C A U T I O N
CYBER ZINE FOR AUDIO EXPERIMENTALISTS

AUDIO REVIEWS

scroll down or click to the review you seek..reviews in this issue of:
KOJI ASANO - Preparing for April -- CD
AUBE - Blood Brain Barrier -- CD
JEREMY BOYLE - Songs From The Guitar Solos -- CD
SCOT JENERIK:R.H.Y.YAU - Meat -- CD
JOB - Party At Ilan's -- CD
VICTORIA JORDANOVA - Requeim for Bosnia -- CD
KID KOALA - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome -- CD
ERIC LA CASA - The Stones of the Threshold -- CD
LAND OF THIN DIMES - Land of Thin Dimes -- CD
LUCHA LIBRE - We Have No Our Groove/Octopus -- CD single
MERZBOW/GENESIS P-ORRIDGE - A Perfect Pain -- CD
METAL EATER - Virus -- CD
MICROSTORIA__SND -- CD
POST PRANDIALS - High Wire Nonet -- CD
POUNDER - Pounder -- CD
RADIOSONDE - Meter Sickness -- CD
JASON RUBENSTEIN -- Cathedral -- CD
MOE! STAIANO - The Non-Study of First Impressions -- CD
STILLUPSTEYA - Reduce by Reducing -- CD
UPSILON ACRUX - The Last Pirates of Upsilon -- CD
ZIPPER SPY - Icky Beats -- CD
Various Artists - Extreme Music From Women -- CD
Various Artists -- MM -- CD
Various Artists -- MOONLANDING VOL. 2 -- 7"
Various Artists -- REVELATION BOOK II -- CD
KOJI ASANO - Preparing For April - CD
(Solstice)

The piano stretches, sand across its wilderness, much like the attendant cover of the recording. Would that an lp version could have been afforded, if only to see the larger view of the photograph! Perhaps one day...and "one day" is the underpinning of a preparation. Is the piano prepared as well - or is it the recording of the sounds that it makes? It's sand through the microphone, a bit, or dust from another time, from an crack into the attic and down to the parlor floor. What is the fine line between "memory" and "reminiscence"? Is it "regret"? Is it something wholly other, undefined yet lying tantalisingly within reach, gotten to by a key in "gee" or even a microtonality?
The notes rain down, to urge April closer - the girl, or the season? Starts and stops trickle across the keys, as though this is a very old recording indeed. Is time given to practicing lessons counted in "time lost"? Or has it simply fallen through the cracks between the keys, to be unearthed and retaken at a later date? It's rather like the first time the piano is looked at closely, and how long one can make the plink-plonk sound last. -- [DC]
(Address: solstice@retemail.es)
AUBE - Blood Brain Barrier - CD
(Ytterbium)

"What's that sound?", from the other room. Brain-wave sounds. Electroencephalograms. "Okay, whatever turns you on..." And so on. I think what he meant to ask was, "What were they thinking when they recorded this?" Which is an incredibly salient point. The sounds come from those brain-waves but what thoughts engendered those waves? So often these recordings by Nakajima-san are tied thematically but what lies behind those themes? The rhythmic ravens call names and cross a jungle to fly again, and again. One raven flows into another, and becomes a duck, dipping into the ocean, never coming up - instead flowing into a raven, and so forth, and so forth.
The brain-waves travel down through their brother pulse, onetwo onetwo, and then the waves come crashing down across the seashore, filling the fauntanals and seeking their own level. A measured time emits while the chaos of other signals tatters the synapscape. Various high pitches voyage through past the body's systems until gradually fading to pitch-black. The sounds calm unto rumbles, pacing, waiting, as if asleep in some way. The sound - or the brain-waves themselves? It's as if the sounds create a body for themselves - calling to other sounds to join cell to cell, growing and aging into something that will be revealed...
As if transmitted over radio waves - much like the body does - the sounds beat together, warble apart and build in intensity, gathering more laboured etchings with each thought carrying through. As the final moments of the piece group into one, they mist into vapor, just another passing notion... -- [DC]
Address: (Ytterbium, 110 Rue St Dizier, 54000 Nancy, France)
JEREMY BOYLE - Songs From The Guitar Solos -- CD
(Southern Records)

