Saturday, February 16, 2008
deathroes
final expense 12"
[2007, misanthropic agenda / no fun productions]
deathroes is the bay area duo of ryan jencks (sixes) and gerritt wittmer (umm, gerritt). the latter of which also runs the misanthropic agenda imprint.
argh, i swear that unlisted playing speeds for noise / experimental vinyl will drive me insane. i'll never understand why so many people opt to not tell you the proper speed that you should be listening at. i'm choosing to believe that this was intended for 33 rpm. at 45 it just sounded like my speakers were on fire, but, in the event that i'm wrong, just read this review really fast.
first things first, don't expect this to be hate fuck, pt. 2. that disc came across more like something you'd expect from sixes, but i really couldn't find that much of gerritt's touch to it, except for the final track when they branched out a bit from the dense noise n' feedback. i'll just say that final expense takes over (and builds) from where hate fuck left off and that it struck me as a more harmonious collaboration between the two.
side a will start us off in familiar territory; dense, rumbling noise, but now, in addition, there's a firm background layer of howling noisy ambiance. things can be noisy and ambient, right? anyway, this added element takes your mind off of the repetitious static, and after a few minutes will become the focus. i really dig it, it's like a chilling tempest that provides the ice to sixes' chaotic blazes. once the dissonant noise slowly works its way back into the track, it's a breath of fresh air. they'll continue to explore this dynamic off and on, until, finally, ryan will back off completely and let gerritt subdue the track with a dark soundscape.
i feel like this lives up to my (recorded) expectations of what i thought that these two could do together. they're capable of being loud as fuck, but i think that gerritt's background as someone who's a bit more experimentally inclined when it comes to noise could really enhance the aggressive sound that we've come to love from sixes.
denseness will once again greet us on the second side, but it seems a bit more virile this time. this is some good old fashioned dynamic noise with a dense base. unfortunately, this is where it gets a bit harder to pick up on gerritt's contribution, sometimes it sounds like there's a wash of static coming down on everything, but that's one of the few added flourishes that i could pick up on until the screechy drone conclusion. it's actually a really good track as far as just noise is concerned, but i was wanting more of the a side's chemistry, so in that regard it was a bit of a letdown, but, looking at it more objectively, i do like it.
Final Expense Side B
Deathroes @ The Terminal; Oakland, CA 11/12/2006
[2007, misanthropic agenda / no fun productions]
deathroes is the bay area duo of ryan jencks (sixes) and gerritt wittmer (umm, gerritt). the latter of which also runs the misanthropic agenda imprint.
argh, i swear that unlisted playing speeds for noise / experimental vinyl will drive me insane. i'll never understand why so many people opt to not tell you the proper speed that you should be listening at. i'm choosing to believe that this was intended for 33 rpm. at 45 it just sounded like my speakers were on fire, but, in the event that i'm wrong, just read this review really fast.
first things first, don't expect this to be hate fuck, pt. 2. that disc came across more like something you'd expect from sixes, but i really couldn't find that much of gerritt's touch to it, except for the final track when they branched out a bit from the dense noise n' feedback. i'll just say that final expense takes over (and builds) from where hate fuck left off and that it struck me as a more harmonious collaboration between the two.side a will start us off in familiar territory; dense, rumbling noise, but now, in addition, there's a firm background layer of howling noisy ambiance. things can be noisy and ambient, right? anyway, this added element takes your mind off of the repetitious static, and after a few minutes will become the focus. i really dig it, it's like a chilling tempest that provides the ice to sixes' chaotic blazes. once the dissonant noise slowly works its way back into the track, it's a breath of fresh air. they'll continue to explore this dynamic off and on, until, finally, ryan will back off completely and let gerritt subdue the track with a dark soundscape.
i feel like this lives up to my (recorded) expectations of what i thought that these two could do together. they're capable of being loud as fuck, but i think that gerritt's background as someone who's a bit more experimentally inclined when it comes to noise could really enhance the aggressive sound that we've come to love from sixes.
