extra-short reviews for your information/entertainment

[david turgeon <eerie@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

(disclaimer: none of those are new but what can you do, music is eternal
& vice versa.  if anyone shows any interest i may beef up requested
reviews.)

> rlw '14' (selektion)
> rlw 'revu et corrigé' (trente oiseaux)
the first, '14' is a selection of 14 pieces from 1980 to 1993 (& the
catalogue number is '14' too so as to make matters as straightforward as
possible).  the second, 'revu et corrigé', is a rehash
(remaster/remix/rethink) of a previous selektion lp ('nichts niernand
nirgends nie!') which was released in 1986.  ack, old stuff?  well, it
doesn't really matter as ralf wehovsky's work stands far from currents &
fads & seems to live on a sonic island of its own, which makes it as
relevant today as it would have in 2000 BC.  what to expect: dynamic,
complex structures of sound (more often veering towards clunkets of flat
out noise but also actual instrumental takes) which are systematically
turned inside out: there is never anything stable; but yet the activity
of discovering what's next becomes a thrill of its own, & as new ground
is discovered, a musical element is understood & there's more to come. 
& god forbid i ever pretend i get it, but it's a hell of a blast to
listen to nonetheless.

> pimmon 'waves and particles' cd (meme, japan)
> pimmon 'top40fodder' mp3 (falsch)
pimmon is taking a distinct direction apart from most 'glitch-work'
(excuse the term) which is usually more into a sort of crystallisation
of sound; instead, 'waves and particles' uses semi-ambient loops to
convey the atmosphere which he inhabits with ever-evolving soundforms. 
an exciting listen for sure.  as for 'top40fodder' (now available for
download on falsch) the tracks are made out of what i suppose to be
samples from top40 artists past & present (from pat boone to kylie
minogue) which are dsp'ed out of recognition to form a few short studies
which are inventive but of course not as thought out as 'waves and
particles'.  still, in both cases, a sense of lifelikeness is achieved
throughout, making both releases engaging & dynamic.

> disc 'brave2ep' cd (vinyl communication, usa)
a lot more fun than they seem at first.  but you can expect it from just
how hard it is to read the damn cover.  i'm wary of 'prankish' music (or
more accurately of what is left when the humor wears off) but this is
astonishingly musical & coherent, with enough outbursts of nonsensical
glitch (the word is definitely dead on the mark for this particular cd)
to instill an odd sense of funk in anyone's ears.  over 50 tracks of
joy.

> diane labrosse 'petit traité de sagesse pratique' cd (ambiances magnétiques, canada)
& of course, speaking of humor in experimental music...  this is another
one that pulls it off by sheer irreverence, mixed with a good dose of
abstract soundings.  diane labrosse's instrument is the sampler; she has
recently recorded a cd with ikue mori & martin tétreault (the fairly
wild 'île bizarre', also on ambiances magnétiques) which displayed heavy
bruitist leanings.  here she interprets a good amount of short modified
french proverbs into music.  every piece is linked to a given musical
genre (from as far out as 'medieval' to 'random music' or 'free jazz')
which of course comes off completely twisted regardless.  the cover art
is beautiful (lists all the proverbs & genres so you can put it on
shuffle & play 'guess which one's playing') & the achievement is more
than notable, with its constant onslaugh of inventions: actual sampling
unlike say, sachiko m, but in a personal vein, still unlike anyone i've
heard.  a lot of fun.

~ david

np: bassholes 'blue roots' (revenant)