This is an ambient, solo release from the guitar player for the indie emo/alternative band JOAN OF ARC. The titles of the tracks are very misleading, six songs, in order, named: "Kiss, Van Halen, Sabbath, AC/DC, Zeppelin, & of course Jimi". It could have been named "Eno parts 1-6".. this is a guitar based ambient work done with alot of MIDI effects and is very flowing and atmospheric.. it really does remind me of Brian Eno's ambient stuff from the late 70's and early 1980's.. this is a very nice sleepy time CD.. very calming and meditative. -- [LOB]
(Southern Records, Po Box 577375, Chicago,IL 60657)
SCOT JENERIK:R.H.Y.YAU - Meat - CD
(Auscultare Research)
This is a split release from 2 of Northern Californias more premire audio experimental specialists.
Scot Jenerik is amazing...turning crunchy raw old style power electronic noise into rhythmic pattern..grinding..the 2nd piece on this disc starts with what appears to be a fabulous field recording of buzzing flies (yes the insects), then capturing parts of this sound on a sampler and letting them texture over one another..very fun and highly chaotic..
YAU is the king of scraping..his compositions start wild and terrorizing (I Jumped!) and then settle into analysis and wonder as to just what is he scraping on.. Later in the piece he adds heavy distorted screaming in random places to add to the terroristic type of randomness.."Pig" is more of a subtle piece of audio experimentation with harsh sounds following more crunchy harsh sounds..but not really as scary as the 1st piece. -- [LOB]
(contact Auscultare Research at auscultare@aol.com)
JOB - Party At Ilan's - CD
(Feast or Famine Recordings)
Many in the noise scene have taken note of the relationship between jazz and noise. Both frequently experiment in free form jams. If one were to make the claim that noise evolved from jazz, Job's album "Party At Ilan's" would make a perfect missing link. The music occasionally falls into beautiful grooves, then flys off the handle and orbits Jupiter. It's like listening to Dave Brubeck's Quartet when suddenly they decide to try playing with their feet. The result is a groovy little album that you'll find yourself throwing on about once a week. This is one of the best experimental albums I've heard in a few years. -- [Rev. Paul Mathers]
VICTORIA JORDANOVA - Requiem for Bosnia -- CD
(Composers Recordings Inc.)

The sounds weave forth like the vibrating of a mirror - and there is the sense of a looming something, as from behind and in back and circling again. Is it memory? Is it as realistic as a gun loading, the desired effects and the empathetic response. And this is where the literalist credo winnows its way in - no place is better-suited for reverb than a requiem. These feelings, these pains and sorrows - reverberate through a murder, then to a composer and follow-flow out through sounds and music, travelling through, and onward... The voices of a child hide behind the strains of a broken piano - as though exploring it, for the first time. A toy piano? A toy robot? It is unclear. And is a broken piano truly "broken" to a child, someone who doesn't know any "better"?
Four preludes for harp follow. And yet there is a childlike quality to the way those stings are played - as if she herself is learning as the piece is written. Strings smooth tentatively, slightly uncertain - then bolt in a jet of finesse just when expectations lull. The strings themselves seem to ruminate and concentrate - deep in thought? Morphogenetic field redux with composer and daydream? A wind shivers the strings, in such a way that the spinning of the disc and its own laser wind beckon behind it. And silence is not golden - it's a silvery pasture...
Once upon a time - is the harp particularly suited to conjure up such notions as "reminiscence" and "nostalghia"? How justly does it...strike a chord? -- [DC]
(Address: info-order@composersrecordings.com)
KID KOALA - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome -- CD
(Ninja Tune)

