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Ampersand Etcetera – 2002_10
Ambient & microwave & electronica & experimental lowercase & postclassical
& minimal & techno & etcetera
First – apologies for 2 typos in 2002_09. Jonathan Hughes (not Jonathon)
where the 'a' went I don't know, but the 'o' came from Lecanoscope (the first
'o' went AWOL). Apologies and a promise to check a bit closer: this week should
be OK as the info was copied from the PE website.
A quiet Wednesday morning and I pop to the post office to pick up a parcel. Don't
recognise the return address and its quite big.
Inside are 20 cd-rs. An amazing offering from Bryan Day at Public Eyesore, an
independent label. So, in the spirit of the Freedom From overview in 2001, we
now offer a look at this label. And as with that, the reviews will be complete
but not extensive: otherwise we would be at it all year.
Some general comment – the label is now based in Omaha, and carries the expected
eclectic mix (at this stage I am not sure how I will arrange the reviews –
but simply numerical is irresistible, though I didn't review/listen in that order),
which seems to have a big Japanese component (Day's wife is Yoko Sato) some improv,
ambient and electronica. A few names overlap with Freedom From, but I am unfamiliar
with most. The cds come in card sleeves with colour print stickers frontcover
picture, backcover info-slip (a few have come in folded paper covers, and there
is also some vinyl). Very professional looking, though (as with FF tapes) you
need to mark the cd-rs as there are no disk stickers.
Then, twothirds through this, an email from Bryan suggesting some more are on
the way! This will either expand, or you can expect to get a PE update a few issues
hence. In the interim – Poland in 11, then there are some new Grob, Accretions
and Bip-Hop as well as expectations from Drone and whatever as usual.
Contacts:
http://www.sinkhole.net/pehome
sistrum1@hotmail.com
jeremy@pretentious.net
&
http://ampersandetc.virtualave.net/ampersand.html
&&&&&&&&&&&&&
pit 17
Jorge Castro
The Joys and Rewards of Repetition
Obviously with a big heap arriving at once, its hard to work out where to start
listening. I flicked a few on in the car to get a feel of the label, went to the
web site to get the catalogue – which has some simple descriptions (and saved
me typing in all the names!) – and decided to try the earliest at home as
it read as if it would be family friendly (my wife doesn't share many of my extreme
tastes!)
And a great place to start – the title really tells it all: Castro is into
beautiful guitar solo's that sweep and carry you into places of musical pleasure,
reminiscent of Frippertronics, but delight for themselves for almost an hour.
'Hiss' takes long lines that harmonise and weave, resonating; shifts into percussive
pattering and back; into a quieter phase that builds pulses into harmonics and
pulses. Voice-tones emerge in 'Distractions' sweeping into a central section that
spounds like train rhythms before rebuilding the tonal sweeps. Shorter elements
combine in 'Cloud' as ringing tones form a base for whale-whirrs, pings and passing
percussives, and even the occasional picking. And finally 'Feel' starts out with
aggressive echoey percussive tones with little sirens in; calling tones and a
doomy deep period ; crackle cycles followed by echoey blips over a drone and final
back to tones. The sort of album which makes exploring smaller labels worth while
– and not the last one here.
&
pit 22
V/A
Analogous Indirect
15 tracks of noise, improv and mo(o)re that creates a wild flow – divided
into front & back suggesting a vinyl origin. Ande Kuniharo plays around with
a violin or guitar and electronica, stretching and bending notes in an unusual
solo, and into a series of group works. Monotract start with scatty vocals and
slow jazz before shifting into a driving groove which breaks down, returns and
breaks again; noisy group work on drums/guitar/violin at least from New Port;
while Solmania scrape a guitar and then put up a wall of sound which varies pleasantly
and has textures through it. The Flying Luttenbachers have a lighter mood from
banging percussion and varied live electronics and Fukktron deliver punky guitar/drums
with a strong solo and vocals at the end. Thurston Moore's lovely acoustic guitar
solo emerges from a recording of movement and children and then passes into a
Fripp-like solo over a strong bass. End of -front-.
The second part opens with some electronica: Jonas Lindgren with vents and crackling,
buzzes and pulses; Billy? Has whirling tapes, jazz samples, electro-noises; and
Laced Blue a big buzzing hum drone with pulses and sirens through it. A very different
mood from Kazumoto Endo and Yoko Sato with a declaimed Japanese text, background
singing/humming interrupted in the second part by bursts of noise, becoming quite
frightening/ed before closing back down. Then three big noise tracks – Cornucopias
wall of sounds, John Wiese varied drone with bangs in and Sickness' group assault
with some light reliefs. And to shift the mood totally, Automobile have a spooky
tentative violin solo with restrained support.
