KENNETH KIRSCHNER – COMPRESSIONS & RAREFACTIONS (CD by 12K) *
TREPANERINGSRITUALEN – VEIL THE WORLD (CD by Cold Spring)
MZ 412 – HEKATOMB (CD by Cold Spring)
GORE TECH – FUTURPHOBIA (CD by Ad Noiseam)
GABRIEL LEDOUX – LE VIDE PARFAIT (CD by Acte)
VOICEHANDLER – SONG CYCLE (CD by Humbler) *
FRANCISCO MEIRINO & LEIF ELGGREN – TROP TOT (CD by Firework Edition) *
JAY-DEA LOPEZ – THE AUSTRALIAN GOTHIC (CD by Unfathomless) *
ANDRE SALMON/NURSE WITH WOUND – LEON LEHAUTER, ANARCHISTE PUR/CLOSE TO YOU (3″CD and booklet by Lenka Lente) *
THE MEMORY BAND – CHILDREN OF THE STONES/NIGHTINGALE WITH BOMBOBERS (7″ lathe cut by Static Caravan)
XGUIX – A RAGUDO – CUANDO EL SOL RESBALA POR LAS MONTANAS, LAS MARIPOSAS ACUDEN A ESCUCHAR EL SONIDO DEL SILENCIO (CDR by Audiotalaia) *
TIZIANO MILANI – MATERIA (STORIE DA CIO CHE RIMANE) (CDR by Setola Di Maiale) *
AUTOMATING – BATESIAN MIMICRY (3″CDR, private) *
SPAGHETTI BLACC – BURNING VISION ZERO (cassette by Ephem Aural)
JAKE ROWLAND – SKY HOUSE (cassette by Ephem Aural)
KROMESHNA & EGO GOD/BANANA PILL – SPLIT (cassette by Spina! Rec)
ILIA BELORUKOV & SERGEY KOSTYRKO – ETUDES (cassette by Spina! Rec)
ILIA BELORUKOV & LAURI HYVARINEN/ALEXEY SYSOEV & DENIS SOROKIN (cassette by Spina! Rec)
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Vital Weekly #989 by Vitalweekly on Mixcloud
tracklist for Vital Weekly 988:
0000 Tune
0014 Nurse With Wound – Close To You
0327 Kenneth Kirschner – April 16, 2013
0632 Tiziano Milani – A Propsito Dell’ggettvita Dello Spazio
0941 Jay-Dea Lopez – The Australian Gothic
1250 Xguix
1558 Automating – Bussed In
1904 Leif Elggren & Francisco Meirino – Trop Tot/Too Late
2217 Voicehandler – I Am A Recording Instrument
2524 Tune[/rssless]
KENNETH KIRSCHNER – COMPRESSIONS & RAREFACTIONS (CD by 12K)
Despite the apparent success of vinyl and, lesser, cassette, more downloads are sold than physical sound carriers. But some people, us included, like physical sound carriers, and I for one, love the CD. A while ago I read that the CD might come-back as the next hip-thing, must be a hipster thing. It’s not easy to sell a CD: it doesn’t have the appeal of a record (which you can carry under your arm while sipping your macchiato-with-more-odd-names), and is considered to be a cheap thing. A while ago I reviewed a very limited CDR by Vertonen, in a box with booklets, cards, lathe cut record and here Kenneth Kirschner has a CD of some fifty-five minutes of music, which is by far the smallest portion. Included is a download card with some five hours of more music by him. The CD comes with a booklet with texts/essays by Marc Weidenbaum, Mike Lazarev, Simon Cummings and Kysia Johnson. When I get up in the morning, and did all the necessary things (make coffee, get newspaper) I usually want to play something totally unrelated to Vital Weekly. This morning it was the John Cage/Jan Steele album on Obscure Records (in a digital form, I rather read my newspaper uninterrupted), which was followed by ‘September 13 2012’ by Kenneth Kirschner. That was an excellent choice – although not surprising. I like to get up and play something quiet, but in years to come I may easily revert to this Kirschner album for early morning music. Especially ‘September 13, 2012’ is one to start the day with. It sounds like a small chamber orchestra with some finely woven, flowing sounds. Yet it’s not a chamber orchestra as everything Kirschner does is to be found some way or another in the computer. At the source there might be a viola, such as in ‘October 13 2012’, but Kirschner stretches these out and creates vast patterns of sound. Sometimes it is hard to recognize these sources, such as the kitchen drinking glasses in ‘July 17, 2010’, a two-hour piece of very minimal changing patterns of granular synthesis (although, come to think of it, I am not sure if Kirschner uses computer technology at all, contrary to what I just said). But over the course of the piece things change, quite a lot actually; it’s just that his cross-fades may take a while before you are aware that a new sound is present. And even at that not all of this very carefully played: the shortest piece is ‘April 16, 2013’ uses bells, glockenspiels and