denseness will once again greet us on the second side, but it seems a bit more virile this time. this is some good old fashioned dynamic noise with a dense base. unfortunately, this is where it gets a bit harder to pick up on gerritt's contribution, sometimes it sounds like there's a wash of static coming down on everything, but that's one of the few added flourishes that i could pick up on until the screechy drone conclusion. it's actually a really good track as far as just noise is concerned, but i was wanting more of the a side's chemistry, so in that regard it was a bit of a letdown, but, looking at it more objectively, i do like it.Final Expense Side B
Friday, February 15, 2008
greg kelley and alex neilson
graveside doles 12"
[2007, ultra eczema]
here's a collaboration by two artists who quite possibly have absolutely zero downtime. these is some busy dudes. massachusetts' kelley [pictured, with, i dunno, milk perhaps] keeps himself occupied with nmperign, cold bleak
heat, life partners, eagles of hair metal, he played in damon & naomi's horn section (really?) and quite possibly answers musicians wanted ads "looking for trumpet player for noisy improv combo. must like borbetomagus."
scottish percussionist neilson has a few projects of his own: directing hand, scatter, tight meat duo and motor ghost (with ben reynolds). additionally, he kind of strikes me as a chris corsano-esque "anybody need a drummer?" type since he's sat behind the kit for will oldham, jandek, isobel campbell and alasdair roberts, amongst others.
doles opens up with a decidedly straight-forward noise-improv number, blessing the throat. and it's alright. you've got neilson sounding more like jason kahn than corsano with his metallic tinkering while kelley blows into his trumpet like he's trying to put out a wildfire with just his lungs. i've waxed philosophical about this in the past, skree for skree's sake doesn't move me as much as electronic noise does. i think that my blasé feelings towards it stem from the fact that it could be so much more interesting and you wait and wait for a musical payoff and, more often than not, it doesn't come. i will say that i can enjoy it in the three minute form in which it's presented here.
the rest of side a definitely helps me appreciate blessing the throat since it's quite dissimilar, i enjoy the variation. both ringing the devil's knell and graveside doles strike me as places where the more experimental trumpet manipulating of nmperign meets the percussive style of directing hand, and that's a fantastic combination.
first devil's knell. it opens with a series of chimes and then the rolling thunder percussion of neilson, which, pleasingly, won't completely subdue the soundscape beneath it. here, kelley's approach is far subtler, his instrument now emitting slower squeals and metallic creaks. yes, kelley's still going to town on the trumpet, but there's a distinctly memorable quality provided by the softly undulating feedback clashing against the clamorous backdrop.
the title track is even further scaled back, the times that you could say that greg's actually playing the trumpet are few and very fucking far between. he takes the base of what was happening on devil's knell and expands upon it. the majority of tones are shrill, and what's not actual notes, is feedback. as for the percussion, it's pretty much absent during the first half, but when it enters, it's sparse and predominately cymbal driven. the more uptempo sound of the cymbal crashes creates a beautiful contradiction to the slow wails, whines and light static ambiance.
the opener on side b, marble day, gives a knowing nod back to the improvisational style of blessing the throat. with one change: this doesn't sound like a trumpet, it's more like affected noise aided by neilson's drumming. now this is something that i can sink my teeth into.
lastly is ceremony of the keys, in all of its thirteen minute and thirty-six second glory. as with marble day, there's more of an inorganic nature than was previously witnessed on the a side, with rising and falling electronic tones being the focal point of the early minutes. occasionally, you'll hear kelley's trumpet pouring out some notes underneath the light noise background. even as the trumpet tries to work in tandem, it's all about those modulations (and their subsequent yowling drones). the latter portion of ceremony drifts away from tone variation as it builds up to an excellent noisy drone before abruptly ending.
those of you who own ultra eczema releases might be wondering "okay, enough about how it sounds, how does it look?" well, in that department you might be a little let down. tyfus didn't indulge his creative side with this release like he did on the birth refusal twelve inch, so anyone who's looking for ebay fodder will definitely want to look elsewhere. people looking for a rad experimental record, on the other hand, you're in luck.