The recordings aren't always great quality, but the variety here (within some
constraints) are a great positive, and there's something for every mood, and nothing
lasts forever!
&
pit 24
Jorge Castro & Carlos Giffoni
Guitarras del Olvido y Pensamientos Dimensionales
The guitar of Castro meets the guitar and electronica of Giffoni in a 30 minute
excursion that weaves a compelling web. It opens with slow and fast guitar tones
with crackling and chatter over, the sounds pulsing and cycling as the guitar
sings on resonantly – an interdigitation of subtle noises and ambience. The
piece then slowly evolves and develops through a variety of flavours – wind
and guitar with theremin-y sci fi sounds; looped strumming with building woobles
and echoed percussion; pulsing and swirling sounds; plucking; complex layers of
sound over the surface – sci fi, machines; strumming guitar and descending
tones and into a slightly wild and woolly conclusion. A very enjoyable piece of
work, with complexity to listen for.
&
pit 28
Hair and Nails
III
Wlanenska and Dino give us 73 minutes on this album – but as there are 36
tracks, it means that they are brief excursions that give a suggestion of developments.
The structure suggests that H&N like playing around in the studio, creating
a little something and moving on. The result is a collection of constantly moving
collages.
The sounds are crackles, pops, arcade games (lots), quiet rumbles, whooshing,
tapping, plings, warm analogue tones, interference, dysfunctional drum machines,
gamelan, blurts, voice loops (chopped or manipulated), scrabbling, messed tracks
and samples (guitar sax flute – these could actually be played, but unlikely),
noises, organs, blowy tones, field recordings (nature supermarket kitchen cat)
singing, pinging, scrapes, computer blipps, lovely shimmers, miked sounds (scraped
scratched banged) in various combinations of some of them – not all on one
track! You get organ with computer games, chopped up voice loops, shimmers and
computer blipps, some spooky parts, some noise, mainly playful.
There are short noisey attacks, longer more worked and varied explorations, investigated
ideas. Sometimes it sounds like a dogs dinner, and to my mind there is too much
to digest, but it is diverting in small courses. And, to continue the food metaphor,
H&N suggest by the many entrees on this menu that they could cook up a satisfying
full dinner.
&
pit 32
Toru Yoneyama & Osamu Kato
Luv Rokambo
The title of this duo's album will become the group name later on – TY plays
toys, percussion, mobile, green-oroco-g (!?) and vocals while OK is on stratocastor,
rapman and more vocals: and it was recorded in one day in Morioka.
There are two short concrete-y tracks (1 and 5) 'How are u?' and 'How dare you'
the first drawing electro sounds from the guitar and some vocals, the second squeaky
noise that could be air escaping from a balloon and a brief rhythm , loop. The
other pieces are more extended improvisations. 'Cameroon' has all sorts of guitar
effects (picking, noisy, feedback) with clicking, distorted tones, blowing, little
pulsing loops creating a moving sound mass, a distorted scream and kazoo and strained
vocals as well before a bjang conclusion. There is more restraint in 'Tremolo
indicator' where a shaken guitar (pulsating) plays notes and strums to various
noises and bangings that become a percussion. Some soft scatty vocals (hard to
hear but they sound like english) then into a guitar solo over various toy noises,
with some soft singing. Impressed by that track, 'Cosmic elegy' was even more
so as a gentle guitar solo, with echoed slides, is accompanied by a vocal/chant,
some more energetic guitar but creating a western, bluesy mood and style and sorta
spacey. The final track is also well constructed a plucked and droney guitar builds,
becomes percussive and more strident into big guitar noise, drops back to spacious
picks before a series of big strums to create a finale.
Freeform and improvised but with about enough structure to keep me interested.
&
pit 33
Carlos Giffoni
lo que solo se puede expresar a traves del silencio y una mirada de ayer
Giffoni returns with a four track solo album, combining the guitar and electronics
familiar from his Freedom From release and collaboration with Castro.
