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Slowly Goes The Night
Slowly Goes The Night
Rather than try and complete a Top 100 albums list, I decided to create a journal and simply try to review the best ones that would be high on my list, as well as any other albums I find along the way I feel deserve being reviewed. It SEEMS a much lazier way to go, but I will find it more motivating to attack it this way. I felt 4ZZZ deserved a thread of his own, so I am breaking away to my own. In The opening post I will be updating links to review of albums on this Journal, as well as other places, as well as showing their final score. In the future I hope to review the bare bone favourites of my library, as well as some more obscure artists that won't be mentioned elsewhere on the site. Ask for any links to download and I will endeavour to find one for you or upload the album myself. I rank albums on a scale of 1-10 based primarily on my own enjoyment, with other factors such as originality, length (ie does it feel too long or does it feel like its repeating), flow and talent/performance. I am still fairly new at reviewing (Only other ones are in the other journal) so any suggestions would be helpful! |
Khmer – Nils Petter Molvær (1997)
http://img1.nnm.ru/imagez/gallery/0/...7808e_full.jpg GENRES - Jazz, Nujazz, Electronic, World Tracks Khmer – 4:59 Tlon – 7:53 Access/Song of Sand I – 5:51 On Stream – 5:01 Platonic Years – 6:34 Phum – 3:39 Song of Sand II – 6:12 Exit – 2:43 Well Norway just seems to be a bubble of talent at the moment… Nils Petter (Review upcoming) as well as a talented bunch including the likes of Eivind Aarset (Whom I introduced many of you to via the March Birthday competition on the general board), Trumpeter Arve Hendriksen and band Wibutee. All of these mentioned have been pushing some interesting boundaries concerning jazz and electronics especially. Nils Petter offered up one of my favourite albums from the 90’s with the outing ‘Khmer’. Released in 1998, the album is an exploratory experimental amalgamation of raw jazz and various electronic styles, including house, dub and ambient. Molvaer’s distinctive style is beautiful throughout and offers a very interesting contrast to the back beats. The final result is a tasty morsel that should be sampled by anyone with a passing interest in jazz, nujazz, electronica, and music in general. The title track ‘Khmer’ offer quite a bit of variety, reaching through its jazzy focus, as well as its electronic base, to some interesting world music samples. The light plucking of a string instrument, as well as the electronics and electric guitar are used to ‘symbolise’ some foreign aspects. The overall feel of the song is seemingly of Asian origin. This is most likely homage to the origin of the word ‘Khmer’, which was a civilisation near Cambodia which was most prominent in the early part of last millennium. The song is built around an Asian mood without every directly referencing so with instruments. Molvaer’s performance is stellar, initially succumbing to the sombre tone of the early parts of the song before breaking out to add his own touch and flair. It never loses its sombre nature or tone of respect. Throughout the album Movaer displays his ability to convey different emotions though his brass instrument of choice. ‘Tlon’, starts off as a down tempo trip hop piece with Molvaer’s quiet and macabre trumpeting overlaying. Its beauty is in its ability to convey sadness and yet a sense of melancholy in the listener. As the beats increase, much like that of a beating heart, Molvaer’s speed increases along with it to an all out attack. The electronic aspects become more prominent, and yet never detract from the power of Molvaer’s trumpeting, as he pulls out some lovely ‘latinesque’ moments. There is quite an fascinating interruption to both the electronics and trumpeting as Aarset (Who was one of the back up players for the album) has a raw yet satisfying solo. As the song reaches its end, it’s almost a fight between the two styles as to who ‘owns’ the piece. It’s a lovely way to end the song. ‘Access/Song of Sand I’ immediately sets a dark approach, as the song seems deeper in pitch compared to the first two songs. Individual instruments are easier to pick out, trumpeting, drumming, guitarists, other various wind instruments, and the song truly belongs to them. Some marvellous tonal work makes this a true highlight track, as well as Aarset’s interesting and raw work. Molvaer spends a large percentage of the time adding nice depth to the piece but never truly grabs hold of the song himself. The piece is exquisite, and definitely deserves a listen. The next track, ‘On Stream’, offers a more down tempo ‘earthy’ feeling, most akin to the title track. Molvaer’s performance is especially worthy of attention, as his slow and unrefined performance makes the piece truly memorable. He takes centre stage and the song is only better for it. It’s a hard song to describe; everything simply fits in well to add to the overall nature of the song and earthy and worldly feel. The song only gets better as it goes along. ‘Platonic Years’ continues the tempo of the previous track with the instruments; however, the piece has a great input from the electronic side of things. This makes the piece feel more spacey rather than earthy. There are quite a few nice touches here and there, such as the electric guitar picking working in conjunction with the tribal drumming. The occasional sampling of a drop falling into a body of water, and other such samples all add a nice level of depth to the song overall. For the first time on the album Molvaer’s trumpets sound distorted from the electronics, which add an interesting and nice quality to them. The songs pace picks up in the second half, making the piece even more upbeat compared to previous ones. Overall it is quite a pleasant song, and the spacey feeling offers something different to that which has been displayed on the album already, a good change in direction. ‘Phum’ is a minimalist piece on the album, consisting mainly of Molvaer’s playing and some interesting background beats. The piece is once again used to showcase Molvaer, and offers up a clean performance, riddled with interruptions from background sounds and samples, including a foreboding repetitive pair of sticks being banged together, as well as some new string aspects. The nature of the song is quite different from much of the album, as it avoids bombarding you with obvious noises and samples. Quite the dark and almost ‘scary’ track, it is definitely worth checking out in the middle of the album. ‘Song of Sand II’ is a continuation of the first SOS, and it opens with a very interesting use of glitch and Molvaer’s trumpet, almost trying to exasperate the sound of his trumpet while barely blowing any air through it. The piece is quite reminiscent of the first, for obvious reasons, but it is still a quality track. It just depends on how much you want to listen to a similar song again. The backing instruments and electronics are particularly nice and evident after a few songs without that depth. Molvaer also gets a few interesting sounds out of his trumpet, ones I wouldn’t normally expect. ‘Exit’ does what the name suggests. A nice ending to the album, it is minimal and offers just the bare minimum of what made the album special. Not entirely bombarding on the senses, it is a nice down tempo exit after the highs already experienced. As I already mentioned, this was one of my favourite albums of the 90’s. It offers an interesting blend of jazz and electronics and world music, and was certainly a unique experience when I first listened to it. It was one of the first nujazz experiments for me and it is probably still my favourite. The group of musicians is simply brimming with talent, and deserves ample recognition for their performances. TOTAL SCORE 9.2/10 – On Stream - Khmer – Song of Sand I |
Excellent review and an album that I will be checking out for sure.
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Great stuff mate. I for one am looking forward to your reviews.
