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Reviews:
Shinjuku Thief | The Scribbler
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From Darkroom:
(by Piercarlo Tiranti)
Tornano gli australiani Shinjuku Thief con una
super ristampa (edita dall'attenta Cold Spring) di materiale nato inizialmente
come accompagnamento sonoro per una installazione denominata "K",
commissionata dall'Australian Lygon Arts Festival nel 1990. Il lavoro
uscì per la ora defunta Dorobo (che gran peccato perdere per strada
una così interessante etichetta...) nel lontano 1992, in una tiratura
di sole 500 copie. La rimasterizzazione si deve a Francois Tetaz , uno
dei due compositori del gruppo, e questa nuova edizione del CD contiene
anche un video molto interessante (non presente nella precedente versione),
tratto da materiale utilizzato per l'installazione "The Scribbler"
e composto da testi, fotografie e assemblaggi di filmati di Praga, città
natale di uno dei massimi scrittori mai esistiti, il maestro Franz Kafka,
alla cui figura il disco si ispira. Il CD uscì dopo il debutto
"Bloody Tourist" su Extreme ed è un grande affresco dalle
sonorità ampie e orchestrali: esso rappresenta, oltre che un percorso
musicale, anche una maestosa colonna sonora filmica e visiva assemblata
per le rappresentazioni live di "The Scribbler". A differenza
delle ultime prove degli australiani, più indirizzate su scarne
sonorità ambientali/minimali, in questo lavoro prevale l'aspetto
epico e malinconico inserito prepotentemente su matrici sonore neoclassiche
e dark ambient. A distanza di 17 anni è ancora stupefacente poter
apprezzare le doti di Darrin Verhagen e Francois Tetaz, e questo "The
Scribbler" è fascinoso ed unico per il suo disegno teatrale-epico,
per la forza espressiva e per la capacità di unire sonorità
gotiche, ambientali, industriali e orchestrali in un unico percorso sonoro
trascendente. Bella, intensa e commovente, questa ristampa è una
delle uscite dell'appena concluso 2007 da segnarsi sull'agenda e da non
lasciarsi sfuggire a nessun costo. Acquisto obbligato. |
From Elegy
Iberica: (by José de Almeida)
Inicialmente encomendado pelo Australian Lygon
Arts Festival, „The Scribber" foi primeiramente apresentado
sob a forma de banda sonora, visando ilustrar uma colecção
de imagens sobre a Praga de Kafka. Abandonado o projecto inicial por problemas
de financiamento do festival, „The Scribber" evoluiu para a
sua presente forma, tendo-se tornado no segundo álbum de Shinjuku
Thief. Não obstante todas as mudanças operadas desde o primeiro
momento, „The Scribber" nunca perdeu o universo kafkaniano
como referência. Editado pela primeira vez em 1992, este trabalho
foi remasterizado digitalmente, sendo acrescentado um videoclip da autoria
de Richard Grant (I+T=R), incorporando algumas imagens adicionais ao vídeo
original exibido nos concertos de apresentação de „The
Scribbler", esta reedição de Shinjuku Thief torna-se
bastante oportuna, numa altura em inúmeros álbuns históricos
voltam a estar disponíveis no mercado. |
From Black
Magazin: (by M.G.)
Die aktuellen Re-releases auf Cold Spring zeigen
vielleicht paradigmatisch die Entwicklung der Postindustrialszene bzw.
des Labels Cold Spring, denn die Neuveröffentlichungen der letzten
Jahre boten oftmals musikalisch wie weltanschaulich Krudes - man mag nicht
glauben, dass ein Label, das auch einmal einen hervorragenden Sampler
wie "Seedmouth" veröffentlicht hat, inzwischen primär
Laibach für Arme veröffentlicht. Das vorneweg. Denn auch die
Wiederveröffentlichung des Shinjuku Thief-Albums "The Scribbler"
is gelungener als viele neue Alben. Ursprünglich 1992 in einer 500er-
Auflage veröffentlicht und von Kafkas "Prozess" beeinflusst,
hört man Orgelkaskaden, die an Elijah's Mantle erinnern, man vernimmt
Streicher aus der Konserve, ruhige Pianopassagen, Stimmfetzen, am Ende
sogar einen rhythmischen Ausklang. Heutzutage mag das etwas "dated"
klingen, aber wenn man das Alter der Aufnahmen bedenkt, ist das schon
eine gelungene Form von Filmmusik. Dazu gibt es drei Videoclips, mit teils
schwarz-weißen, grobkörnigen Bildern, auf denen etwa Prag oder
Zeichnungen Kafkas (die jeder von den Fischer0Ausgaben kennen dürfte)
zu sehen sind. Spekulationen, ob Kafka das gefallen haben dürfte,
sin müßig, zumindest weiß man, dass er begeisterter Kinogänger
war, dennoch denke ich, dass die essentielle und existentielle Verlorenheit,
das Ausgeliefersein an nicht zu durchschauende Mächte, das sich gerade
im "Prozess" findet, in den Clips etwas zu kurz kommt. Nett
anzusehen sind sie dennoch. |
From Compulsion:
(by Tony Dickie)
Originally issued in 1992 The Scribbler was
initially commissioned by the Australian Lygon Arts Festival for their
production of 'K', where the music would accompany a series of images
of Franz Kafka's Prague. As the sleevenotes detail, a full orchestral
rendition was planned but cancelled due to loss of funding. Still it allowed
the composers, Darrin Verhagen and Francois Tetaz, the opportunity to
rework the sounds and structure. The original edition was issued on their
own Dorobo label in a small edition of 500 copies, following their debut
release Bloody Tourist, a sojourn into fourth world musics which was issued
on the respected Australian label Extreme.
