Thursday, June 08, 2006
starving weirdos
self-hypnosis
[2006, jyrk]
starving weirdos are a quartet from humboldt, california. according to their website, they've been around in some capacity for roughly seven years. after hearing a few of their releases, it seems like their sound doesn't really vary a whole deal. they play, for the most part, a droney, industrial type of experimental music, with actual instrumentation thrown into the mix. oddly enough for a band from humboldt, their sound isn't particularly psychedelic, but they do have some really long tracks, so i wouldn't rule drugs out completely.
self-hypnosis, three tracks, forty-one minutes, is starving weirdos first release for d yellow swans' jyrk label. album opener, density of life, pt. 1, starts with a minimal industr
ial sound, followed abruptly by a grinding noise, which doesn't last too long, but reoccurs in intervals, along with random noise, some of it sounding like coins being dropped on a concrete floor, guitar noise, and the sound of metal pipes being dragged on the floor and dropped, and cymbal crashes. the title track is basically a saxophone solo. not in a convential sense, mind you, it's mostly played with one note sustained in a drone for awhile, followed by another. only on occasion is it actually played in a more normal manner. it's by far the most minamlist piece on the album. the closer, density of life, pt. 2, continues in a similiar vein as the first part, but adds squeals of feedback, and the sound of a record being played backwards. with it's random noises and water sounds it kind of makes you feel like you're in a submarine. maybe a haunted submarine. kind of a spooky vibe here that gets noisy at times, but more so on the latter part of the track. 
i was definitely attracted to this release because it was put out on jyrk, but thankfully the music itself lived up to any expectations that i had for it.
Density Of Life, Pt.2 Excerpt (from 8:53 to 10:37)
[2006, jyrk]
starving weirdos are a quartet from humboldt, california. according to their website, they've been around in some capacity for roughly seven years. after hearing a few of their releases, it seems like their sound doesn't really vary a whole deal. they play, for the most part, a droney, industrial type of experimental music, with actual instrumentation thrown into the mix. oddly enough for a band from humboldt, their sound isn't particularly psychedelic, but they do have some really long tracks, so i wouldn't rule drugs out completely.
self-hypnosis, three tracks, forty-one minutes, is starving weirdos first release for d yellow swans' jyrk label. album opener, density of life, pt. 1, starts with a minimal industr
ial sound, followed abruptly by a grinding noise, which doesn't last too long, but reoccurs in intervals, along with random noise, some of it sounding like coins being dropped on a concrete floor, guitar noise, and the sound of metal pipes being dragged on the floor and dropped, and cymbal crashes. the title track is basically a saxophone solo. not in a convential sense, mind you, it's mostly played with one note sustained in a drone for awhile, followed by another. only on occasion is it actually played in a more normal manner. it's by far the most minamlist piece on the album. the closer, density of life, pt. 2, continues in a similiar vein as the first part, but adds squeals of feedback, and the sound of a record being played backwards. with it's random noises and water sounds it kind of makes you feel like you're in a submarine. maybe a haunted submarine. kind of a spooky vibe here that gets noisy at times, but more so on the latter part of the track. i was definitely attracted to this release because it was put out on jyrk, but thankfully the music itself lived up to any expectations that i had for it.Density Of Life, Pt.2 Excerpt (from 8:53 to 10:37)
daniel menche
for the beasts 3" cd-r
[2006, p-tapes]
portland-based sound artist daniel menche has built his work with and around the idea of controlled chaos, rather than the spontaneity we're used to from most noise musicians. most of what i've heard from him have been drone-laden affairs, but on this three inch cd-r, one of his newest releases, he takes his music in a different direction. the control is still there, it's just what goes into that control that is different.
much like the title suggests, for the beasts definitely conjurs up images of a jungle setting. unrelenting, tribal sounding drumming seems to be the the main attraction on this one track, nearly twenty minute cd. accompanying said percussion is a nice layer of drone, metal pounding, and chimes, amongst other ambient sounds.
things start off calm enough in the beginning and gradually become more chaotic and involved during the duration of the album, but it never gets too out of hand or noisy. the drumming, while opening up kind of buried in the mix, grows louder, faster and affected as the track progesses. the drum layer itself eventually gets pushed up front and then it's slowed back down as it's retired to the background once more as other noises are featured. the shift in the focus is definitely good to have whenever you're dealing with one track that's nearly twenty minutes long.
for the beasts definitely surprised me. after hearing some of his starker noise and drone-based releases, this one caught me off guard, but i'd definitely say that it did so in a good way.
For The Beasts Excerpt (from 7:48 to 11:48)
[2006, p-tapes]
portland-based sound artist daniel menche has built his work with and around the idea of controlled chaos, rather than the spontaneity we're used to from most noise musicians. most of what i've heard from him have been drone-laden affairs, but on this three inch cd-r, one of his newest releases, he takes his music in a different direction. the control is still there, it's just what goes into that control that is different.
much like the title suggests, for the beasts definitely conjurs up images of a jungle setting. unrelenting, tribal sounding drumming seems to be the the main attraction on this one track, nearly twenty minute cd. accompanying said percussion is a nice layer of drone, metal pounding, and chimes, amongst other ambient sounds.things start off calm enough in the beginning and gradually become more chaotic and involved during the duration of the album, but it never gets too out of hand or noisy. the drumming, while opening up kind of buried in the mix, grows louder, faster and affected as the track progesses. the drum layer itself eventually gets pushed up front and then it's slowed back down as it's retired to the background once more as other noises are featured. the shift in the focus is definitely good to have whenever you're dealing with one track that's nearly twenty minutes long.
for the beasts definitely surprised me. after hearing some of his starker noise and drone-based releases, this one caught me off guard, but i'd definitely say that it did so in a good way.
