top demos of 2002

[david turgeon <dt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

howdy ho,

'tis the season for top 10 of the years but quite honestly, i've been=20
interested in so few commercial releases this year, i probably wouldn't say=
=20
much of interest in that particular arena.  in fact, many of the most=20
interesting releases i've heard this year were demos, so i figured i would=
=20
put together a list of my favourites of the year, along with some=20
comments.  only unsollicited demos included, all in alphabetical=20
order.  don't be surprised if you see some of these folks issued on CD by=20
no type next year...

if you are interested in contacting one of the artists below, please email=
=20
me & i'll forward your message directly to them if i can.  (i just don't=20
want to give out email addresses without their permission.)

=3D=3D=3D

1. l'artificiel _le paradoxe abrutissant_ (canada)
this demo from quebec city came with no explanations, so i figured it was=20
probably (yet) another 'abstract' release, but it turned out to be a rather=
=20
riotous drill n bass record with cheesy videogame/trance melodies!  surely=
=20
i didn't expect this to be my bag, but l'artificiel puts so much work in=20
his songs as to make them very interesting once you decide to listen=20
intently.  something about it is almost 'prog' because themes vary so much=
=20
through a single song.  of course, it's quite groovy & easy to listen to=20
casually too, so you can always put it in the background as well.  i still=
=20
don't know what to think of this, & the 12-track demo has a few weak spots=
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especially towards the end, but some of the tracks are just really cool, &=
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the beats are actually VERY competent, not to say expert.

2. coin gutter _the promise of lomonosov_ (canada)
to be true, the first track makes it all worthwhile.  it is so bold &=20
succesful, you just want to listen to it over & over again.  the rest is=20
powerful & evocative.  the duo isn't as inventive when they make more=20
'drony', less evolving material, but they pull it off quite well=20
still.  i've ranted enough about this canadian duo so you should know by=20
now that i like them, so much that no type will release many of these=20
tracks on the upcoming coin gutter full length, to see the light of day in=
=20
early 2003.

3. diskette (USA)
chris coady from baltimore offers a 6-track demo that sounds quite dry, &=20
is not always easy to approach for that reason.  but it's quite a singular=
=20
piece of music nonetheless--most usually in the field of random-influenced=
=20
beats & minimal melodies.  track 3 detracts from this with a beatless=20
melodyscape, but it turns out to be the most accessible & engrossing of all.

4. eto ami _course_ (USA)
i saw this mentioned in someone else's top 10, & i will chime in with a=20
recommendation.  nice, complex material from this US-based duo.  the=20
variety is appreciated, & some of the tracks are really well done.  this=20
might shine better with a little weeding out the weaker tracks though,=20
because right now it all seems a bit undirected which is a shame because=20
the potential is obviously there.

5. johannes helden _fri_ (norway (if i remember well))
it's very hard to impress me with an ambient CD.  you're more likely to put=
=20
me to sleep.  johannes helden's music might be 'background music' in a=20
sense but it's also quite the kind i like.  the aesthetic is very=20
static--hiss, radio noise & other such 'hushed' sound phenomena make up the=
=20
ambient threads contained herein.  the structure of course doesn't reinvent=
=20
the wheel, but it's suitably well accomplished & serves the sounds well.  a=
=20
very nice thing to listen to, that is unobtrusive without being bland.

6. holzkopf _shooting at the sun with bullets_ (canada)
jake hardy is definitely onto something.  this brave composer from=20
saskatoon is working quite hard to put a new face to noise, & he does so by=
=20
mixing the new & the old in quite a personal, powerful way.  i liked his=20
demo from last year _only a bad harvest can save us_ (now issued on the=20
dainty deathy label), but this is different: beats & noise, used in a way=20
that is not so far off from loud metal/grindcore, or even bands like the=20
dead C.  needless to say, it's difficult but intense--in fact, the=20
intensity itself might just make it easy for most listeners to overcome the=
=20
difficulty!  supposedly this is about the boredom of suburban life.  i can=
=20
relate, & i think i saw that in it too...

7. andrey kiritchenko _bees & honey_ (ukraine)
this 5-track demo is...  quite pretty, if a bit derivative of work heard=20
elsewhere (one thinks of oval & everything that came after.)  of course=20
this is not a bad thing in itself because kiritchenko is talented enough to=
=20
make the music shine through.  & believe you me, 'bees & honey' are=20
conveyed...  it's all quite pastoral in fact, you can easily imagine the=20
landscape which these songs are aiming to allude to.  it's pretty, yes.

