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Andyskopes: True Chord Redux VIP
Posted by Vito Camarretta (@) Techno / Trance / Goa / Drum'n'Bass / Jungle / Tribal / Trip-Hop
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Artist: Andyskopes (@)
Title: True Chord Redux VIP
Label: Utopia Music (@)
London-based drum and bass dj and producer Andrew Lawrence, better known as Andy Skopes, already showed his devotion to both old and new school of the genre on his releases, collaborations and recently at the popular Fizzy and Technicality nights, but what he made on "True Chord" was a surgical junction between the last phase of jungle, the one which many junglists rolled before the advent of drum'n'bass, and organic and melodic slopes of bass music (I could mention the seven volumes of the notorious series "Earth" by LTJ Bukem 's Good Looking Records) acording to well trained ears. Andy reprised that astonishing track on this very first jungle drop on Utopia sea and enhanced both the amazing juggles on typical amen break, vocal samples and sonic details, which are going to overlap the evergreen dreams of junglists, before giving cues to the listeners about how contemporary (or if you prefer, you can even call it "nu") jungle could sound like on the flipside by means of the striking "True Human Emotion".
Homogenized Terrestrials: The Contaminist
Posted by Steve Mecca Ambient / Electronica / Ethereal / Dub / Soundscapes / Abstract
Artist: Homogenized Terrestrials (@)
Title: The Contaminist
Label: Intangible Cat (@)
Homogenized Terrestrials is the name under which Phil Klampe creates his aural magic and from what I understand he has a sizable catalog of recordings since the early/mid-eighties. This is the first I'd ever heard of him but the one thing I love about reviewing for Chain D. L. K. is that I get to discover a great amount of interesting music and bring it to your attention. I don't believe Homogenized Terrestrials has ever been reviewed here before. Klampe (as Homogenized Terrestrials) has been involved with Hal McGee, Brian Noring (FDR tapes), Charles Rice Goff III, Headless Ballerinas Underwater, Rebekah's Tape, Dog Hallucination, and others. 'The Contaminist' release being my first exposure to H.T., I had no idea what to expect, except for a cryptic comparison to Robin Storey, Mark Spybey (D.V.O.A.), Coil, Brian Eno and Christian Fennesz on the one-sheet. Actually, from what I'm hearing it seems closer to Spybey's Dead Voice on Air than the others. I notice some similarity to the Russian Vetvie label artists ' Vresnit, Lunar Abyss Deus Organum, Hladna, etc.), although their works usually consist of longer pieces. If 'The Contaminist' could be construed as ambient, then this is full-on, not so minimal ambient. The sonic palette is chock-full of events ' loops, patterns, drones, atmospheres, percussion, samples, etc. Even when a piece may seem to be minimal, it really isn't. The 13 pieces vary widely in tone and temperament, sometimes even within the pieces themselves. An unfocused ear might construe them as semi-random sound collages, but I do believe there is a method to the madness of Homogenized Terrestrials. Speaking of that name, there isn't much that sounds homogenized or terrestrial on 'The Contamanist'; in fact the name may be the very antithesis of the music.
One of the most unsettling yet cohesive pieces is 'Two Ay Emm' with its robotic alarm chime loop, stringed instrument scraping, and ebb 'n' flow phased strings. Imagine waking up out of a sound sleep at 2am and hearing this! Whoa! Very surreal. And that's only a portion of what's going on. Some of the sounds created by Klampe are truly enigmatic. There is one in 'Spurk' that might be something backwards and is used only intermittently but it's quite intriguing. I have no idea how he came up with it. Klampe is also fond of voices, chorus or choir voices, both synthetic and sample-based. They crop up in a number of compositions. Although much of this is arrhythmic and non-melodic, there are spots where rhythm and melody do show up, not necessarily together, and sometimes disguised as something else. 'Shinth' is a good example where there's a kind of a bellish gamelan thing going on also with bowed strings; rhythmic and melodic, but not like you'd think. 'The Contaminist' is really a cornucopia of different soundscapes, and very likely there is much you'll enjoy to be found here. It's also beguiling enough to warrant repeated plays. Neat photo artwork by Phil Klampe on the CD wallet too.