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Fog Dance, My Moth Kingdom – Worrytrain (2007)
http://www.thesirenssound.com/wp-con...om-300x267.jpg GENRES - Neoclassical, Ambient, Electronic, Noise Prelude For Piano And Malaria – 4:46 Celestial Police – 2:40 For Auschwitz – 3:13 Thundertrance Interlude – 3:05 Achtung, God – 3:18 Hospitalized – 1:49 Soviet Passages – 2:12 White Phosphorus Angels – 6:19 The Moth Screamed Harvest – 2:43 Saturniidae – 5:12 Cambodia (Piano Duet) – 3:45 Exorcism For Cello And Malaria – 6:54 The Trenches Choir – 8:47 Ode To Faithful Kataklysm – 2:37 End Theme – 1:48 Worrytrain is a fairly new find for me… The man behind the name, Joshua Neil Geissler, offers an experimental mix between neoclassical music, minimalism, electronics and sometimes just pure noise. Nonetheless, Fog Dance is an interesting experience. Sometimes it feels generic, yet still beautiful, and as soon as that feeling comes, it can be overtaken by a simple ‘What the **** was this bloke thinking?’ The most common instruments through the album are piano and violin, and the result is an album worth checking out. The album opens with ‘Prelude for Piano and Malaria’ which is a haunting and echoing piece performed primarily via piano. The level of resonance creates an interesting depth. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but during production it seems the actual pitch of the song was lowered, creating a thick and distorted sound rather than a clean and sharp piano key strike. As the song progresses the echoing starts to layer upon itself, creating some fascinating tones. ‘Celestial Piece’ builds on the piano work, which is a bit cleaner, with the introduction of a string ensemble. The dark tone is still present, and comes to the fore when the repetitive string pieces are interrupted by some wind instrument of some type. ‘For Auschwitz’ is a slow and sombre piece primarily made up of strings and piano work. It instills a sentiment of menace and sadness. Whilst it is sort of a ‘generic’ piece of neoclassical work, it is nonetheless a nice piece. The strings and piano work well in unison and it is simply an enjoyable construct. ‘Thundertrance Interlude’ heralds the introduction of the electronics and noise to the album. At the beginning it is a random assortment of single notes being played on various instruments, animal noises and other such things to boggle the mind. Then it is an attack of pure white noise changed across various tones and levels. 5/6ths of the song is this altered white noise. As quickly as it comes, the heavy electronics exit the scene. However, there are still prevailing elements throughout the album, rather than pure neoclassical music. ‘Achtung, God’ begins as a normal, well done, neoclassical piece, however now the backing at various places is made primarily of synth. This becomes more prominent as heavier beats start overpowering the strings and keyboard. The menace that was prevalent in past pieces has now picked up its pace. The addition really does turn the album around from a boring, generic neoclassical album to something with a bit more flavour, and this is the real beginning of the album for me. ‘Hospitalised’ remind me of music in hospitals in movies or video games… The constant ‘calming’ influence, however it is surrounded with a rather large cloud of fear and worry. The piece seems altered purely to assist in creating this effect. It’s only a short piece, but it is quite wonderful in my opinion. ‘Soviet Passages’ is a piece with a bit more oomph in it, created by the martial folk addition of war drums to the piano and droning in the background. The drums help propel the introduction of the string ensemble far more than they could achieve on their own, however, it is another short piece. ‘White Phosphorus Angels’ is reminiscent of the opening track; to the point of thinking you had pressed ‘restart album’ or something to that degree. Like the first track, it’s nice, but it becomes more interesting at about the 2/3rds mark, when the piano exits, and is replaced with an assortment of samples, that almost seem to be calling out in pain. Distorted martial drumming enters the scene again, and makes an end to this overall weird track. ‘The Moth Screamed Harvest’ opens with quite a different tone to the rest of the album. It starts with sharp noises, as someone plucks quickly at a mandolin. In the back there is a ever foreboding drone, and these never let up. It really is a nice contrast to the rest of the album which was devoted to dulled tones and noises. ‘Saturniidae’ offers up another ominous, violent piece. Heavy drums and gongs, a well as layers of random samples create some interesting and sometimes creepy depth before there is another attack of white noise. Geissler tries to fit as much destruction into the small time period before it all suddenly cuts out… And we are left with the ‘aftermath’, a destroyed world if you will, with semblances of the previous destruction floating around the place, and the only thing remaining is the quiet and dulled notes of a key stroke. ‘Cambodia (Piano Duet)’ Brings in some new instrumentation, with some light xylophone work, and the reintroduction of gongs and various such cymbals as well as some distorted vocals to make another amazing piece… The repetitive nature of the first half helps continue the dark tone of the album, despite the higher notes. However, there is a feeling of ‘light breaking through the clouds’ with the heavenly vocals, despite being impossible to hear clearly. As more beautiful tonal and keyboard work come into play, the xylophone picks up its pace until I cuts out, leaving only the light distorted background to surround the senses. ‘Exorcism For Cello And Malaria’ offers up chaos once again, as various sounds and instruments fight for supremacy over one another. They all slowly leave until only a few remain, along with the hostile background tone. This track sets the fastest pace of the album so far, and it does remind me of the ‘idea’ of an exorcism… Chaos, noise, struggle for power, raw emotion. A similar distortion is left to that at the end of ‘Cambodia’. However, rather than calming it remains indifferent and harmful rather than optimistic. ‘The Trenches Choir’ returns to neoclassical form, with more depth. For much of it is simply a pure neoclassical form, until its broken up by screeches of noise and other such electronic samples. This continues until the piano is overpowered by the distorted samples, and only they remain in their vicious glory. The track is the longest on the album, and feels unnecessarily so, but it still has some quality piano playing. ‘Ode To Faithful Kataklysm’ is a string piece until overtaken by distorted piano playing and distorted electronics. Again, its nothing particularly new to the album, however at only 2 and a half minutes, it doesn’t feel as forced as others. The final track, ‘End Theme’ is a simple piano piece pure to neoclassical form. Fog Dance, My Moth Kingdom definitely was an interesting lesson. It isn’t particularly revolutionary, and doesn’t do things the best in its genre but was worth the go through… The ideas it plays on, chaos, darkness, good, evil, destruction and beauty are all fascinatingly pursued, even if it was just a personal interpretation. At times it winded on, and struggled to hold its own weight, but it persevered. Cambodia and Saturniidae are definitely the highlight tracks. TOTAL SCORE 6.8/10 – Prelude For Piano and Malaria - Saturniidae |
Thanks guys... Will try to keep it interesting rather than review same ole' same ole' :p:
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Hurtbreak Wonderland – World’s End Girlfriend (2007)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1227/...908c30.jpg?v=0 GENRES – Experimental, Electronic, Ambient, Post Rock Wandering – 1:49 Birthday Resistance – 5:23 100 Years of Choke – 13:22 Grass Ark – 10:14 Ghost Of A Horse Under The Chandelier – 7:56 The Octuple Personality And Eleven Crows – 10:32 Breath Or Castle Ballad – 3:15 Bless Yourself Bleed – 10:32 Dance For Borderline Miscanthus – 4:39 River Was Filled With Stories – 10:13 I remember buying this album the first day it was available online after experiencing ‘Dream’s End Come True’ (2002) and just KNOWING it would be one that stuck with me. Sure enough, it is probably in my top 3-4 albums that have been released in the last few years. Its just special and different over the course of the album, something new to me, and underrated in the WEG discography. This album is definitely worth a 100 MB download, if not your hard earned dosh. WEG’s name behind the scenes is Katsuhiko Maeda. Wandering as a slow introduction to the album, just a sample of what is to come. The sounds of babies crying and someone waking up and leaving in the morning signal the ‘beginning’ of some absolute quality. The piece is simple, but is meant to be listened in conjunction with ‘Birthday Resistance’, which carries over the ensemble of violinists and brass instrumentalists. Maeda comes out to shine with his mixing and production of the piece. Random spikes, glitches and alterations riddle the ensembles, as he mixes and matches sounds and samples. The electronic beats truly are a beaut, especially in conjunction with the post rock elements. Compared to his other albums, HW is quite accessible, and this isn’t a bad thing. The true gold begins with ‘100 Years Of Choke’. It begins with calming sounds of nature, before Maeda introduces his classical composition to the piece. The light pluck of strings on the shamisen is quite a delight, before the string pieces enter the fray. Just alone this would make an amazing album, as layer upon layer is added, more string pieces, drums, cymbals, and guitars become prominent. It’s a beautifully relaxing start. As the central violin takes stage, the electronic mixing becomes more prominent; however it is yet to disturb this peace. As the pieces reach their end on the composition, it almost becomes lonely, yet maintains its beauty. As more instruments are substituted for others, such as guitars and flutes, it never loses its exquisiteness or calming influence. The classical composition part reaches its apex at ~7 minutes, and it makes you wish you were simply outside, in nature on a sunny day with birds chirping, before the bombastic electronics enter the mix at around 8-9 minutes. The change in pace particularly doesn’t discount from the song. Instead it adds another layer of depth, as electronics and electrical guitar become the basis. It still evokes a feeling of beauty, yet one much harder to attain. The song quietens down for a moment, with only vocal samples and distortion, before it explodes once again in a blaze of glory. It’s hard to explain what goes on from there. It must be experienced, as instruments are found here and there, but never consistently easy to identify over the chaotic electronics. ‘Grass Ark’, however, is the true standout of the album. The song is an amalgamation of cutting, mixing and beautiful sampling, done to the point of perfection in my opinion. The piece begins similarly in construct to ‘100 Years’, however, Maeda’s role is much more prominent much earlier, as random sounds and samples are cut over the piano and strings. The variation and chaos this brings to naturals sounds is amazing. The composition of the piece is amazing, as nature and machine collide. The quality of performance from the instrumentalists must also be noted. Though not the most terribly difficult composition, it is done extremely well. The piece slows down at about the 5 minute mark, only to introduce some maniacal laugh and sounds, which are great… It is a piece that MUST be experienced… I know I may use that term a lot, but its hard enough to describe such an artists work without being able to reference specific parts. Perhaps because the electronic elements are less ‘interfering’ than they are in ‘100 years’ but this is the standout song from the album. It just flows naturally and delightfully. ‘Ghost Of A Horse Under The Chandelier’ is almost a childish to begin with, reminding me of young children who simply hit random keys to try and make something sound good without wondering about depth. The song is built around these sharp notes and short constructs. The song as a whole, however, loses itself a bit along the way. There are parts that simply seem unnecessary, despite how good they sound at times. ‘The Octuple Personality And Eleven Crows’ is a more classical construct, reminiscent of home and family (feet running past, small touches like that) and has some of the nicest electronic beats and distortion on the album, and Maeda isn’t afraid to drag those beats over key parts of the song. The saxophone performance is quite a nice quality coming out of nowhere after a distortion. The flute is the same deal, coming into fruition after a glitch. Parts of the song later of seem a bit odd, and don’t really fit in well, but I guess that’s what WEG is trying to achieve. The song truly experiences the most cacophonic sounds from the album, though it does feel too long and dragged out. ‘Breath or Castle Ballad’ is a nice intermission from the overly eclectic, and at just over 3 minutes offers a nice change in time needed to devote yourself to the song. ‘Bless Yourself Bleed’ is an interesting piece in that a fairly important factor of the piece is vocal sampling. The piece is haunting, especially the repeating words of some female voice, who is prominent enough to be heard, but overshadowed by other instruments in the way. This is before its all stripped away to a single instrument, a piano, which sounds like those old music boxes, that start playing when you open the top. This enhanced the chilling feeling, simply because those types of music boxes are always adjoined to horror parts in movies and games. The song is probably his most interesting on the album. It has solid depth that requires attention, and the electronics glitches are used to brilliantly halfway through the song. It flows extremely well, which was required after the last few songs which can get lost at times. ‘Dance For Borderline Miscanthus’ sets a more solemn tone with a deep string ensemble and ‘scrounging’ sounds in the background… The electronics used are darker compared to the light and high pitch ones found elsewhere on the album. Maeda uses cuts to interrupt the album, never allowing the listener to get comfortable with the song, and is intermittent with laughing samples and other noises. The most aggressive piece on the album, it works well in the 4 minutes its given. ‘River Was Filled With Stories’ is a nice send off to the album, and feels like a real ending song, rather than just another song, which is all that’s really needed to cap a stellar album. Whilst it may not be for everyone, it is a great change of pace for both worlds. I personally loved the simple classical composition, as well as the jazzy factors present throughout various parts of the album, and Maeda has a very good ‘knack’ at mixing and knowing when to change his electronic beats. The album isn’t always perfect. Some parts drag on, and some parts are simply unnecessary, but there is enough quality in enough of the songs to give a high score. On the personal level, I simply love it, and it was quite a difficult album to review, simply because its hard to describe. TOTAL SCORE 8.0/10 – Bless Yourself Bleed – Grass Ark PS I’ll try to move out of electronics as a sub genre with the next batch :p: |
Put mildly, that Nils Petter Molvaer album sounds incredible judging by the videos. I'm really liking the post-rock/ambient vibe about World's End Girlfriend and Worrytrain. A real eye-opener of a thread this.
