Archive for February, 2011

SIMON SCOTT: Depart, Repeat (Sonic Pieces)

themilkman on Feb 28th 2011 12:31 am

Simon Scott: Depart, Repeat

SIMON SCOTT
Depart, Repeat
SEVENPIECESPIECEONE
Sonic Pieces 2011
02 Tracks. 10mins48secs
Format: 7”

Boomkat: 7″

In recent years, Simon Scott has produced some particularly haunting instrumental pieces, but for the inaugural release on Sonic Piece’s new seven-part series of lusciously packaged seven inch singles due to be released in the next few months, he has opted for a different approach. Recorded in his own studio in Cambridge and at Nils Frahm’s Durton studio in Berlin, and the result of a series of health scares which eventually proved false alarms, the two songs that make this release are delicate folk songs miles apart from the haunting textured soundscapes of his previous works.

Scott plays guitar, xylophone and electronics and vocals here, while Frahm provides additional piano, synths and glockenspiel. Continue Reading »

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GARETH DAVIS & MACHINEFABRIEK: Grower (Sonic Pieces) / MACHINEFABRIEK: Apollo (Machinefabriek)

themilkman on Feb 25th 2011 01:38 am

Greg Davis & Machinefabriek: Grower Machinefabriek: Apollo

GARETH DAVIS & MACHINEFABRIEK
Grower
SONICPIECES10
Sonic Pieces 2011
02 Tracks. 33mins05secs

MACHINEFABRIEK
Apollo
Machinefabriek 2011
01 Track. 21mins34secs

Grower
Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD Boomkat: DLD iTunes: DLD
Apollo
Boomkat: DLD

Grower is the fourth collaborative release between British clarinetist Gareth Davis and Dutch experimental sound artist Rutger Zuydervelt as his Machinefabriek alter ego. Following last year’s Drape, which appeared on Home Normal, and culled from the same sessions, Grower is told in two parts or roughly equal length. Here, Zuydervelt uses guitars as main sound sources for the sombre introspective atmospherics he creates for Davis. There is an element of solemnity in his drone structures which echoes Davis’s contribution beautifully. The rich deep tones of the clarinet appear almost as a smoother, warmer reflection of the much colder and metallic guitar textures. These two pieces open in similar fashion, each slowly growing from a single, deep, note upon which Davis progressively places delicate motifs. Continue Reading »

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ZWISCHENWELT: Paranormale Aktivität (Rephlex)

themilkman on Feb 24th 2011 01:18 am

Zwischenwelt: Paranormale Aktivitat

ZWISCHENWELT
Paranormale Aktivität
CAT
Rephlex 2011
12 Tracks. 38mins50secs

Amazon UK: CD | LP US: CD | LP Boomkat: CD | LP

Adding to the myriad of projects and monikers he has on the go at any one time, Gerald Donald, of Heinrich Mueller as he likes to be known these days, originally of enigmatic Detroit techno outfit Drexciya, returns to Rephlex with Zwischenwelt (which translates as ‘between world’), a band also consisting of Susana Correia, Penelope Lopez and Beta Evers. The fruit of collaborative exchanges over the web, Paranormale Activität is as cold and bleak as a nuclear winter, its minimal electronic formations never equating to much more than just a handful of sounds at any one time, over which hangs Evers austere vocals, delivered with robotic poise and precision.

Fueled with tales of paranormal activity, premonition and clairvoyance, this album distills somber themes on dystopian electronic backdrops, sounding like Kraftwerk’s Radio-Activity experienced through the negative space of a black hole. Continue Reading »

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DRUMS OFF CHAOS & JENS-UWE BEYER: Drums Off Chaos & Jens-Uwe Beyer (Magazine)

themilkman on Feb 23rd 2011 12:45 am

Drums Off Chaos & Jens-Uwe Beyer: Drums Off Chaos & Jens-Uwe Beyer

DRUMS OFF CHAOS & JENS-UWE BEYER
Drums Off Chaos & Jens-Uwe Beyer
MAGAZINE3
Magazine 2011
04 Tracks. 42mins51secs