Rhythmic music with much instrumentation aside from the tupperwared breaks that could be construed as "fresh." Many samples from 1980s ephemera - and it is a strange situation when a culture which was embraced by "nerds" is inculcated into these dopey beats. "Don't steal" - or, so says the cover, which = much yuks. No reservice on stolen/mysteriously missing copies. Right.
The children of Mao and Coca-Cola? Boris Karloff. Robert Carradine. Pac Man (or Pook Man, Puck Man and his endlessly orphaned cousins). Boy that scratching' is makin' me itch. Sorry, that wasn't part of the re view. Much scratching. The dating ritual. And let there be no confusion - this is a highly enjoyable record with which the more erudite amongst the record collectors gathered here tonight shall impress one and all with their highly-developed acumen. Joan Rivers. Cheech y Chong.
One thing that impresses is the sense of Mr. Koala's notion that his job is ridiculed - but not ridiculous. How often is that line of reasoning crossed, balanced and fallen over? -- [DC]
(Address: ninjah@generation.net)
ERIC LA CASA - The Stones of the Threshold - CD
(Ground Fault Recordings)

This is the first release from Ground Fault:Series 1.. the quiet stuff. Eric La Casa is a French audio experimentalist and composer.. his sound art is made with field recordings of streams and winds and such and then he takes these recordings and overlaps them to create a very intense audio collage, inducing intresting dynamics in the rise and fall of the natural chaos of the original recordings. While listening to this CD fairly loudly, sometimes the sounds build to create an "audio cavern" in which the listener can feel totally engulfed in the sound.. it was very sweet... Also the Ground Fault series is VERY affordable.. and hence making this twice as sweet. -- [LOB]
(Ground Fault Recordings, PO Box 4923, Downey,CA 90241 usa)
LAND OF THIN DIMES - Land of Thin Dimes -- CD
(Toadophile Records)
Has theatrical rock become such a subgenre that it has its own cliches and standards, even in recorded version? Stop-start tempos, odd time signatures, snippets of dialogue, carnival music -- we’ve heard these all before, from Frank Zappa to the Tubes to Mr. Bungle. They all indicate to us that there’s a show going on somewhere. In the best cases, we can hear the show in the CD.
This is definitely the case with the Land of Thin Dimes CD. The songs are often constructed as story fragments, dropping us into the middle of the action, with no clue as to the context. There is even a sense of an ongoing plot line through the entire CD, but that may be an illusion. Lyrically, the songs deal with all levels of dementia; aranoia, terrorism, experiments gone awry all make an appearance. This fits quite well with the demented music being played.
Luckily, Land of Thin Dimes play the old tricks with aplomb, and a fresh excitement. Sounding something like Mr. Bungle with Robert Fripp on guitar, plus dialogue which seems lifted from Monty Python outtakes, they are consistently entertaining, and they can jam pretty heavy as well.
The disc does leave one curious to see a live show. I would assume they put on something amazing. -- G. Murray Thomas
(Toadophile Records, 135 Bluxome St., Second Floor, San Francisco, CA 94107; www.toadophile.com)
LUCHA LIBRE -- We Have No Our Groove/Octopus -- CD single
(Satellite Records)
This CD single reminds me of how I cook. Just go through the kitchen cupboards, and toss in everything that looks like it might taste good together. “Sure, tuna fish, white wine, mustard, spaghetti -- that’ll work.” And amazingly enough, it does.
Lucha Libre serve up a tasty stew of very random ingredients. Latin rhythms, poppy synth riffs, snippets of guitar, bits of dialogue, various noises and percussion all percolate through these two cuts, and produce an entertaining, danceable and surprisingly coherent whole. Throw it in your stereo and let it simmer.
-- G. Murray Thomas
MERZBOW / GENESIS P-ORRIDGE -- a perfect pain -- CD
(Coldspring Records)
well.. if you have any previous knowlage of these 2 dinosaurs of the experimental/industrial music scene, then you can quite easily figure out what this release sounds like just from looking at the names involved. And it is exactly what you would expect.. P-Orridge delivers her normal typical tyraid of bad poetry mostly filled with accusations and fingerpointing at the listener.. the best thing about these recordings is that the words are run thru some really great effects processors and so you cant really hear the squeaky sound of his voice. The harsh twisted mangled electronics that we have come to expect from Masami Akita are what make this CD.. MERZBOW is power.. all there is to it.. these recordings that were added later to the poetry on this release are fantasic..quickly switching from sound to sound each with the same sonic intensity.. great stuff from Akita..more of the boring same from GPO.. an okay release.. and an intresting collaboration.. probably the main question is why? -- [LOB]
(Cold Spring, 8 wellspring,billsworth, northants, nn7 3eh, england UK, E:coldspring@thenet.co.uk)
METAL EATER - Virus -- CD
(Amanita/Dephine Knormal Musik)