Excellent reviews, and I'll really be looking forward to some more from you. |
肉声 [Nikusei] – 友川かずき (1976)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GprCOHOsBQ...nikuseiweb.jpg GENRES – Folk, Acid Folk, Singer Songwriter おじっちゃ (Ojiicha) - 4:31 冬は莫迦くへなあ (Fuyu Wa Bakakubenu) - 2:24 あめらんくゆらん (Ameran Kuyuran) - 3:36 だがつぐ (Dagazugu) - 2:48 似合った青春 (Niatta Seishun) - 3:26 歩道橋 (Hodokyo) - 6:19 春だなあ (Haru Dana) - 2:57 冷蔵庫 (Reizoko) - 0:51 木端微塵 (Koppamijin) - 3:13 トドを殺すな (Todo O Korosuna) - 2:51 ハーモニカ (Harmonica) - 4:25 ちいさな詩 (Chiisana Uta) - 3:30 石 (Ishi) - 3:11 Kazuki Tomokawa (友川かずき) began his career during the Japanese 70’s folk revival, which followed suit of the Americans bringing folk music back into the public spectrum. Tomokawa has always interested me, particularly with his singing style… Rather than sing naturally, he almost seems to try and force the vocals from deep within him, which creates a rather unique style. The closest description I can think of is Tom Waits, but Japanese. He screams his lyrics more than anything (Don’t confuse this with screamo though). Nikusei was the first album of his I found on vinyl and still the best. I must warn though, this won’t be for everyone. I will refer to the songs by their English variant just in case not everyone has Japanese characters enabled. (NOTE – My interpretation of the songs are all based on tone and pitch simply because I don’t speak Japanese. So I may be off the mark by a fair bit :p:) ‘Ojiicha’ opens the album with a fast paced guitar riff, before Kazuki enters with his trademark vocals. The nature of his singings creates a sense of insanity and power. His singing is truly a marvel, as he seems to try and scream it, yet keeps it under some form of control. The backing guitar and drum add to the level of disorder as they seem to be doing their own thing with little regard to what Tomokawa is trying to perform. They all get lost in this aggressive little ditty, most definitely the most violent piece on the album. He really does sound like a madman in a fit of rage. The title of the song means ‘Uncle’ in English. ‘Fuyu Wa Bakakubenu’ is a more mellow yet still sad ballad, with Kazuki relying on normal vocals to produce the sound. He evokes feelings of loneliness and emptiness. The backing is fairly simple, with only a lone guitar and some light as well as some light keyboard. ‘Ameran Kuyuran’ follows on, with another quiet and solemn ballad more akin to traditional folk than his other pieces as of yet. The results are more upbeat, and its more a pleasant piece, creating an image of someone standing out over a landscape and breathing in the scenery. ‘Dagazugu’ is a return to hostile and melancholy form, with the guitar playing more violent, as well as Kazuki’s style. The chorus is introduced with some drumming, and he begins to evoke his demons from below. With each new chorus, he becomes angrier until he explodes with power and emotion. ‘Niatta Seishun’ begins as a more rock-folk piece, with the introduction of electric guitars and keyboards. The power is still present from the last track, however it is less violent and more solemn and foreboding, as he sings about lost time as we grow older. The use of electrical instruments offers a nice contrast to what has been offered so far, making this and the previous track two of my favourites from the album. ‘Hodokyo’ uses similar instrumentation to Niatta, however it is more reminiscent of classic rock blues, and Kazuki has calmed down as he belts out this beautiful but fearful ballad. He once again suggests loneliness as he calls out to something as he trudges through life. The track has a few electric guitar solos, intermittent with Kazuki performing some spoken word parts. These add to the depth of the song, making it more interesting. He gets more and more worked up and sounds like his soul is crying. Easily the best track on the album. It is pure emotion. ‘Haru Dana’ is more of a pop-folk song you would expect to hear on Japanese TV these days… It is entirely nothing special, but perhaps that’s because I have heard so many similar things. Its nice for what it is, but an entirely forgettable track overall. ‘Reizoko’ is another odd intermission which is pretty much just Kazuki speaking fast… He sounds especially nasally here. ‘Koppamijin’ is another slow ballad, a calming influence from the randomness surrounding it. The added keyboard and synth is a fairly interesting add, but nothing excessively special. It is simply a nicely constructed folk song. ‘Todo O Korosuna’ is another simply folk strumming session, Kazuki bringing back his gravelly, screaming vocals. He is screaming out in pain and anger, as someone important is destroyed or killed (Again those high school Japanese skills coming into play). He frantically searches for something to blame, but he can find no answer. ‘Harmonica’ has some interesting electric synth and distorted brass work along with the vocals and guitar. This is probably my favourite ‘calm’ song on the album, his best performance on the album as well. ‘Chiisana Uta’ is another nice piece, combining his sorrowful vocals with some more aggressive playing and pitch changes. Another strong and gloomy song, and despite being overall reminiscent to the album combined, it has some add additions, especially from some instrument I can’t identify. The final track, ‘Ishi’, ends the album on an interesting note, using synthesisers to a greater degree than found elsewhere to create a spacey sentiment as Kazuki finally seems to ‘accept’ his place. More of a spoken word song with interesting backing; it is a fantastic ending to the album. My first foray into a Japanese folk album, it was a pretty difficult review, simply because I didn’t know what was being sung about most of the time. However, Tomokawa has such an amazing ability to transcend the language barrier and emit pure emotion through his singing. He displays such levels of melancholy, sadness and anger, that the occasional pop track doesn’t detract form the piece as a whole. Sometimes it feels all too familiar; however, this isn’t a bad thing. Hodokyo is an amazing song, as well as Harmonica and Ishi, provide their moments of brilliance. If you think you can get over the foreign folk vocals, as well as the screaming, then it is definitely worth checking out. It might not be for everyone, but everyone SHOULD check it out. It definitely led me to some other great Japanese folk. I love it. TOTAL SCORE 7.2/10 - Hodokyo (just click on the vid and get sent to Youtube) |
Arc Of The Testimony – Arcana (1997)
http://www.emd.pl/muzyka/a/arcana/arar.jpg GENRES – Jazz, Free Jazz, Fusion Gone Tomorrow - 9:39 Illuminator - 6:07 Into The Circle - 9:25 Returning - 4:29 Calling Out The Blue Light - 6:37 Circles Of Hell - 7:15 Wheeless On A Dark River - 4:27 The Earth Below - 5:28 Every single time someone asks me who my ‘dream band’ would consist of, I don’t ever have to dream… This is one of the most amazing super groups ever assembled in the same band, and the results are obvious from the get go. Arcana (Not the neoclassical band from Sweden) is the project of bassist Bill Laswell, one of the best experimental musicians of all time, whether it be dub, jazz, rock, electronics, he has put his hand into lot of different styles. As the leader, he gathered some amazing names to back him up. Jazz drummer Tony Williams performs on one of his last ever recordings, and it is a worthy send off for the jazz legend. Pharoah Sanders is also present, performing his free jazz saxophone as great as ever, and Bynard Lancaster, an underrated avant garde jazzist is along for the ride. One of the best additions is early Buckethead. Most who know of Buckethead’s history know that Laswell was one of his first motivators, so its not surprise in reality. They also perform together in PRAXIS I believe. Arc Of The Testimony stands up with these other performers to create one of the best jazz-rock fusion albums ever. ‘Gone Tomorrow’ is an remarkable opening, with a little bit present from everyone. Williams sets the piece in motion with a little ‘ra-ta-ta’ across the cymbals and ever present Laswell dubbing before Buckethead puts the bulk of the song into action. Sander’s enters the fray with a little bluesy sax. This is probably one of my favourite prog-jazz openings ever. Each instrument has its own little set, and its built up into pure fusion goodness. William’s drumming is standout and he delivers awesome free drumming to get the song to its apex. This introduces Sander’s wild side as he whips out aggressive line after line of free sax jazz. As the instruments build up, chaos reigns, but it never loses its underlining beauty, created by an awesome Laswell dub backing. Definitely one for the ages. ‘Illuminator’ is a more hard edge rock song, as obvious by the aggressive drumming and Buckethead’s more pronounced guitar riffs. William’s loses none of his bite, and Buckethead’s psychedelic lines are as good as ever. Laswell lets the Head reign for a while, and the pair really does an awesome job of changing the direction of the album a bit. It gets a bit lost, but that’s not a bad thing. Although I do prefer the jazzier tunes on the album, this at least offers some variety. Another one to go into William’s long term repertoire of ‘must listen to’s’. ‘Into The Circle’ is a darker and ethereal piece, as well as reaching out the psychedelic influences. There is