Ringing the Devil's Knell
Tight Meat Duo (Neilson/David Keenan) @ Red Rose; London, 9/24/2007
[2007, ultra eczema]
here's a collaboration by two artists who quite possibly have absolutely zero downtime. these is some busy dudes. massachusetts' kelley [pictured, with, i dunno, milk perhaps] keeps himself occupied with nmperign, cold bleak
heat, life partners, eagles of hair metal, he played in damon & naomi's horn section (really?) and quite possibly answers musicians wanted ads "looking for trumpet player for noisy improv combo. must like borbetomagus."scottish percussionist neilson has a few projects of his own: directing hand, scatter, tight meat duo and motor ghost (with ben reynolds). additionally, he kind of strikes me as a chris corsano-esque "anybody need a drummer?" type since he's sat behind the kit for will oldham, jandek, isobel campbell and alasdair roberts, amongst others.
doles opens up with a decidedly straight-forward noise-improv number, blessing the throat. and it's alright. you've got neilson sounding more like jason kahn than corsano with his metallic tinkering while kelley blows into his trumpet like he's trying to put out a wildfire with just his lungs. i've waxed philosophical about this in the past, skree for skree's sake doesn't move me as much as electronic noise does. i think that my blasé feelings towards it stem from the fact that it could be so much more interesting and you wait and wait for a musical payoff and, more often than not, it doesn't come. i will say that i can enjoy it in the three minute form in which it's presented here.
the rest of side a definitely helps me appreciate blessing the throat since it's quite dissimilar, i enjoy the variation. both ringing the devil's knell and graveside doles strike me as places where the more experimental trumpet manipulating of nmperign meets the percussive style of directing hand, and that's a fantastic combination.
first devil's knell. it opens with a series of chimes and then the rolling thunder percussion of neilson, which, pleasingly, won't completely subdue the soundscape beneath it. here, kelley's approach is far subtler, his instrument now emitting slower squeals and metallic creaks. yes, kelley's still going to town on the trumpet, but there's a distinctly memorable quality provided by the softly undulating feedback clashing against the clamorous backdrop.the title track is even further scaled back, the times that you could say that greg's actually playing the trumpet are few and very fucking far between. he takes the base of what was happening on devil's knell and expands upon it. the majority of tones are shrill, and what's not actual notes, is feedback. as for the percussion, it's pretty much absent during the first half, but when it enters, it's sparse and predominately cymbal driven. the more uptempo sound of the cymbal crashes creates a beautiful contradiction to the slow wails, whines and light static ambiance.
the opener on side b, marble day, gives a knowing nod back to the improvisational style of blessing the throat. with one change: this doesn't sound like a trumpet, it's more like affected noise aided by neilson's drumming. now this is something that i can sink my teeth into.
lastly is ceremony of the keys, in all of its thirteen minute and thirty-six second glory. as with marble day, there's more of an inorganic nature than was previously witnessed on the a side, with rising and falling electronic tones being the focal point of the early minutes. occasionally, you'll hear kelley's trumpet pouring out some notes underneath the light noise background. even as the trumpet tries to work in tandem, it's all about those modulations (and their subsequent yowling drones). the latter portion of ceremony drifts away from tone variation as it builds up to an excellent noisy drone before abruptly ending.
those of you who own ultra eczema releases might be wondering "okay, enough about how it sounds, how does it look?" well, in that department you might be a little let down. tyfus didn't indulge his creative side with this release like he did on the birth refusal twelve inch, so anyone who's looking for ebay fodder will definitely want to look elsewhere. people looking for a rad experimental record, on the other hand, you're in luck.
Ringing the Devil's Knell
pod blotz
eh, i almost got them all done yesterday.
the swamp command 12"
[2006, fish pies]
at the core of pod blotz is chicago (to oakland) transplant frothfingers (suzy poling (i recommend checking out her visual art, too)). it seems like some releases under the blotz guise are solo, but when she performs as a duo there doesn't seem to be a set membership. for this album suzy was joined by loachfillet.
the record starts off with the desperate sounding clavicle fun house. it's an e
xercise in atmosphere and restraint with creaking sounds, howling wind, metallic echoes, an underlying layer of distorted synthesizer with squealing modulations towards the end. not really my idea of a fun house, but to each their own. it served as a spooky little introductory piece. the following track, rib cage/30 odd organs, feels like it's fragmented, more there to allude to something bigger with its minute or so of, well, odd sounds. it works when considered as part of the whole. in fact, out of the thirteen pieces of music on here, only four of them are over three minutes long and an additional four aren't even one minute in length, so you can expect that some things are just going to be transitory works.