'Live guitar improvisation #1' is a wild guitar improvisation – taking the
instrument beyond strumming and strings into electronic whirls and percussive
swirls for an exciting 5 minutes. The longest track (at 30 of the 50 minutes)
is 'The idea began in bushwick' which is a complex journey from bushwick to …:
it opens with spacey drones and pulses with electronica over, crackles and twangs,
then cycles and tones into a quite to very noisey segment with tones; becomes
more looped mellowness before building an aggressive head of steam; feedback into
spacey synths; becomes wistful then a burring buzz of guitar; winds down with
high synths and sirens to a turntabled close. After which 'For all the ones who
I can trust' is a straighter guitar solo – delicate and atonal strums and
picking. Finally something in Japanese (or Chinese) ideograms, which is a collage
of voices, music and radio with bloopy blippy synths providing a subdued support.
An eclectic sweep which parallels that of the label and provides an engrossing
listening experience (ditto the parallel).
&
pit 34
Khoury*Shearer*Hall
Insignia
An album of surprisingly enjoyable jazz improvisation – Khoury on violoin,
Shearer sax, clarinet and flute and Hall drums (and piano) recorded at a number
of concerts in Michigan during the first 8 months of 2000. Surprisingly because
sax and violins can be horribly abused to create tortured tones and strange squawks.
But the majority of sounds here are very melodious.
Hall provides a strong rhythm support, with a short solo in 'Tears for detroit',
and is generally low in the mix – unfairly so I think, but perhaps that is
the fate of a drummer. But in 'Grand river at M.A.C.' where he plays the piano,
it is almost too soft to really hear which is a shame as the group works at varying
their textures and this would have been an interesting variation – what you
can hear is intriguing.
'Shotgun' – a short burst of blowy sax and scraping violin, ending in a sax
solo, then a restrained 'Suzie's blues' with long notes from both instruments,
dueting, the violin picking at times and some jolly sax. A lyrical double dose
of sax in 'International' when they are joined by Maury Coles – the violin
supporting a range of saxophone approaches that are woven together: wild melodic
and blurting across time. Beautiful sax/violin harmonies in 'Tears for detroit'
shifting to sax riffs over violin melodies then returning to harmonies before
the drum solo, then a slow instrumental return.
Lighthearted and bright 'Panties' has short noted almost gypsy violin, jolly sax
and jaunty drums, followed by mellow clarinet in 'Last date' leaning to drones
with cymbals and more playful violin. Another tone enters in 'Six and lodge' where
Shearer plays the flute, trilling along in a percussive piece with fast violin
and quite full drum – it explores a quieter phase in the middle and then
rebuilds. Sax to the fore again in '8 mile between woodward and 75' that rolls
along quite squiggly over rolling drums, with a more gentle closing solo, before
a building climax in 'Grand river at M.A.C.'
Part of the pleasure of this album is the integration of the three talents, who
are all obviously skilled but display it through the restraint and musicality
of their playing, while still being exuberant and challenging. Quite a joy.
&
pit 36
Matt Silcock
Matt Silcock is a Nebraskan multi-instrumentalist, and this disk gathers a collections
of (improvised) solos from 1997 to 2000 in three groups.
After 'Chicago daze' opens the album with a lovely slowly evolving accordion drone
piece, where you can hear the stops and the notes emerge separately at the end,
the first set of guitar solos begins. 'Thigy/thing' is bangy twangy feedback,
tending to noise, 'Chicken/crystal' is more electric theatrics, swe eping through
feedback and into some restrained echoed strums over a chuggy rhythm. Lighter,
almost electronica 'Funk behind your ear' is like fluttering fireflies and 'The
teaser' travels from harsh resonant strumming into a picked melody. The section
ends with a duet 'Dead bolt', a light guitar over driving drum, swirling.
The next section is saxophone, with some additions – and it is generally
quite restrained and mellow. 'Beat the devil' combines an electronic pulsing,
that becomes quite wild, with the trilling sax; 'Improvisation 7-9' is three pieces,
the first two are musical, blowy pieces, while the third is a noisy site recording,
with a shaky voice. 'Improvisation 10-12' continues the concrete aspect with another
field recording followed by two sweet sax works.
The guitar returns for 'Acoustic guitar 17' and '23': the first a tentative collation
of picks and scrapes that increases speed, followed by thoughtfully picked notes
surrounded by silence, gradually shifting to a strum and then a more rapid picking.
Probably what it says it is 'The roofing crew outside' has some muffled noises
and very soft guitar, taken over by banging and clattering. Finally, 'Akira takahashi
goes home' is something of a showcase of guitar sounds – from mild electronic
feedback wobbles, peeping electro to big noise: a fitting conclusion to a varied
and very enjoyable album.
