Archive for October, 2011

MARVEL MACHINE: Volt/Revolt / LORD KELVIN: Radio Has No Future (Gigafon)

themilkman on Oct 31st 2011 01:09 am

Marvel Machine: Volt/Revolt Lord Kelvin: Radio Has No Future

MARVEL MACHINE
Volt/Revolt
GIGA001
Gigafon 2011
11 Tracks. 50mins28secs

LORD KELVIN
Radio Has No Future
GIGA002
Gigafon 2011
16 Tracks. 41mins33secs

Volt/Revolt
Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD iTunes: DLD Spotify: STRM

Norwegian guitarist Petter VÃ¥gan may be a member of many formations, but his latest project is of a somewhat different stature. Together with drummer and percussionist Gard Nilssen, he set up Gigafon with a focus on contemporary jazz and improv, and the label’s first two releases give them both the opportunity to showcase some very different strands of their work.

With Marvel Machine, VÃ¥gan heads a trio formed of Rune Nergaard (bass/electronics) and Henning Carlsen (drums/electronics). Hailing from Trondhiem, the three regularly perform in a number of formations each, but with this project, they aim to combine elements of avant rock, pop music, jazz, improvisation and electronica into a coherent whole. Entirely improvised, Volt/Revolt is quite a complex and at times difficult affair, more likened to noise and experimental rock than to jazz. Continue Reading »

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Fire! with Oren Ambarchi, The Vortex, Dalston, London, 27/10/2011

themilkman on Oct 29th 2011 10:32 pm

World On Fire: Fire! with Oren Ambarchi, Vortex, Dalston, London, 27/10/2011

On their second album, Unreleased?, published earlier this year on Rune Grammofon, Swedish supergroup Fire! invited Jim O’Rourke to join them and take on most of the guitar duties previously partly occupied by bass player Johan Berthing. For their London dates, their called upon the helping hands of Australian exprerimental guitarist Oren Ambarchi to assume similar functions.

With two albums under their belt, the trio formed of saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, bass player Johan Berthling (Tape) and drummer Andreas Werliin (Wildbirds & Peacedrums) are already building a sound all of their own, incorporating elements of experimental jazz, rock and kosmische into their sound. Continue Reading »

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TYCHO: Dive (Ghostly International)

themilkman on Oct 26th 2011 01:20 am

Tycho: Dive

Tycho
Dive
GI145
Ghostly International 2011
10 Tracks. 50mins37secs

Amazon UK: CD | LP | DLD US: CD | LP | DLD Boomkat: CD | LP | DLD iTunes: DLD Spotify: STRM

Tycho is the music project of San Francisco-based graphic designer Scott Hansen, who, as ISO50, has developed a highly identifiable graphic style, often inspired by old seventies imagery. Equally, as Tycho, Hansen produces music which, while primarily electronic and contemporary, appears warm and worn.

Following a first self-released EP published nearly ten years ago, Tycho’s debut album, Sunrise Projector came out in 2004 on short-lived imprint Gammaphone. Continue Reading »

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HUMCRUSH with SIDSEL ENDRESEN: Ha! (Rune Grammofon)

themilkman on Oct 25th 2011 01:45 am

Humcrush with Sidsel Endresen: Ha!

HUMCRUSH with SIDSEL ENDRESEN
Ha!
RCD2114
Rune Grammofon 2011
09 Tracks. 41mins37secs

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

A singer with a totally unique and challenging vision who has developed improvisational techniques which invariably takes her way beyond language into territories where her voice becomes an extremely versatile and visceral instrument, Sidsel Endresen has worked extensively with Bugge Wesseltoft, recording three albums with him between 1998 and 2002, and has also collaborated with Nils Petter Molvær, Django Bates, Christian Wallumrød and Helge Sten, Jan Bang or HÃ¥kon Kornstad to name but a few. Here, she joins Humcrush, the duo formed of keyboard player StÃ¥le Storløkken, who, although best known for his contribution to Veslefrekk and Supersilent, is also a driving force behind Elephant9 and Box, and drummer Thomas Strønen, who, beside his work alongside British saxophonist Iain Ballamy in Food, can be found performing as part of Meadow, the Maria Kannergaard Trio, the Mats Eilertsen Trio and recently Monsters And Puppets. Continue Reading »