the longer tracks are definitely worth the wait. the first of which is the nine minute long underneath the sturminus bell. i love that main organ drone in tandem with the haunted church keys. the supporting noise does a good job of just doing that; it's not over the top and makes for the ideal accompaniment. the organ will drop out after a few minutes as the duo takes a detour for a more minimal style, but with a good sense of repetition. even when it briefly gets louder, near the midpoint, it still has a catchy feel to it. from there, bell continues to break down, now into a pretty nice drone, eventually bringing about the return of the organ.
after four shorter tracks, we get to the next of the longer ones, the swamp command. now this sounds like a fun house. a pretty freaky fun house at that, with its carnival-like organ music, frantic synth rhythm and wacked out sounds (and vocals). it doesn't surprise me that some of the bsfx artists dabble in cinematography and scoring low budget horror flicks, there seems to be a knack for conjuring disturbing, yet abstract, imagery. if herk harvey was around now and just making carnival of souls, i'm pretty sure he'd want swamp command as part of the score.
next is the second longest piece, procession of occified orphans. i hope that's occified as in totally wasted, because that'd be great. the dark mood to this piece, though, would suggest that we're talking about (literally) bony kids. bummer. in addition to the murky, dismal noise, my favorite part is the high-pitched whine and the kind of tuning sound that it makes right before it goes to the sustained howl. the brief entry of the gothic church bells in the middle was a great touch.
the last full track is wired rife, which i'm taking to be a play off of how a japanese person would say "wild life". this is a pretty low-key affair consisting mostly of organ drones and affected animal noises. the first half does feature a noise similar to a helicopter, but everything else is more sparse and complimentary.
overall, i dig the swamp command. while the abundance of shorter tracks makes me want to say that it's a record that's best enjoyed by throwing it on your turntable and leaving it the hell alone, there were several individual highlights, and i liked all of the longer pieces by themselves. i just think that it would be harder for most casual listeners to appreciate the minute long tracks if they're taken out of their context.
Procession of Occified Orphans
Pod Blotz @ Big Pink; Philadelphia, PA 3/16/2006
the swamp command 12"
[2006, fish pies]
at the core of pod blotz is chicago (to oakland) transplant frothfingers (suzy poling (i recommend checking out her visual art, too)). it seems like some releases under the blotz guise are solo, but when she performs as a duo there doesn't seem to be a set membership. for this album suzy was joined by loachfillet.
the record starts off with the desperate sounding clavicle fun house. it's an e
xercise in atmosphere and restraint with creaking sounds, howling wind, metallic echoes, an underlying layer of distorted synthesizer with squealing modulations towards the end. not really my idea of a fun house, but to each their own. it served as a spooky little introductory piece. the following track, rib cage/30 odd organs, feels like it's fragmented, more there to allude to something bigger with its minute or so of, well, odd sounds. it works when considered as part of the whole. in fact, out of the thirteen pieces of music on here, only four of them are over three minutes long and an additional four aren't even one minute in length, so you can expect that some things are just going to be transitory works.the longer tracks are definitely worth the wait. the first of which is the nine minute long underneath the sturminus bell. i love that main organ drone in tandem with the haunted church keys. the supporting noise does a good job of just doing that; it's not over the top and makes for the ideal accompaniment. the organ will drop out after a few minutes as the duo takes a detour for a more minimal style, but with a good sense of repetition. even when it briefly gets louder, near the midpoint, it still has a catchy feel to it. from there, bell continues to break down, now into a pretty nice drone, eventually bringing about the return of the organ.
after four shorter tracks, we get to the next of the longer ones, the swamp command. now this sounds like a fun house. a pretty freaky fun house at that, with its carnival-like organ music, frantic synth rhythm and wacked out sounds (and vocals). it doesn't surprise me that some of the bsfx artists dabble in cinematography and scoring low budget horror flicks, there seems to be a knack for conjuring disturbing, yet abstract, imagery. if herk harvey was around now and just making carnival of souls, i'm pretty sure he'd want swamp command as part of the score.