plenty of melancholy, despite the hard edged drumming and saxophone playing; it really does act as a chilled, calm piece. The electronics are used to create a sense of haunting and unearthly beings; some of the mixing changed to sound like some far off screech from an unknown creature. This is assisted by some spacey soundscape’s used in the background. Again, you can’t fault the performance of the instrumentalists, as William’s and Buckethead again steal the show, with some wonderfully eclectic playing. The last additions by Sander’s, deep below a few other layers are also a treat, before he hits his solo territory. He’s trying his darndest to **** up your eardrums. ‘Returning’ reintroduces the raw rock sound. By this time, it doesn’t even feel like you have changed tracks, because is simply a quick and volatile re-offensive on the senses. This isn’t a bad thing by the way, the album flows amazingly well. This time its Buckethead’s turn to try and **** up your ears. Its a very violent track, but still containing some moments of brilliance, particularly when Buckethead breaks out the skills at around 2 and a half minutes. ‘Calling Out The Blue Light’ starts out as a quiet psychedelic calm, with the entire group following suite (Other than William’s of course). It is a lush song covered with layers of dubbing, light guitar riffs, some light saxophone work, that just works a treat. It almost makes me imagine being underwater, surrounded by a reef of colour, and never having to worry about coming up for air. Another track that is better to experience rather than be explained how it makes ME feel. It ends with a beautiful touch from Sanders. ‘Wheelless On A Dark River’ sounds almost ‘too far away’ to full experience, as if it isn’t intended to be fully heard to begin with. Maybe it’s the production or dubbing, I don’t know, but I like that little subtle touch. This is, of course Williams, Laswell and Buckethead go all avant garde on the song. Reminding me fully of a rock version of John Coltrane’s mess of Ascension, the two are all over the place, with little regard for one another. Of course that’s what makes FREE jazz great. Each section is to be marvelled separately, whether it’s the deep acoustic bass of Laswell or William’s aggro drumming. It is truly the freest jazz you’ll get on the album, without any Sanders either. ‘The Earth Below’ brings back the raw rock violence, to assist in the foreboding feeling set by the backing electronics and even just the name. William’s fast drumming is a wonder, I have no idea how he does it, but he continued to produce up until his much too early death. It’s the rock version of ‘Wheelless’ in that it delivers a lot of free aspects, just a bit more structured and a bit more spacey. Its pretty much a competition of who can outdo each other speed-wise between Buckethead and Williams. The final track, ‘Circles Of Hell’ returns to the fusion sound heard early on the album. It is an amalgamation of a lot of other aspects found on the album. The song true William’s epitaph, a commemoration to his skill as a drummer and his influence on the jazz world. Everyone gets in on the act to make it something special. Arc Of The Testimony is one of the most perfect prog-jazz albums I have found. It just suited my particular tastes, as it doesn’t attempt the screeching guitar sounds that are present through earlier fusion albums, and it really bites through all the crap that was being produced in the genre to create a true gem. Unfortunately, it is rather unknown. We’re it not for Williams’ untimely death, who knows what this group would go on to produce. Their first outing, ‘The Last Wave’ is more avant garde rock rather than jazz fusion, which makes each of them so special and unique in comparison to one another. The album doesn’t over extend itself either, resting at around 50 minutes; I found it was the prefect length without having to drag much along. I would recommend this album to people who are interested in prog-jazz-rock fusion; however, this would surely disappoint them, as they will never find a greater gem in the genre. A true beauty that deserves a good few listens. It is a great ending to Williams’ amazing career, brimming with great improvisation and electronics. TOTAL SCORE 9.3/10 – Gone Tomorrow – Into The Circle - Returning |
NOTE - My supremely dodgy uploads are the ones that just have the titles at the start, and then a pic or two of the artist and the album cover... I am too lazy to make something elaborate, and thats not really the point is it? :p:
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Can I just give you a little advice? Try spreading your reviews over a few days. That way more people may be inclined to keep coming back and digesting what you have wrote and also comments can be attributed to that album in paricular and not turn the thread into a mess.
It's a great thread for sure so don't get offended or even take my advice lol Just a tip ;) |
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But I am bored at home jobless atm, so I have plenty of time to write em. |
Oh yeah. Tell me about the jobless bit! Crap isn't it? Have you checked out stuff like Jazz Juice, Moodorama, De Phazz and Nightmares On wax? They are at the more ambient end of jazz electronica but well worth your time.
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Another few in the same vein are Skalpel (Who I remember giving to you), Triosk (good stuff), The Necks, Urban Sax (Who I will probably review - More on the jazz side though), The Drift (Post rocky jazz), Kammerflimmer Kollktief... |
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I think I will post reviews faster if I get less comments. Its a more personal thing anyway.
But I will still give plenty of time for comments if anyone is interested. |
Inamorata – Method Of Defiance (2007)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IyDZgXq8QH.../inamorata.jpg GENRES – Drum n’ Bass, Electronic, Jazz, Dub Ta'wil - 7:56 Humanoid - 4:48 Hidden Killer - 4:55 Amenta - 6:48 Panepha - 4:44 Babylon Decoder - 5:20 Aibi-Virus - 6:41 Anti-Jazz Glitch - 6:39 Black Water - 4:28 Pattern Engine - 4:56 Aether - 5:13 Remains - 6:28 Yet another Laswell project and one of the better pure electronic based ones might I add. If you ever wanted an overly-elaborate group of ‘friends’ to assist in a DnB project, this one has them all. I will list them all at the end, but safe to say, it is one of the larger lists I have seen (I am not too big on the normal DnB scene, so I may be off a bit). The result is mix of pure DnB, some interesting over tones and some well placed beats. ‘Ta’Wil’ stars Pharoah Sanders and Submerged for the opening track of the album. Starting off with a calming sax solo, heavier and instrumentation beats are layered on the song to liven it up into what it become. The core DnB sound is the foundation to the rest of the album, with interesting additions from various artists here and there. Sanders superior sax playing takes centre stage quite a bit. A little more Laswell mixing is added later on in the piece, including some nice wind instrument samples that make it stand out a bit better than it did at the start of the song. Sanders sends the song out is awesome fashion. ‘Humanoid’ starts off as a more hard edged DnB piece with some grand guitar dub depth from Laswell himself before Buckethead offers his own piece of raw guitar strumming. The mix itself is a lot more interesting than the opening track, without any single instrument overriding another. Kondo also offers up some quality trumpet playing here and there, though not enough of it in my honest opinion. The keyboardist also adds a touch of Davis ‘In a Silent Way’ magic, which I love. ‘Hidden Killer’ offers a more distorted dub DnB base, with some unique (To me) mixing from Black Sun Empire. Haynes however, is a standout on his cornet, creating some pleasant depth along with Cosey’s psychedelic guitar lines. I enjoy the more dulled tones and distortion, more so than the other songs so far. Haynes pulls out some near robotic strings of playing, which is a solid contrast to his normal natural style of playing. ‘Amenta’ offers a more worldly and acoustic DnB base compared to the other songs so far. Much of the early drum is on small djembe, whilst the small flute like instrument is another treat. Lancaster takes full control and shakes the piece around, and along with the nice metal drums and djembe, create an earthy feeling around the song, which I find is quite rare in the genre as a whole. ‘Panepha’ introduces one of jazz’s mainstays into the project, to an awesome result. Mr’ Han**** steps up to the plate on keyboard, and his impact is instantaneous. He carries that mystical ‘Silent Way’ feeling I was talking about earlier and makes it into something totally different with the DnB. His playing is eclectic, yet never feels too out of touch with the rest of the instrumentation. ‘Babylon Decoder’ is another interesting piece that molds a few pieces of the puzzle into one tower… Amit’s assistance on the mixing side of things is obvious as he creates a bubbly sort of twangy beat that Buckethead plays against with all his aggression. The piece itself becomes more hostile psychedelic, as the piece is never dragged down to earth by a heavy drum and bass base. The tones and pitch lend itself to create this spacey mood. Laswell’s bass in the background is