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KING MIDAS SOUND: Without You (Hyperdub Records)

themilkman on Oct 24th 2011 01:16 am

King Midas Sound: Without You

KING MIDAS SOUND
Without You
HDB009
Hyperdub Records 2011
15 Tracks. 63mins24secs

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

Of Kevin Martin’s many projects, King Midas Sound, his collaboration with vocalists Roger Robinson and Kiki Hitomi, is probably both the most haunting and compelling. Following a couple of EPs released in 2008 and 2009, the trio’s excellent debut album, Waiting For You, was published at the end of that same year. Martin’s shady soundscapes and dense dub grooves provided a deeply unsettling soundtrack for Robinson’s soulful lyrics and highly recognisable falsetto and Hitomi’s bitter-sweet vocals, and it is Martin once again who is in charge of the sonic aspect of Without You, but in a very different capacity as he brings together a vast array of musicians, from Flying Lotus, Deep Chord or Kuedo to Kode9 & The Spaceape, Gang Gang Dance or Rob Lowe and invites them to re-imagine Waiting For You from the ground up.

Most of the artists involved seem to have opted for retaining the acutely disturbing moods of the original album, but it is pretty much where the similarities end. Continue Reading »

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ALVA NOTO: Univrs (Raster-Noton)

themilkman on Oct 21st 2011 01:35 am

Alva Noto: Univrs

ALVA NOTO
Univrs
RN133
Raster-Noton 2011
14 Tracks. 62mins43secs

Amazon UK: CD | LP | DLD US: CD | LP | DLD Boomkat: CD | LP | DLD iTunes: DLD Spotify: STRM

All through his career, Alva Noto’s Carsten Nicolai has focussed his work around a variety of concepts, some more developed or assumed than others, which have allowed him to explore the outer reaches of experimental minimalist electronic music. Univrs is the second instalment in a series of releases based on language forms, and follows Unitxt published in 2008, a record in which Nicolai developed complex rhythmic structures had been partly generated from Excel, Words and Powerpoint documents after the original data held in these files had been converted into sound.

Univrs stems from a similar idea, but the original medium is different, and to a certain extent, the process is reversed, with sound controlling images. This album started as a live audio visual experiment for which custom hardware and software was develop in order for audio signals to trigger unique colour patterns to be projected in real time. Continue Reading »

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SIMON SCOTT: Bunny (Miasmah Recordings)

themilkman on Oct 20th 2011 01:25 am

Simon Scott: Bunny

SIMON SCOTT
Bunny
MIA017
Miasmah Recordings  2011
08 Tracks. 40mins23secs

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

Two years on from his stunning debut album, Navigare, Simon Scott returns to Erik Skodvin’s Miasmah with a much more ambitious follow up, where he revives some elements of the shoegaze he helped map out as a member of Slowdive nearly two decades ago, and weaves them together with atmospheric late night jazz and decaying ambient sequences.

Following his departure from Slowdive, after the band’s seminal second album, Souvlaki, Scott went on to perform with Lowgold for a while and later on formed Seavault, with ISAN’s Antony Ryan, and Televise, under which banner he released a number of albums between 2005 and 2008. Navigare represents however a watershed in Scott’s career as he finally stepped out in the limelights and fully assumed his position as a solo artist. Continue Reading »

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MATS EILERTSEN: SkyDive (Hubro Music)

themilkman on Oct 19th 2011 08:53 pm

Mats Eilertsen: SkyDive

MATS EILERTSEN
SkyDive
HUBROCD2507
Hubro Music 2011
09 Tracks. 53mins26secs

Amazon UK: CD | LP | DLD US: CD | LP | DLD iTunes: DLD Spotify: STRM

Like many of his contemporaries, Norwegian bassist Mats Eilertsen has learnt his craft playing alongside some of the best jazz musicians around, from Tord Gustavsen, Sonny Simmons or Jarle Vespestad to Thomas Strønen, Trygve Seim or HÃ¥kon Kornstad, and has been, and continues to be in most case, a member of various formations. He was notably one of the founding members of Food, the then quartet led by British saxophonist Iain Ballamy, with Thomas Strønen and Arve Henriksen, and still regularly contributes to the Tord Gustavsen Ensemble, The Source and Wolfert Brederode Quartet amongst others. Continue Reading »