8. metaxu _rumors of war_ (italy)
metaxu is the duo of maurizio martusciello & filippo paolini & this is to=20
become their second album (first eponymous one released on plate=20
lunch.)  of course martusciello is not unknown, he's part of z_e_l_l_e with=
=20
nicola catalano (one CD out on line/12k) & has released a mini-CD with=20
m=E9tamkine some years back.  _rumors of war_ is, as its title implies, a=20
somewhat (geo)politically-inspired album, with its titles all referring to=
=20
tragic dates & places in recent human history, from '28061914 sarajevo' to,=
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you guessed it, '11092001 new york'--dates & places which prefigured, or=20
embodied episodes of war.  the music is suitably sordid, with beautiful=20
strings providing the feeling of tragedy, & a gentle clickscape in the back=
=20
forming the rhythm.  at times this all sounds very pretty in fact, but the=
=20
composers are twisted enough to add an edge to their music; so you can=20
sometimes hear gun clicks, people screaming, war broadcasts, but only in=20
certain highly strategic, fleeting times.  in a certain way this recording=
=20
plays with the expectation, & even the temptation of war, as if to show we=
=20
humans are stupid enough to find beauty even in the worst horrors.  for=20
that reason, it's a highly disturbing project but it's in my CD player all=
=20
the time.  if all goes well, this will be released on no type sometime next=
=20
year.

9. mixel pixel _22 songs_ (USA)
this demo from NYC is, well, electronic videogame ROCK.  well, the indie=20
kind of rock.  i spent my teenage years listening to pavement, sonic youth=
=20
& pixies, & then pretty much abandoned this lot for the world of electronic=
=20
music, but this speaks to me in ways i wouldn't have thought an indie rock=
=20
record could speak to me after all these years.  truth is, rob (the main=20
guy behind mixel pixel) is extremely genuine about his art, & his most=20
recent tracks ('silver sparkle amps', 'desert falcon', 'body automatic'...)=
=20
are far more than just 'interesting': they're positively awesome!  although=
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the comparison might seem strange, i think i like mixel pixel for the same=
=20
reason as i like pram: mysterious, slightly absurd lyrics, well-dosed=20
melancholy in the music--oddball instrumentation & amazing song=20
construction.  & it's completely infectious.  basically, this CD-R lives in=
=20
my CD player.

10. n.kra _digital_ (USA)
starting with a strict videogame rendition of the US national anthem (in=20
case you wonder--i always skip this one), this CD goes on to many twists &=
=20
turns, including short noisy IDM tracks, intense drony parts, & assorted=20
weird shit.  everything is delineated very sharply which highlights the=20
changes & the quickness of most of the tracks.  what draws me to this demo,=
=20
despite its imperfections (i.e. it sometimes gets a bit tiresome) is that=20
it's quite unlike anything i've heard before: what strange demons, what=20
bizarre muse is n.kra listening to?  & who knows...

11. joerg piringer _vokal_ (austria)
'yet another microsound experiment' is what it could have been--the=20
composer mentions that it was made exclusively out of recordings of the=20
human voice, with no synthetisers & other instruments used.  interestingly,=
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there is another recent CD around this concept: the surprising _original=20
instrument_ project on kracfive records (featuring colongib, octopus inc,=20
kettel & miragliuolo, & highly recommended around these parts...)  while=20
_original instrument_ maintains a certain 'IDM' (i'm using the term=20
loosely) framework, piringer's demo is far more abstract, though perhaps=20
not as bizarre...  i believe this is to be taken in the context of=20
experimental poetry, in which context it's a great, thought out, diverse &=
=20
complex project even as it's mostly the product of seemingly simple=20
repetitions, layering & processing (& making a 70+minute album interesting=
=20
is no mean feat in itself!)  so far as microsound experiments go, this is=20
for sure one of the more involving i've heard all year.

12. dick richards _demo 01_ (canada)
when i want some great minimal 4/4 beats, i immediately turn to dick=20
richards.  there's an affinity to maurizio (of basic channel fame) in his=20
music & that's just what i love about it: the groove never lets down, no=20
matter how sparse the beats & basslines.  surely this 10-track demo is not=
=20
ALL stellar, but many of the tracks have quickly grown to be favourites=20
around these quarters.  nice surprise also with the more subdued track=20
_twfstmx1_, very sexy yet subtle.  the best track is probably _klaus kinski=
=20
is solid_ that has a perfectly timed 'woosh' arriving just midway through=20
the song, bringing in the spark of genius that makes it all work.  he's=20
released a CD this year with the raum...musik label, _amanecer_, which is=20
quite nice, really.

=3D=3D=3D

so that's that.  hope this list was enjoyable, & that the artists not=20
included aren't iffed by not being included.  this is, after all, only my=20
own measly opinion.

happy holidays to all,

~ david

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