also a nice addition over the light electronic foundation. ‘Aibi Virus’ begins with quite a few dark samples…. What sounds like someone screaming, someone tortured… It’s pretty freaky when used in conjunction with the dulled drum and bass electronics. John Zorn is present in all his normal ways, pulling out the alto sax and trying to rape your ears. There is a beautiful addition from the Masada String Trio, who rip at their violin strings, trying to fit in as much as possible. We soon hit a ‘calm’ period, where the trio start playing normally, before chaos reigns once again. Its pure noise at times, as you struggle to pick one vein of instrumentation over another. The quiet ending with the Trio once again pulling out their classical influence is a beautiful aspect. ‘Anti Jazz Glitch’ opens with Craig Taborn on his keyboard; giving the impression that perhaps the album has calmed down a bit… This is also a nice contract to the chaos that just reigned a minute ago. The keyboard stays in power throughout, as everything is seemingly altered sound wise by its existence. The keyboard never feels forced to keep up with the DnB speed, instead adding its own impact at its own rate. ‘Black Water’ is a more trip hop sound than anything else on the album. It isn’t the type of down tempo trip hop that makes you fall asleep; it keeps your attention throughout. Lancaster in particular offers up a decent change in terms of instrument tempo, and the actual drumming doesn’t try too much to detract from his performance, until they both decide to step up the pace. Haynes on cornet adds a contrast between the two wind instruments, as they try to outdo each other. ‘Pattern Engine’ is more of what we’ve heard; the DnB electronics are a bit more mechanical compared to the other pieces so far. Liebman shows off his soprano saxophone skills at times, but on the whole, there are far better tracks on the album. ‘Aether’ was the track I was really waiting for, primarily due to the addition of Nils Petter Molvaer on trumpet. The glitchy electronics and earthy drumming is reminiscent of Khmer to a degree, the song is just alto more aggressive than anything Molvaer offered up electronics-wise. Kale on the tabla and drums really steals the show at various points though, and I found myself more interested in what he would do than Molvaer. Molvaer is solid as usual, and perhaps is the best track simply because he has already experienced such genre mixing before on his own albums. It is a solid track, though at times reminding me a bit too much of Khmer and his other outings. The final track, ‘Remains’ has no special name attached to it as others did instrumentation wise. It is simply Laswell and Corrupt Souls child specifically as they offer up a high pitched all guns blazing DnB track. For that reason it isn’t nearly as interesting to me as other tracks are, because I am not huge on the DnB genre anyway. The album really takes a lot out of you to listen to, and even more so to review. I am not a huge fan of the brum and bass electronic genre, the closest example being Amon Tobin who offers up enough trip hop and down tempo songs to contrast well over an album to not make it so daunting a listen. I found it hard to sit through in one, but there were moments of greatness around the place. I can imagine myself loving this were I a bigger DnB fan, however that is not the case. It is definitely one of the more interesting Laswell projects however. TOTAL SCORE 6.5/10 - Amenta - Panepha – Aibi Virus |
Iron Path – Last Exit (1988)
http://ronaldshannonjackson.com/file.../iron_path.jpg GENRES – Rock, Noise, Avant Garde Jazz, Experimental Prayer – 4:38 Iron Path – 3:28 The Black Bat (For Aku Ikuta) – 4:33 Marked For Death – 2:21 The Fire Drum – 4:22 Detonator – 3:47 Sand Dancer – 1:56 Cut And Run – 2:30 Eye For An Eye – 4:54 Devil’s Rain – 4:15 I thought I would try and make some interesting triplet thing going, so I picked yet another Laswell project to review, from the 80’s, so we have 3 concurrent Laswell projects, one from 88/97/07 to give it a fascinating twist in regards to Laswell’s progression over the last few decades. Last Exit is another one of Laswell’s jazz super groups. He just has the talent to drag them all together. But as we know famous musicians does not equal a famous nor memorable performance. This time he has assembled some masters of their area; Sonny Sharrock - guitarist. Peter Brotzmann – Insane free jazz saxophonist. Ronald Shannon Jackson – drummer, and of course, Laswell himself. The band was together from 86-94, when they produced some of the most amazing life improvisational performances in the genre. They were loud, aggressive and never let up. Unfortunately, the band had to disband after Sonny Sharrock passed away in 94. This, along with Tony Williams’ early death, forced two amazing bands to stop production. Iron Path is the best of the few studio albums they released. They put all of their live show power into a studio form, with great results. Unlike the ethereal space mood created by Arcana, Iron Path is no holds barred, crashing, stomping noise and violence. Brotzmann, despite being on sax adds more to the hard rock feeling that I could think possible for a saxophonist. This is an astonishing album, to say the least. NOTE – Best listened to full boar… ‘Prayer’ opens with some foreboding signs… Some far off animal call, a bell ringing… Before the pitter-patter of Jackson’s drumming hits the scene, Sharrock following suit. The ultimate goal is to make as much noise as possible, as quickly as possible. Sharrock is in stunning form Laswell all the while is doing his thing, as they introduce Brotzmann to the group… His trademark sounds are already in practice, the low pitch of the sax screaming out. The Machine Gun comes out to play, as Brotzmann rips out note after note, trying to out do Jackson behind the kit. Hardly a track that words a lone can describe. ‘Iron Path’ carries on the slowed lull that was present after the end of Prayer. True to Laswell form, the album is almost one long piece rather than a group of songs. Iron Path is a purely suggestive piece, as the four main artists avoid interfering too much. ‘The Black Bat’ follows on the themes of the previous track into rock form. The deep bass twangs, Jackson’s suggestive drumming of some hostile force, and before it all explode in a cacophony of violence. This process is repeated a few times, as the beast’s influence grows. ‘Marked For Death’ is a slow, melancholic drum piece to begin with… I am not normally big on drum solo’s, but its not really about the technical skill but rather trying to convey a mood, so it was okay… It is only a short piece used as a go between the previous and next piece. ‘The Fire Drum’ is a groovier, psychedelic chill session, thanks to Laswell’s laid back twangs and Sharrock’s non aggressive approach. Brotzmann is a bit bluesier than his usual self, which is an interesting twist. It carries the slow nature of the previous songs but it makes it more upbeat, a much needed change (Although I wish there was more noise sometimes). Brotzmann gets a bit sick of the slow and quiet approach and breaks out his screeching sax a bit in beaut fashion. ‘Detonator’ turns up the volume again, and attempts to make everything as raw as possible. Sharrock’s guitar and Laswell’s bass have some intense distorting effects going on, which is awesome to say the least. Brotzmann rips out a few lines here and there as everything picks up a bit of tempo, and he really gets going. ‘Sand Dancer’ follows on the blues elements of Fire Drum, and is another short interval to show off some skill, particularly Sharrock’s. ‘Cut And Run’ is a full on attack of noise as quickly as possible… Brotzmann is certifiably insane, and this track is what gave me the most love for him as a saxophonist (Hadn’t heard much else before). All four of them are trying to out do each other. It isn’t that structured, they know when their turn is, but other than, it’s just an amalgamation of their fastest playing… LOVE IT. I’ll leave it to the video (Though I am sure not everyone will love it). ‘Eye For An Eye’ sadly breaks away from the fast stuff once again and goes into the slower, droning, repetitive agitated state the album is directed to earlier. A nice track nonetheless. The production is awesome, as they layer three of Brotzmann timbre’s one upon another, before he hits out in a solo. ‘Devil’s Rain’, the final track on the album is an awesome ending to an awesome album. An amalgamation of a lot of sounds already, Sharrock is once again the standout, Laswell’s licks are quality, and Brotzmann gets all his frustrations out in an all out attack. Again, it is better for the video to do the talking. Unfortunately, the album comes in at a meagre 36 minutes… TOTAL SCORE 9.1/10 – Cut And Run - Prayer - Detonator – Devil’s Rain In regards to which was the best Laswell era? They are all different and great for their own reasons… I obviously prefer the jazz-rock era’s though, as obvious by the rating of Arc of The Testimony and Iron Path. It is a shame that both bands had to end due to the unforeseeable death of two jazz legends. |
Unless anyone thinks otherwise, I will probably start cutting down on review length...
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Inamorata sounds absolute killer judging by those tracks. Luckily I like Drum N Bass anyhow so it's instantly likeable.