xylophones, and has a ringing, Steve Reich-like feel to it. It’s up-tempo and quite up-front, unlike some of the other pieces here. ‘January 10 2012’ also has percussion but, clocking at one hour and thirty-six minutes, is sparser than the piece on the CD. Like some of the Kirschner pieces I heard so far (from this as well as previous releases), there is a certain freedom in his music. Sometimes one has the idea that these sounds are placed at random in the mix, and this piece is a fine example of that. The percussion with which this starts seems to have vanished by the end and we only seem to have stretched out sounds. ‘October 13 2012’ is the longest piece, although just two minutes shorter than ‘July 17, 2010’, but seems also the quietest piece of the lot. The viola is layered together, pitched up and down a bit; slightly time stretched and comes to the listener in various blocks, with silence in between. As the piece evolves the chamber orchestra quality of the piece deepens and it has that great Arvo Part like quality. Almost like a piece of religious music. In some way this release reminded of the work of Frank Rothkamm, especially that recent 24 hour set of his, but Kirschner’s music seems less static and bit more vibrant; within these lengthy pieces there seems to be happening more than in an hour piece by Rothkamm (which is not to say anything negative or positive about either of them, it’s just something I noted). Kirschner created five excellent pieces of music that one can find in that area between electronic music and modern classical music. (FdW)
Address: http://www.12k.com
TREPANERINGSRITUALEN – VEIL THE WORLD (CD by Cold Spring)
MZ 412 – HEKATOMB (CD by Cold Spring)
Two new releases from important British experimental label Cold Spring demonstrates that there are still interesting releases of industrial noise coming out these days. Present albums of MZ 412 and Trepaneringsritualen are two quite different sound experiences both circulating in the harsh side of industrial music though. Originally released as a tape cassette in 2011 present album titled “Veil the World” from Swedish composer Thomas Martin Ekelund alias Trepaneringsritualen is a re-issue of the interesting classic album from the industrial scene. “Veil the world” is a dark beast of crushing drones that first of all draws attention to power electronics scene. Apocalyptic drones swirls alongside screaming vocals of aural expression. The symphonies of sickness have a futuristic edge in its compositional approach. Next album reviewed here has quite another approach. Swedish project MZ 412 has been shocking the musical world with its doomsday sounds since the first release back in the late eighties. MZ 412 (originally known as Maschinenzimmer 412) is one of the true pioneers of the “black industrial”-style: Dark and haunting music mixing industrial noise, ritual ambient and black metal atmospheres. The same description can be put into this latest album from MZ 412 titled “Hekatomb”. After an opening of trippy industrial the album soon after moves into more ritual spheres with an impression of medieval atmospheres saturating the album. Powerful, pounding Industrial, desolate drones, dense electronics, grim nefarious rituals dominates the album that is the manifestation of MZ. 412’s performance at Cold Spring’s 21st Anniversary back in March 2011. Excellent album indeed! (NM)
Address: http://www.coldspring.co.uk
GORE TECH – FUTURPHOBIA (CD by Ad Noiseam)
Manchunian artist Gore Flett creates dystopian and sinister beat-driven compositions under his alias Gore Tech. Since 2011, Gore Tech has launched state-of-the-art nightmarish soundscapes, first of all with starting point in the styles of Drum & Bass, Dubstep and Dub. The style on present album “Futurphobia” is even darker experience in comparison to the previous album titled “Machine Throne”-album released in 2013. The album switches from hyper-energetic up-tempo breakbeats swirling inside drones of buzzing brutality to more doom-like textures. Both extremes works well and creates a great sound experience that pulls the listener into sci-fi landscapes of a sinister future. Distant voices and rapping is the only signs of human interference in this universe of hellish machinery. Excellent album! (NM)