Metal Eater is a duo made up of Ron Anderson (from the Molecules) and Steve Buchanan (who has played with Fred Frith). This release is made up of mostly percussive sounds.. with a few odd pieces of instrumentation like a saxophone or an electric guitar added in to make some truly odd and wierd melody patterns. The feeling i get from this release is similar to what happens when listening to SF's Caroliner Rainbow.. or early Residents.. but with ALOT of banging going on in the meantime while you look for some point to the cacaphony. It comes in a really neat 7" sleeve, each hand silkscreen, and limited to 500 copies. -- [LOB]
(Amanita - Etxeparia, 642 Urcuray, France // Dephine Normal Musik, 1557 Pete Court, Manteca,CA 95337-9479 usa -- knormal@juno.com
MICROSTORIA_snd -- CD
(Thrill Jockey)

very soothing, very minimal ambient analog meanderings.. muffled and sorta dreamy.. not alot of texture or change.. very simple and very flowy. I really wished that there was more information in this release.. there is some really intresting photos that make up the digi-pack cover art, but no mention of the artist or photographer that took them.. also there is no list of any instrumentation used. Only 2 names are listed.. and that is all.. kinda leaves you uncaring for lack of intrest. -- [LOB]
(Thrill Jockey, box 476794, Chicago,IL 60647 usa)
POST PRANDIALS - High Wire Nonet -- CD
(Artichoke Records)
This is free form jazz in its freest form. The Post Prandials consist of nine musicians (obviously) performing on synthesizers, sax, guitar, bass, drums and a few other instruments, all seemingly playing their own little pieces. One first listen, Post Prandials is discordant, random and difficult. On repeated listenings, well, it doesn’t sound quite so random, but difficult is still a good adjective.
This is music you have to work at listening to. If you put the effort in, the various ways they fit the different instruments together are quite intriguing. It’s almost like pieces to different jigsaw puzzles which nonetheless manage to fit together. The resultant picture is still random and skewed, but fascinating. But again, it takes work to appreciate. If you’re not willing to put the effort in which this CD demands, it will merely annoy you. Or, perhaps, greatly annoy you.
I must add that Post Prandials (literally, “after dining”) is not the best name for this group. Post-prandial usually refers to that sated, relaxed, happy feeling one has after a large meal (say, Thanksgiving feasting). Unluckily, as applied to this music, the title conjures up notions of indigestion instead. -- [G. Murray Thomas]
POUNDER - self titled - CD
(self produced)
This is a nice dark album without getting too ethereal and spacey. It's much easier to actively listen to than most dark music. The music is well crafted. I find myself listening to it in the car at night a lot. It's great music to travel with, physically or otherwise. It's nice and haunting. The music has a distinct darkwave feel to it. The vocals are haunting and cut through your soul. I strongly recommend it. It can be purchased by contacting Eric Pounder. (312) 382-8683 -- [Rev. Paul Mathers]
(Pounder, P.O. Box 578-945, Chicago, IL 60637 USA E: EAPWAR@AOL.COM
RADIOSONDE - Meter Sickness - CD
(Ground Fault Recordings:series II)