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闇のなかに置き去りにして~BLACKにGOOD LUCK – 浅川マキ (1998)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA240_.jpg GENRES – Blues, Folk, Singer Songwriter INTERLUDE – 6:18 向こう側の憂鬱 (Mukougawa no Yuutsu) – 5:18 別離 一本の毛髪にぶらさがる記憶のように (Betsuri (ippon no mouhatsu ni burasagaru kioku no youni))– 4:09 閉ざす (Tozasu) – 4:56 いい感じだろう,なぁ (Iikanji Darou, naa) – 5:19 無題 (Untitled) – 4:38 愛さないの愛せないの (Aisanaino Aisenaino) – 4:00 暮らし (Kurashi) - 4:42 あなた,オーライ(Anata, All Right) – 3:34 INTERLUDE(インストゥルメンタル) (Instrumental) – 1:28 Another Japanese 70’s folk artist, Asakawa Maki (浅川マキ) has been creating music for nearly 40 years. Over her career (Beginning in the early 70’s) she has tried to infuse various influences, such as rock, pop and blues into her folksy beatnik style. Good luck is one of her more recent forays back into the world of music. The result is an attractive union between her original stuff and some more electronic elements. It certainly has some of my favourite vocal performances, with a few that are only matched by ‘Blue Spirit Blues’ from the album of the same name. The piece was recorded when she was just over 56 years of age, and it offers up some of her best moments. It is more accessible than Kazuki Tomokawa, but stunning in her own way. The opening track offers something different to the usual on her past albums already. ‘Interlude’ is a pure vocal performance which utilises key boards and shamisen to create an ethereal feel. The vocal performance is an absolute beaut, and probably my favourite of hers, save for Blue Spirit Blues. The simple guitar lines and keyboards add nice depth, but its Asakawa’s progression through the song that makes it truly worth sticking around for 6 minutes. As the song gets deeper, she starts interchanging some Japanese words with English words, which works an absolute treat. It just grabs our interest, especially with her powerful accent, its an interesting twist when out of no where you hear ‘Loving you’ in the mix of Japanese words. A perfect song to have with a few drinks in isolation and a ciggie or two (if that’s your thing). ‘Mukougawa no Yuutsu’ is a total change in direction, as Maki exploits a more upbeat tone to go along with her floating and almost haunting voice. She sounds as if she almost doesn’t care about the subject as she floats around looking in. Her dark, beatnik style is in full force over the guitar, with the addition of a small drum, its all in place. Not a great piece (I prefer her darker moments) but it is still a nice change, though a bit long at 5 minutes. ‘Betsuri’ continues the ethereal nature of ‘Interlude’ whilst adding a few folksy elements (Again, with the drums and whatnot). An electric guitar is added to add a spacey element, as Maki does her thing. The piece is more like poetry with Maki’s delivery, broken up, with little flow or continuity. Similarly, it is a nice piece, though hardly memorable. ‘Tozasu’ begins with Maki in solitude, expressing her loneliness in this quality piece. It is as if she is singing purely to comfort herself, rather than any outside and for now unknown entity. The piece is pure folk and emotion. The simply guitar strumming adds to this overall feeling. At moments it sounds as if she is going to cry, and forcing the words from her throat, as she gets lost in her own world. It’s another perfect song with drink in hand. The late electric guitar just adds a bit more depth, and is used to exacerbate the overall mood of the song. ‘Iikanji Darou, naa’ has a bit modern pop influence present throughout. The nature of the song construct, it just screams ‘happiness’. It’s a bit interesting, though nothing original, but Maki does fill out the song well. Sounding a bit like a clichéd happy ending song more than anything, it’s another one that isn’t great and the album would be fine without. The keyboard just makes it more annoying. ‘Untitled’ is a bit unique in that it utilises a piano as the base instrument. It’s a nice feature, and certainly adds some dissimilarity to the other quieter/solemn pieces of the album. Maki struggles to get the words out of her throat, and its more a reflective piece than anything. The piano apex in conjunction with Maki’s elegance and vocals is wonderful at about half way onwards. It is another song better experienced. Maki’s elegance, grace and sophistication make this another standout. ‘Aisanaino Aisenaino’ uses electronics in its production to make a repetitive back beat, along with guitar and shakers. Although it isn’t the ‘perfect’ vocals people are used to, her sound interests me, especially when going up higher consistently when she sings the title ‘Aisenaino’. ‘Kurashi’ has a bit more of funky rock sound, more so than other pieces, primarily attributed to the electric guitar, The song stays fairly consistent throughout, never really picking up at all. Until the end, the song drags along. ‘Anata’ is nothing new or special, but a nice, up tempo song, out of the upbeat songs, it’s probably my favourite. It has some nice blues guitar in the middle. ‘Interlude (Instrumental)’ is a nice piece, just displaying the instrumentals of Interlude, with the addition of a piano. It’s a nice addition, simply because I love the backing on Interlude, but its not my favourite way to end an album. I guess it does have a sense of finality to it though, so I can see where they’re coming from. The album is definitely an interesting one. Maki’s voice has definitely aged well, as proof with some stand out performances in Interlude and Untitled, however on the whole the album drags on a bit. Late in the album its Maki being Maki, but we have heard it all before without it being special. There’s a nicer balance between upbeat pop folk tracks and her bleak, dark blues folk songs, and it makes it a worthy experience. Maki is a true talent. She has an amazing vocal ability, as well as being a quality songwriter, however, half of her stuff doesn’t isn’t really my style. She would make an amazing compilation album especially, nabbing a song here and there, and it would result in something I would prefer (Which is saying something because I don’t normally like compilations). But there is enough good on the album to off balance the stuff that drags along. Because of the gold on the album, this or another would still rate highly in my favourite albums of all time, despite their inferior score to others. I find her vocals that amazing and rare. It’s a top album to have a drink or two to. TOTAL SCORE 7.1/10 - Interlude - Untitled |
Le Livre Noir Du Capitalisme – Sylvain Chauveau (2000)
http://www.thesirenssound.com/wp-con...apitalisme.jpg GENRES – Contemporary Classical, Ambient, Electronic Et Peu À Peu Les Flots Respiraient Comme On Pleure 3:28 JLG 2:10 Hurlement En Faveur De Serge T. - 2:54 Le Marin Rejeté Par La Mer - 3:39 Dernière Étape Avant Le Silence - 4:51 Dialogues Avec Le Vent - 3:35 Ses Mains Tremblent Encore - 1:58 Ma Contribution À L’industrie Phonographique - 2:47 Géographie Intime - 5:33 Je Suis Vivant Et Vous Êtes Morts - 6:42 Mon Royaume - 2:46 Potlatch (1971-1999) - 1:58 Un Souffle Remua La Nuit - 2:32 Sylvain Chauveau is part of my ‘Big French Pair’ of modern classical music, the other being Yann Tiersen. They’re quite a combination, each unique in their own way, and both especially talented (In my perception at least). Le Livre Noir Du Capitalisme (Or ‘The Black Book Of Capitalism’ in English) is Chauveau’s solo debut. Chauveau flutters from straight up contemporary classical, to electronic, to ambient, and likes to mix them up. ‘Et Peu À Peu Les Flots Respiraient Comme On Pleure’ is a stunning opening, though fairly simple in its construct. It is simply a classical composition filled with strings and a pianist. The string ensemble makes a nice backing to the solid piano work. The trumpet that enters the piece at around the half way mark is a nice addition, as it brings some variation, and the wind samples laid over the end of the track are an especially nice touch. ‘JLG’ is another piano composition, which is dramatic, aggressive, and beautiful; the piece just evokes so many emotions. At only 2 minutes long, it is almost perfect in its entirety, but sometimes I wish I could hear more. ‘Hurlement En Faveur De Serge T.’ is Chauveau’s first real mix up electronics wise… The song opens with a very violent sample of a tea pot about to explode (You know, those traditional stove pots). The piece is primarily dark and constructed of electronics and guitars… The track would fit in very well with a film noir scene, where the hero is trying to hide from the bad guys down alleyways and whatnot. Overlaid is a speech of some type (In French I presume) which sounds like its coming out of an old school ham radio. The repeating beats and drumming and scraping create the sense of foreboding to assist in the film noir feeling. ‘Le Marin Rejeté Par La Mer’ begins with pure silence… Then some crackling enters the picture, similar to that of listening to an old vinyl, which is what I presume Chauveau was trying to create a feeling of. Assisting the piano is a simple string ensemble, and a low humming vocal performance. Although nothing special, it is a nice small addition to the album, introducing some much needed vocals over the albums entirety. ‘Dernière Étape Avant Le Silence’ is a story unfolding before the eyes, of a man’s life before death… Chiming bells and fast paced violins consume the piece, with an overarching solo violinist present. Chauveau offers up an interesting distortion, almost an electric ripple early on to the piece. The faint hint of the fast strings ensemble adds nice depth. Although it is largely the same ideas repeated this track doesn’t lose much ground. It manages to maintain the listeners interest, hoping there is another turn in the story. ‘Dialogues Avec Le Vent’ takes quite an interesting turn from the rest of the album. It hits a post-rocky dream phase, as a single guitar performance owns the stage with some light vocal work and some light additions by other instruments. The song maintains the cinematic quality that the rest of the album possess’, and there is a constant feeling of fulfilment, embraced by the electronic backbeat and the horns section introduced around half way through. An interesting experience, before it is all quickly taken away from us. ‘Ses Mains Tremblent Encore’ is only a short piece, it is a nice addition, simple, beautifully performed and introduces us to some ideas Chauveau will be utilising later on in the album, particularly the electronic elements. ‘Ma Contribution À L’industrie Phonographique’ is an introduction of full blown electronics into the contemporary classical scene. He mixes his ideas well to create a sense that this is still a classical album. ‘Géographie Intime’ is almost a continuation of the post rock sound created in ‘Dialogues’, just more fleshed out, with electronic guitars, shakers, harmonica tones and the female vocalist from either tracks. The ethereal performance of the strings section is superb, as the piece induces raw emotion from the listener. The keyboard work assists in making this dreamy feeling come to life. It is a remarkable track, and it makes it difficult to imagine what this album is trying to convey. The second half is a quiet electronic dub-over… ‘Je Suis Vivant Et Vous Êtes Morts’ begins by conveying the chaos of life before the synth takes over, creating this nightmarish hell and scary quietness that is death. ‘Mon Royaume’ continues this hellish dream, using the sounds of a carnival, glass breaking, a man screaming to continue the ideas of the previous songs, before it all stops, and we are left with an out of place piano performance, which is interrupted by these metal scrapings sounds. ‘Potlatch (1971-1999)’ is an interesting piece, bringing in some more folk influences, including the instrument everyone loves, the accordion. Only a short piece, it is an interesting change so late in the album. It is layered nicely with some electronic sounds, piano, and some other samples. The final track, ‘Un Souffle Remua La Nuit’, creates the sense of finality. Personally, it evokes the idea of death, the chiming bells, and the music which is created to sound upbeat but has a sad undertone, like that at a funeral. Le Livre Noir Du Capitalisme grabbed me from the first listen. It is an attractive amalgamation of contemporary classical and electronics, that doesn’t stray too far into the folk history of French music, as Yann Tiersen does. It has a lot of dark moments, but it does paint an interesting picture of life, the dizzying and fast paced highs and the nightmarish lows. It opened up a whole new world for me personally. TOTAL SCORE 9.0/10 - JLG - Dernière Étape Avant Le Silence - Géographie Intime NOTE – I will try to get my teeth into some albums I know I won’t give 9’s just to toss it up a bit… I just really wanted to review a few albums before I mix it up a bit (So there may be a few more :p:) |
This thread is so good with so many new names for me. Keep it up!