next is the second longest piece, procession of occified orphans. i hope that's occified as in totally wasted, because that'd be great. the dark mood to this piece, though, would suggest that we're talking about (literally) bony kids. bummer. in addition to the murky, dismal noise, my favorite part is the high-pitched whine and the kind of tuning sound that it makes right before it goes to the sustained howl. the brief entry of the gothic church bells in the middle was a great touch.
the last full track is wired rife, which i'm taking to be a play off of how a japanese person would say "wild life". this is a pretty low-key affair consisting mostly of organ drones and affected animal noises. the first half does feature a noise similar to a helicopter, but everything else is more sparse and complimentary.
overall, i dig the swamp command. while the abundance of shorter tracks makes me want to say that it's a record that's best enjoyed by throwing it on your turntable and leaving it the hell alone, there were several individual highlights, and i liked all of the longer pieces by themselves. i just think that it would be harder for most casual listeners to appreciate the minute long tracks if they're taken out of their context.
Procession of Occified Orphans
Thursday, February 14, 2008
pigs in the ground
tropical delirium c30
[2007, aural secretions]
i believe that tropical delirium marks the first cassette release by the duo of loachfillet and
(angie) sharkiface. i have no idea who's behind the aural secretions label (sharkiface maybe?), but i do know that they're closely affiliated with boc sound labs and fish pies. i also know that this is a nice looking tape. i'm really enjoying this thick quality j card that i've come across on tapes from boc, callow god and the changeling cassette from not not fun. it's good stuff. moving on, the music here was culled from a live performance on kfjc (a (seemingly fantastic) radio station from a community college in the bay area) last year.
hmmm. delirium, yes. tropical? i think indonesia during the tsunami was still more tropical than anything on this tape. well, lord of the flies tropical... maybe. okay, so they are using what sounds like field recordings from a rainforest during the beginning of the title track, but... i'm also hearing coyotes? somebody's ecosystem is all kinds of fucked up. you've got the desolate nighttime sounds of the southwestern states blending in with delayed jungle noises and the end result is pretty creepy. of course, the dark, subtle noises that the duo are supplying in conjunction won't bring about any sort of levity.
things start to get even sterner with pulsations of the feast, initially riding a repetitious rhythm and slight noisy touches. then the synth revs start up like a muffled chainsaw. after a few minutes, it's still just kind of hauntingly sparse with a wobbly manipulation here and a high pitched sweep there until everything's joined by a screeching racket, like a hawk, and then they give us periodic blasts of strident noise. once all hell breaks loose near the five minute mark, i'm sold. after playing the moody card for awhile, it was great to hear them just pile on the discord.
the latter moments of pulsations transitions out of noise into a great doomy synth pad which will become darkness swelters in the ballroom. i definitely feel the imagery of the title in relation to the music. it's a memorable, catchy melody, but it's also one that's draped in despondency. i love the alternation between the two distinct tone pitches of the same melody and the adorning noises which are unique to each one, it's very nice.
smoldering ashes accounts for all of side b's running time. given that they have fourteen minutes and change at their disposal, i would've thought that the duo would've worked towards a suspenseful, harrowing end, but, well, yes and no. they will get there, but they'll spend less time building up to it. when it happens it seems more like a logical progression instead of a specific point that they were navigating towards. the requisite echoing noises (like on pale acres of sand) which mark the eerie opening minutes (and pepper the less involved moments throughout the first half) usher us into a fantastic section of synth and noisy atmosphere. the memorable synth part doesn't last nearly long enough as that creepy atmosphere transitions us into the next solid movement. no complaints here since it's even better than before. this one's a near locked-groove-esque bit of repetitious sound with various random noises and disturbances rising up and surrounding it. this segment will stick around for a bit longer, but when it turns into what i consider to be the track's payoff, you'll barely notice that the scenery's changed since all they really do at first is swap out the repetition for droning tonality. now, eight and a half minutes in, is when they'll start building. it begins with just the haunting minimalism of the drones, then the echoing noises, disembodied vocal moans and screechy sounds that all seem to fly around the room like phantasms. once the mood is sufficiently set, then they'll incorporate more noise to enhance the effect. the final few minutes will smoothly step away from all the chaos, while still securing one or two of the prior background noises. this part, too, will center around repetition, here (wrong or right) sounding like slowed down oinks (snorts?) of a pig. i like to think that i'm onto something here and if that's the case, they end the cassette in fine fashion. if that's not the case, well, i prefer it my way.