Amazon UK: CD | LP US: CD | LP Boomkat: CD | LP | DLD

One of the pioneering acts of the German experimental music scene of the seventies, alongside Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dreams, Cluster and Neu!, Can contributed extensively to the Krautrock movement during the ten years they were active, with albums such as Tago Mago (1971), Ege Bamyasi (1972) and Future Days (1973) defining not only their own sound but also that a whole era, and has since influenced generations of musicians across the world. At the heart of Can was drummer Jaki Liebezeit, who had previously officiated with free jazz ensembles. His hypnotic style, which often favoured complex rhythmic patterns, formed an intrinsic part of the band sound, alongside Holger Czukay’s equally mesmerizing bass loops and Michael Karoli’s guitar motifs. Three years after the band separated, in 1979, Liebezeit formed the percussion ensemble Drums Off Chaos with Reiner Linke, Maf Retter and Manos Tsangaris. While the formation has been performing live for nigh on thirty years, they have until now almost entirely refrained from recording together, preferring to concentrate instead on the energy of their live set. Continue Reading »

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ROTTERDAM: Cambodia (Everestrecords)

themilkman on Feb 18th 2011 01:20 am

Rotterdam: Cambodia

ROTTERDAM
Cambodia
ERCD044
Everestrecords 2011
07 Tracks. 38mins31secs

Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD iTunes: DLD

Cambodia is the debut album from Rotterdam, a duo hailing from Vienna, Austria, with a web address registered in Poland and a Swiss record label. Confused? Add to this the fact that they sell themselves as an unplugged techno act and you would be hard pushed to make any sense of it all.

Rotterdam is the project of Susanne Amann (cello, flute, electronics) and Michael Klauser (acoustic guitar, electronics). It has taken ten years for the pair to release their first album, yet, Cambodia is barely forty minutes long. But, far from being a mark of lack of inspiration, it is actually a testament to how they have refined and purified their music, taking away all unnecessary flourishes to retain only the essential.

Rotterdam are not entirely unplugged, but the main sound sources are undeniably acoustic. Continue Reading »

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DADAVISTIC ORCHESTRA: Dokument.01 (Dust Science Recordings)

themilkman on Feb 17th 2011 01:27 am

Dadavistic Orchestra: Dokument.01

DADAVISTIC ORCHESTRA
Dokument.01
DUSTV024
Dust Science Recordings 2011
02 Tracks. 22mins12secs

Format: 12″

Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD Boomkat: 12″ | DLD iTunes: DLD

From the Dust Science labs comes this slice of breathtaking ambient, concocted by members of two of the most intriguing and refined techno acts of the last twenty years. Formed of Ken Downie and brothers Martin and Richard Dust, known collectively as The Black Dog, and former members of seminal Dutch outfit Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia Tim Freeman, Arbe and Robbert Heijnen, Dadavistic Orchestra became an entity over the last year, but The Black Dog and PWOG have long shared a similar vision by blending together elements of techno and ambient.

For their first output, the six-headed Dadaist ensemble has collected two stunning ambient pieces, each clocking at around eleven minutes. Continue Reading »

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DUSTIN O’HALLORAN: Lumiere (130701/Fat-Cat Records)

themilkman on Feb 16th 2011 01:03 am

Dustin O'Halloran: Lumiere

DUSTIN O’HALLORAN
Lumiere
CD1314/LP1314
130701/Fat-Cat Records 2011
09 Tracks. 43mins18secs

Amazon UK: CD | LP | DLD US: CD | DLD Boomkat: CD | LP

A grainy, flickery and blurred vision of what could be a heavy curtain of the type you use to find in cinemas before the days of multiplex complexes, upon which is projected a name and a word, LUMIERE, appearing fuzzy and distorted; the cover of Dustin O’Halloran’s debut for Fat-Cat’s modern classical sister imprint 130701 spells things out loud and clear even before a single note has played: this is cinematic music. But, if both the title, French for light, but, more fittingly, also the name of the two pioneering French filmmaker brothers who premiered their first film in Paris in 1895, and the visual shown on the cover, could lead to think that this album pays tribute to the art of cinematography, it is not quite the case. Continue Reading »

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MAMUTHONES: Mamuthones (Boring Machines)

themilkman on Feb 15th 2011 01:29 am

Mamuthones: Mamuthones

MAMUTHONES
Mamuthones
BM028
Boring Machines 2011
07 Tracks. 45mins45secs

Amazon UK: CD

Originally the solo project of Alessio Gastaldello, the former drummer with psyche-pop oddball formation Jennifer Gentle, Mamuthones has so far manifested itself through a collaborative album with Fabio Orsi on A Silent Place almost three years ago, and a solo album on Boring Machines in 2009. This third Mamuthones album sees Gastaldello joined by long term friend and Jennifer Gentle frontman Marco Fasolo and sixty-two year old drummer Maurizio Boldrin, an Italian drummer who has worked with numerous bands.

