Friday 22 August 2008

gas - nah und fern


on the turntable:

gas
nah und fern

kompakt
(komcd66)

4cd box set of one of the most important bodies of work in contemporary electronic music. Includes most of Wolfgang Voigt's discography under the Gas guise.


image: japanese forms



buy:
boomkat

download:
boomkat

Thursday 14 August 2008

kangding ray -automne fold


on the turntable:

kangding ray
automne-fold
raster-noton / r-n094


image: japanese forms


More sublime recordings from the raster-noton label. This week's offering from frenchman, Kangding Ray.
Although I prefer his previous release "Stabil" this one does have its moments. It may be the spoken word parts that confuse me; as we're not to used to hearing much "vocals" on anything on the label. It is, nonetheless, a very fine recording indeed. (one2zero)


buy:
raster-noton


website:
kangding ray

David Letellier aka kangding ray was born in France and is today based in Berlin, he evolved as a guitarist and drummer in various bands whose influences ranged from rock and pop to jazz before moving into electronic music.

(© raster-noton)


Following his highly successful debut "stabil" (r-n073), kangding ray releases his second full length record on raster-noton, entitled "automne fold".

With "automne fold", david letellier has evolved from the quiet, pristine flow of his debut record to sounds that are raw, dark and organic on this second release. pulsating rhythms become lost in within walls of saturated strings, words are spoken over bowed acoustic guitars, and analog synths collide with urban field recordings.
vocals are a central theme through the record. treated as raw materials, like any other sound, the voice operates as beat, speaks melodies or sets themes.

In some moments, "automne fold" retains the emotional simplicity of traditional song structures, where message and images come together, but also manages radical abstract textures, when tracks morph in closed forms of static sounds.

"automne fold" is an instrumental record, an album of 14 "folded" tracks, and a cinematic journey between groove and the senses.
(© raster-noton)

Tuesday 12 August 2008

wolfgang voigt - gas (book+cd)


on the turntable:

wolfgang voigt
gas

raster-noton
(r-n 102)

image: japanese forms


Though beautifully packaged and presented in the usual, lavish raster-noton way, I was a bit disapponted by the photography. The images being a bit too repetetive in their style for my taste. The release, nonetheless, remains a captivating one musicwise. Packaged in a hefty (24cm x 29cm) book of photos of dozens of the wooded images we have come to associate with earlier Gas releases ;it comes complete with a rather fetching, red foil-embossed dust cover. A must-have for anyone who enjoys Voigt's atmospheric sounds and all true raster-noton collectors. (one2zero)

For the first time ever a book presents the visual aspect of Wolfgang Voigt's comprehensive GAS project. It is not meant to be a monolithic retrospective of his visual work, but it features a broad spectrum of photographic images taken between 1995 and 1998 showing many different moods and perspectives of Wolfgang Voigt’s cosmos. what they all have in common, however, is the mystical focus and seemingly, the blurring of boundaries between lightness and darkness, happiness and depression, kitsch and art, pixels and leaves. and the enclosed music cd, voigt has opened his treasure chest and presents some well-selected, rare jewels from the very early days (and nights). four of the five tracks have never been released or played before. (© raster-noton)

buy:
raster-noton

download:
boomkat

Monday 11 August 2008

byetone - death of a typographer


on the turntable:

byetone
death of a typographer
raster-noton / r-n092

image:japanese forms

Back again following a rather long hiatus, due to me relocating (again), one2zero will be trying hard to make up for lost time with some posts on a more regular basis. First up is the excellent release from Byetone -Death of A Typographer. Also, thanks to my good friend Chris for letting me discover a whole host of exciting new sounds over the past few months.
(one2zero)

buy: raster-noton

website:
raster-noton


,death of a typographer is meant to be a snap shot. the release was recorded in a winter week in berlin. only the pre-released single ,plastic star’ was created in sunny athens. the album contains the original session version of ,plastic star’.

the music of ,death of a typographercarries the special sound of raster-noton - but it is different: the tracks act as focal points, as elegy of an latently flowing stream, a stream that still moves on even when the music has long faded away. the tracks do not necessarily move forward, they rather open up a dark abyss which seems deepest in ,capture this I’ and II. byetone manages to achieve a remarkable metamorphosis of the organic, the tracks don't reveal any of the elements of conventional composition techniques but somehow they seem to show through the static sound body. with ,heart’ byetone finishes the album in a very dark manner. isn't there any hope? not in berlin winter.

,death of a typographer’ poses us riddles, even the title reminds of peter greenaway's ,the draughsman's contract’. for the vigilant spectator the ambiguous artwork will reveal the ,death of a typographer’.
(© raster-noton)

Sunday 3 August 2008

sonic youth - andre sider af sonic youth


Sonic Youth
Med Mats Gustafsson Og Merzbow
Andre Sider Af Sonic Youth
SYR 8




image: japanese forms


Eigth installment of Sonic Youth's series of experimental + mostly instrumental releases.
This disk presents the complete 'Other Sides of Sonic Youth' improvised live performance from the 2005 Roskilde Festival in Denmark, featuring
Sonic Youth (with Jim O'Rourke) and guests Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, and Japanese sound artist Masami Akita (aka Merzbow). The single piece performed was a structured improvisation which for 60 minutes added and subtracted musicians one by one until only Masami was left onstage.(© Sonic Youth)