For The Beasts Excerpt (from 7:48 to 11:48)
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
heliogabalus
tourettes is normal [excerpt 2]
[2004, w.m.o/r]
there's a beautiful predictability that's built up in cover art; enough to fuel a handy flowchart style buying guide for those with no clue/no experience. even the slowest would catch on to unwritten currents that govern the majority of covers: punk psychedelia almost certainly equates to noisy drone/psych, minimalist with clean lines as eai, etc... recognising and rejecting the expected can land you with praise, even if the image itself is superficially quite banal; you only need look as far as the much-vaunted constable-esque riverscape gracing the cover of los glissandinos' latest foray into minimal eai. so while heliogabalus' tourettes is normal release may be striking, it still falls prey to immediately suggesting connections, with esoteric classical references and antiquated doodles gracing the cover. if i was cynical (guilty) and presumptious (also, totally) then it all suggests someone has a healthy a handful of dust fetish going on.
while you don't have to have a deep understanding of certain facets of the kiwi underground to guess this is going to be somewhat noisy, there's actually quite a lot more than jaded, dismissive assumptions might give it credit for. first off, the lineup of david mitchell and matthew hyland (of ghost club/3Ds and spud respectively) aren't exactly known for their blues/noise/sludge jams. even a profile of mitchell in the local paper took the time to name four of mitchell's five bands, before breaking out a semi-dismissive reference to "an improvisational band he plays in with hyland". hyland, i'm more familiar with for the writing he does for a low/no-run australasian arts zine, which mostly consists of feverish political tracts of varying degrees of seperation from reality; the outermost exhibiting a dazzling mania.
but anyway, a lot of talk so far given i haven't really covered the album at all... well, it's short, at 26 minutes, and devoted entirely to a single track. those (like myself) who were expecting handful of dust-esque scree/feedback structures have to re-evaluate. essentially what you get is a strange noise automatism, a stream of conciousness take on white-house era dead c blues, tinged with a certain, vaguely oriental influence that permeates the piece. kicking off with a disorted chime/guitar attack, it soon settles down into hazy, locked minimalist grooves with guitar quite sweetly shrilling out ecstatic runs up the register. mitchell seems content (or maybe by reflex, unable to avoid) letting it settle into almost-song forms in spots, but it never strays too far from the dynamic exhibited in the damaged opening blast. anyone with an interest in this sort of... well, i guess you can almost call it kiwi-noise classicism? would do well to look out for their split lp, which i've heard is culled from the same tapes.
as an addendum to all this (and if the dead c comparisons weren't stacking up quite heavily enough), you can find a live performance with michael morley, as well as the actual album in question, shared legally for one and all on mattin's mp3-dump website here.
reviewed by blackandgold
[2004, w.m.o/r]
there's a beautiful predictability that's built up in cover art; enough to fuel a handy flowchart style buying guide for those with no clue/no experience. even the slowest would catch on to unwritten currents that govern the majority of covers: punk psychedelia almost certainly equates to noisy drone/psych, minimalist with clean lines as eai, etc... recognising and rejecting the expected can land you with praise, even if the image itself is superficially quite banal; you only need look as far as the much-vaunted constable-esque riverscape gracing the cover of los glissandinos' latest foray into minimal eai. so while heliogabalus' tourettes is normal release may be striking, it still falls prey to immediately suggesting connections, with esoteric classical references and antiquated doodles gracing the cover. if i was cynical (guilty) and presumptious (also, totally) then it all suggests someone has a healthy a handful of dust fetish going on.
while you don't have to have a deep understanding of certain facets of the kiwi underground to guess this is going to be somewhat noisy, there's actually quite a lot more than jaded, dismissive assumptions might give it credit for. first off, the lineup of david mitchell and matthew hyland (of ghost club/3Ds and spud respectively) aren't exactly known for their blues/noise/sludge jams. even a profile of mitchell in the local paper took the time to name four of mitchell's five bands, before breaking out a semi-dismissive reference to "an improvisational band he plays in with hyland". hyland, i'm more familiar with for the writing he does for a low/no-run australasian arts zine, which mostly consists of feverish political tracts of varying degrees of seperation from reality; the outermost exhibiting a dazzling mania.but anyway, a lot of talk so far given i haven't really covered the album at all... well, it's short, at 26 minutes, and devoted entirely to a single track. those (like myself) who were expecting handful of dust-esque scree/feedback structures have to re-evaluate. essentially what you get is a strange noise automatism, a stream of conciousness take on white-house era dead c blues, tinged with a certain, vaguely oriental influence that permeates the piece. kicking off with a disorted chime/guitar attack, it soon settles down into hazy, locked minimalist grooves with guitar quite sweetly shrilling out ecstatic runs up the register. mitchell seems content (or maybe by reflex, unable to avoid) letting it settle into almost-song forms in spots, but it never strays too far from the dynamic exhibited in the damaged opening blast. anyone with an interest in this sort of... well, i guess you can almost call it kiwi-noise classicism? would do well to look out for their split lp, which i've heard is culled from the same tapes.
as an addendum to all this (and if the dead c comparisons weren't stacking up quite heavily enough), you can find a live performance with michael morley, as well as the actual album in question, shared legally for one and all on mattin's mp3-dump website here.
reviewed by blackandgold