machinefabriek : forks

photo ©japanese forms

machinefabriek
forks
cassette tape
banned production
bp201

Oh dear! It's been so long since I posted something at one2zero. I've really been neglecting this blog; hadn't noticed that it's been almost 6 months (!!!) since my last update here. Most of my (very little) free time seems to be taken up by my other blogs; by Flickr, and Twitter. Anyhow, I'll soon be working on a complete overhaul of my various blogs (layouts etc.) and promise (don't hold your breath) to post more at one2zero in the future. It's not as if I haven't had any new records to blabber on about but I have been -due to lack of funds- buying a lot less than I used to. Which is no excuse because 'less is more' so to speak (of). Or write about.
Well, for today we have latest production from the very prolific Machinefabriek. Some more electronic wizardry from Rutger Zuydervelt made this time using "tuning forks, steel wool, contact mics, memo recorders, looped cassettes, an answering machine tape, a ring modulator and looper pedals" no less. Not the best thing (in my mind) that Rutger's done but altogether very pleasant drones and whatnot; well worth a few listens on the headphones (in the dark). Nice artwork but it would have been so much better had it been packaged otherwise than in a jewel case. japanese forms

Listen to an extract here

Get it direct from Machinefabriek or from Banned Production

stephan mathieu : flags (tape)

stephan mathieu
flags
(limited edition of 200)
tapeworm
ttw#37


tapeworm
stephan mathieu

image ©japanese forms

As with the tape featured in my previous post I've been trying to get hold of some of the tapes issued by Tapeworm... Once more I got lucky and managed to acquire the cassette-only label's latest release from digital artist and renowned electroacoustic musician, Stephan Mathieu. I've followed Mathieu and have acquired several of his releases ever since I first heard the stunning "Heroin" collaboration with Ekkehard Ehlers about ten years ago. A lot of his releases; including The Sad Mac (Headz) Radioland (die schachtel) and the recent A Static Place (12k) are among my favourites but this tape has come as a disappointment. Flags sounds like an exercise in futility and releasing it, to me, seems pointless. But then, I'm not Mathieu; who describes Flags as "... a homage to the beauty of data. The pieces are created from photos of my studio equipment which were transformed to audio via header changes." Beauty of data maybe but one of the tracks actually sounds like a 35 ton truck blasting it's horn as it whizzes along the autobahn and forcing terrified drivers out of its path... For the moment, I'll class this either in the "so good it's unlistenable" category or the "so unlistenable its good" one... I'm undecided; but it's doubtful that I'll play it as often as the recordings mentioned above.
Comes in the generic Tapeworm white background inlay card with artwork  illustration by Caro Mikalef. one2zero

"The audio [on this datasette] was processed in August 2008 with Soundhack and GraphicConvertor." Stephan Mathieu, July 2011

motion sickness of time travel : dreamcatcher (tape)

 
motion sickness of time travel
dreamcatcher
tape  (limited edition of 200)
hobo cult records
hcr051


motion sickness of time travel
hobo cult records
bandcamp

image ©japanese forms

Well I finally managed to get my hands on one of those ultra-limited tapes from Motion Sickness of Time Travel (a.k.a. Rachel Evans). It must have been my luck day. Anyhow, as usual, Rachel has come up with more breathtaking sounds; this time available on the Hobo Cult label. Beautifully packaged, and including a MSoTT badge, this has to be one of her best ever recordings and already quite a bit of a collector's item, I imagine. Blue ink cover art printed onto beige, heavy-stock paper and a blue, cassette shell printed with white ink make this a highly desirable object indeed. Very highly recommended. one2zero

pedro magina - nineteen hundred and eighty-five

pedro magina
nineteen hundred and eighty-five
not not fun (nnf219-cs)
tape
limited edition c40


image:©japanese forms


Seems like I'm really out of the loop as far as a lot of new releases and labels go -and don't even talk to me about "mainstream" releases. I've mostly lost interest in a lot of "new" music and even trying to catch up on it, or listen to it. A lot of the bands that the music press (internet included) have been touting or championing for the past few years have passed me by but I imagine that, as far as I'm concerned, it's no great loss to me. Things that I do listen to nowadays tends to be confined to releases on labels such as raster-noton; Warp; 12k; Ghost Box as well as the odd album I read about in The Wire and feel that it would be a good buy; like the recent releases by Motion Sickness of Time Travel. Nonetheless, I still do discover some music that I've tended to overlook -this time the Not Not Fun label which was featured in The Wire last month. I was aware, and had heard some stuff by Pocahaunted but the the rest of the label's roster was unknown to me so, after reading the long article in The Wire I decided to seek out some of the music via the web. Fortunately I came across the wonderful Pontone blog which offers some amazing label mixtapes for download and the one featured this month just happened to be a Not Not Fun one. Among the featured tracks, which caught my attention, were tracks by Sand Circles and by Portuguese musician Pedro Magina and I immediately set out to buy a copy. Needless to say, this (cassette only) limited edition album was sold out so, for the moment,* I have to make do with a download copy. Never heard Magina before but I liked this right off -sort of sounds like an 70s version of Tangerine Dream+Harmonia meets Vangelis... in a way. Recommended. one2zero.