Moderat: II
Posted by Alissa Hooper (@) Electronics / EBM / Electronica
Artist: Moderat
Title: II
Format: CDS (CD Single)
Label: Mute Records (@)
Moderat, the brilliant combination of Berlin electronic artists Apparat (aka Sascha Ring) and Modeselektor (aka Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary), have teamed up for an incredibly atmospheric, well-polished, and aptly-titled second album, II.
Any stand-alone Apparat or Modeselektor release is a treat. As forerunners in the contemporary and eclectic electronic music scene in Berlin, as well as former mainstays signed to the influential label BPitch Control, the acts have run the gamut of genres from IDM, glitch, hip-hop, electro house, minimal techno, to everything in between.
Apparat's solo releases and approach to songwriting, most noteably 2011's stunning The Devil's Walk, have tended to fall into moody terrain, particularly with longing vocals and lyrics, minimalist off-beats, and atmospheric vibes, all of which are cleverly and clearly demonstrated throughout II. Modeselektor have tended to focus their experimental techno more in mirth and fun, particular on the early (and very exclamatory) releases Hello Mom! and Happy Birthday! The combination of the two creates a nearly inexplicable, complex, and headphones-recommended experience.
While vocals on Apparat releases have typically only been those of Sascha Ring's and vocals on Modeselektor's tunes, when present, are largely attributed to a slew of special guests including Otto von Schirach, TTC, Puppetmastaz, and even Radiohead's Thom York, II contains several tracks that are either instrumental or contain chopped up, sampled vocals, yet never lacking in melody and addictive hooks. The tracks in which Ring soulfully sings are just as appealing ('Bad Kingdom' and 'Gita'). 'Let In The Light' reminds us that dubstep, despite numerous criticisms and stigma in recent times, can still be done while sounding new and refreshing.
A hybrid of a large number of experimental techno subgenres, II is the newest wave of Berlin's ' and beyond ' electronic music scene.
John Puchiele Ensemble: Life Cycle
Artist: John Puchiele Ensemble (@)
Title: Life Cycle
Label: self-released
Composer John Puchiele has been active for several decades doing live synthesizer-based performance scores for theatrical productions, film scores, recordings and ensemble performances. He was also a composer and performer with the Glass Orchestra. 'Life Cycle' seems to be the first recording by the John Puchiele Ensemble, an ambient orchestral sound allegory of the life cycle. Funny, I can't find the names of any other members of this ensemble nor can I find a website for the group's label ' Antediluvian Records, so I assume this CD is self-released and other member of the ensemble (if any) are anonymous. Over thirteen tracks the music is somewhat varied with ambient being a common thread but not the sole form of expression in 'Life Cycle'. 'from there to here' is reminiscent of an Eno-Harold Budd collaboration with smooth sustained drone strings and a lightly played minimal piano theme. 'first step' is all spacey strings in the sky which seems transitional. 'foundations' is a heavily chambered piano piece that conjures a certain emotional wistfulness. 'the big sky' is more elongated sky strings, like watching clouds drift by. 'thinking' employs multilayered sustained voices in chordal patterns, soothing, contemplative. 'second step' is another brief string-based piece with chord clusters billowing and colliding with some dissonance like a storm brewing. 'life gets busy I' starts out placidly enough with light string chords, then the strings spring to life with marcato technique in two-note base that is elaborated on and accented by the other string instruments. As more sections join in this becomes complex, with more parts being added. It's minimal/maximal ala the Philip Glass/Steve Reich school of classical composition. Taken by itself, the piece is really wonderful and spellbinding the way it grows and swells, but ambient purists may balk at being woken from their reverie. 'life gets busy II' has a similar take with lively piano(s) playing simple repeated phrases that grow more complex as parts are added. Another nice composition but hardly ambient, just very frenetic until it comes to a dead stop. 'third step' has lofty, airy sounds with a lot of harmonic resonance. 'climbing.' features sustained bowed strings that seem to drift but have a certain heaviness to them. 'N.D.E.' begins with low, sustained string chords joined in time by (wordless) heavenly choir that sneaks into the background, then a single bowed string saws through the clouds accompanied by the timbre of a higher instrument, and more and more lower and mid bowed strings, until only the higher registers remain ushered out on a cosmic wind. Muted, heavily reverbed smooth drones of different frequencies comprise 'the edge of infinity,' the most spaced-out section of 'Life Cycle'. 'from there to here' seems filled with both sadness and hope with a slow three-chord theme played on strings and a synth voice until it fades away.