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THE BLACK DOG: Liber Dogma (Soma Recordings)

themilkman on Oct 18th 2011 01:27 am

The Black Dog: Liber Dogma

THE BLACK DOG
Liber Dogma
SOMACD92
Soma Recordings 2011
13 Tracks. 58mins05secs

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

In recent years, The Black Dog have tipped the balance which had defined pretty much all their work in the last decade, progressively abandoning the dance floor to focus increasingly on atmospheric and ambient forms. While Further Vexations (2009) still bore a healthy dose of techno influences, the trio of Ken Downie and Martin and Richard Dust had devoted the last three tracks of the album to much more atmospheric, beat-less, pieces. It is however with its follow-up, Music For Real Airports (2010), which aimed at creating a sonic environment from sounds sourced in and around various airports, and their recent series of collaborative efforts with former member of Dutch entity Psychic Warriors Ov Gaia as Dadavistic Orchestra, that they fully immersed themselves into deeply ambient and textural recordings, leaving any trace of danceable groove far behind them.

Compared to the rich soundscapes which formed most of the ambient structures of Further Vexation, Music For Real Airports and Dokument.01 and .02, Liber Dogma represents a radical shift toward dry minimalism, where the beat is pushed to the fore, served by pulsating bass lines and only a sprinkle of additional sounds for each piece. Continue Reading »

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AUTISTICI: Amplified Presence (Home Normal)

themilkman on Oct 17th 2011 01:10 am

Autistici: Amplified Presence

AUTISTICI
Amplified Presence
HOMEN029
Home Normal 2011
10 Tracks. 51mins47secs

Amazon UK: CD US: CD

Following releases on 12K, Keshhhhhh Recordings and his own Audiobulb imprint, David Newman has settled down at Home Normal for his third album proper. Right from Volume Objects, released over three years ago, Newman has worked at creating incredibly detailed miniature soundscapes from field recordings and electronics, and, while the Detached Metal Voice and Slow Temperature collections of early material released last year showcased quite a different side of his work, this is once again the feature of Amplified Presence.

Over the course of this album, Newman expands quite drastically on the concept he developed on both Volume Object and Complex Tone Test by refining it much further. Continue Reading »

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KODOMO: Frozen In Motion (Kodomo Music)

themilkman on Oct 13th 2011 10:07 pm

Kodomo: Frozen In Motion

KODOMO
Frozen In Motion
K002
Kodomo Music 2011
12 Tracks. 43mins58secs

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

The solo project of New York-based artist Chris Child, Kodomo first materialised in the early 2000s with sporadic remixes, but his first proper release came in 2007 with a digital-only single on 5 Points Records, followed a year later with Child’s debut album, Still Life, on the same label. Each one of the nine tracks featured on the album was inspired by a photograph taken in various places around the globe, Child then building on the visual aspect to develop his compositions.

Partly carrying on the theme, the CD version of Kodomo’s second opus, limited to five hundred copies, comes with a series of atmospheric photographs taken by New York-based artist Brian Graf. Continue Reading »

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EUGENE S. ROBINSON & PHILIPPE PETIT: The Crying Of Lot 69 (Monotype Records)

themilkman on Oct 11th 2011 01:45 am

Eugene S. Robinson & Philippe Petit: The Crying Of Lot 69

EUGENE S. ROBINSON & PHILIPPE PETIT
The Crying Of Lot 69
MONO040
Monotype Records 2011
06 Tracks. 43mins52secs

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

The first time that American writer and vocalist Eugene S. Robinson and French sound artist Philippe Petit worked together was for Petit’s [reciprocess +/-] album, released two years ago on Bip Hop. Since, Petit has gone on to record a string of particularly dense and impressive  albums, some documenting momentary collaborations, others developed into extensive partnerships (Pietro Riparbelli, Lydia Lunch, Chapter 24 or Vultures Quartet).

The vocalist with San Francisco-based experimental/noise outfit Oxbow, with whom he has released a number of records since their 1989 debut Fuckfest, Eugene S. Robinson is also a renown writer who has been published in GQ, The Wire, SF Weekly, Plan B, Hustler and many more publications, and is the author of two books, Fight and A Long Slow Screw, published in the last five years. Continue Reading »

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