&
pit 37
Jorge Castro
Sin Titulo #2
Castro returns with another stunning guitar solo as a single 45 minute track.
It shifts from a ringing sliding tonal opening through a range of moods. These
include picking melodies, tone drones, spacey echoed tones with surface activity,
melodic passages, relaxed drones and swirling percussive. Too mellifluous melodic
and delightful to describe.
Controlled and flowing, dreamy concentrated ambience which complements and compliments
pit17, this is simply a pleasure. (And the length of this review in no way is
proportional to the pleasure – probably inversely would be truer)
&
pit 38
Autodidact
The Blooming of One Hundred Shotguns
I'm a sucker for the guitar solo as ambience with edge – such as Fripp and
Castro: and Autodidact (rkf as the main player (guitar, fx, loops, editing), the
ice queen esmerelda on beats 'n bass) deliver is spades on this lovely album.
There are 9 track titles, and only 5 tracks, so I am assuming that the different
sections of the two longer tracks have their own names.
'The blooming of one hundred shotguns/flowers embrace the sun/the chairman dreams
of boxcars filled with grain' starts with a wall of sound, a big high fuzzing
with guitar notes progressing within it. Then suddenly a strummed guitar with
a clicking metronome loop and an electric solo over the top, feedbacky but melodic
and balanced; and finally a complex drum rhythm comes in with driving bass and
droning guitar. The pace kicks up and it ends with pulsing power chords.
Ringing shards of metal, zinging with guitar in the whooshing wall of sound, soft
squeaky tones weaving through the end of 'The dream grows teeth (dead flowers)'.
Another long piece 'Maggots eat the stems/like a baby carved from stone/the forest,
filled with wolves' is more of a whole than the first track, a white noise whoosh
running through at various densities. The guitar grows out of some stuttering
then runs distantly below the noise; then there are lightning shimmers and juttering
high tones and a shudder guitar with a deep bass and high feedback tones, fades;
a swirling pulsing mass of guitar and tones pulsing rising and falling noisy;
then finally the white noise coils around a fripp-ish solo in the distance.
Simpler and attractive 'Celestial drift' interlaces lyrical acoustic and electric
solos; and finally 'Blues for a li'l peach' another simpler piece as complexly
mutating powerchords swirling and pulsing, rising and falling with a full drum
kit solo drives along. A great guitar album, with nicely placed rhythm elements,
very enjoyable.
&
pit 40
Onnyk
Private Idioms
Kinno Yoshiaki (Onnyk) recorded these two guitar improvisations in Morioka in
1995 (in a gallery) and 1997 (in his living room). Single takes of near half an
hour each, they are very approachable and surprisingly intimate.
Onnyk eschews guitar heroics or an expected Japanese sonic assault, but rather
shifts easily between the main act which is slightly atonal picking and runs with
a bit of angry scratching, short periods of noise, fast tight picking, interrupted
slides, percussive chords, some loose stringed sliding times and occasionally
eking out some strangled horn like tones. His guitar playing is excellent, drawing
out layered complex sounds which I would have thought needed more hands!
The first solo, in front of an audience seems to have more of a showcase feel
as we shift through the methods and styles, while in the lounge Onnyk is more
'musical' even straying into some bluesy patches. Both are highly listenable and
very entertaining. I put this on expecting noise and was pleasantly surprised
– excellent for those who like guitar improv that is played with underplayed
skill.
&
pit 41
Yu Nishibori & Landon Thorpe
Muno Radiation
Combining (mainly) guitar with computer (but also, bass, drums, percussion, delay)
Nishibori and Thorpe create a music of dichotomies (chalk and cheese, sublime/ridiculous:
choose your own terms) whose intersections are, on the whole, successful, but
with some harsh edges.
'Two beats off' suggests the methods, and presents a lighter face: an improvised
acoustic guitar solo (plinks, scratchy etc) is surrounded by all manner of beasts
– burring, noise bursts, hums, white noise, computer music, samples, tones,
putters and wooshes – in varying densities and volumes, at times taking the
foreground and on occasion quite loud and harsh. But overall adding a dimension
to the solo. A similar structure to 'Spiky field choir' – straight guitar
with pops crackles noises feedback which all become quite percussive, drops and
then builds to a noisy climax. A shift to a more ambient mood in 'Aperture.peg.oat.'
with gentle light background noises and the guitar using delay to create tones
that sound like harps or horns and then very droney.