San Francisco based film and audio artist Scott Arford, and his project RADIOSONDE, has been making truly capturing and vibrant noise compositions in the Northern California area for quite sometime now...sometimes for live performances..and sometimes not..Arford never fails to find something simple and semi-mechanical to extort with distortion to create his own personal soundtracks to life...this collection of studio recordings done for Ground Fault recordings is an excellent example of his work and the power his soundscapes produce..the 1st cut, "Zombi", is very creey and is filled with sounds similar to machine gun fire..combined with a layers of distortion to create sort of a tunnel effect. Close your eyes and imagine your dropping rapidly on some sort of evil elevator to hell. The next cut, "Pilot" (belly-up mix), is again very creepy in it's overall intonation..but with more rythym..this track has the most "soundtrack" like feeling on these disc. Next up, "Dead Weight", features a guest appearance by Michael Contreras of DEATH SQUAD making additional sounds..this cut is sonic..like being taped to the wheels of a rollercoaster.. heavy, loud, grinding, buidling, and then stopping abruptly. really nice. Cut 4, "inhalants", is pretty long.. it sorta at first reminded me of some of the more mellower stuff from MERZBOW..very digital like distortion layered in feedback..lots of neat high frequencies looping around like flies in your ears...it builds and then heavy dance beats are added for just enough time to make you start getting into the groove of them being there.. and then they are stripped away and you are returned back to the droning electronic hums of before.. a very well named track. "M-Theory" is my favorite on this disc..it is the dance track..true industrial dance music at its most basic and primal core.. the sound of a record ending..loud bump of the needle against the groove end...complete with record static...looped and amplified to the max..add other loops of crunching and scraping over the top in un-even patterns..very cool and very chaotic. I like this cut alot. The last cut, "no solutions", is also very well named.. another track using amplified record static, combined with a very haunting, low echoing, machine-like rhythm...very minimal..very trancy..nearly put me into a dream-state..very nice..hidden voices appear throughout the cut and appear alone at the very end adding to the haunting feel of the track. This is a really amazing CD from RADIOSONDE.. i hope there is more like this to come in the future. -- [LOB]
(Ground Fault Recordings, www.groundfault.net)
JASON RUBENSTEIN - Cathedral - CD
(Gearhead Music)
This CD is a pleasantly haunting set of piano-based pieces, most of them improvised. Although performed by a basic instrumental trio (Rubenstein on piano, Roman Morykit on bass, and David Carol-Libman playing drums), the music is lush and full. The playing is intense, yet dreamlike. The tunes can function smoothly as background atmospherics, yet are complex enough for deeper listening.
There is a general dark emotional tone throughout. The pieces invoke images of storm clouds and a half-glimpsed moon. (The liner notes do indicate much of the disc was recorded late at night). You could almost call this “New Age Noir.”
Actually, I wasted many hours trying to classify this music, a fruitless endeavor as it transcends genre. I’ve heard it described in many terms -- dark ambient, new age, and Rubenstein’s own “prog rock” -- but none of them are exactly right. The most appropriate word might be simply jazz, in the broadest sense. Like all great jazz, these compositions can be approached on many levels, from pleasant background to deep meditative listening, and reward on all. Rubenstein should be congratulated for creating such moving, heartily original music. -- [G.Murray Thomas]
(Gearhead Music, 12358 Ventura Blvd., #232, Studio City, CA 91604. www.gearheadmusic.com)
MOE! STAIANO - The Non-Study of First Impressions - CD
(Dephine Knormal Music)
Moe! is one of the most underated experimental composers currently performing in Northern California..this CD represents a collection of pieces done live and in studio with various musicians.. My first thoughts when listening to this disc was that this is what would happen if Einsturzende Neubauten were to turn and become a jazz ensamble..and then i listened deeper and became really into the rhythms of these odd collections of sounds made with Food bowls, u-bolts, copper pipes, cellos, violins, piano frames, circular saw blades, and even more odd bits used as percussion.. this disc screams to fans John Zorn or Glen Branca.. such avant garde jazz only comes from the mind of powerful composers.. i think we will here manymore great things from Moe! Staiano.
- [LOB]
(Dephine Knormal Music, 1557 Pete Court, Manteca,CA USA)
STILLUPPSTEYPA -- Reduce by Reducing -- CD
(FIRE.inc./SOME)
This disc is a surprisingly mellow and pleasant set of noise compositions. It slowly builds a series of clicks and pops into a rhythm track, and then adds other sounds on top of that. It mostly sticks to soft sounds and gentle rhythms, only turning harsh for the briefest moments.
I would almost call it “noise muzak” (noisak?) -- it fades easily into the background, and provides a pleasant set of sounds there without intruding into one’s aural space. It is almost meditative in its repetitions and sound choices. While such a label could easily be considered an insult, I see it as a great accomplishment -- non-musical noise which nonetheless provides a calming ambient background.
On the other hand, it is quite un-muzaklike in that one can listen to it closely, following the careful constructions of the pieces -- which sounds are used, how they fit together, how they build into a total seamless whole -- and appreciate it on that level as well.
Yes, noise to meditate to. -- [G. Murray Thomas]
(FIRE.inc./SOME, P.O. Box 11144-1001 GC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; http://www.fire-inc.demon.nl)
UPSILON ACRUX - The Last Pirates of Upsilon -- CD
(Win Records)