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Architechnology – Rubberoom (1999)
http://i16.tinypic.com/3zve041.jpg GENRES – Rap, Hip Hop, Abstract Born - 4:48 Smoke - 4:52 Lock Jaw - 4:38 The Revelry (Acapella) - 0:22 Bleach - 5:06 The Shining - 3:30 Acid - 5:37 Vertigo (Extended Mix) - 7:19 Sector Rush Rmx (Rebuilt) - 5:39 Style Wars - 6:51 Architechnology Nine - 5:18 Pathway To The Abyss - 1:38 Offering 1366 - 2:44 Trial Of The Vampire - 3:41 Space And Time - 7:21 Operation Forever - 4:49 Anybody who knows me, knows that I am hardly the type to actively look for new rap music… It is my ‘nonchalant’ genre, in that more often than not, I can handle it in the background (Unless its Australian rap :p) and there is some stuff that I genuinely like (Run DMC, some Public Enemy) but more often than not, it’s a genre I can live without. I was about to pass up on Rubberoom’s 1999 release of Architechnology before I thought ‘What the hell, may as well use an extra 100MB here and there’ on some risks. Needless to say, it is probably one of my favourite risks in a while. My mates all listen to rap, of all types, but Architechnology was simply different and fresh for me. Some great beats, some nice lyricism, and just overall solid production has made this my favourite rap album of all time. Of course, it is still rap, so it won’t take to some peoples liking. Please note, I never review rap albums, and am overall ignorant on the genre, and have no idea how to describe some things, so bear with me. Also, given the beastly number of tracks, I won’t run through everyone to great detal, as I normally do. The opening track, ‘Born’, at times is an example of why the album felt different to me… It had some more abstract beats that were implemented by The Opus to make the backing seem more important than just to add depth the rapping. The neoclassical string group with the mixing give it’s a dark/industrial sort of feel, as the artists, Lumba and Meta Mo, add to this with some raw and precise lyrics. They don’t **** around too much, tyring to overdo themselves as some rappers do, but use their voices in conjunction with the deep backing to create and awesome finished piece. In ‘Smoke’, is an attack on ‘mainstream’ hip hop and rap, and here the true value of the two artists become obvious. The contrast between the two is great, Lumba producing a nice legato in comparison to Meta Mo’s harsher staccato. ‘The Revelry’ is a nice interlude, just a simple accapella piece of pure rapping. ‘Bleach’ marks an awesome triplet of songs on the album. Bleach has more solid industrial and distorted backing, creating an image of a destroyed futuristic landscape. The lyrics revolve around this bleak idea, and it also introduces the best line on the album, ‘Keep it classic, so it lasts like acid’. I don’t know why it appeals to me, it simply does. ‘The Shining’ is another well constructed piece, great in its simplicity… The whole pace is turned down a beat, as the repetitive drumming leads Lumba through a half of the song. The song, as well as the upcoming creates a dark toxicity, as if they are dangerous to the listener. ‘Acid’ is my favourite song on the album, the lyricism and backing having a dark and twisted feeling. The backing is particularly splendid, with its simple fusion of electronics, classical aspects and industrial. The resultant ethereal and pronounced backing works fascinatingly in combination with the rapping, as they discuss the darkest aspects of humanity. ‘Vertigo’ is worth mentioning simply for the chilled dub trip hop opening. The background really is more important than the rapping in this piece for me. The light piano work and random sampling adds some beautiful depth, enough for it to be a solid trip hop song if left alone. The distorted vocals are also an attractive touch. The ending is just a lost collection of all the samples and sounds be used, more of the abstract beats that make the album my favourite. ‘Style Wars’ pulls out some of the fastest rapping on the piece, and it carries the dark, spacey backing that is present on other tracks. The echo used throughout the track is a good addition that keeps the track from getting too boring, same goes with the French horn introduced half way through the song. ‘Architechnology Nine’ is chock full of the experimentalism that makes these guys worth checking out. The opening back beat is some odd amalgamation of drumming and some ancient string based instrument sound. As the rapping is introduced, the electronics and dubbing pick up to create the image of a huge landscape, as the listener looks over this land. Something, however, is very wrong with this land, as the depth is overpowered by the harsh distorted drumming and vocals, and it gives the song an overwhelming yet amazing little build up. This is before it is all forced out of the picture and replaced with the harsh vocals alone. It’s a standout track on the album overall. ‘Trial Of The Vampire’ is another piece where the backing stands out over the rapping. The ancient base is mixed to bring it forward into the future, but it still has some telltale signs of being old… The piano, the old wolves howl, and light female vocalist, all add touches here and there to complete it into a full fledged section of the song that would remain interesting alone. However, in this case the drumming and vocals add to the depth and haunting nature of the song. ‘Operation Forever’ offers an strange almost alt rock electronic background to the rapping. The offbeat guitar plucking, with the other random instruments (Shakers, some unidentifiable wind/brass instrument) make this a song worth sticking through just to pick up on these oddities. The final song ‘Pathway To The Abyss’ is a short track that adds a sense of sad closure. The sax is a great addition to the final song, adding up some variety to this primarily instrumental piece. It is an awesome way to end the album, as it’s simply different. Overall, this is an album that I fell in love with from first listen. Unlike a lot of 80 minute rap albums, which struggle through due to a repetitive sound sometimes, or just poorly constructed songs, Architechnology is a pleasure to sit through. It isn’t as harsh as some, it has some fantastic beats, and it’s just different to what you normally hear. It’s clean yet raw at the same time, and considering it’s a rap album, for me to love it is a strong suggestion that you GET THIS ALBUM if you have even a passing fancy in the genre. It would definitely fall somewhere in my top 20 albums of all time. TOTAL SCORE 8.5/10 - Born – Acid (Very poor quality, apologies) – Architechnology Nine |
I decided to make a 10 track mixtape available for download of the 10 artists I have reviewed so far in my journal… For most of them the songs on the mixtape are not from the album I reviewed itself, but from another album of theirs that I felt deserved highlighting. Sometimes they are very different (Arcana’s Cold Blast) or much of the same (Last Exit’s Discharge). For the songs that I put on that are from the actual album, it’s a case of not having more of that artists work (Unfortunately in many cases).
Anyway without further ado… Slowly Goes The Night – Volume One… Alternate Takes 1 – Acid by Rubberoom (Felt you deserved a good version) 2 – Cold Blast by Arcana, from their 1996 debut, The Last Wave 3 – Discharge by Last Exit, from their 1986 debut, Last Exit 4 – Frozen by Nils Petter Molvaer, from his 2002 release, NP3 5 – Humanoid by Method Of Defiance 6 – LOree Do Bois by Sylvain Chauveau, from his 2007 release, Nuage 7 – Rinjyu (Death) by Kazuki Tomokawa, from his 1978 album, Poem’s That Won’t Stop Crying From With Me 8 – Saturniidae by Worrytrain 9 – Wonderland Falling Tomorrow by World’s End Girlfriend from his 2002 album, Dream’s End Come True 10 – ブルー・スピリット・ブルース (Blue Spirit Blues) by Asakawa Maki, from her 1972 album, Blue Spirit Blues. Slowly Goes The Night.rar Enjoy :D Apologies for the blatant promotion of my journal |
Looks interesting Zarko. I've never heard of any of these people. Downloading as we speak. :)
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I was going to suggest you do a taster comp. Great work.
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Heres another link for the best of the albums I reviewed... Most are viewable on Youtube, but I will give it anyway... BestOfSGTN.rar And its great getting to double digits :p: |
Great review of Nils Petter Molvaer - A near perfect score here too. I'm DL'ing both these comps now, although I usually let it rot for a few days before giving them a listen.