* I've ordered a copy from a German distributor which I hope to get soon.
My copy arrived yesterday (June 3rd).

Buy this tape as a download @ Boomkat

conrad schnitzler & wolfgang seidel : consequenz 010b

conrad schnitzler &
wolfgang seidel
consequenz
mt008
mirror tapes
limited edition of 250


image:©japanese forms

This tape falls into a category I would call "so good that it's unlistenable" (or the contrary, maybe). Even though it was recorded only last year it sounds to me like some musique concrète from the GRM or from the very early days at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop; only tuneless. This doesn't mean to say it's not good -it might be because I have a headache right now- but I don't think I'll be listening to it that often. Far less interesting, in my opinion, than the recent 10.10.84 tape; also released on the cassette only label Mirror Tapes. For hardcore Schnitzler fans only. one2zero.

Review by David Keenan (Volcanic Tongue)
...Consequenz 010B documents a meeting between Conrad Schnitzler – still the greatest exponent of austere Industrial synth and electronics – and long-term collaborator Wolfgang Seidel. Recorded in an abandoned subterranean bunker beneath the Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, the atmosphere is suitably macabre and claustrophobic, with Schnitzler generating some of his most psychedelic creations, ranging from wobbly purple architectures of electronics through ominous blocks of silence torn apart by invasions of odd keyboard melodies and sudden bursts of noise. The feel is highly ritualistic, almost like a séance, and there’s a weight to the music that is lacking in some of Schnitzler’s later work, a seriousness and a weight of execution that makes this one of his best contemporary recordings.
© Mirror Tapes

Buy this tape @ Mirror Tapes

nova scotian arms - sun flange (listen)

nova scotian arms
sun flange cassette (limited edition of 75) digitalis ltd. - ltd#163


nova scotian arms
digitalis ltd.
bandcamp

bj nilsen & stilluppsteypa - space finale (tape)

bj nilsen & stilluppsteypa
space finale
demego 011
editions mego
c90 cassette tape
limited to 200 copies


image:©franz graf

Well I'm starting the New Year with something I completely missed out last year and that is the amazing BJ Nilsen & Stilluppsteypa - Space Finale album. Originally released as a (very) limited edition cassette tape it's since been made available as a 2LP on Mego. Unfortunately, both editions have long sold out and people like myself, who've just discovered this gem, will have to do with a download copy. This is so good that it would have (if I'd done one) made my list of the best albums of 2010... The perfect companion piece to accompany the dreadful weather, as well as the whisky-fuelled stupor of the night before, that we've woken up to this morning... Though, I must make this quite clear, Nilsen and Stilluppsteypa's drone-along is anything but dreadful; the recording being quite sublime and much more interesting than anything else drone-wise that I've encountered in a while. Not to mention that this tape, all things considered, is almost worth having for the beautiful Franz Graf artwork alone. As Boomkat says "An absolute treasure." Very highly recommended. one2zero

A track from BJNilsen & Stillupsteypa's 'Space Finale' features on the soundtrack to Gaspar Noë's 'Enter The Void.' This film received a 5 star review in The Guardian.

............................................................................

"Fantastic collaboration between two masters of immersive drone music and location recordings. [...] Originally released on cassette earlier on this year. Divided into four lengthy pieces, the album has the feel of a classic piece of analogue experimentation, populated by obliterated field recordings, vintage synth timbres, archaic, blipping tones and above all, acre after acre of sustaining, continuous sound. [...] It's listed that the principal 'instrument' used in the making of this record was a Revox 2-channel tape machine, and the fact that the release was originally consigned to cassette means that the warm, magnetic character of the music is seen through right to the end. [...] Very few modern, digital drone records manage to achieve such an unshakable air of foggy enigma, and at its intangible best 'Space Finale' evokes a fantasy meeting between Delia Derbyshire and The Hafler Trio. Strictly limited copies - an absolute treasure." ©boomkat