Address: http://www.adnoiseam.net
GABRIEL LEDOUX – LE VIDE PARFAIT (CD by Acte)
This interesting electro-acoustical work comes from this Canadian artist Gabriel Ledoux
A carefully constructed and convincing work participation by Marie Josée Simard (percussion), Magali Simard-Galdès (soprano voice), Hubert Tanguay-Labrosse (clarinet), Laurence Latreille-Gagnér (french horn), Arthur Tanguay-Labrosse (tenor voice), Dillon Hatcher (viola), Simon Bellemare (drums), Gabriel Ledoux (electronics and claves), Simon Chioini (keyboards), Marc-Olivier Lamontagne (electric guitar). Everything composed and produced by Ledoux. Ledoux integrates lots of spoken word in this work that finally came into being after hours of work in the studio. Organically Ledoux combines spoken word, composed and improvised music in a consistent sound work. Not mind blowing, but of a promising professional level. Ledoux has an interest in fanatic human behaviour resulting in dramatic events. Spoken word is taken from the Jonestown Massacre and the collective suicide in Waco. I’m not sure what made Ledoux put his nose in this sinister section of human possibilities, and what statement Ledoux wants to make here. I think with the title ‘Le vide parfait’ (‘The Perfect Emptiness’) in my mind, Ledoux is philosophizing on the human condition. The musical construction in no way implies a dubious relation with these events, in my perception. As said Ledoux demonstrates a considerable professional level, however musically I was not completely satisfied as some sections are a bit boring. But in total this work is a promising and solid first release from this Canadian composer, a first release on the Acte label that was created by Ledoux and Simon Chioni. (DM)
Address: http://www.acte.mu/en/
VOICEHANDLER – SONG CYCLE (CD by Humbler)
This is not a cover version of the album by Van Dyke Parks, but a new (another new!) group from Jacob Felix Heule, who is also in Sult, Beauty School, Street Priest, Basshaters and Ettrick, all of which is in the realms of improvised music. Voicehandler is a duo with Heule on percussion and electronics and Danishta Rivero on voice and hydrophonium. The songs here are not the traditional approaches to ‘songs’ but each it ‘explores ideas of our origins and what it means to be human, as presented in mythology and literature’, so to that end they use a Yekuana (native Venezuelan) creation story, and works by Borges, Burroughs and Hamsun. These texts are used to guide them through these improvisation, ranging from more traditional singing to screaming and other techniques, which they refer more to the world modern classical music; Voicehandler name Cathy Berberian in that respect. This is all improvised music, of the heaviest variety. Chaotic, mostly, but not due to the hectic and nervous playing, but because it bounces all over the place, going as easily from one quiet movement, in one stroke to something very loud. Rivero sings, screams, whispers, sigh and throughout it’s not easy to detect any lyrics in this, so it’s good that the cover has some indication as to what these are about. Heule plays the percussion with considerable power; electronics don’t always come across as very much, but in ‘I Am A Recording Instrument’ (text by Burroughs; in case you wondered about that), these electronics are on an equal level with the singing and the percussion, which makes this, for me, the strongest piece on the release. Sometimes, I must admit, it also seemed to lean towards more hippy dippy freeform theatre, with random banging and screaming, which is not entirely the sort of thing I like, but throughout I gave this benefit of doubt. (FdW)
Address: <jacob@heule.us>
FRANCISCO MEIRINO & LEIF ELGGREN – TROP TOT (CD by Firework Edition)