The Scribbler is based around Franz Kafka's novel The Trial.
It's an impressive piece of dark orchestral music that straight from the
opening track, The Assessor', merges industrial elements and street sounds
with piano, organ, oboe and strings. Right from the opening orchestral
bombast the lush and filmic score of The Scribbler captures the essence
of Kafka's Prague. Verhagen has noted that composers such as Michael Nyman
and Philip Glass influenced the orchestral minimalist style of The Scribbler.
That in itself explains the repetitious, piano based arrangements that
account for much of The Scribbler. But the entire thing is shot through
with factory sounds and dialogue from the text. Like the industrial elements,
the passages from the novel that are delivered in German are interwoven
into the music never assuming centrestage. The orchestration is extremely
impressive, with soft string interludes and passages of woodwind and strings
accentuating an already tense atmosphere.
At points The Scribbler slips in other compositions to the
soundtrack. This is best illustrated by 'Threats and Violence', which
attains a beautiful European waltz type feel. At other times the sound
is more ominous as on 'A Promise and a Lecture' which features mordant
oboe playing above disembodied voices, merging with some sinister sounds.
'An Awful Autumn' and 'Degrees of Acquittal are more reminiscent of Michael
Nyman's work but it's infused with heightened dramatics, where stabbing
synths accompany the light oboe melody. Apart from the dialogue its largely
an instrumental release but towards the close ethereal singing merges
with church organ on 'The Parable', before a frantic flurry of strings
brings the music back to familiar territory. The final piece of orchestral
synth-pop which thankfully appears after two minutes of silence seems
almost out of place.
After The Scribbler Darrin Verhagen, now acting solely as
Shinjuku Thief, went on to compose The Witch trilogy. Today he is now
a composer for dance and theatre performance, and continues to release
music as a solo artist and as Shinjuku Thief. I would suggest that The
Scribbler is largely a classical release but its subject matter and use
of industrial elements was sufficient enough to capture the interest of
Cold Spring who sought it out for a much-needed reissue. This edition
is bolstered by video clips of the original projections for The Scribbler
live show. Lovers of neo-classical and orchestral ambient won't want to
miss out on this. |
From Lunar
Hypnosis: (by JJM)
Another well welcomed reissue from Cold Spring
Records is Shinjuku Thief’s seminal 1992 release ‘The Scribbler.’
Originally released in a limited run of just 500 copies on Darrin Verhagen’s
own Dorobo Records, it’s good to see this one available again.
Although I have only heard one other Shinjuku Thief album
(The Witch Hammer), and was highly impressed with it, I do think this
album is even grander. The music present on The Scribbler could be described
as dark classical with occasional noise & industrial sounds, piano
crescendos, and spoken German voices. The album itself is truly supposed
to be a musical performance of fiction writer Franz Kafka’s ‘The
Trial.’ So I could imagine this album would work well when reading
this story.
This reissue also contains an eleven minute video clip, which
can be watched on your computer. The video shows pictures of Franz Kafka,
as well as many abstract images and perhaps images from some of the film
adaptations of The Trial. In any case its interesting to watch and listen
too.
Just as essential as the Inanna reissue, it’s good to
see this gem of dark classical/industrial music available once again for
those that have longed to own a physical copy of the album. |
From Heathen
Harvest: (by Gottskalk)
The Cold Spring re-release of Shinjuku Thief's
"The Scribbler" is somewhat a “return-to-the-source”.
Birthed as the accompanying soundtrack to an installation/performance
entitled “K”, the piece was commissioned by the Australian
Lygon Arts Festival in 1990. It was originally released in 1992 on Dorobo,
the label originally founded by Darrin Verhagen, Charles Tetaz and Francois
Tetaz.
The reissue's remastering was done by Francois Tetaz himself,
it also contains a 9-minute video clip drawn from Richard Grant's original
material for the installation, incorporating filmic visuals, architectural
schematics, drawings, textures and photographs of Franz Kafka's birthplace,
Prague.
After the debut release of “Bloody Tourist” on
Xtreme, ”K” was extensively reworked and extra detail was
added. The Cd's inner sleeve notes that, "...there were a number
of changes made which can be seen as characteristic of the band's general
approach to music. Background atmospheres started to assume greater importance(in
this instance also incorporating passages of Kafka's text), some of the
initially pedestrian progressions were "pushed out" harmonically,
and, overall, the work was given a degree of detailing absent in the 1990
version."
“K” seems on the outset to be sparse and filmic.
As the recording unfolds one notices that it contains subtle, sound-trackish
layers. Contemplative and reflective, at times urgent, it also holds the
melancholic sensuality embodied in much classical music.
17 years later, Darrin Verhagen has a string of seminal, genre-crushing
works behind him, and lectures in sound design and production at RMIT
University in Melbourne. Verhagen's organic and grandiose production style
begins here, and extends outwards from the early 1990s to encompass a
dark distillation of brooding, densely textured neo-classical works, soundtrack
thematics and industrial mindscapes.
Therefore, “The Scribbler” represents the genesis
of a talented and singular producer-composer. Later sojourns into conceptual
work (such as “The Witch Trilogy”,and noise project “EPA”
), make both “Bloody Tourist” and “The Scribbler”
a fascinating portent. The interplay of theatrical sound design fused
with epic and orchestral elements inject a transcendentalism into the
framework of gothic-industrial music, which is a noticeable motif in all
Verhagen's works.
