Re: [microsound] sigma

[p i m m o n <pimmon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

here's what Vital said about Sigma:

[An aside...personally...I don't find the droney guitar reference]

SIGMA EDITIONS:
ROSY PARLANE - #1-4 (CD)
PARMENTIER - LUXSOUND (CD)
MINIT - MUSIC (CD)
D. HAINES - BLITHER (CD)
VLADISLAV DELAY - ELE (CD)

is a small label from Australia, who are part of the growing family of
minimal labels. Their releases, and today we are discussing five of them,
are packed in plain white paper sleeves, with not much information to go
by. I am quoting from their press messages.

001 is Rosy Parlane, once a member of Thelia (of which Dean Roberts/White
Winged Moth was also part), with whose work I never got acquinted with. The
first six tracks on this CD are relatively short (they come from three 7"s
released in 1997), but they all consist of drones, built from guitars and
piano's. The constant cycling of the loops create a trancy atmosphere, that
slowly change. I was reminded here of old zoviet*france material (before
getting into beat stuff).

002 is Rosy Parlane teaming up with another member of Thelia (Dion Workman)
under the bandname Parmentier. The press blurb is actually quite funny
here, because it clearly states that they use lowtech sampling, drawing
inspiration from drone music aswell as Scandinavian techno and that it may
sound as standing outside a techno club. Well, this is all true (for
once!). Stylistically this is not far away from the Rosy Parlane CD, with
that difference it is more creepy, more subdued. Because the tracks are
longer, it is less fragmentaric and more coherent.

003 is by Minit who are Torben Tilly and Jasmine Guffond. They continue
again on the above outlines, but operate in an even more techno area, but
again they keep it in lowfi fashion. Their sounds slowly evolve around a
basic theme and over a long time path, they add small sounds to mix, which
stay there. There is an overall organic growth to this material. This is a
very good CD, because it's so clearly dance music inspired, yet never gets
there. It might be the forecast of something new.

004 by D. Haines is something else altogether. He took samples from the
good ol' Bosendorfer grandpiano and went toying around with the material.
Much driving minimalism to be found here. Steve Reich springs to mind here,
because of the layers that Haines uses which comes close to the phase
shifting techniques of Reich. The material itself, the grandpiano, reminds
us of course of Charlemagne Palestine. This is highly trance inducing
material throughout and should be heard on headphones

005 is by Vladislav Delay, and the first non-australian one. Coming from
Helsinki, you simply can't avoid thinking of Pan Sonic. But it's too easy
to think that. Three long tracks which are built through stacks of delays,
sounds are fed through, repeated, filtered and they disappear again. The
title track is almost a dub-like track.

These five releases are equally good, the all move between the lo-fi
territory of drony guitar music, but at the same time hint at ambient and
techno (yet, it avoids to be called microwave). It's austere packaging
helps setting their name among the more hip labels. As some of the people
will be in Europe this year for a longer period, I am sure we will hear and
see more of them.