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Volkssturm – Truart (2008)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_m_AAvEL6yj...a95e73e36l.jpg GENRES – Martial, Industrial, Folk, Experimental Sky over the Berlin – 4:04 Le Peuple Ouvrier – 4:03 Volkssturm I – 6:35 Volkssturm II - 4:37 Le Capitalisme – 4:21 Volkssturm III – 7:01 Sondervollmachten (Volkssturm version) – 5:02 Volkssturm IV – 4:45 Epilog – 4:00 The first review of a 2008 album and it’s a doozy… I should have a permanent disclaimer for the odd albums that, in all likelihood, I am the only one who will enjoy them, but whatever. Volkssturm is the third outing of Truart, a Ukrainian industrial folk artist. For those who don’t know, the genre ‘martial’ refers to patriotic national folk. As I mentioned, this won’t be for everyone on first listen, but it is quite interesting. I’ll even share one of the songs with you in a couple of days ;). However, on the whole it has some interesting depth and layering, and has become probably a favourite from 2008 for me personally. Highly recommended – Also, you should turn it up a bit. It makes the album all the better. For a new find, ‘Sky Over The Berlin’ grabbed me unexpectedly. It was different than what I expected from the descriptions, of course in this case, it wasn’t a bad thing. The heavily distorted guitar and piano strikes, the drumming, the horns, it was all so intense. Despite the overall industrial aesthetics the martial folk comes shinning through, as the wooden military drums signal the beginning of the core. The layers of sound are marvelous, and the guitar lines are a treat, shrieking through the noise. The intensity partially dies off with the dubbed industrial ending with only the military drumming assisting. It’s a quality song throughout. ‘Le Peuple Ouvrier’ is full of the same intensity; however a fair proportion of the folksy martial sound is made by the lovely old accordion, as well as some whimsical flute work. The undertone driving bass line is also a treat. It has been a while since I have actually enjoyed a song which contained accordion work to a major degree. The combination of instruments makes it ‘lighter’ and less foreboding than the opening track, but it’s still brilliant in its own regard. Also throughout are various samples of talking, which are used to break things up a bit. The blast of sounds in the last 20 seconds is a top way to finish off the song. ‘Volkssturm I’ begins with the accordion delivering very circus-like or festival sound and structure. It just reminds me of old French movies walking down a festival street with people and clowns playing the accordion and whatnot. This carries through the song quite nicely, which introduces some electronic dulled and distorted ‘umph’ beats. It is constructed extremely well, and it carries its mood almost too well, as it turns it into a fun track to listen to, even when it isn’t meant to be at times. At about 3:25, the distorted accordion work is an absolutely ****ing amazing treat for the ears, which doesn’t last long enough in my opinion. ‘Volkssturm II’ takes a turn with its dark and aggressive tone and pitch. It is a hostile attack on the ears, as everything is turned up and made as fast as possible, without the calming instruments in between. The alarm sample should be warning enough. It does still have accordion and guitar aspects, but they are made as harsh as possible in comparison to the previous songs. It really does get the heart pumping. Here is another quality song, simply because it once again offers something different. ‘Le Capitalisme’ calms everything down again, as it is carries a happier and calmer disposition. The guitar feels lighter, a lot of the sounds are warmer than their counterparts, and it is a quality contrast to Volkssturm II. It’s the sort of song that just makes you feel like you could be lying happy in an open field. It still has the raw industrial sound, but it’s just the perfect ‘coming down’ period, and it has some excellent guitar lines in the second half the song. ‘Volkssturm III’ is the longest track on the album, and has an peculiar ‘freak show’ feeling to it. It’s not happy but it isn’t particularly dark either. It’s just a bit silly sounding overall. It’s a difficult track to describe. It also has the most vocals out of any track on the album, and old folk song from Eastern Europe, with some obscure vocalist. ‘Sondervollmachten’ is another feature song because of its different and ‘wild, jungle-y’ feeling… The deep wooden and metal drumming, the earthy bass, all build up into some untamed beast. Yet another song that defies explanation, it’s probably better to experience to dark yet un-harmful creature. I have no idea what is being used to make the driving electronic sounds, probably a keyboard or electric organ, but it’s a treat. ‘Volkssturm IV’ borrows the crowded carnival feeling again, with a sample of a crowd and what I construe as a comedic fight, however, it quickly evolves into a down tempo trip hop industrial sound, with bassy beats, with some interesting layers on top. It has the most ‘electronic’ elements of the album so far, in regards to what is used to make the core of it. However, at times, it also feels the most stripped song of the album. It doesn’t carry the intensity of the rest of the album, and many sounds are minimalist and carried in isolation in comparison to previous songs on the album. The album ends with the aptly named ‘Epilog’ which is the most folksy in its fundamentals, carrying a nice ambient sound and beat without very many intense industrial moments at all. The accordion and instrument sounds are clean, and it’s quite the eye opening in regards to seeing just how much Truart layered the sounds. Until of course, it hits a point where he simply has to interfere, but it still does carry that hard edged industrial sound, rather a down tempo electronic distortion that comes into the song and leaves again at leisure. Truart was my favourite discovery of 2008. Depending on the day it will fight for favourite album of 2008 as well, simply because it is an interesting album that takes many listens to digest. The rhythms, the construct, the electronics, all add up to an amazing album that should definitely be listened to. There are some clearly better tracks, and some get weighed down in themselves, but it doesn’t really diminish from the album overall. Now we just need to see if it can stand the test of time. TOTAL SCORE 8.9/10 – Sky Over The Berlin – Volkssturm II (No matter how many times I listen to it, it’s still awesome, and great entertainment as well) – Le Capitalisme I had two review choices to chuck up before my Easter weekend bender, thought I would go with this one... Always tomorrow. |
From your first comp Rubberoom, Nils Petter Molvær and Sylvain Chauveau are big standouts for me.
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Also, you want anything, you know the deal :p: |
The Night I Met My Second Wife – Sir (2000)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA240_.jpg GENRES – Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Folk, Film Noir, Australian Handsome – 3:58 Washed Up – 5:12 Too Good – 4:51 Drunk On Love – 5:33 Sunny Safari – 3:26 The Night I Met My Second Wife – 5:50 The Girl Of My Dreams – 6:05 Release The Herd – 6:11 Heart Aches And Heart Breaks – 3:52 Sir is a three piece Melbourne band (Australia for you lot cross those vast pools of water) consisting of Jesse Shepard (Electric organ, analogue synth and vocals), Elizabeth Downey (Vocals and guitar) and Matt Bailey (Bass). There are a few ways to describe the natue with which Sir play their music… Slow, slow as hell, slow as ****, drug induced coma slow, laid back, and unhurried. These are but a few ways to describe Sir’s melancholic atmospheric alt. singer/songwriter style. That being said, it isn’t bad, but I can definitely imagine the pace turning quite a few people off. Add to that fact that it almost never picks up, the question begs to be asked. Why exactly do I like this as much as I do? It doesn’t offer too much, it isn’t terribly technical, it doesn’t offer amazing lyricism… It’s just appealing. Obviously it doesn’t suit every moment of the day or every mood, but in the right frame of mind and time, it is a god send. ‘Handsome’ is every indication you need to know what the album will be like. It opens with some synth and gentle guitar strumming, layering with Elizabeth’s gloomy and nonchalant vocals. Its simplicity adds to its beauty. As I suggested earlier, don’t expect to be too engaged to the music. I feel it is best to listen to on a quiet, subdued night on your lonesome. Sometimes it is difficult to decipher Elizabeth’s vocals, but that simply adds to the overall mystique of the performance. It is numinous enough to never be quite too clear, but always present. ‘Washed Up’ follows the same pace but is more minimalist and dark in its nature, rather than just sad and gloomy. The haunting horns and synth work, never complete in its performance, but adding a trudging beat to the song, is splendid in its contrast, and it nothing seems in sync, which contributes to the dark tone. Elizabeth’s vocals are also distorted quite scarily at random times. They are sometimes hard to pick up on, but it is a great twist, and a bit spine tingling in the right setting. The monotonous ‘I’m going to bring you down’, in a murky, and sometimes childish voice also displays a fascinating level of wickedness. ‘Too Good’ is slightly lighter, and more continuous and unbroken, unlike the last piece. The backing synth and organ lift nicely at the appropriate times. Even though the pace and tone doesn’t always suggest so, it’s quite the ‘smile bringer’. It is a very solid track, probably one of my top two, maybe because its uplifting style is more appropriate for when it’s best listened to. ‘Drunk On Love’ is a more psychedelic, spacey background, as the works come out for Jesse’s vocal debut. His grainy, casual, vocals work well with the ideas being put forward by the lyrics, where a man’s life has been consumed by the alcohol that is love. That of course, doesn’t make it a joyful song, rather this is sometimes seen as a negative outcome of life and love. ‘Sunny Safari’ reintroduces Elizabeth once again, in her nonchalant form in its full glory. Every now and then she picks up her vocals, which is a nice touch. She doesn’t push herself to any wild degree, but worth checking out in contrast either way. ‘We’ll be leaving… Some day…’ are some nice repetitive lines from the lyrics, which contain both hope and fear for the future. ‘The Night I Met My Second Wife’ sets quite the foreboding tone, with Jesse initiating the vocal aspect of things, however, the two work in collaboration for quite the appealing tune. The organ creates an ethereal mood, as the clear, concise and derivative vocals by Jesse work in stark contrast to Elizabeth’s indistinct, gloomy performances. The tonal work is nice, as the layered snyth, organ and electric bass make a twister whore version of what should be construed as a positive event. This is another one of my favourites from the album. ‘The Girl of My Dreams’ starts off with the sound of a heart monitor, moving at normal pace. As Jesse begins his vocal work, with some light organ backing, it picks up as he sings about finding out about ‘the girl of his dreams’. It may have just been my interpretation, but it adds an awesome little touch that adds to the depth and meaning of the song. He sings about every detail of the girl, without actually ever having met her. He sings with depth and passion, and despite not being the best vocalist, it is a better performance than many others I have seen of people with better vocals. ‘Release The Herd’, the longest track on the album, which has some nice depth, the bassy lines, the synth and guitar strumming, as well as the constant fuzz noise works well, before the organ introduces some various increments of niceties. It is just simple, chilled, laid back glory in the right frame of mind. The final track, ‘Heart Aches And Heart Breaks’ is another collaborative place, with the two singing together, rather than in contrast, as is present elsewhere in the album. It is a simple and stunning ballad to end the album. At only 45 minutes, it can feel like one of two things, depending on the mood. If you love it, and alert, it can feel all too short, however, if you love it and are just in a chilled mood, it feels like the perfect length. Of course, I can understand that if it isn’t your sort of thing it can drone on. Despite its similarity throughout, it doesn’t lose interest, as with each listen you uncover another nook or cranny to a song that you love. I recommend at least the youtube videos, though I don’t expect much to come out of it. Though it isn’t the type of thing you will remember forever. TOTAL SCORE 7.0/10 – Too Good – The Night I Met My Second Wife – Girl Of My Dreams My last review until after the Easter weekend... Hoping for a fun filled holiday period. |
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