Buy. Listen. Watch. And make sure you read some Kafka whilst
doing so. |
From Blow
Up: (by Paolo Bertoni)
Commissionata dall'australiano Lygon Arts
Festival, nel 1990, per prestare colonna sonora ad una rassegna di immagini
rielaborate della Praga kafkiana, "The Scribbler" divenne poi,
due anni dopo, disco pubblicato dalla propria Dorobo più strettamente
ispirato da 'Il Processo'. L'esigua tiratura di 500 esemplari ne aveva
sinora ridimensionato una meritata diffusione.
Shinjuku Thief aveva già debuttato
col non molto afffine "Bloody Tourist", in questo capitolo si
provò con atmosfere di impostazione filmica che poi sarebbero divenute
consuete per Darrin Verhagen che forse col "The Witch Hammer"
dell'anno dopo firmò la sua opera più convincente di una
discografia che ancora oggi alimenta. Il mood è profondamente decadente
incrementato da un utilizzo frequente del piano, con riferimenti al minimalismo
nymaniano nell'eccellente Blue Octavo Notebooks, e frequenti
slanci orchestrali vincini a quanto fatto da In The Nursery in "Stormhorse"
ed in una serie cospicua di più tarde soundtrack - s'ascoltino
Proceedings, Vogelfrei l' o A Promise And A Lecture - con
accenni più nettamente classici in Degrees Of Acquittal,
e l'organo inequivocabilmente gotico di The Assessor e The
Parable, l'unico episodio in cui traspaiono turbative post-industrial. |
From Gothtronic:
(by Nanhold)
It has suited Cold Spring Records to bring
out a fitting rerelease of Shinjuku Thief's second album from 1992. Since
this project by Darrin Verhagen is without any doubt one of the more relevant
Australian acts in the area of post-industrial neoclassical music, that
decision can only be applauded. The conceptual foundation of this cd can
be found in the realm of world literature, the atmospheric material is
a musical interpretation of Kafka's novel The Trial. Starting point of
"The Scribbler" is the soundtrack of a 'Son et Lumière'
exhibition named "K", presented to the public in 1990 during
the Australian Lygon Arts Festival. The intention was to present a full-blown
orchestral rendition of the work a year later, but unfortunately that
plan failed because of a lack of financial backing. After the debut "Bloody
Tourist" had seen the light of day, Shinjuku Thief went ahead with
the extensive revision and further detailing of the original material
from "K", ultimately resulting in this disc.
Kafka's book has been laureated here, the symphonic and orchestral
music with industrial accents sounds mysterious and has a dark disposition,
also during the more demure segments. The stylistic characteristics of
the European classical tradition are applied and integrated with elements
from other genres in an avant-gardistic way, thanks to the digital remastering
all facets can be clearly perceived in the mix. Passages of The Trial
appear in the form of interwoven German vocal samples, these spoken parts
have an incorporeal quality and contribute to the ever-present tension
under the surface. When it comes to the instrumentation, the important
role played by the piano is notable, as well as the influences from 19th
century Romanticism. The variation created by the interchanging of almost
nimble moments and ponderous culminations and also the frequent emergence
of mechanical rhythms and factory-like ambiances make that this record
stays captivating for the whole duration.
Since the plan to have the fourteen tracks together form a
constituent unity was executed flawlessly, it is nigh impossible for me
to list favorites. The flexible cooperation between epic grandeur, calm
interludes, technological violence and dramatic tension arches works like
a charm. However, that doesn't stop me from listing a few points of interest.
The grandiose and compelling "The Assessor" is a stately and
fitting opening of this disc, while the somberness of "Lips Of The
Guilty" touches me in a gripping manner, a sentiment further explored
in "A Promise And A Lecture". The church organ, previously occurring
in the first track and "Paynes Gray", is joined by devout singing
in the penultimate track "The Parable", with a sacrosanct air
as a result. Remarkable and surprising are the popping drums and howling
guitar in the second part of the final number "Vogelfrei I &
II". Mind you, these are just a few snapshots. The impact of this
cd is greater than the sum of its parts.
The addition of three pertinent and artistic video clips to
this album is like the icing on the already scrumptious cake. Fifteen
years after the first (limited) edition of "The Scribbler",
this cd still sounds relevant and fresh. It is without saying that this
is definitely a must-have title for everyone who likes progressive neoclassical
music! |
From NecroWeb
(by Deathbringer)
Das Re-Release "The Scribbler"
von Shinjuku Thief, welches ursprünglich 1992 mit 500 Kopien veröffentlicht
wurde, macht es einem wirklich nicht einfach. Angelehnt an Kafka, präsentiert
sich hier leider kein einheitliches Klangbild. Mal orchestral, mal zirkusmäßig,
mal leicht vom Industrial angehaucht, so pendelt der Australier Darrin
Verhagen scheinbar ziellos von einem zum nächsten Stil, hinterlegt
das ganze mit leisen, und dadurch kaum verständlichen Sprechpassagen
in deutscher Sprache, und hofft dadurch anscheinend seinem minimalistischem
Werk eine Art Sinn zu geben. Leider wird der Hörer durch das ständige
hin und her pendeln mehr genervt als fasziniert, Spannungsbögen oder
Atmosphäre sind quasi nicht vorhanden, und so plätschert sich
das ganze Album mehr schlecht als Recht durch die Spielzeit. Auch nach
mehrmaligem Hören will sich "The Scribbler" mir nicht offenbaren,
auch wenn sich hin und wieder ein kleiner Ambient-Lichtblick erhaschen
läßt, oder kurzzeitig interessante orchestrale Melodien angeschlagen
werden. Insgesamt bleibt leider ein sehr fader Nachgeschmack zurück,
und so wird "The Scribbler" bei mir wohl keine Runden im CD-Player
mehr drehen. |
From Mentenebre:
(by Fernando O. Paíno)
Un disco que presente una gran calidad y
que, para colmo, su edición se realice limitada, siempre resulta
difícil de conseguir. Un buen ejemplo de este esquema lo tenemos
en “The Scribbler”, originalmente editado en 1992 por el sello
Dorobo, propiedad de Darrin Verhagen –uno de sus componentes-, y
que cesó su andadura en el año 2004. Este CD presentó
una mínima tirada limitada a tan sólo 500 ejemplares, que
son muy pocas copias para la tremenda profesionalidad que emana este trabajo.
