tickling the inside of my ears, and clawing at my chest. White knuckled at the seat, I think I accidentally scratched a healing scab off of my back and now I'm bleeding through this white collar shirt, the tie restricting my cries. Let me out! I've heard some dark and terrifying ambiance in my lifetime, but Frost's onslaught is incredible. I stand applauding. And the production? We've got top notch mastering going on here, with perfectly sampled strings played with dry bows over thumping kick, and rising voices. With contributions from Jeremy Gara of The Arcade Fire, Icelandic quartet Amiina, Swedish grindcore band Crowpath, and of course, the classical touch of Nico Muhly the roster of artists is exciting alone. Oh, and did I mention that it was co-produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson? It was created under the cloak of nocturnal snow in the far northern reaches of financial-fantasy island, a concept borne of Frost and weapons manufacturer, war monger and evil genius Sruli Recht, captured by the all-seeing-eye of Bjarni Gríms and forged in the fires of hell by Rebeca Mendéz… Frost's music is all about contrast - merging beautiful classical minimalism with the dirty grind of metal and drone core. This combination is unsettling to the mind, refusing to split in half and choose between the genres. Born in Australia, Frost is now living in Reykjavik, Iceland - home of the above mentioned artists, and of course Sigurðsson’s acclaimed Bedroom Community label. His debut solo album, titled Steel Wound, was released on Room40 in 2003. There's also a two-track digital EP, released together with Lawrence English, titled Anyone Can Play... Anyone Can Sing (Dreamland, 2004). In 2007, Frost released Theory Of Machines on Bedroom Community, and spent the next two years cooped up to dream up this nightmare. Let me restate my earlier conviction: By The Throat is even better than Theory Of Machines - a feat I thought impossible to bear. This is the music of suspense. The terror of the unknown. The ethereal melody at the end of the tunnel that gets cemented off a few inches away from your desperate crawl. The piano keys expand and shrink with pressure, and the white and black chip off and vanish. The tension ends with the last track, and although you can exhale, you want to feel the angst again. You want to feel. You want to feel... |
Solo Andata - Solo Andata - Headphone_Commute
Close the doors and turn up the sound. This is ambiance that needs to be really heard. Quietly chirping submerged engines are silenced by waves of bowed cello. The sound of rippling water seeps through the drones of strings. This is the organic world of Solo Andata - an Australian duo comprised of Paul Fiocco and Kane Ikin. Having previously released their debut, Fyris Swan (Hefty, 2006), the duo got picked up by 12k, and contributed a recording to Live In Melbourne (12k, 2008), appearing among tracks by Seaworthy, and label owner, Taylor Deupree. Solo Andata is their highly anticipated release for the New York minimal and ambient label. The album is mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi and is accompanied by a mini booklet of 8-piece photography by Deupree himself. This is a warm album, covering you with a blanket of organic materials, natural field recordings, and swells of ambient soundscapes. The restraint and delicate touch within this production stops time, thought, and all of the pain. Solo Andata is the sensual reflexology for the mind. The concept behind the album, reveals "a theme of travel from cold to warm, water to earth, fluidity to stasis, conceptually representing a thread between water and land." The meditative nature of these pieces focuses the inner ear on within, while the outer contemplates without. At the epicenter lies the focus of the album, Look For Me Here. This is the place that you reach after descending through the laid out paths of an early morning forest, quiet nights, and misty caves. This beautiful track is also available from the label as a single, with remixes by the above mentioned Giuseppe Ielasi and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Make sure to grab that one. And by the time Loom comes out with a crying cello by Louise McKay, you're truly in love. Fans of Hildur Guðnadóttir will melt within. The duo uses barely any electronic instruments. Most of the heard sounds are resonating from strings, voices, guitar and a piano. The sourced material has been painstakingly captured, post-processed, and folded back into the pieces, often reflecting the origin within the titles. For example, “Woods Flesh Bone” actually records wood, flesh (from a dead chicken) and bones. “Canal Rocks” contains a recording of wind through the rocks in a small alcove in southwestern Australia called Canal Rocks. “Hydraulic Fluctuations” is a recording of the fluid fluctuations inside a large pump, “Ablation” is ice and wind. Highly recommended for all wonders of 12k, above mentioned artists, plus Richard Skelton, Lawrence English, and Christopher Bissonnette. Bravo, 12k! Well done! This is a great catch, hold onto this one. And I'll be more than eager to follow this group along its intricately formed path, even if their way is only one way, the solo andata. |
Scanner - Rockets, Unto The Edges Of Edges - Headphone_Commute