There are 20 minutes of 'A crystalline disturbance': after a concrete opening
of fast samply clatter a percussed guitar enters and becomes obvious as a bass
soloing over a light metallic scratching. About a third in some radio squiggles
slide through, and then things turn nasty, and the rest is dirty distorted stuttering
white noise with rhythms in it, extended a little beyond its welcome in the context
of the album. The more engaging mood returns with 'Insects on a summer night'
light rhythm, synth woobles and an acoustic solo (scraped, picked) rhythmic chitters
(that get quite loud) together with a strange sussurance and some delay/e-bow
later.
In the only overdubbed track, 'Nickel and sand gesture' mixes a simple acoustic
guitar exploration with some electric highlights and simple computer touches,
which build towards the end. 'Bed of x' is a short choppy bumpy sampled futzing
electro piece creating a firm conclusion. Overall a nice album, where the extras
add to the guitar in a positive and enjoyable way, touching on noise to enliven
things. For me, most of the crystalline disturbance is a dead spot on the album,
but I'll just pass over and enjoy the rest.
&
pit 43
Ultra Fuckers
Beyond the Fuckless
I am a bit ambivalent about expletive group names, but understand their aims and
they do suggest what the music is (interestingly the words are obscured on the
cover). Anyway, the disk reflects what you might expect from the name, at least
initially. There are 13 tracks in 26 minutes – typical punk. After a brief
excursion into melody that begins 'Bongo roll', the first four tracks are hard
on thrash and drawl rock – a flat lo-fi recording absorbs the vocals into
the wall of sound and the energy of drums and guitar drives you on. Track 5 ('German
rock radio II') indicates a new direction with a PiL like instrumental of organ/synths
over distorted feedback. In ''Let's go space beach' and 'Long number #1' we slide
into chugging guitar psychedelia with some vocals but feeling more like an instrumental.
The freeform guitar and irregular percussion on 'Long number #2' could almost
be a surf rock outing. With 'Electro do stop' we get back to the harder faster
heavy metal inspired music, coming as pulses of sound. Punk again on 10 and 11,
guitar thrash on 12. Then another shift as ''d.a.f. (kubitsukasan mix)' provides
a guitar drone and feedback instrumental, possibly some vocals in there, which
reminds me of early Joy Division, away from the thrash, and running into a long
ringing fadeout. The energy and variety on this album carry it through the formula
barriers.
&
pit 44
Naturaliste
A Clamor Half Heard
Something of a doubly appropriate title for this Omaha group as at times the mix
is a bit murky – most seems to have been recorded live, and over two days
- and most tracks end quite precipitously.
It opens with a freeform group piece (the track titles are excruciatingly long,
except for one)) which indicates the general direction they are heading: there
seems to be some wind in there, guitar, percussion and violin, and quite strong
electronic effects that work mainly to create drones and feedback, supported by
the other instruments. After a noisey opening it becomes quieter and rolling along,
with some voice, before squeally electro and a cut off. The second track (briefly
titled, 'Static beauty') is a solo(?) electronica piece, tapes loops and squeaks,
manipulated voices, bips, a kazoo like sounds, whoops and squeals.
Back to the group with more guitar and electronic noise, the violin more obvious,
pulsing and moving with a machine whirring that signals the end. Drone feedback
tones in the next piece, with rattling percussion, some tape effects creating
a shifting wall of noise. And the final track is more messing around, gently appealing
with more voice, some popping sax and louder passages.
The pieces are all around 10-12 minutes long, which seems about the right length
for the improvised noise drone that Naturaliste create. There is plenty happening,
with enough to attract stimulate and occasionally annoy the willing listener (and
if we weren't ever annoyed by music we would probably not wonder if we are exploring
widely enough).
&
pit 45
Rob DeNunzio
Window Music
A Saturday evening, and the picture of a steel guitar on the cover suggested that
this would be a suitable album – and it was. These solo pieces are tuneful
and restrained, probably improvised but around a structured melodic objective,
with an ease supplied by the mix of blues, country and bluegrass.
