(2007) On "Blau + Rot", released for the first European tour by AUBE in eight years, Akifumi Nakajima worked with an old Roland SH-12 percussive synth. The result is two long tracks (each over 6 minutes) with a nice floating mood that sometimes changes into aggressiveness, without losing its warmth. A great little record by one of the most important experimental musicians from Japan. Clear vinyl. Regular edition of 400 copies.
UK 6£
Europe 7£
World 8£
QUANTITY
CONTROL - 'The Means To An End' CD (Eibon Records)
(2005) Redefining the concept of aural aggression. Structured, multi-layered, hyper-complex Power Noise. Sharp like a surgical scalpel and powerful like a demolition hammer, Control’s music adds a new meaning to the abused "Power Electronics" definition. The only good way to describe "The means to an end"? A fierce beast constrained (temporarily...) in a steel cage, far too small to contain its natural aggressiveness. The cage won't last forever...
MATHIAS DELPLANQUE - 'Ma Chambre Quant Je N'Y Suis Pas (Montreal)' CD (Mondes Elliptiques)
This is the stereo version of a sound installation presented at Montréal’s Studio Cormier in December 2004. The piece is based on the recording of “silences”, i.e. the recording of sound produced in spaces with no human presence. The sound of an “empty” Studio Cormier was used as the material for the production of this piece. The sound takes were done during the quietest moments of the day, by means of microphones placed strategically throughout the Studio by the artist. The sounds gathered were then amplified and their frequencies accentuated to the extreme. The result of the experiment, as presented here, constitutes a genuine drone odyssey playing on fullness and emptiness, presence and absence, ‘’speak’’ and ‘’non-speak’. One long track full of subtle movement and enlivened with underlying currents. Limited to 500 copies in a textured sleeve with inserts. Mondes Elliptiques is a division of Angle.Rec, Canada.
THE HAFLER TRIO - 'Ignotum Per Ignotius' CD (Korm Plastics)
The seventh in the Hafler Trio reissue series, originally issued by Touch. "Ignotium Per Ignotius stands for unknown to the very unknown... Releases by The Hafler Trio are never "easy listening" and Ignotum Per Ignotia no exception... The music seems based upon silence and noise. There are long periods of silence and then suddenly there's an outpouring of noise. The noise is multi-layered and even though this is a difficult Hafler CD to listen to, there is a strange quality and attractiveness in the music... There are track titles listed on the sleeve, but the music is coded as one long piece" [Vital Weekly]. Heavy foldout packaging with 32 page booklet.
UK 12£
Europe 13£
World 14£
QUANTITY
VA - 'John Barleycorn Reborn' 2 x CD (Cold Spring CSR84CD)
A discovery of folk music from dark Britannica. 'John Barleycorn Reborn' explores seasonal birth, death and rebirth on this double CD. This compilation explores the darker side of British folk music, evoking the mystery of our ancient past and peoples, the strangeness of their beliefs, arcane traditions and the remnants of this carried down the centuries as folklore. The set has an extended booklet with articles, essays and explorations of the album's concept. Curated by Mark Coyle (Woven Wheat Whispers). Features 33 artists:
CD1: Alphane Moon, Andrew King, Charlotte Greig & Johan Asherton, Damh The Bard, English Heretic, Far Black Furlong, Mary Jane, Pumajaw, Peter Ulrich (Dead Can Dance), Sharron Kraus, Sieben, Sol Invictus, The Horses Of The Gods, The Owl Service, The Story (Tom & Martin Welham / Forest), The Triple Tree (Tony Wakeford / Andrew King).
CD2: Clive Powell, Doug Peters, Drohne, Electronic Voice Phenomena, Martyn Bates (Eyeless In Gaza), Quickthorn, Sand Snowman, Stormcrow, The A Lords, The Anvil, The Kitchen Cynics, The Purple Minds Of Lazeron, The Straw Bear Band, Tinkerscuss, Venereum Arvum, While Angels Watch, Xenis Emputae Travelling Band.
VA - 'Post Asiatic: Lost War Dream Music' 2 x CD (URCK Records)
This comp focuses on artists who dabble in Asian / Eastern influenced avant-garde art and offers a glimpse into the fierce beauty and embracing expressionism these artists are conveying. 156 minutes of music and field recordings from 25 artists with a vast variety of instruments (not to mention field recordings from Burmese Puppet Shows and India): Aditi Tahiti, Amps For Christ, Auto Da Fe, Baba Larriji, Bill Horist, Catastrophic Mermaid on Parade:, C.O.T.A., F-Space, Forgotten Fish Memory Orchestra, Hop-Frog’s Drum Jester Devotional, Jerry Loyd, Kamilsky, Metal Rouge, Moe! Staiano, Muslimgauze, Nequaquam Vacuum, Neung Phak (Mono Pause), Pyramids on Mars, Ramona Ponzini + Z’EV, Refrigerator Mothers, Sardonik Grin, Sikhara, Soriah, Venerable Showers of Beauty Gamelan and Volcanosis. Presented in a gatefold digifile with sticker.
(2007) Three lengthy, improvised instrumental pieces, for strings and piano, which move effortlessly between beautiful, aching, emotive sadness to stratospheric optimism. Throughout this debut album, the listener is taken on a twisting and turning melodic journey, though the cohesiveness of the pieces is never lost as the pace and form change without warning. Compositional tools are introduced and discarded and yet the music has a strangely familiar feel. This is the first work by UK act Verfallen and will appeal to fans of modern compositional music. 32 minutes of music in a card sleeve.