I realize all I have done is describe the mechanics of 'Life Cycle' and ultimately how it resonates with the listener is its true test of merit. Some may find it achingly beautiful, others uneven and often melancholy. To me, it conveyed a variety of moods and emotions, some of which I couldn't help but be affected by. The 'New Classical' repetitive structures of the middle pieces are bound to raise some hackles on those who like their ambient music smooth and drifty, but such is life. Everyone needs a break from placidity. Sometimes you just have to mix things up a bit.
Autogen: Mutagen
Posted by Marc Tater (@) Electronics / EBM / Electronica
Artist: Autogen (@)
Title: Mutagen
Label: 4iB Records / Sturm (@)
Distributor: 4iB Records
I know that I should have written this review months before, but unfortunately I lost track in between, so this one comes out late. The debut release of Autogen out of Latvia promised to be one of the outstanding releases during the last months for the Dark Electro/Post-modern Ambient/IDM genre. It is an experimental Electronica project by Kaspars Kalnins, also known under his pseudonym Kaps. He is maybe better known for his involvement in the Electro/Industrial project Rosewater or as being the founder of the Latvian cult label Sturm. Kaps is surely one of leading forces behind any activity of underground-related music in this small Eastern European country. This debut album is a collaboration release between Sturm and the new Singapore-based 4iB Records, which concentrates to present Ambient / Noise / Martial-Industrial styles. Autogen has been firstly discovered with an appearance on the latest Sturm compilation 'Stürmer 4' DCD set ('Par Veelu'), 'Mutagen' now collects all tracks written in between 2008 - 2012. Ever since the establishing of Autogen, this project has been often active with rude live performances and has visited numerous industrial and fetish clubs in Latvia, Finland, Belarus, Hungary, Denmark, Lithuania, Estonia and also Bangkok in March 2012. The shows of Autogen are for parental usage only, they often display cruel scenarios of blood, gore and fetishism. The musically direction of this debut tends clearly into the field of demanding Dark Electro music. Projects like The Klinik, Mortal Constraint, or Disharmony have to be named to throw in possible quells of inspiration, although this album in its presented quality would also well fitting side by side with some highly praised signed to the US-based Tympanik Audio label. And so this album explores a wide range of dark and cold sounding Electronica styles and leaves out warmer and smooth sounding ingredients. The work of Mortal Constraint or Ingo Lindmeier's Polygon-project in its early recordings is surely witness for tracks 'Nevajag', 'Trakumá', or 'Súrums' in its existence. Massive applause for the rather deep drowning, stone-cold Modern-Ambient-like tune 'Vél Né', one of my personal favorites. That this album is also able to scratch some inner nerves can be discovered in 'Nederings', the ideal and raw soundtrack for your next dentists visit. 'Mutagen' is a brilliant collection of tracks full of creative sound-design with matured programming skill. No pseudo-aggressive Techno kick-and-snare-bawling on here, 'Mutagen' is rather designed to freeze your brain. A nice, cinematic, but also ice-cold sound-trip not to be missed. Get it!
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