Pulsations of the Feast
Skin Dementia short by Pigs in the Ground
[2007, aural secretions]
i believe that tropical delirium marks the first cassette release by the duo of loachfillet and
(angie) sharkiface. i have no idea who's behind the aural secretions label (sharkiface maybe?), but i do know that they're closely affiliated with boc sound labs and fish pies. i also know that this is a nice looking tape. i'm really enjoying this thick quality j card that i've come across on tapes from boc, callow god and the changeling cassette from not not fun. it's good stuff. moving on, the music here was culled from a live performance on kfjc (a (seemingly fantastic) radio station from a community college in the bay area) last year.hmmm. delirium, yes. tropical? i think indonesia during the tsunami was still more tropical than anything on this tape. well, lord of the flies tropical... maybe. okay, so they are using what sounds like field recordings from a rainforest during the beginning of the title track, but... i'm also hearing coyotes? somebody's ecosystem is all kinds of fucked up. you've got the desolate nighttime sounds of the southwestern states blending in with delayed jungle noises and the end result is pretty creepy. of course, the dark, subtle noises that the duo are supplying in conjunction won't bring about any sort of levity.
things start to get even sterner with pulsations of the feast, initially riding a repetitious rhythm and slight noisy touches. then the synth revs start up like a muffled chainsaw. after a few minutes, it's still just kind of hauntingly sparse with a wobbly manipulation here and a high pitched sweep there until everything's joined by a screeching racket, like a hawk, and then they give us periodic blasts of strident noise. once all hell breaks loose near the five minute mark, i'm sold. after playing the moody card for awhile, it was great to hear them just pile on the discord.the latter moments of pulsations transitions out of noise into a great doomy synth pad which will become darkness swelters in the ballroom. i definitely feel the imagery of the title in relation to the music. it's a memorable, catchy melody, but it's also one that's draped in despondency. i love the alternation between the two distinct tone pitches of the same melody and the adorning noises which are unique to each one, it's very nice.
smoldering ashes accounts for all of side b's running time. given that they have fourteen minutes and change at their disposal, i would've thought that the duo would've worked towards a suspenseful, harrowing end, but, well, yes and no. they will get there, but they'll spend less time building up to it. when it happens it seems more like a logical progression instead of a specific point that they were navigating towards. the requisite echoing noises (like on pale acres of sand) which mark the eerie opening minutes (and pepper the less involved moments throughout the first half) usher us into a fantastic section of synth and noisy atmosphere. the memorable synth part doesn't last nearly long enough as that creepy atmosphere transitions us into the next solid movement. no complaints here since it's even better than before. this one's a near locked-groove-esque bit of repetitious sound with various random noises and disturbances rising up and surrounding it. this segment will stick around for a bit longer, but when it turns into what i consider to be the track's payoff, you'll barely notice that the scenery's changed since all they really do at first is swap out the repetition for droning tonality. now, eight and a half minutes in, is when they'll start building. it begins with just the haunting minimalism of the drones, then the echoing noises, disembodied vocal moans and screechy sounds that all seem to fly around the room like phantasms. once the mood is sufficiently set, then they'll incorporate more noise to enhance the effect. the final few minutes will smoothly step away from all the chaos, while still securing one or two of the prior background noises. this part, too, will center around repetition, here (wrong or right) sounding like slowed down oinks (snorts?) of a pig. i like to think that i'm onto something here and if that's the case, they end the cassette in fine fashion. if that's not the case, well, i prefer it my way.Pulsations of the Feast
head boggle
whew, it's been awhile. hopefully i can make these next two days (marginally) productive ones. assuming that i don't get distracted, i'll try and wrap up all of my brutal sfx / bay area releases today. ah, try is such a key word.