Robin Rimbaud spent his life listening to others. In his early works, Rimbaud tuned into the airwaves to pluck out pieces of radio, mobile phone conversations and police broadcasts. These were intricately edited and folded back into his compositions, producing an experimental genre of his own, often gathering international admiration from the likes of Aphex Twin and even Stockhausen. This is yet another one of Rimbaud's albums as Scanner, adding to his e-n-d-l-e-s-s discography (seriously huge), spawning collaborations with DJ Spooky, Alva Noto, Kim Cascone, and Vitiello among many others. And Rockets, Unto The Edges Of Edges does not disappoint. The album starts off with vocal samples, strums of guitar and Rimbaud's own gentle singing. That is until the kick drops and bounces away. The distorted bits and pieces of voices continue to dominate the background of Scanner's recordings. We are, after all, eavesdropping. This mixture of acoustic instrumentation and electronic treatments evolves, introducing a full on string ensemble conducted in the rhythm of solid beat and bitcrushed percussion. And by the time I arrive at track three, titled Anna Livia Plurabelle, which is full of classical operetta vocals by the acclaimed soprano Patricia Rozario, crying in angst, I realize the grandiose accomplishment of Scanner's work, painting a cinematic masterpiece from lost and found fragments. The rest is just as beautiful. Speckles of found voices, radar transmissions, and environmental recordings are hardly intrusive in this purely musical piece. "The ghostly presence of William Burroughs and philosopher Bertrand Russell weave their way through some of the pieces, opening into the dark heart of "Yellow Plains Under White Hot Blue Sky", an epic, almost menacing work, with corrosive voices, noises and abstract shapes over a primordial electronic beat, that continues to build and ignite with bowed strings into a picturesque precise explosion." Although I can't say that I've heard every album by Rimbaud, I can definitely agree with the critics that this is his most mature and personal album to date. A soundtrack to a voyeur's life finally turned inwards. This is organic, this is digital, this is modern classical at its best. Completely unexpected and highly recommended for fans of Max Richter and Jóhann Jóhannsson. Pick up your copy from the Essen (Germany) based BineMusic, while I scratch this winner onto my upcoming Best of 09. Need I say more? |
KiloWatts - Undercurrent - Headphone_Commute
In terms of technique, Jamie Watts, the man behind KiloWatts, is an extremely accomplished producer; he knows how to make music that sounds great. His last full-length album, Ground State, released on Evan Bartholomew's Native State Records, stood out for its fresh and chunky sound. It featured a rolling mid-tempo groove, using mostly an acoustic drum sample set, to go with dynamic and full-bodied synths that displayed Watt's taste for thick, growling lead sounds in the lower register. At times, the bass took center stage and propelled the music forward, like on the excellent track Dub Serious. Watts has tried his hand at a variety of genres. His last few releases have ranged from the mid-tempo IDM grooves of Ground State to the tech house of the Snakewinds and Love on Saturn EPs, both released on Noah Pred's minimal techno and house offshoot of Native State, Thoughtless Music. Now, with Undercurrent, he's followed Evan over to his new Somnia label for a stab at downtempo/ambient. “With this album, I wanted to focus on the essence of melody and expose it in a raw form through the electronic medium," says Watts. "The source of the main melodies came from repetitive hooks I found myself sporadically singing or humming during day to day business. Think of the joyful tunes whistled during a walk. These melodic mantras seem to pop up out of nowhere and go on repeating forever... From a larger perspective, I felt that the search for these melodies was similar to unearthing subconscious archetypes that drive reality. the process was like discovering an ever-flowing undercurrent of reality that can be translated directly into melody." The funny thing is that taken as a whole, the album is not defined by the strength of the melodies. There are a couple of standouts - Rode Falls and Ayandan - that are blessed with the kind of riffs that seem to have been around forever. They're like old friends you haven't seen for a while. The Undercurrent Is Love is also hummable if not as memorable. But more often than not the album is defined by the mood it evokes. Most of the tracks are based on short repeated motifs that ebb and flow with the undulating tide or the movement of the current. Opener Cascade Serenade flows by effortlessly, but most of the album is tinged with a darker hue. As if gray clouds are gathering and the waves are beginning to swell. There's an ominous undercurrent to Couette and Seed is vaguely sinister, like a snake slithering along just underneath the water's surface. On Nightshade, the crickets and other creatures of the night come out to play. The album culminates in the 12-minute The Moment Just Before Dawn, with a single phrase repeated over and over again like a persistent mantra, slowly building toward a majestic crescendo. The sonic landscape of Undercurrent is compact, with clearly defined boundaries. The sounds mostly seem to originate from the same source, as if Watts decided to stick with one trusted synth and one electric piano throughout the making of the album. Most significantly, he has largely - though thankfully not completely - done away with the beats that have been such a defining feature of his music until now. It has to be said that while there are moments of beauty on Undercurrent and the album as a whole grows on you, the tracks that make the biggest impression are the ones that have a pulse. Watts is most in his element when he's working with a beat, or at least a strong rhythmic element, such as on Rode Falls, Seed and Nightshade. The percussion, although further in the background than is usual for him, gives the songs a much more vivid presence and sense of development. Nevertheless, it's clear that Undercurrent has served to expand KiloWatts' horizons, even if the addition of one more genre to his discography risks confusing some of his audience. Be sure to check out Watt's digital releases on Thoughtless Music, Harmonious Discord, as well as his own outlet, KiloWatts Music (see Six Silicates EP). Also, looks like Jamie finally re-released his collaboration with Peter Van Ewijk as KiloWatts & Vanek titled Focus and Flow (Dependent, 2009). |
