Thursday, April 17, 2008
ghost moth & fossils
this tape is the first of a gracious handful sent to me by todd brooks of brooklyn, new york's pendu organization (which, in addition to the record label division, is also an art gallery and bookstore).
industrial society and its future / symbols of decay c40
[2007, pendu sound]
ghost moth is a brooklyn three-piece consisting of daniel carter (other dimensions in music, test!), robbie mcdonald (old ghost, skulking) as well as todd brooks (abuse report, feral comb, mialessot).
this is the first release that i've heard from ghost moth and i'm really impressed. there's a great, but surprisingly rare marriage between somewhat traditional sounding jazz 
instrumentation, minimal electronics and prepared guitar. for me, the key component to their success was carter's playing. where skronking away on a saxophone with disregard for the beauty of the instrument has become trite in experimental / noise music, the fact that what he's doing, while it certainly falls under the catch-all prefix of "free-", still sounds lovely. i'm enamored by the nonchalant swagger of the trumpet in contrast with the minimalist electronic clatter and oscillations. nothing here is over the top at all; daniel's playing is soothingly slow, brooks' guitar playing is extremely light, aided by delay and purely complimentary, the electronics, while not pretty sounding, are more like a muddied clamor at their noisiest, and never cast a shadow over everything else. it's definitely one of those cases that proves the less is more adage.
Industrial Society and its Future, Part One
they're joined by another trio, fossils, from ontario, canada. that group's made up of: david payne (offensive orange, sick feedbag (with sick llama)), scott johns
on (bottom feeder, hunting rituals, the lonely flight, slo-fi spirit wave, thoughts on air) and jeremy buchan (nope, just fossils). payne also heads up the middle james co. label.
ah, fossils side. bleak! maybe it's because (the appropriately titled) symbols of decay was recorded on friday the 13th. maybe it's because they recorded it live to a boombox, giving it a terrific scuzzy low fidelity that enhances their understated approach. maybe both? this side kills, that much i do know. during part one (of three), decay comes across as an inverse to industrial society and its future. to the best of my ears' knowledge, it sounds like they'll also (very sparingly) use a guitar and trumpet and both groups used a similarly subtle approach to electronics. execution-wise, these two sides are far apart. there ain't nothin' pretty about the filth that fossils are making. the emphasis isn't on the musical instruments as much as it is on tense noise. when the trumpet is played it's as an added layer of sound; slow, drawn out noise. there's certainly nothing traditionally musical about it, but it works well.
the beginning of part two manages to get a bit creepier as the noise becomes slightly more confrontational, sporadically coming and going in banshee-like howls. there's also a few more things happening this time with some junk percussion, random guitar chords, occasional squeals of feedback, muddled tapes and manipulation and a welcomed spell of repetitious noise later on.
the final piece will revert back to the first's minimalism. the base is an alternately squeaky and rustling commotion, while the background consists of a deep, ascending burbling tone and buzzing vocal drones.
so, yeah, i'm totally digging this cassette.
Symbols of Decay, Part Two
Ghost Moth @ Dead Herring; Brooklyn, NYC 8/25/07
Fossils @ The Gradhouse; University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada 9/20/07
industrial society and its future / symbols of decay c40
[2007, pendu sound]
ghost moth is a brooklyn three-piece consisting of daniel carter (other dimensions in music, test!), robbie mcdonald (old ghost, skulking) as well as todd brooks (abuse report, feral comb, mialessot).
this is the first release that i've heard from ghost moth and i'm really impressed. there's a great, but surprisingly rare marriage between somewhat traditional sounding jazz 
instrumentation, minimal electronics and prepared guitar. for me, the key component to their success was carter's playing. where skronking away on a saxophone with disregard for the beauty of the instrument has become trite in experimental / noise music, the fact that what he's doing, while it certainly falls under the catch-all prefix of "free-", still sounds lovely. i'm enamored by the nonchalant swagger of the trumpet in contrast with the minimalist electronic clatter and oscillations. nothing here is over the top at all; daniel's playing is soothingly slow, brooks' guitar playing is extremely light, aided by delay and purely complimentary, the electronics, while not pretty sounding, are more like a muddied clamor at their noisiest, and never cast a shadow over everything else. it's definitely one of those cases that proves the less is more adage.Industrial Society and its Future, Part One
they're joined by another trio, fossils, from ontario, canada. that group's made up of: david payne (offensive orange, sick feedbag (with sick llama)), scott johns
on (bottom feeder, hunting rituals, the lonely flight, slo-fi spirit wave, thoughts on air) and jeremy buchan (nope, just fossils). payne also heads up the middle james co. label.ah, fossils side. bleak! maybe it's because (the appropriately titled) symbols of decay was recorded on friday the 13th. maybe it's because they recorded it live to a boombox, giving it a terrific scuzzy low fidelity that enhances their understated approach. maybe both? this side kills, that much i do know. during part one (of three), decay comes across as an inverse to industrial society and its future. to the best of my ears' knowledge, it sounds like they'll also (very sparingly) use a guitar and trumpet and both groups used a similarly subtle approach to electronics. execution-wise, these two sides are far apart. there ain't nothin' pretty about the filth that fossils are making. the emphasis isn't on the musical instruments as much as it is on tense noise. when the trumpet is played it's as an added layer of sound; slow, drawn out noise. there's certainly nothing traditionally musical about it, but it works well.
the beginning of part two manages to get a bit creepier as the noise becomes slightly more confrontational, sporadically coming and going in banshee-like howls. there's also a few more things happening this time with some junk percussion, random guitar chords, occasional squeals of feedback, muddled tapes and manipulation and a welcomed spell of repetitious noise later on.
the final piece will revert back to the first's minimalism. the base is an alternately squeaky and rustling commotion, while the background consists of a deep, ascending burbling tone and buzzing vocal drones.so, yeah, i'm totally digging this cassette.
Symbols of Decay, Part Two
Fossils @ The Gradhouse; University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada 9/20/07
:: posted by avant gardening, 7:22 PM