Upon glancing at the cover, I was seeing that Leif Elggren has ‘text’ in each of the three pieces, and that these texts are in French; then upon playing ‘Little Idiot’, the opening piece, we hear Elggren’s voice and I though this was going to be one of those ‘lots of spoken word, little music’ releases, which is not something I necessarily like. But after a few minutes, something happens, and the tone of the piece changes and the text seems to be in a totally different place; mostly likely it seems to be gone. What happens then, not only in this piece, but also in the third and longest piece, ‘Trop Tot/Too Early’, is an excellent mix of field recordings, electronics, computer (courtesy of Meirino) and tin-can-crowns, razors, electronics (Elggren). It has a certain freedom, almost like this has been captured in (live-) action, but seeing no such thing mentioned on the cover, I doubt that. Everything moves along side each other and in ever changing constellations seem to drop by again and again. That last text has a bit of text towards the end, like bookends these texts I was thinking, and is spoken by Laura Daengeli, who also speaks in the second, short ‘Petit Idiot’, which seems to be all text against some line hum. I am big fan of both artists; Elggren for his more conceptual edges and Meirino for his noisy sound constructions, built from the waste of an audio-dump, both hardware as well as sound. This work is perhaps less collage like than some of his solo work, but it grows in intensity every time you play this. I thought this was a great and those spoken word bits work very much in favour of the release, as it becomes another of those Elggren filled release of riddles. Powerful and haunting. (FdW)
Address: http://www.fireworkeditionrecords.com
JAY-DEA LOPEZ – THE AUSTRALIAN GOTHIC (CD by Unfathomless)
Now here we have a name from the crowded world of field recorders that doesn’t release a lot of things, since 2012 only a handful. Jay-Dea (although I also see it spelled as Jaydea, but not on this cover) has a release on Kaon before (see Vital Weekly 927) which was my only introduction to his work so far. He’s from Australia and its there, in the valley Main Arm, New South Wales, were he did his recordings for this CD, spanning January to November 2014. In the press-text Lopez tells us about the colonization of Australia by convicts and prison guards and that this land was so different from the English motherland. The dungeon of the world, with strange animals and heath and floods – that is the Australian gothic. A landscape that makes sound and sometimes these sounds are terrifying. It is all close to home for Lopez as he lives in this area. In his close to thirty-eight-minute piece he goes from section to section, and it’s hard to say what he exactly taped and also to what extent he processed his sounds. Sometimes, it seems, quite a lot, and maybe not at all. Lots of these sounds sound processed: cut-up into small blocks that make repeating sounds – like a rhythm indeed. I might be very well wrong and the whole thing is cut from nature events; I am no biologist or ornithologist to spot the right animal in these sounds. But it’s something I noted from the previous Lopez release too: he sure likes his field recordings to be repetitive; high pitched like Ikeda or Noto. Whatever else there is, soundwise, serves as ‘drones’. Yet, do not think all too easily that this is some Noto-goes-field recording; the rhythmic blocks are nothing to dance too. Quite abstract it all remains, even in it’s more rhythm form. Partly due to this being one piece I guess in which everything flows into each other, rather than this being short pieces with heads and tails. I think this is a great work, because it’s quite different from the usual plate of (reworked or otherwise) field recordings. If one day Lopez would try his hands at some more dance floor oriented tracks based on such recordings I would not be surprised. I would be interested in hearing what that would bring. It seems he has the imagination to pull it off. (FdW)
Address: http://www.unfathomless.net
ANDRE SALMON/NURSE WITH WOUND – LEON LEHAUTER, ANARCHISTE PUR/CLOSE TO YOU (3″CD and booklet by Lenka Lente)