Buy this recording @ Editions Mego / @ boomkat

Download @ boomkat

mark fell / evol : head office transformation

mark fell / evol
head office transformation
alku75
alku records
limited edition split cassette available in black or white


image:©japanese forms

Well 2010 definitely remarks the return of cassette tapes for me. More and more artists and small (micro?)labels are releasing them and I've been tempted to buy several. Unfortunately my purse strings are a bit stretched right now so choices have to be made and I only pick up the occasional one. At the moment I eagerly await the arrival of the Conrad Schnitzler tape, that I recently ordered from Mirror Tapes, and am still enjoying the sounds of the Mr Maxted and Hilary Jeffrey tapes that I picked up earlier this year. In the meantime I'm listening to the synopated and strangely hypnotic sounds from Mark Fell (snd) on this split cassette which he shares with spanish computer music wizard Evol -who also runs the Alku Records label on which this tape is released. This is the third part of a split cassette series by both artists but I, unfortunatley don't have the numbers 1 and 2. In fact I have to thank my good friend GMA for providing with me this copy which he received, along with a 'white' case one, as a gift from Mark Fell. Soundwise it's rather good but the artefact might have been better if some artwork had been included. one2zero

Buy this tape @ Alku Records

New snd album available soon @ raster-noton

mr maxted : momentum (tape)

in the tape deck:

mr maxted
momentum
mm042
11-track cassette tape

image: japanese forms

As I previously mentioned in this recent post, I haven't bought any tapes for years and now... I've bought two in less than a month! Including this one by Mr Maxted. A cassette revival -so to speak- has been emerging over the past couple of years with more and more musicians -particularly low-budget operations- turning to this format to release their sounds. It might well be a nostalgia thing for some but I imagine that for most that it's not only from an economic point of view that they're using tapes. Maybe the use of the compact cassette, a quasi-obsolete device, can be seen as a sort of slow-fi reaction to today's digitally virtualized world and those horrendous MP3s. Don't get me wrong though; MP3s are great for accessing and indeed discovering lots of music. Music that is either not commercially available or very hard to come by. Plus, one mustn't forget either that for lots of people, economically, MP3s are their only alternative. From my own point of view, I'd much prefer to have a recording on analog, magnetic tape (with hiss 'n' all) rather than anything in an MP3 format. It's a "physical" thing. I have to have it in my hands to fully appreciate the value of it. Nevermind the fact that the "artwork" that surrounds the object plays more than a fair part in my own personal choices as far as music goes. Anyhow, I'm digressing... so let's get back to Mr Maxted. This recording; which Boomkat rightfully describes as: " pure bedroom meddling music, recorded from cheap drum machines directly onto tape, leaving a blurry imprint of Benelux beats and soggy Yorkshire synth... " unfortunately comes in one of those awful red-plastic cassette cases that break so easily. On the other hand, the heavy-duty inlay card makes up for it a bit packaging wise. A nice wrap-around card sleeve like the Hilary Jeffery Tape would have made this object so much better. Soundwise; it's an electronic music mix of post-industrial analogue synth pop with added electro, techno & new beat rhythms and textures... It's great!
Limited edition of 100 cassettes only. one2zero

buy / download: boomkat

mordant music

the hilary jeffery tape

in the tape deck:

the hilary jeffery tape
hilary jeffery & machinefabriek
mf014
2-track cassette tape


image: japanese forms



Despite a recent revival and growing interest in the cassette format I hadn't so far far bought any of the ones that have appeared over the past couple of years. In fact, I don't think that I've bought a tape; despite having quite a collection, in at least 15 years. I was rather interested in acquiring the recent B.J. Nilsen tape on Touch but finally didn't bother... I can't buy everything so I make choices. Anyhow, as I rather like almost everything Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek) does I jumped at the occasion to acquire this limited edition tape. It's a quite wonderful collaboration with trombone player Hilary Jeffery and features two cinematic-like tunes. Reminds me in a way of Don Ellis' fabulous score for 'The French Connection'.
Available on a bright orange cassette tape, limited to 100 copies and housed in a hand stamped chipboard arigato pack. one2zero

buy / download: machinefabriek

cabaret voltaire - 1974 - 1976

Cabaret Voltaire
"1974-76"
Industrial Records IRC 35
(k7, UK 1980)
Re-released on
The Grey Area Of Mute US
CABS 015 (CD, UK 1992)


cabaret voltaire
1974-1976

Following up on the previous post, in which I mentioned a rare and limited edition cassette by Cabaret Voltaire, I got a message and link a from orang squeezo where you can download a copy of another highly desirable object. A recording which includes some of the stuff available on the legendary Limited Edition cassette. Anyone who wants a copy should link here. Thank you very much orang squeezo for the link to this essential recording for all Cabs fans.

Check the full discography and buy cabaret voltaire releases using this link.
Get the full rundown on cabaret voltaire at Wikipedia.

cabaret voltaire one2zero