'Drive-by pt.1 and Pt.2' open and close the set symmetrically: street noises (heard
through the window) provide the brackets, with some picking leading into/coming
from the rest of the album. We then cover a range of moods, within a fairly closed
system. 'Otter', 'Tumbler' and 'No clue/no roots' are country slide pieces, tumbler
being faster; then there is the slow contemplative slide and playing heard on
'Sunday song', 'Midnight song' or the sinuous 'Tired song'. Melodic folky lines
run through 'Toll' while 'Tinroof' has a bluegrass response to the sound of rain
on the roof. A lower, dark progression fuels the 'Sociable gamblers', 'Falling
down blues' is fast and loose strung and a melody is picked out in 'Tired song'.
'Fog and Raccoons' is the longest track of the 52 minutes and starts out sounding
quite classical and then shifts through a range of styles.
This album highlights again the breadth of the Public Eyesore experience –
an enjoyable restrained and varied acoustic guitar set, amongst the punk improv
and noise. Easy listening without being disposable. Light up the fire, get out
the wine, relax.
&
pit 47
Luv Rokambo
Maze
Toru Yoneyama and Osamu Kato return and turn the album title from 32 into a group
name and offer us a 'Maze' which emphasises the guitar and reduces the noise quotient.
Powerful and mysterious, 'Crying oedipus' has noises emerging from silence –
guitar voice single notes percussion brief rumbles and distant voices – more
like some musique concrete. Nice guitar solos through 'The waste land' shifting
from picked through slide echoed and percussed (probably a pedal steel or similar)
spacious and melancholy, becoming almost harplike. Around this there is some soft
voice and subtle computer.
'3' takes a scraping guitar into shimmering drone as a base for a full drum foreground,
again with light vocalisations; which appear in 'Only shadow/without human I'
where a gentle toy keyboard and bells dance lightly. 'Only shadow/without human
III' starts off like a folk song – picked guitar looping and male vocal becoming
strident at times, supported by wood block percussion. Then a couple of parallel
guitar solos – picked and drones – take over and carry through to a
nice end.
A scrabbly atonal guitar over single plucked notes emerges over a fuzz shimmer
in the lyrical 'Who's in the kangaroo pocket' A looping distorted wah-wah guitar
over organ-like tones in 'Delay=head' is joined by noise, and the two eventually
work in parallel, pulsing in turn, edgy and harsh, some voices in, a fine solo
winning the day. The second part, though third on the disk of 'Only shadow/without
human II' is a lyrical solo with a little delay. And finally 'Maze' comes closer
to the first album – guitar with computer then percussive with random guitar
hits, feedback and pulsey with a high sine tone.
More varied and approachable than their first album, following interesting lines
of development, but still with an intense edge.
&
pit 48
V.
`StYe
In 2001_19 we reviewed a number of albums by Jeff Surak in a variety of groups,
including V. which is his work with James Guggino (with some guitar from Carl
Merson). Here they create a mixed texture using drums (Guggino) homemades and
hurdy gurdy (Surak) and both on noises (there seems to be some violin/viola in
here too).
The first half or so of the album is shortish excursions (generally less than
6 minutes). 'Verify lunacy' has a rhythmic buzz crunch and jumpy violin cd, with
drums coming in at the end. The percussion dominates the start of 'You've errors
before' where it is mixed clattering and drumming: there are long sustained tones
over which evolve into very celloish playing, with guitar descends added at the
latter parts. The hurdy gurdy loops incessantly through 'Hjungle' with a noise
and crackle, squeaks as well, which are finely modulated and developed through
the piece.
'Waxing stupor' pairs the string notes and percussion, a bit of bass, almost delicate,
manipulated a touch. There is almost a continuation into 'You're debris' of the
percussion with a slowed string section, which becomes quite scratchy and then
forceful, with a twanging sound reverberating through occasionally. Noise builds
in 'Endure beasts' from a deep rumble, edgy sscratching and metallic percussion
and tones.
The first of two extended tracks, ' Rescure urgent' is an extended workout which
is almost classically improv and works very nicely, while 'Puffed snails' moves
through a number of stages (and possibly has parts – we are in another 10
tracks/12 titles situation – I will ignore titles 11 and 12) crackling with
music playing behind, the pulsing percussive (still crackly), a subtle almost
ambient cycling tone into a soft drone ringing in a buzz to a brief noisy conclusion.
Finally clattering and sustained notes that develop a lyricism ('Flying scared')
before a distorted pulsing piece of electronica. All in all a varied and intense
album which is challenging but worth the effort as it comfortably straddles between
the melodic and electro-noise, maintaining its gentler footing.