En él se entremezclan todo tipo de composiciones que
hacen mantener el interés hasta el último segundo, la mayoría
de ellas se apoyan sobre sonidos ambientales en los que las notas del
piano pasean de forma ordenada y melódica, con ellas se relacionan
multitud de efectos de carácter industrial, como pueden ser sonidos
de metales y distorsiones ecualizadas, formando así un ambiente
fantástico y mágico. Hay que resaltar que, tanto en éste
como en la mayoría de los lanzamientos Shinjuku Thief, predomina
la ambientación orquestal, que le otorga un carácter épico,
además de presentar innumerables referencias y guiños hacia
las obras del célebre escritor checo Franz Kafka.
Si tenemos que destacar una cabeza dentro de este conjunto,
sin duda tendríamos que centrarnos en la figura de Darrin Verhagen,
que además de dar forma a Shinjuku Thief, ha realizado 4 proyectos
más a lo largo de su carrera musical, uno de ellos bajo su propio
nombre, con el que publicó nada menos que 5 discos; por otro lado
Shinjuku Filth, que recibe una orientación mucho más Industrial
y Noise que Shinjuku Thief, con este nombre publicará 3 CDs, aparecerá
también un proyecto conocido como Profesor Richmann, en el que
Verhagen colaborará con Franc Tétaz, conocido por producir
numerosos trabajos de corte electrónico con excelentes resultados.
El último proyecto de este australiano es conocido con las siglas
E.P.A, y es, sin lugar a dudas, el estudio más violento que ha
realizado en el ámbito musical, resulta agresivo y viciado. Bajo
este nombre editará dos trabajos, “Black Ice” y “AZ50HD”,
este último editado en 2005 y compartido con el proyecto sueco
Des Esseintes, liderado por Magnus Sundström, que no es, ni más,
ni menos, que el creador de The Protagonist, uno de los grandes descubrimientos
del sello Cold Meat Industry.
Como se ha podido comprobar, Shinjuku Thief presenta solvencia
como grupo de alta calidad, aunque tan sólo sea por su envidiable
trayectoria musical. Tras este fantástico recorrido onírico
que es “The Scribbler”, el autor presentará otros seis
trabajos más en su propio sello Dorobo, y otro con Fin De Siecle
Media en el año 2005.
Si os gustó The Protagonist, no dudéis en escuchar
este CD, influencia para gran número de bandas que han realizado
recreaciones melódicas de carácter Experimental y Ambient
durante la última década del siglo pasado; además,
esta edición de Cold Spring Records incluye un interesante vídeo
inédito hasta el momento. Los buenos momentos existen para los
que saben disfrutar del tiempo. |
From Judas
Kiss: (by Lee Powell)
Originally released in 1992 on the Australian
label Dorobo, ‘The Scribbler’ proved to be somewhat of an
obscure release at the time. Not finding its audience in the post-industrial/neoclassical
crowd until a few years later, when the buzz around Darrin Verhagen’s
recordings slowly started to make ripples and eventually a huge splash,
as the immensely impressive ‘Witch’ trilogy was released.
Describing itself as “dark orchestral” at the
time, ‘The Scribbler’ proved even on initial listens to be
something much more. Originally recorded for an Australian arts festival
and intended to be coupled with an assemblage of images, line drawings,
architectural diagrams and textual close-ups, ‘The Scribbler’,
then known as ‘K’, was in its very infancy an art piece in
its own right and a soundtrack in another. Shortly after the cancellation
of the arts festival ‘K’ underwent a major re-working, and
‘The Scribbler’ was born.
Musically, ‘The Scribbler’ is a truly beautiful
CD to listen to, filled with lushly dense, orchestral composition, awash
with a darkly brooding undercurrent and an occasional interjection of
sampled German voices, mechanical noise and echoes of sounds that combine
together to create an immensely impressive, multi-layered output that
you can’t help but be impressed by.
With the main thread of the music being orchestral in nature,
as you’d expect from a recording that started life as a musical
accompaniment to a multimedia art piece, ‘The Scribbler’ has
the presence of a wonderfully scored soundtrack, brimming with emotive
power and captivating presence that carries the listener along with a
seamless ease. With licks of sublime classically influenced instrumentations,
the bewitchingly descriptive nature of the CD is alluringly bittersweet,
with a cold, icky shadow being projected from its content. Coupled with
the aforementioned peaks of occasional noise, sounds and samples, the
move away from a standard soundtrack to an immensely captivating neo-classical
masterpiece is complete.
With comparisons to more industrial mid-period In The Nursery
being evident throughout, you know that what Shinjuku Thief have produced
with ‘The Scribbler’ will be revered by artists and fans of
industrial-infused neo-classical music alike for many years to come. It’s
not too often that a release of this calibre comes along so early in an
artist’s career, yet Shinjuku Thief have managed to achieve something
that many others strive for but never quite attain. With a wealth of material
following ‘The Scribbler’ including the wonderfully dark ‘Witch’
trilogy, this release will no doubt inspire many listeners to explore
the catalogue of releases that Darrin Verhagen has produced.