dualmono minuetsequels c31
[2007, midori]
first up is derek, from san francisco, and his head boggle project. if you've been following along (which you haven't) then you might know that, at first, its full name was hea
d boggle domo (in auralsize), then the parenthetical portion was dropped and now brevity fans rejoice as domo is no mo no more. anyway, i bought a few cd-rs of derek's when he came up to seattle this past november, and he was nice enough to give this tape to me, which was put out on fletcher pratt's imprint. i'm still intrigued by how fletcher even knows about head boggle, as google (ahh, too many o's, g's, l's and e's) leads me to believe that derek's work is pretty low key. that's the power of the internet, i suppose.
i don't know what the hell minuetsequels are, but the dualmono part makes sense since the continual theme is one distinct track panned to each of the stereo channels. the ten tracks, which have titles, but the font size used to type them out is an eye straining 1.0 (set atop a deep red background, so forget that), encompass head boggle's work over 2005 and 2006. if there's one thing i know for sure after listening to this, dude is consistent. a two year span, obviously, is a long stretch of time, but the tape flows together wonderfully.
i did say that derek's work here is consistent, but that's not to say that it lacks variation. all five of the tracks on side a offer unique listening experiences without sacrificing "feel" for diversity. as far as how the tape feels, it's hard to say, it doesn't really illicit any emotions, just kind of bouncing back and forth within the confines of a neutral / inorganic soundscape. i actually think that works to its advantage since there are no demands that you be in a certain frame of mind (or spirit) to enjoy it.
getting back to those tracks, the tape begins with a nice use of delay as a heavy wave noisily rolls over alien warbles synth sputters. from there, derek will take a step back from the busy layering, utilizing a much more minimal foundation with subtler touches of distortion and affecting. about halfway through its two and a half minutes, some repetitious piano keywork pops up out of nowhere. it's briefly joined by an amplified swell of synth noise, before resuming, more or less, unaffected. it's one of the rare traditionally musical moments on the tape, and it's a real nice one. after sixty-eight seconds of unobtrusive (off and on) sustained notes we get to the meat of the side: two tracks combining for nine minutes. the first of which is minuetsequels most dissonant track. bear in mind that head boggle isn't a go-for-broke harsh guy so you won't have to worry about the future of your hearing due to the shrillness, but still, it's pretty fucking noisy. it's also very nicely put together with supporting layers of sputter, more agreeable synth sounds and white noise ambiance to serve as a counterbalance to the atonal firestorm. after the dust settles, derek reverts back to a less tumultuous sound, relying again on sustained tones but on a fully realized level. amidst the drones and sputters are catchier elements (they'll sink into your head after a few listens) that flesh out the piece, making it seem more complete. i liked the ringing tones towards the beginning, but the combination of the rumbling layer of synth and the choppy squeal are what do it for me; great ending to the first side.
you can consider side a to be derek laying out his sonic template. while he wasn't quite showing his full hand, so to speak, we were given a pretty good indicator of where he was coming from. his work on the flip side does a good job of not barreling down the same path, but sees him taking a few detours to arrive at that same end. the most noticeable omission is the noise. it will peak in the first track, but that climax is just a loud buzz that doesn't stay loud long enough to create a strong disturbance. the three tracks, twelve minutes, which follow are subtler, atmospheric noise pieces. the trilogy will begin with the cassette's most minimal (sounding) offering, consisting of a steady electric hum over a rather innocuous distorted wave, which grows a bit in volume as it goes along, but never oppresses. there's a subtle repetitious sound that's kind of buried in the mix towards the second half that was a great centering point, the type of thing that you'd appreciate if the track stretched out towards an epic length. alas, it's only three and a half minutes long, but that little nuance was well used. the second part retains the feel of the previous one's background, but features a lot more depth. this is one of the tracks where you've heard different elements previously employed on the a side, such as the delay effect, stuttering synth and high pitch squeal, but they're presently differently, and thus sound fresh. the final (and longest) part might just be my favorite of the three. it's tough to decide. while the initial movement just had a toned-down feel, this one doesn't use very many different sounds. there's a slight drone in the background, (brief and low-mixed) squirrelly synth manipulations and spread out noises that are given the echo treatment, bringing about a sense of tension. the best part though, is when the initial drone rises up to a noisy and pervasive buzz, slicing through that tension. the tape finishes with somewhat of a reprisal of the side's first track, but adds to it some lovely piano keys.