French publishing house Lenka Lente publishes small books, 10x 15,5 centimetre and usually they have 30-50 pages, with a story of some kind. The downside is that these stories are in French, and as you know (by now), this is not a language I have mastered very well. Surrealist author Andre Salmon (1881-1969) wrote this story about Leo Lehauter, the happy anarchist as he was called, who, in 1893, killed the Serbian minister for wearing a decoration in his jacquet; it was a protest against the current society and the starvation of workers. I translated a bit here and there. For non-French readers the main attraction here might be the piece by Nurse With Wound, ‘Close To You’. Diehard fans may know this song already, as it was also published in 2009 on ‘The Surveillance Lounge’; I am not that diehard, so it’s the first time I heard this. Nurse With Wound is here Steve Stapleton, Andrew Liles and David Tibet, and this piece is quite heavy on voices, like a good ol’ Nurse With Wound piece could be, all set in a spooky atmosphere of reversed sounds, cut-up, drone like; it’s here that the influence of Liles is quite apparent, me thinks. An excellent piece, and while it’s not easy to see the relation between this piece and the text, it makes up a fine package of surrealist art, I think. But let’s move to publishing texts in English, please, and enjoy the whole thing even better. (FdW)
Address: http://www.lenkalente.com/
THE MEMORY BAND – CHILDREN OF THE STONES/NIGHTINGALE WITH BOMBOBERS (7″ lathe cut by Static Caravan)
Forces of marketing decided Static Caravan to go to the lathe cut record, and I must admit: I never saw a black one. The Memory Band is the group of Stephen Cracknell, who had a CD before (see Vital Weekly 879), which had a fine pop-like quality to it, folk meets ‘Chill Out’, and then later on a 10″ (see Vital Weekly 926). Here we have two new pieces; ‘Children Of The Stones’ has an acoustic opening with an upright bass and some birds from outside, with violin and cello playing some dark tunes, but then goes into this gorgeous little tune of acoustic guitar and the same birds being imitated by lovely keyboard tune. Way too short, I’d say, way, way too short. A pastoral spring tune. A bit of spoken word opens up ‘Nightingale With Bombers’, in which we find the same keyboard sound, but now it’s set against a more rocking tune; krautrocking tune that is, complete with violins and singing of repeating lines. Quite a hypnotic tune at that. But unlike any good krautrock this too is very short, boohoo, way too short also. They do make lathe cut 10″ records, do they? May I ask for the long version of both on that format? (FdW)
Address: http://www.staticcaravan.org
XGUIX – A RAGUDO – CUANDO EL SOL RESBALA POR LAS MONTANAS, LAS MARIPOSAS ACUDEN A ESCUCHAR EL SONIDO DEL SILENCIO (CDR by Audiotalaia)
In 1983 a Spanish band La T released a LP called ‘Dark Fields’ in an edition of 300 copies. I knew it existed until today when Xguix, the co-founder of the band La T, releases this new album. In the time between he didn’t do much, in terms of releases or concerts, yet he dedicated his ‘whole life building his own universe through three main letters, basing it on sound, image, staticity and minimalism’ and “‘A Ragudo’ is the second letter, a witness of a way to work, understand and refgerence and environment a life experience”. We have here six pieces, spelling out “R”, “A”, “G”, “U”, “D” and “O” and it lasts some thirty-two minutes. There is no indication here what Xguix does, instrument wise, as these things aren’t mentioned. Judging by what we hear here in these six pieces, I would think that Xguix spend his years learning to use the computer. There is lots of sine wave like sounds, scratches, hisses, and deep end bass rumble. Maybe his 1983 album was ground breaking but I can’t see this is. Not that this is not any good: I actually quite enjoyed the heavily processed electro-acoustic sounds, field recordings or broken contact microphones used as a filter to have some residual sound. Xguix borders close silence at times, but then can slash out in a heavy yet dry manner too, with sound bursting out. All of these pieces seem somehow linked together, with sound events returning from track to track, although not always, creating one link throughout this album. It’s a fine but not surprising album of computer/laptop music, and as such nothing we haven’t heard before. The past fifteen or more years many of these laptop musician released their work and Xguix does not a bad job; it’s just not as original. (FdW)