&
pit 49
Ernesto Diaz-Infante & Bob Marsh
Rags and Stones
We have heard Diaz-Infante's guitar on a couple of albums from Pax Recordings
(most recently in the last issue) and here he teams up with Bob Marsh on violin
and cello. Together they have created an album of relaxed improv – all acoustic
which creates a warm tone, with the guitar generally loose strung and the violin
picked or short bowed.
The mood is set by the loose lyrical guitar and picked violin in 'Thunderstones',
while 'Gathering of the fish people' has a light scraping violin and more scrabbly
guitar. The mood is continued, with work on both instruments which leans towards
melody without simply giving in to it, exploring the possibilities of both instruments
but not transgressing into an area of undirected randomness. In 'Second ceremony
(noon)' there is a feel of electronica in the scraping violin and short string
picking guitar, while a percussive clattering surrounds 'Third ceremony (evening)'.
'Fourth ceremony (midnight)' is a quite dramatic interplay of strange noises from
the violin, probably bowed later picked, and scrabbling picks on the guitar. All
the tracks so far have been bracing intense and well controlled excursions, In
many ways the final track, 'Dance of the bear clan', is the highlight – a
12 minute piece which centres around the violin which moves from gentle picks
to scrapes, more delicate short bowing, some droning, long notes and finally talking
through the final minutes. Throughout this the guitar provides a well-balanced
support, at one time joining in a call and response interaction. To me it is this
balancing and conversation which makes an improv album like this interesting –
throughout they have been listening to each other and responding or supporting
with their playing.
With an album like this, in the final analysis, it boils down to how you feel
about the textures and timbres of the instruments and their interplay – you
are not getting much in the way of hummable melodies. To me, this one works through
the combination of talents and instruments.
&
pit 50
Inu-Yaroh
The Next Door will be Opened
A septet from Osaka captured on a European tour – I am not sure what the
instrumentation is, but there is definitely drums, horns (sax and more original
horn horns), synth or computer creating drones pulses and noise, guitar and bass.
The first two tracks – 'Will be in existence' and 'Revelation of soul/destruction'
are both very much full group work outs – horns wailing and blaring, drums,
computer noise – driving full and intense: not mere noise but fairly noisy.
The whole becomes more subtle with 'Already awakened' which is more restrained,
includes some singing, a slow beat, more forefront computer sounds and a relaxed
horn. It carries with it a sense of the invocation suggested by the album title,
and builds to a voiced climax.
'Should be destroyed' is a long piece featuring the guitar as a twangy loose instrument
to begin with, but as a lead solo instrument later. It carries its length well,
building from another quieter beginning into an early group onslaught, relaxing
into an easier middle before regrouping and employing the energy of the group
to great effect. A short finale is provided by 'Will be opened'.
Again, one that exceeded my expectations – no mere septet noise assault,
but a nicely balanced energetic and enjoyable full bodied excursion.
&
pit 51
Yoko Sato
Searching for my Recording Engineer
Four studio guitar improvisations recorded on 25/10 (or 10/25) last year by the
label magnates wife in Morioka (where a few of the roster are based). A couple
of concerns raise their heads – I don't want to offend Bryan or his spouse
after his generous offering, and Japanese noise. However, neither is a worry after
having listened to this 35 minute album.
These are intricate and controlled guitar-feedback and noise pieces, each with
a distinct flavour or mood. 'Guitar improvisation one' is all feedback and shimmering
drones, dense but with a strong melodic base. The second improvisation is flashier,
with more guitar pyrotechnics including a Who-styles wind-up in the middle and
some dramatic note runs in the final stages.
A more restrained, almost melancholy guitar in 'Guitar and voice improvisation'
is accompanied by 'typical' Japanese vocals (and I mean Yoko Ono and the like,
not bubble-gum pop groups!) to great effect. The final (third) guitar piece takes
a chordal base and creates squeals and tones over it through the magic of the
guitar.
So, a venture someway down the avenue of noise, but a manageable and inviting
one.
&
And, a conclusion? It is impossible to condense a label to a simple statement,
and Public Eyesore is no exception. Guitar solos from a Saturday fireside to a
firestorm, ambience to improv, structure to dicing with chaos. Once again, though,
a small label is giving us an entry into an exciting range of musics which will
stimulate the open eared listener. And we should all aspire for that.
Thanks again to Bryan and Public Eyesore for their generosity to &etc.
&&&&&&&&&&&&
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