With the original release having been unavailable for many
years now, Cold Spring Records have lovingly re-released ‘The Scribbler’
in a digitally re-mastered format and have included an 11-minute video
MPEG of images to accompany the lavishly orchestral music the CD holds.
Even now after 15-odd years, ‘The Scribbler’ sounds as fresh
and instantly stimulating as it did on its initial release, and it’s
easy to see why Cold Spring were so passionate about making this release
available again. If you have the slightest interest in beautifully composed
and presented cinematic, neo-classical recordings (and you know you do),
then you owe it to yourself to own a copy of this CD, as it’s without
doubt one of the best releases the genre has produced and with the generally
high calibre of works that inhabit this specific genre, that’s saying
a lot. Buy it now, before it disappears again. |
From Obliveon:
(by MK)
Cold Spring sei Dank … „The Scribbler”
ist die Wiederveröffentlichung des ursprünglich bereits 1992
veröffentlichten Albums, das seinerzeit in einer Auflagenhöhe
von nur 500 Stück erschien. Erstaunlich dabei ist, wie zeitgemäss
und auch soundtechnisch – das Album wurde remastered – „The
Scribbler“ selbst fünfzehn Jahre später noch klingt, und
wie offensichtlich Shinjuku Thief zudem viele Bands und Projekte aus der
Neoklassik nachhaltig beeinflusst haben. „The Scribbler“ wartet
mit einer schier unendlichen Vielfalt an Einflüssen auf, beginnend
bei soundtrackartigen Sequenzen bis hin zu bombastischer Orchestralik,
unterlegt mit undefinierbaren Samples und Barmusik ähnlichen Klavierpassagen.
Alles fügt sich homogen ineinander und selbst, wenn düstere
Industrialeinflüsse sich durch die Klangmalereien ihren Weg zum Zuhörer
bahnen, werden diese nicht als (ver)störend sondern als klangliche
und stilistische Bereicherung empfunden. Ergänzt wurde die Originalveröffentlichung
um zusätzliches Videomaterial, bestehend aus den ursprünglichen
Videos der Live-Shows wie auch neurem Material. „The Scribbler“
ist vorbehaltlos allen Freunden oben genannter Klänge zu empfehlen,
denn hier liegen die Ursprünge und die Wurzeln der Neoklassik. |
From Vital
Weekly: (by NMP)
Operating in similar territories [to Inanna
- 'Day Ov Torment'] this classic album from legendary Australian sound
artist Shinjuki Thief presents a more harsh and Industrial-based side
of this very widely approached sound artist. The album titled "Scribbler"
was created back in 1992 as a minimalist re-work of Kafka's novel "The
trial" (1925). It was the follow-up to the debut album "Bloody
tourist" (released in 1992 on Extreme Records). But where the debut
had a more exotic and ethnic approach to the ambient-style, the "Scribbler"
has a more classical approach to the music with a comprehensive use of
string instruments such as violins and guitars, once in a while reminiscent
of Philip Glass. On "Scribbler" background atmospheres begins
to assume greater importance, especially with the incorporations of passages
of the Kafkan texts. Despite the casual use of harsher sonic tools to
create an edgy approach is far away from the abrasive E.P.A.-project that
the Shinjuki Thief main-man Darrin Verhagen has been known for. "Scribbler"
sounds like the soundtrack for a movie thanks to the blend of environmental
sounds and cinematic soundscapes of moody, mellow, beautiful and ugly
atmospheres. Two excellent reissues from Cold Spring Records both of them
highly recommended to people interested in neo-classical or orchestral
ambient. |
From Filth
Forge: (by Simon V)
Sleep Research Facility, known for the debut
"Nostromo" released on Cold Spring back in 2001, is now back
with its third installation. "Deep_Frieze", like the title suggests,
is a collection of new glacial ambient soundscapes, meant to evoke the
frozen and desolate sceneries of Antarctica. On the sleeve we find a map
of the Southern Polar continent, and the coordinates indicated correspond
to the tracks of the CD.
The music doesn't fail the interesting presentation, as all
five parts shift undistinguished one into another, creating a single,
monolithic recording of Arctic snowstorms, nearly silent moments, cold
winds blowing, unidentified distant noises. The kind of dark ambient played
by Sleep Research Facility is closer to field recordings, especially on
this new release, where the monotonous, low-frequency sounds manage to
make the listener feel the chill, loneliness and desolation of the polar
regions.
You will need to turn up the volume a lot in order to be able
to listen in details to the CD, or better put on your headphones, otherwise
you risk to reach the end of the running time without remembering much
about it. "Deep_Frieze" is a rather hermetic and uneasy listening,
to be truly appreciated only by the most radical cultists of ambient and
field recordings, while the average follower of the Cold Meat or Loki
sound should give it a taste before opening the moneybag. |
From Ritual:
(by Fuzz)
È un suono che non dorme mai quello
di Darrin Verhagen, che non si accontenta, che non ha mai la certezza
di aver raggiunto il suo compito e ancora cerca, ancora inventa. Mi sento
quasi impreparato ad affrontare questa maestosa opera, tanto è
colta, ricca di elementi e già così avanti rispetto a chissà
quanti successivi lavori di ambient o neoclassical. 'The Scribbler' originariamente
uscì nel 1992 (fu il secondo album del progetto ST, oggi arrivato
a dieci titoli), commissionato dall'Australian Lygon Arts Festival per
una performance ispirata a 'il processo' di Kafka, sulle immagini di RIchard
Grant (alcune incluse nella parte video del CD). Chi ama Kafka, come il
sottoscritto, troverà un suono davvero teatrale, fatto di impressionati
contrasti fra chiaro e scuro, ingannevoli aperture gentili e sospese,
trascinante immediatamente nel gioco dell'incomprensibile da drammatische
partiture di organo. Ampio l'uso di strumenti "classici", che
sanno mostrare il loro lato oscuro e fuggire da un mondo musicale stucchevole
o prevedibile. Che il sipario si alzi. |
From Judas
Kiss: (by SC)
Leading British industrial and dark ambient
label Cold Spring Records has always interspersed its original releases
with carefully selected re-releases of works which have long been deleted,
but for which there is an ongoing demand. Shinjuku Thief is an orchestral
ambient project headed by Australian musician Darrin Verhagen, and The
Scribbler was the second Shinjuku Thief album. It was originally entitled
K, and it was composed as the soundtrack for a son-et-lumiére performance
given at an Australian arts festival in 1990. K was later reworked by
Shinjuku Thief and originally released as The Scribbler on Darrin Verhagen's
own Dorobo label in 1992, as a 500-copy limited edition.