In many ways, Mamuthones sounds like a throwback of late eighties dark experimental ambient tinted with equally bleak streaks of darkwave, but the trio use this to set a particular tone and they continuously refine this approach, pulling deeper with each new song. Continue Reading »

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JASON ROBINSON: Cerberus Reigning (Accretions Records)

themilkman on Feb 11th 2011 01:30 am

Jason Robinson: Cerberus Reigning

JASON ROBINSON
Cerberus Reigning
ALP51
Accretions Records 2010
16 Tracks. 61mins13secs

Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD iTunes: DLD

Californian-born jazz saxophonist Jason Robinson may have over the years played with a wide range of formations, both as a member and leader, but he has in recent years started to look beyond the realms of jazz to experiment with electro-acoustic performance, using his instrument both in its primary capacity and as a source of sounds which he processes live on computer.

Released a year and a half after Cerberus Rising (Circumvention Music), Cerberus Reigning sees Robinson step away from the bare improvised minimal forms of its predecessor to broaden his scope quite considerably. Here, although the tenor sax is still very much at the core of the record, Robinson adds a soprano sax and an alto flute, and processes his sources much more heavily throughout. Continue Reading »

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TALUGUNG: Anura (Amorfon)

themilkman on Feb 10th 2011 01:41 am

Talugung: Anura

TALUGUNG
Anura
AMORFON12
Amorfon 2010
11 Tracks. 39mins37secs

Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD iTunes: DLD

Rather than relying entirely on the work of others, Canadian musician Ryan Waldron actually spends part of his time making his own acoustic musical instruments. While he also uses instruments and sounds he has collected over the years, these home made devices are at the basis of his work as Talugung, a project he has cultivated since 2006. He has released a few very limited CDR collections in the past, but Anura, published on Japanese imprint Amorfon, is his debut album.

The sound world Waldron creates here is particularly striking and relies on very few familiar components. At times sounding like wind chimes, broken toys or out of tune thumb pianos, at others evoking the choking noise of disused steam engines, Waldron doesn’t so much compose musical pieces as build self-contained magical miniature universe totally disconnected from reality. Continue Reading »

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WIL BOLTON: Time Lapse (Hibernate Recordings)

themilkman on Feb 8th 2011 01:17 am

Wil Bolton: Time Lapse

WIL BOLTON
Time Lapse
HB22
Hibernate Recordings 2010
09 Tracks. 47mins17secs

Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD

Liverpool-based Wil Bolton may be best known for his electronic outputs as Cheju, a project that has kept him busy for over six years now, with releases on Rednetic, Percussion Lab or U-Cover, or as one half of the team heading Boltfish Records, but he is also an sound artist who has, in recent years, worked on a number of sound or audio-visual installations with exhibitions not only in the UK, but also across Europe, in the US and, recently, in South Korea.

Published on the rather consistently excellent Hibernate, once again as a limited release, Time Lapse is Bolton’s first release under his own name. While it finds some roots in the melodic electronica that has been intrinsic of his work as Cheju, this album is in essence much more atmospheric and introspective. Continue Reading »

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Z’EV + JASON KAHN: Intervals (Monotype Records)

themilkman on Feb 4th 2011 01:36 am

Z'ev + Jason Kahn: Intervals

Z’EV + JASON KAHN
Intervals
MONO032
Monotype Records 2010
02 Tracks. 47mins31secs

Intervals documents the first collaboration between two American experimental artists, recorded during two concerts in Lausanne and Zürich in April 2009. Z’ev, born Stefan Weisser in Los Angeles in the early fifties, is a poet and percussionist who has been active in industrial music for near on forty years, and has released an impressive number of solo and collaborative records. Over the years, Z’ev has worked with the likes of Stephen O’Malley, BJ Nilsen, Max Eastley, Merzbow, Oren Ambarchi and many more. Almost ten years his junior, New York-born Jason Kahn, who now lives in Switzerland, also a drummer and percussionist, has been making music since the early eighties, either as part of various formations or as a solo artist. His work also incorporate sound installations, scores and radio work.

While the pair had been in contact once before, a few years ago, they didn’t actually meet until Z’ev, who was due to visit Geneva, suggested some live performances together. Using Kahn’s recording of the two evenings, Z’ev built the two pieces collected here. Continue Reading »

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