Address: http://www.autotalaia.net
TIZIANO MILANI – MATERIA (STORIE DA CIO CHE RIMANE) (CDR by Setola Di Maiale)
The information here lists a whole bunch of releases by ‘acoustic architect’ Tiziano Milani, and I am sure I didn’t hear them all, but surely some I did hear some, such as ‘Touch’ (see Vital Weekly 859) and ‘Im Innersten’ (Vital Weekly 668). He studied at various conservatoriums in Italy and his interest lies in accidental sounds, seemingly random picked up, but also he likes improvisation, with objects and contact microphones. Like on ‘Touch’, Milani’s music comes across as very soft, and that may be intentional, like aesthetic ploy, but I might be wrong. Here he has four lengthy pieces, ranging from eight to close to twenty-five minutes. It very much gives what it promises. To me it seems that these improvisations for percussion and string instruments, set against a backdrop of rather obscured field recordings. And all of this happens most of the time at a rather low volume. I am not sure if that aesthetic is something that is really necessary; it seems that the balance in these pieces is a bit gone (the third and shortest piece, ‘Materia – Solo Con La Natura’, being considerable louder than the rest) and it also seems that there is some lack of focus in these pieces. In itself these pieces are nothing more than some straightforward doodling on a few instruments, all being played quiet and introspective, suggesting space and atmosphere, along with some dripping water sounds, but I ma not entirely convinced by this release. Maybe because it’s more along the lines of his previous work, but not with much new direction. Maybe I was just not in the right mood for this. I am not sure, but this might not be Milani’s next masterpiece. (FdW)
Address: http://www.setoladimaiale.net
AUTOMATING – BATESIAN MIMICRY (3″CDR, private)
So far releases by Automating have a distinct handmade feel to them, and this new one is no different. The 3″CDR is stuck on a postcard sized piece of paper, with hand written titles. It looks rather primitive, I think, but usually the music, made by Sasha Margolis from Melbourne, is quite good (see also Vital Weekly 841, 843, 862 and 930). There is an old fashioned element to his music, like it is made with the lowest means of sound production possible, which is described as ‘field recordings, found sound, tape manipulation, noise and effects unites’. Sometimes this works out the noisy way and sometimes the deep end drone way. On ‘Batesian Mimicry’ we have three pieces, with a total length of eighteen minutes, and Automating just does what he always seems to be doing best. Spooky drones, an orchestral sound, many layers of electronics; there is field recordings, humming voices in ‘Bussed In’, more straight forward organ drones in ‘Empty Dependence’ and heavily delayed field recordings in ‘Primitive Future’, which reminded me of the use of the delay pedals in Commando Bruno earliest cassette releases. Three excellent ambient/drone/industrial pieces of music. I wish it had been longer. (FdW)
Address: http://www.automating.bandcamp.com
SPAGHETTI BLACC – BURNING VISION ZERO (cassette by Ephem Aural)
JAKE ROWLAND – SKY HOUSE (cassette by Ephem Aural)
From the Bronx hails Spaghetti Blacc, who have a rather short but ultra heavy album. There are ten songs to be found here, and it’s hard to say if Spaghetti Blacc is an one-man (woman?) army or a real band. I think, judging by what I am hearing, this is the first. A sampler, some sound effects, postproduction skills, and maybe a synthesizer here or there, playing some heavy type of music. A bit noise-like, a bit filmic, but at times the drum machine pounds like grindcore and speed metal. The label references this to Napalm Death and Naked City, but sadly I am too uninformed to say anything about that. I must admit that while this wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea, it sounded not too bad. It had a lot of energy, a lot of sonic violence, noise and all that jazz, but it also sounded strangely coherent and well planned. Not something I would easily play on a daily basis, but this short blast worked ear cleansing; sometimes much needed.