The Scribbler is thematically based on Franz Kafka's famous
novel The Trial, first published in 1925, which tells of the arrest and
persecution for unspecified crimes of bank clerk Josef K. 14 tracks occupy
54 minutes of playing time. This Cold Spring edition has been digitally
remastered and includes three video clips (a first for Cold Spring, I
think) constructed by Richard Grant, which combine new material with the
original images prepared for the son-et-lumiére performances of
K - grainy, largely monochromatic images evoking Kafka's hometown, early
20th-century Prague. All music is arranged, performed and produced by
Darrin Verhagen and François Tetaz, apart from vocals by Paula
Francis and guitar by Mark Stafford.
After the bombastic, almost martial industrial, opening track
"The Assessor", which combines heavy electronic percussion,
orchestral strings and church organ, The Scribbler quietens down considerably
and settles into minimalist, repetitious piano-led arrangements with orchestral
string and woodwind backing. The music is instrumental for the most part,
give or take the odd bit of German-language dialogue or choral backing
vocals. The cinematic, imagistic feel of the work is understandable, given
its origins as a performance score. The fifth track, "Proceedings",
features a return to the heavy bombast of the opening track, and sounds
a little like Von Thronstahl. "The Invisible Architect" and
"Vogelfrei I" include a light sprinkling of industrial noise,
and the closing track "Vogelfrei II" is a rather jarring and
misplaced piece of synth-pop. The overall feel of The Scribbler, though,
is more comparable to the classically-inspired music of avant-garde composers
and performers such as Terry Riley, Michael Nyman, In The Nursery, Steve
Reich and perhaps especially John Cale and Philip Glass. Certainly, compared
to some of the controversial, challenging and abrasive artists Cold Spring
has released in the past (of whom there are any number - just off the
top of my head, the names Merzbow, Von Thronstahl, Psychic TV, Sutcliffe
Jugend, Goatvargr, Folkstorm, Toroidh, Streicher, The Grey Wolves, Turbund
Sturmwerk, C.C.C.C. and Deadwood spring to mind), Shinjuku Thief are relatively
accessible and mainstream, but this is not to say that The Scribbler isn‚t
interesting or worthwhile. It's an effective piece of mood music, though
it‚s a shame there isn't a full-length video accompaniment, the
music really benefits from being set to visual imagery. |
From Twilight
Zone: (by Michele Viali)
Dietro questo nome difficilmente pronunciabile
si nasconde il musicista australiano Darrin Verhagen, attivo sulla scena
da oltre 15 anni. Il lavoro in questione, “The Scribbler”,
fu in origine pensato nel 1990 come supporto per una serie di immagini
che riconducevano alla Praga di Kafka, nonché commissionato per
questa precisa finalità. Venuto meno tale scopo, nel 1992 il suddetto
disco fu rielaborato e pubblicato dall’etichetta Dorobo (ora defunta),
di cui era proprietario lo stesso Verhagen. Solo adesso la Cold Spring
lo salva dall’anonimato grazie a questa ristampa, dando sicuramente
la visibilità meritata ad un disco che sembra non risentire del
peso degli anni. Siamo dinnanzi ad un’opera tanto maestosa, quanto
ambiziosa, una sorta di concept i cui movimenti sono scanditi dai titoli,
mentre le immagini che in un primo momento dovevano essere commentate
vengono ricreate dall’intensità della musica. Si avvicendano
nel corso dell’album soprattutto temi neoclassici derivati con ogni
probabilità da campionamenti e samples di varia natura, a cui si
aggiungono morbidi movimenti di piano (caratterizzanti la parte centrale
del disco), ma anche tappeti di tastiere dalla vena ambientale ed esplosioni
di percussioni roboanti. E’ chiaro quindi che “The Scribbler”
è avvicinabile ad una colonna sonora, tant’è che fu
ideato con questo fine, ma riesce comunque a brillare di luce propria,
senza il supporto delle immagini. In questa nuova edizione, avete la possibilità
di gustare anche una versione ridotta del disco, usata come commento ad
un video di 11 minuti diretto da Richard Grant (non proprio imperdibile)
posto alla fine del CD. Tale album si presta molto bene anche a video
installazioni ed è accostabile (a livello meramente indicativo)
a varie opere degli In the Nursery risalenti agli anni ’90. Per
la Cold Spring si tratta di una vera e propria scoperta, visto che Verhagen
era pressoché sconosciuto al “grande” pubblico. Senza
dubbio un’opera da rivalutare e riesaminare. |
From Alternativ
Musik: (by Marius Meyer)
Ursprünglich waren es mal nur 500 Exemplare,
die es von dieser Veröffentlichung gab. Und das ist dabei auch bereits
seine 15 Jahre her. Dabei wäre es schade gewesen, dieses Werk in
seiner kleinen Auflage auf ewig in der Versenkung verschwinden zu lassen,
ist es doch viel zu ausgereift, was Shinjuku Thief auf The Scribbler bieten:
Ein Neoklassisches Werk mit verstörenden Einsprengseln und ambienten
Sphären, das vor allem durch sein Piano wirkt und dabei in weiten
Teilen ohne Gesang auskommt. Konzeptual hat man sich dabei eine komplexe
Angelegenheit vorgenommen: Der Prozeß von Franz Kafka steht im Mittelpunkt
dieser wiederaufgelegten CD von Shinjuku Thief.