This CD will rock your world. It comes on quick and surprizing like psychedelic drugs. It consists of music played quick and flawless made up of fun, quirky jazz influcenced instrumental experiementation. The style of this band really reminds me of The Boredoms from Japan. Imagine if The Boredoms were a jazz ensamble.. like mixed with John Zorn. This band shows ALOT of power in the recordings that make up this release.. if they are anything like this live...the are probably a remarkable act to see. -- [LOB]
(Win Records, PO Box 26811, L.A.,CA 90026-0811 usa)
ZIPPER SPY - Icky Beats -- CD
(Ground Fault Recordings)

This is the debut release from the new Ground Fault:Series 2, representing the "medium" side of experimental noise.. This CD is exactly as the title suggests.. 23 tracks and over 70 minutes of truly "icky beats". It is either a total fraud (meaning Maria playing with a drum machine), or a simple and brilliant foundation for DIGITAL HARDCORE enthusiasts to sample from... or both! Beats, beats, and more beats.. imagine Muslimgauze on really bad acid and some old meth.. this is what would have happened...if you like DHC, or gabber, or psychotic electronic percussion.. this is for you.. guests appearances on this disc from A.M.K., Dan Flemming, J.F.Kennedy, and others. At how affordable this disc is.. it is totally worth checking out. -- [LOB]
(Ground Fault Recordings, Po Box 4923, Downey,CA 90241 usa)
VARIOUS ARTISTS - Extreme Music From Women -- compilation CD
(Susan Lawly)

The way to defuse a loaded situation is to see that it is not loaded - just filled with a different substance.
Rosemary Malign creates a vibrating reflection in amber that will last and melt and be distilled. There is something writhing inside it that was outside all along but as in most amber, the light plays tricks so that there are twelve ways to pronounce the suffix "-ough". Lisa and Naomi Tocatly move through their sounds in such a way that the old clawfisted bathtub is scraped of older baths and the resulting cleanliness is viewed as through a diamond. Dolores Dewberry speaks a paragraph 64 as the twitters of Kurt Schwitters range their ways through the calm and multilayeredmeanings of the past that inevitably emerge from the numbering of a paragraph. Candi Nook hafts her sounds through a television set and speaks to the broadcast, several of them, several million of them. All twisting and curling and hafting themselves, much as the sounds are imprinted into a subconscious and this is why one fails to recall the name of the bully from fourth form but why another remembers that Steven Stapleton played live with Whitehouse at one time.
Annabel Lee brings forth the wolves from another place, which could be grounds for grievous slander if revealed. Mira Calix pulses several voices and windings and balls them into a piece that creeps out as velvetly as it rolled in. Clara Clamp's answering maschine moves from one speaker to the next, and is revelation ever properly recorded? Are there things left unsaid that lie coiled in the hiss of cassette tape, no matter how small? And, ultimately, recording devices fail to catalogue those nuances, in the way that is vital and living in the face-to-face confrontation and taste. Debra Petrovitch narrates in dislocation - and how long does rationale go through surreality and freeforming until a beat, a cadence, a pattern is imposed on the action? Where is the portion of the brain that imposes order on chaos? And this, even in the apparent face of entropy...two lines of the = sign are equal until you look closer to see that one is longer, one is shorter - yet both remain straight lines, utterly, for an instant. Karen Thomas kicks ticks and pops from the speakers as the deepened glare of a rotating pail crumbles through the air, it is so difficult to figure out from whence comes the sound, and deeper still the mystery of the words because how often will I actually speak with this person? Beth Cannery wishes luck with a capital "F" as the treble clef is rent and at least two distinct tones rise their heads, biting towards the pineal glad and the words are clearer, grabbing those tones by their necks and then.
Gaya Donadio storms out the thunder - and it oscillates across the space of a room. If the memory of a piece of music resonates, can we say that it gives a space (cf. of a room) resonance itself? What roles do sound and memory and space play within each other? Maria Moran and the prurient interest - does a conversation immersed in heavy sound make one actually listen more intently? The clouds clear at times, go live in another speaker at others. Fraulein Tost paints a panic as perhaps Rupert writes a rainbow - vastening washes of flange across the canvas that is 2:07, 2:06, 2:05 and onward. Measured. Finite. If one paints with sound, is time the canvas? Wendy van Dusen speaks of dog, saturating and calculating. Much echo, and is this how the dog hears commands, again and again? Is this how the dog tries to speak, barking, again and again? Cat Hope's sounds vacillate in time, and something is broken, many times. It is reminiscent of the aural Rorschach test given to inmates in the asylum - repeating words until they become sheer sound, and Neil Hill, we still miss you. Diane Nelson mounts and subsequently dissects an insect. Wings beat and voices inject outwards through the pins impaling them. The final kick of the impulse, and does it really take so many seconds?
I have the gravest regrets that I did not call upon a female colleague to assist me in recording a literalist version for "Extreme Music From Women." It would have been so... -- [DC]
(Address: info@susanlawly.com)