Jake Rowland is a guitarist in bands in New York, but none are mentioned by name. ‘Sky House’ is his first solo release, and the last release for Ephem Aural for this year (a bit early for hibernation?). He plays electric guitar and maybe a bit of stomp effects. Especially when things get a bit louder it sounds like that. On the other hand, if it’s a bit more introspective there is surely the loop pedal always ready to pick signals and repeat those. The A-side has a bunch of pieces and the B-side is entirely filled with the title piece. It’s not the best of solo guitar improvisation I ever heard, but it’s pretty decent stuff no doubt. Quite rightly the kind of music for the medium. (FdW)
Address: http://ephem-aural.com/
KROMESHNA & EGO GOD/BANANA PILL – SPLIT (cassette by Spina! Rec)
ILIA BELORUKOV & SERGEY KOSTYRKO – ETUDES (cassette by Spina! Rec)
ILIA BELORUKOV & LAURI HYVARINEN/ALEXEY SYSOEV & DENIS SOROKIN (cassette by Spina! Rec)
Three new releases by Spina! Rec from St. Petersburg and the first one is a split by Kromesha, which is Vitaly Maklakov (see also Vital Weekly 986) and Ego God, which is the name chosen by Philipp Konieczny. On the other side we have the duo Banana Spill, being Sasha Kretova and Dmitri Zherbin. The collaborative side starts out in a rather noisy way, but after a couple of minutes finds a ground of mild drone sounds, crackles from vinyl, sound effects, birds twitter; everything slowly moves forward and the development is minimal but present. Even at very close to thirty minutes this is an excellent piece of music that could my attention all the way through. This could have lasted an hour, as far as I’m concerned. Minimal in development is also something one could say about the piece by Banana Pill. It starts out with a few chords on the organ and then slowly these few chords get together and melt down into an excellent piece of drone music, which is quite static but it masters a fine backdrop in your space. Gentle yet dark and moody, that’s how we like them best, I guess.
The next cassette is a sort of unique item: each copy of the edition of twenty-five sounds different; on the bandcamp you can hear (and download!) all twenty-five different A- and B-sides. Sergey Kostyrko (modular synthesizer) and Ilia Belorukov (ivcs3, monotron, effect pedals, radio) improvise their fourteen minutes around their electronic means in a bit of a noisy manner. The drones are dark and gritty, with mild distortion never far away. Each of them is different, so I could describe which one I have, but you could go the bandcamp and just listen to them all. It’s quite wacky electronic music and with the handdrawn cover, you surely have something unique, an art object if you will, in your hands. Excellent concept and the execution is all right, I guess, if noisy electronics is your thing.
The last release is a bit older, from 2014, but now comes in ‘black edition’ of twenty-five copies. Lauri Hyvarinen we met recently for the first time, with his release with Naoto Yamagishi (see Vital Weekly 987), and here also plays electric guitar and objects, whereas Belorukov has his alto-saxophone, contact microphone, mini-amp and objects. The music was recorded in Helsinki in July 2013 and they have been playing before. The music is quite a wild ride of improvised music bordering on the noise end of things, but not necessarily is all about screaming feedback. They have four pieces, ranging quite chaotic, wild and free, to introspective, quiet and also free, maintaining a fine balance between both ends. An excellent improvised set they play here, perhaps edited a bit but retaining a lot of its original power. On the other side we have Alexey Sysoev (from Moscow on no-input mixer, max/MSP) with Denis Sorokin (from Saint-Petersburg on pick-up, electronics and objects) and their close to thirty minutes piece was recorded in June last year. Here we have something that is not unlike the other side, and it seems logical they can be found on one cassette, but the balance is more towards the noise end and distortion. The no-input mixer provides for some deep end bass distortion while on top they rumble their objects and we detect some of the computer processing. It leads to quite a bit of electronic chaos here and unfortunately couldn’t keep my interest for all this time. (FdW)
Address: https://spinarec.bandcamp.com/
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