Zu Beginn von The Scribbler wird zunächst Spannung aufgebaut.
Sythesizer-Flächen, geschlagene Trommeln und dazu immer wieder Streicher,
die maßgeblich für die Dramaturgie sorgen. Außerdem hier
und da ein verstörender Zwischenton. Die dramatische Kulisse schlägt
allerdings bald in ein weniger beängstigendes Bild um, in der die
Streicher für die innere Harmonie sorgen. Im folgenden Titel Stepping
From Routine begegnet dann auch erstmals eine sehr süßliche
Piano-Melodie, die im Laufe des Werks noch häufiger begegnen wird.
Süßliche Elemente begegnen immer wieder, wechseln aber immer
wieder mit den dramatischen Momenten voller Spannung und teilweise auch
Verstörung. Mit dem erstmals begegnenden Piano zeigt sich auch, wer
auf dieser Veröffentlichung noch vor den Streichern maßgeblich
die Dramaturgie mitbestimmt.
Dramaturgie ist für diese Veröffentlichung sowieso
das Stichwort. Wie auch ein Buch einer Dramaturgie folgt, tut es auch
diese CD – eine logische Konsequenz aus dem Konzept des Albums.
Kafkas Prozeß versucht man, in seiner Dramaturgie nachzuzeichnen.
Unterstrichen wird der Versuch der Nachzeichnung dabei durch Samples aus
einer Verfilmung von Der Prozeß, die sich gut in das neoklassische
Gesamtbild einfügen. Insgesamt ist es eine sehr klassisch anmutende
CD mit teilweise sehr langsam aufbauenden Spannungsbögen, die hin
und wieder einen ambienten Touch hinzufügen, ohne dabei wirklich
Ambient zu sein.
The Scribbler steht somit in einem musikalischen Spannungsfeld,
dass zwar auf der einen Seite gut zu Cold Spring Records passt, auf der
anderen Seite aber auch dort hinaussticht, da hier wirklich viele Aspekte
vereint werden. Sicher ist es eindeutig eine Veröffentlichung für
den (Neo-)Klassik-Freund. Wer gerne Gruppen wie In The Nursery hört,
ist ebenfalls bei diesem Werk an einer guten Adresse, erinnert doch vor
allem das Abschluss-Stück Vogelfrei sehr stark an die Briten. Wer
sich gerne in ruhigeren elektronischen Klanggefilden aufhält, ist
bei The Scribbler auch nicht verkehrt. Auf jeden Fall ist dieses Album
eine sehr willkommene Wiederveröffentlichung, die angenehm auffällt
und hoffentlich ihre verdiente Aufmerksamkeit bekommt. |
From Simon_A:
Original released in 1992 this has recently
been reissued via Cold Spring records. Now digitally remastered and with
the addition of videos. This features a value filled 14 tracks, which
covers film like sounds and orchestral interpretations, including bursts
of factory noise, industrial rumblings and Germanic samples.
The assessor a short track leading to stepping from routine
which features the Germanic voice samples mixed with industrial sounds
with a piano accompaniement, pretty effective, and atmospheric, whilst
blue octave notebooks adds strings to the mix. Following on, threats and
violence is pretty minimilastic to start, a lilting piano, and strings
only. proceedings features strings and keys for the large part until,
the Germanic samples and industrial sounds crash in towards the end. lips
of the guilty keeps everything in check, very laid back, almost ambient
like chilling sounds, with minimal strings. a promise and a lecture allows
the sounds to build and resonate, rebounding from the walls around, a
hint of menace lurking, whilst An awful autumn is another largely piano
and strings driven track. degrees of aquittal is a little more urgent,
the sounds imprinting upon you leading into the fabric of guilt which
like the invisible artitect is a slow building track. Moving on paynes
gray is much more atmospheric, music that envelops you and pulls at your
senses. We're near the end now, with the parable another that imprints
itself upon you, with angelic samples and keys in the mix.The final track
vogelfrei I & II, mixes ambient like soundscapes with orchestral sounds,
as they crash in towards the end.