Rufg Coast (A5)
dualmono minuetsequels c31
[2007, midori]
first up is derek, from san francisco, and his head boggle project. if you've been following along (which you haven't) then you might know that, at first, its full name was hea
d boggle domo (in auralsize), then the parenthetical portion was dropped and now brevity fans rejoice as domo is i don't know what the hell minuetsequels are, but the dualmono part makes sense since the continual theme is one distinct track panned to each of the stereo channels. the ten tracks, which have titles, but the font size used to type them out is an eye straining 1.0 (set atop a deep red background, so forget that), encompass head boggle's work over 2005 and 2006. if there's one thing i know for sure after listening to this, dude is consistent. a two year span, obviously, is a long stretch of time, but the tape flows together wonderfully.
i did say that derek's work here is consistent, but that's not to say that it lacks variation. all five of the tracks on side a offer unique listening experiences without sacrificing "feel" for diversity. as far as how the tape feels, it's hard to say, it doesn't really illicit any emotions, just kind of bouncing back and forth within the confines of a neutral / inorganic soundscape. i actually think that works to its advantage since there are no demands that you be in a certain frame of mind (or spirit) to enjoy it.
getting back to those tracks, the tape begins with a nice use of delay as a heavy wave noisily rolls over alien warbles synth sputters. from there, derek will take a step back from the busy layering, utilizing a much more minimal foundation with subtler touches of distortion and affecting. about halfway through its two and a half minutes, some repetitious piano keywork pops up out of nowhere. it's briefly joined by an amplified swell of synth noise, before resuming, more or less, unaffected. it's one of the rare traditionally musical moments on the tape, and it's a real nice one. after sixty-eight seconds of unobtrusive (off and on) sustained notes we get to the meat of the side: two tracks combining for nine minutes. the first of which is minuetsequels most dissonant track. bear in mind that head boggle isn't a go-for-broke harsh guy so you won't have to worry about the future of your hearing due to the shrillness, but still, it's pretty fucking noisy. it's also very nicely put together with supporting layers of sputter, more agreeable synth sounds and white noise ambiance to serve as a counterbalance to the atonal firestorm. after the dust settles, derek reverts back to a less tumultuous sound, relying again on sustained tones but on a fully realized level. amidst the drones and sputters are catchier elements (they'll sink into your head after a few listens) that flesh out the piece, making it seem more complete. i liked the ringing tones towards the beginning, but the combination of the rumbling layer of synth and the choppy squeal are what do it for me; great ending to the first side.
you can consider side a to be derek laying out his sonic template. while he wasn't quite showing his full hand, so to speak, we were given a pretty good indicator of where he was coming from. his work on the flip side does a good job of not barreling down the same path, but sees him taking a few detours to arrive at that same end. the most noticeable omission is the noise. it will peak in the first track, but that climax is just a loud buzz that doesn't stay loud long enough to create a strong disturbance. the three tracks, twelve minutes, which follow are subtler, atmospheric noise pieces. the trilogy will begin with the cassette's most minimal (sounding) offering, consisting of a steady electric hum over a rather innocuous distorted wave, which grows a bit in volume as it goes along, but never oppresses. there's a subtle repetitious sound that's kind of buried in the mix towards the second half that was a great centering point, the type of thing that you'd appreciate if the track stretched out towards an epic length. alas, it's only three and a half minutes long, but that little nuance was well used. the second part retains the feel of the previous one's background, but features a lot more depth. this is one of the tracks where you've heard different elements previously employed on the a side, such as the delay effect, stuttering synth and high pitch squeal, but they're presently differently, and thus sound fresh. the final (and longest) part might just be my favorite of the three. it's tough to decide. while the initial movement just had a toned-down feel, this one doesn't use very many different sounds. there's a slight drone in the background, (brief and low-mixed) squirrelly synth manipulations and spread out noises that are given the echo treatment, bringing about a sense of tension. the best part though, is when the initial drone rises up to a noisy and pervasive buzz, slicing through that tension. the tape finishes with somewhat of a reprisal of the side's first track, but adds to it some lovely piano keys.Rufg Coast (A5)