Grischa Lichtenberger - ~Treibgut - Headphone_Commute
~Treibgut fits snuggly into the sonic world of Raster-Noton. For this EP, his first release for the label, Grischa Lichtenberger's primary sources are found sounds from the world around him, including the sound of a sliding tabletop, the noise of a radiator and the humming of a broken device. Apparently, the music reflects Lichtenberger's reflections on the landscape of the river Rhein. Which, frankly, comes as something of a surprise since nature is just about the last thing that the music evokes. The atmosphere is extremely industrial and manufactured. Like the music of label primus motor Alva Noto, Lichtenberger's work is all percussive. He takes his sound sources and manipulates and processes them, cuts them up and rearranges them into rhythmic structures. But while Noto's music is often quite refined and minimal, ~Treibgut is like a jackhammer and power drill got together and decided to form a band. Opening track, 0406_01_RS!, is like the cacophony of a factory – metal on metal, pistons pumping rhythmically, distorted bursts of steam, flying sparks from a welder’s blowtorch. With one exception, the tracks all bear similar names, rows of numbers and letters, like numbered incidents in a long line of laboratory experiments. Or products on an assembly line. There are no melodies in the conventional sense of the word or other discernible instruments at play. The drill effect that users of the Ableton Live's Beat Repeat are so familiar with is the defining sound throughout. It’s a mechanical world. The one exception is calipso, which appears to refer to the CALIPSO environmental satellite launched jointly in 2006 by NASA and CNES, the U.S. and French space programs, and which measures aerosols and clouds 24 hours a day. Appropriately, it features a slightly lighter touch and an unusual sounding guitar providing the sole instance of melodic content on the EP. But the power tools are back in full force on the closing track, 0106_13_lv_3 sand ausheben, which translates as "excavate sand" - an indication that there is more heavy lifting to come. The title ~Treibgut refers to the German proverbial Treibholz, describing a piece of wood floating in a river or the sea. "In this sense it expresses a relation to things: between the observer and the floating thing, which has obliterated its functionality, there is no immediate connection – there is a lack of unifying meaning. Of it, the observer always only sees aspects, while the thing, without him on its mind, drifts by." It'll probably take you a while to grasp the meaning of the concept. Meanwhile, it is best to let the power tools do their work... Recommended for all Raster-Noton fan, as well as Pan Sonic, SND, Hecker, and Atom™ |
Jarboe - Pandora's Box - Joburgpete
DARK CONSORT by Cedric Victor & Jarboe
Dark Consort, available only from Jarboe’s website, was released as an experimental companion to Mahakali. The work is a collaboration with Cedric Victor who was responsible for mixing and producing this highly atmospheric album of mostly slow to mid-tempo tracks. The short intro titled See Emptiness Directly blends the sounds of cymbals, drones and bleeps all emanating from a guitar, opening the gates to Kali Lamentation IV, a solemn, brooding piece with a spoken narration of mortifying the flesh with blades, daggers, hooks, arrows, nails, needles, splinters, talons and teeth over a dominating sound of resonating tuning forks or musical bowls.
Divine Protection opens with the vocals of Diana Obscura chanting a Sanskrit Mantra that gives way to a sonic collage of growls, sighs, twittering birds and perhaps howling winds. (Some of these sounds are hard to identify, let alone describe). The twittering, now sounding more mechanical, remain as one of the elements on the masterpiece Summoning Tigers in Dark Eden, where sinister growls and rumbles form the backdrop for Jarboe’s natural and processed vocals that intone a medieval hymn like those of Hildegard of Bingen. At times the voice sounds like a massed choir creating an effect vaguely recalling Dead Can Dance, then the soprano soars out all by itself.
A slow, insistent drumbeat and spoken vocals characterize Kali Lamentation V which is followed by Black Dream I, a brief droning excursion. The second highlight is Mouth of Flames, a melodious instrumental incorporating high-pitched chimes that continue into The Long March of Ghosts, where a trumpet-like sound sets the tone. Distant vocals emerge about halfway through with an effect similar to those on Summoning Tigers but more subdued, like far-away sirens. Black Dream II is a strange matrix of atonal instruments, wordless vocals employed like instruments and snatches of muffled voices. The tuning forks or musical bowls (they may be produced by a guitar for all I know) return on the concluding track Black Dream II where natural and whispered spoken voices repeat a phrase with subtle tonal variations.
The music on Dark Consort defies categorization and challenges description. Multi-textured, many-layered and cinematic, these songs, if one may call them so, are amongst Jarboe’s most unusual creations and with the exception of the Kali Lamentation series do not reflect the sound of Mahakali. To me the most outstanding tracks on this enchanting album include Divine Protection, Summoning Tigers In Dark Eden, The Long March of Ghosts and the instrumental Mouth of Flames which differs substantially from the two versions on Mahakali.
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Daniel Herman - danielherman
site on myspace http://www.myspace.com/ekmproductions |
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