The whole thing is like a minimalistic reworking of Kafka's
'The Trial', the sounds are sometimes relaxing and soothing, sometimes
making you sit up and take notice and always surprising. |
From Chain
DLK: (by Maurizio Pustianaz)
Originally released in 1992 by Dorobo (the
label founded by Shinjuku Thief's Darrin Verhagen) in a limited edition
of 500 copies, THE SCRIBBLER was the second album released by Shinjuku
Thief. Commissioned by the Australian Lygon Arts Festival and originally
titled "K", the first version of the score was used for a "Son
et Lumiere" performance based on Kafka's "The trial". The
visual part was cured by Richard Grant which included a collection of
images of Kafka's Prague along with drawings, architectural diagrams and
textural close ups (on this re-issue you can find three video clips of
these videos which have been edited with parts of the score you can find
of the CD). Originally the intention was to do an orchestral edition of
the work for the following year but due a funding loss the project was
cancelled. The year after Darrin Verhagen and Francois Tetaz (who then
was a member of the project) re-worked the original material creating
the fourteen tracks of this CD. As you could imagine the tracks of this
album are focused on an orchestral (mainly piano and strings with few
organ parts and choirs on "The parable") arrangement and few
vocal samples or light ambience noises. The score is a good minimal ambient
piece even if sometimes you feel the lack of its image counterpart. There's
also a little electronic arrangement on the closing track "Vogelfrei
II" with guitar and rhythmic part. A track which works well for the
closing titles. If you like the In The Nursery's orchestral scores try
this one also... |
From Synthesis:
(by Troy Southgate)
FIRST released in 1992, this 'enhanced' repackaging
of "The Scribbler" on Cold Spring demonstrates, as if proof
were needed, that Australia's Shinjuku Thief are still well on the way
to prominence. Amid several other re-releases, the group's albums include
"Bloody Tourist" (1992), "The Witch Hammer" (1993),
"The Witch Hunter" (1995), "The Witch Haven" (2002),
"Matte Black" (2004), "Sacred Fury" (2005) and last
year's "Devolution" (2006). The music for "The Scribbler"
was first used as part of the country's 1990 Lygon Arts Festival and was
originally titled "K", a reference to the main character in
Czech-Jewish author Franz Kafka's novel, "The Trial" (1925).
The music is composed by Darrin Verhagen, who is assisted here by Francois
Tetaz (arrangement/remastering), Paula Francis (vocals) and Mark Stafford
(guitar). The text, meanwhile, involves no less than nine individuals,
so this album is a collective effort which involves a large number of
participants. There are 14 songs on this album and the cover depicts two
Gothic spires, arranged sideways-on in various hues of grey. The opening
track, 'The Assessor', begins dramatically with a muffled drumbeat and
air of trepidation. A church organ penetrates this repetitious atmosphere
as distant effects are stifled and thus remain forever indeterminate.
'Stepping From Routine' begins almost immediately, playful stabs on the
keyboard and a fluttering piano moving aside for Dark Ambient soundscapes,
a child reciting verse and an occasional knocking. 'Blue Octavo Notebooks',
named after Kafka's diaries from 1917-19, contains a similar keyboard
style and accompanying undercurrent, until things become more animated
and uplifting later on. 'Threats and Violence' is a whistled ditty which,
ironically, conjures up happy memories and then evolves into a Spiritual
Frontesque cabaret-waltz with old-time piano, cascading strings and snippets
of conversation. 'Proceedings', an obvious reference to the events of
"The Trial" itself, uses bird-song, a barking dog, peeling bells
and footsteps to rather good effect, before the keyboards - a little similar
to Hungary's Actus, perhaps - cast an air of gloom on the whole affair.
I presume some of the German speech has been extracted from Orson Welles'
1962 cinematic adaptation of the book, but I haven't seen it so don't
quote me on that. 'Lips of the Guilty' is based on Chapter Eight of Kafka's
novel, which contains the curious assertion that the shape of a defendant's
lips can reveal his or her guilt. The music is calm, dreamy and contemplative,
permeated by those recurring footsteps and beautifully composed in every
respect. A real masterpiece, in fact. 'A Promise and a Lecture' has a
shrill edge that is aligned with deep tones and busy melodies. The way
it gradually rises to accommodate all these contributing factors, including
further sampling, is very impressive. Halfway through everything falls
away again until the darker aspects are more pronounced. Again, drama
and suspense become the mainstays of the Shinjuku Thief repertoire, with
a little rain thrown in for good measure. 'An Awful Autumn' is a strong
Classical piece which is performed on the piano, gentle at first and then
exploding with a power and a speed all of its own; an evocative etude
that demonstrates the great severity of nature in its most demonic guise.
'Degrees of Acquittal' sounds like a continuation in many ways, the high-pitched
synths and a proliferation of sampling riding roughshod over the piano
and making this one of the more experimental tracks on the album. After
the storm created by the previous track, 'The Fabric of Guilt' has a plodding,
melancholic sound that resembles an East European folk melody. The ticking
clock at the beginning of 'The Invisible Architect' is overcome by a majestic
composition which contains everything a good soundtrack should have: Emotion,
anxiety and great imagery. During the more tempered moments, one can even
hear snatches of opera. The trotting horses on 'Paynes Gray', an artistic
reference to a subtle blend of blue and grey oils, are soon drowned out
by an approaching downpour and the whole thing is eventually replaced
altogether with a deep organ that concludes this track and heralds the
beginning of 'The Parable'. The latter has been infused with the ethereal
vocals of Paula Francis and may well have been inspired by Kafka's "On
Parables", although many consider "The Trial" to be a parable
in itself and you do need to understand German in order to grasp the precise
nature of the textual sample that is being used here. Lastly, 'Vogelfrei
I & II', which perhaps explains the use of bird-song throughout this
project, is more Industrial than the previous tracks. The longest track
on the album, this is a complex attempt to bring all the Kafkaesque threads
together in one penultimate odyssey. But suddenly, after two and a half
minutes there is total silence for a further two minutes and you are left
wondering whether your CD is defective until, thankfully, a slightly pop-filled
dancebeat appears to lead you towards the climax. At least an aural climax,
because the real climax to this great album comes with the inclusion of
"The Scribbler", an 11-minute video designed by Richard Grant.
This includes scenes of ink-blotted notepaper; solitary figures in darkened
streets; various sketches and symbols; distressed stick-men slumped across
equally stick-like interrogation tables; cathedral domes; stately architecture;
fluttering pages; ornate stairwells; Weimar alleyways; barbed wire and
industrial plants. It‚s grim viewing, but the aesthetics compliment
Kafta's stark vision perfectly and it‚s a visually exciting way
to bring this challenging release to a close.
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