VARIOUS ARTISTS -- MM -- CD
(World Serpent Distribution)
Algiz speeds through a welter of French - and how deep are the roots of the concept of time in folk music? Flute, guitar; sudden swelter of bongos. The music moves swiftly - to what end? I mean that literally. Backworld effuse through violins about "The Devil's Plaything." Are folk music and semiotexte two tribes never destined to meet? Are there inroads in folk music, yet to be explored? Or, are those inroads in ruins? Der Blutharsch rain drums and tubular bells upon the earth that excoriates titles. Bryin Dall states that he is so lonely he could cry, stretching out the fingers of this mood through guitar and strings. Cyclobe curve through the strings and drums bursting into a ringing of telephone and scuttled voices cutting through the first five minutes after sleep. Darkwood intone over guitars (whither goeth the number of strings?) and German, as if something is indeed waiting in that dark wood - waiting from behind.
Dawn & Dusk Entwined unfurl voices and melding tones and those voices build - point, counterpoint? Is there a chance to build something over hours and months and years - is this the legacy of folk music: the gradual build? Leutha take their focus - "Wind" - and breathe through it, into it, around it - or do they mean "Wind"? There is no small amount of crossings and movement in the sounds - bells become air and air moves through cylindres. It trembles into the final seconds, vanishing as nature becomes time. Nobody's voice rings clear as the bells that succeed it - fractured blossoms of feedback warble from the sound-sources - and it is not for nothing that the concept of "longing" is the capstone to the arch of folk music. Novy Svet rend the proceedings with rude organ and la la lowing - playing while this Rome burns, like one of the twelve Caesars - "La Aroma Lola"? ? A hey hey, a hey hey.
Ozymandias. Look for the coming inter view in which it is revealed that his favourite poem is not, in fact, "Ozymandias". Piano emerges, and slyphs out as gently as it had come. Pantaleimon study the strings of their guitar as through a pastoral life, as though a pastoral life. There is a sound behind them that suggests someplace in the country where someone let fall an arrow. The string section bows for an extended period of time. Much unexpectation. Regard Extreme bring drums and synthetics to trump l'oeil for the joy of the princess. And so it goes. Skald offer their respect to days gone by, with plucking and bowing, plucking and bowing. It is surprising how many of these sounds are intensely visual, telling stories left and right and down again. ...The Soil Bleeds Black feature flute and big bass drum. Would the compact disc format doom the musicians herein to a drowning or a burning at the stake were they transported back to a simpler time? Tor Lundvall, in "My Weakness", calls from a fog - a veil of bells and wails, a mist of sounds not missed; of vice and ether/or - regret? Nostalghia? -- [DC]
(Address: mailorder@worldserpent.demon.co.uk)
VARIOUS ARTISTS - Moonlanding Vol. 2 -- 7"
(Helicopter Records)

This is the 2nd release in the Helicopter "Moonlanding" series being done by noise artist JOHN WIESE. This release was limited to only 200 copies press on 7" black vinyl. All are one-sided and spin at 33rpms.
This volume, like the previous one, features 4 different noise/experimental audio artists..First, there was MSBR from Japan..this track was very surprizing for MSBR, it was very minimalistic and quiet..which is very different from MSBR's normal style..the sounds were what seemed to be electronicly based.. sorta like circuts shorting out.. captured with slight reverb. Next up was JOHN WIESE who pulled no punches and left no surprizes with his signature over the top bombastic harsh electronics..lots of knob turning and toggle fondling.. pure ripping table-core. In the 3rd spot we have BASTARD NOISE, a noise side-project from members of the grind-core punk band Man Is The Bastard. The sounds that Bastard Noise create for this compilation are really sorta odd and swell to listen to..heavy vibrating feedback with reverb and delay added to make this sorta muffled chaos..it would have been much better without the grind-core-esque growling vocals. And lastly to bring this to a close was Sonic Youth guitarist, THURSTON MOORE. Moore's track was guitar based, but very very ambient, quite the quiet track.. it very much reminded me of some stuff from The Hafler Trio, but much shorter. This is maybe the best thing i have personally heard from Moore's experimental audio outings. Overall this is a really sweet 7" comp.. with some really neat recordings from really neat people.. too bad it will probably be WAY out of print by the time you are reading this. --- [LOB]
(Helicopter, 24846 Walnut Street #205, Newhall,CA 91321)
Various Artists -- REVELATIONS BOOK II -- CD
produced by Ron English
(Which? Records, www.popaganda.com)
This intriguing and ambitious project attempts to musically update the Book of Revelations into late 20th Century language and sensibility. Written and produced by New York artist Ron English, Revelations Book II assembles a diverse cast of musicians to present and flesh out English’s notions. These artists include Daniel Johnston, Mojo Nixon, Railroad Jerk, Wammo, Patti Rothberg, Sara Hickman and many more.
Revelations Book II presents a much more humanistic Jesus than is normally found in today’s organized churches It draws heavily on “the Gospel according to Thomas” (also known as the Gnostic Bible), recovered in Egypt in 1945. A key line of this Gospel is, “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.” This sentiment, that the power of God is within us all, is the core of Revelations, Book II.
The topics and interpretations covered here are quite wide and varied. They range from TV evangelists (“There’s a Sucker Born Again Every Minute”) to sex (“God lifted me up/ Higher and higher/... God came/ again and again/ He came like a thunderbolt/... When you make the male and the female one/ Then you will know God’s kingdom” from “GodWoman”) to Christ’s role in his own demise (“He claimed he was God/ He promised salvation/ He let his conceit replace revelation/ He said things/ that might be treason/ He let his passion eclipse his reason.” from “Thin Ice”). In fact, on first listen, the disc sounds scattered and incoherent, a bunch of ideas without a unifying theme.
However, that theme does emerge eventually. English seems to be saying that Christ’s original message has been distorted by the various (self-appointed) messengers who have handed it down over the years, and who continue to hand it down. English does remain aware that he is yet another of these messengers, and there is a tone of questioning his own interpretations as well. The multiple angles he’s presents on the topic are part of this questioning.
If all this sounds too heavy for casual listening, I must add that English presents his ideas with a light touch. He has a great sense of humor, which is especially apparent in his takes on the various absurdities of belief. The disc is full of jokes, puns and wordplay.
The music itself helps make the disc accessible. It covers a full spectrum of contemporary styles, with gospel, jazz, folk and blues all well represented, plus occasional forays into alt-rock and new age, much of it catchy and hummable. Each song does carefully meld its style with its subject matter, to produce an internal unity. There is also an general unity to the disc; the overall sound is surprisingly consistent for such a diversity of musicians.
As an agnostic raised without a heavily Christian background, I found Revelations Book II intriguing and thought-provoking. But I can’t help wondering how a believing Christian would react. No doubt those with a rigid mindset will find it blasphemous and offensive, but I believe anyone with an open mind will be fascinated and challenged. Both results (offense and challenge) are probably within English’s aim. Revelations Book II raises some deep questions, questions which need to asked, in a very entertaining format. -- [GMT]


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