Re: [microsound] mutek 2003 .[2]: navigating noise & nausea

["yatra arts" <yatra-arts@xxxxxxxxx>]

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MUTEK 2003

1/ Kontakt der J=FCnglinge - incredible (my 15th Koner show) and what a =
delight it was!

2/ COIL - Mind expanding.....like Digital Peyote!

PB

  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Guillaume Grenier=20
  To: microsound=20
  Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2003 2:33 PM
  Subject: Re: [microsound] mutek 2003 .[2]: navigating noise & nausea

  On 30/05/03 16:31, tobias c. van Veen said in living color:

  > Rush, rush: yes, this day is a long one, for from here it was off to =
the
  > mega-theatre-hall Metropolis to see COIL. Some had been waiting 10, =
20 years
  > for this moment. The show was rammed, a large section of the crowd =
comprised
  > of young, fat and LSD trippin' goth kids, replete with eyeliner, =
boots,
  > GAP-black-pants, the whole fucking works. A trio of them insisted on =
talking
  > through a good 20 mins of Coil's set, even trying to phone someone, =
direct
  > stage left. I almost gave these goth kids their self-desired =
suicides...
  > eventually a few of us told them to shut the fuck up, and they =
couldn't take
  > the heat under the pressure of LSD so they bolted with their =
inflatable,
  > blue alien doll. Sweet mother. If you're going to do LSD .. take the =
ticket,
  > take the ride... deal with it ... embrace it .. quit whining, dump =
the
  > cellphone, lose some weight, and wash off the wanna-be makeup. If =
you want
  > to get weird, get WEIRD. And for chrissakes, if you came for Coil, =
LISTEN TO
  > COIL.
  >=20
  > .. alright ..
  >=20
  > Coil came out in white fur suits reminiscent of a Yeti version of =
Sun Ra ..
  > slowly they walked out .. the relationship was evident: the one one =
the left
  > played the keyboards with dramatic pause and aggressive =
execution--he was
  > the master [perhaps even the Top .. if you know Coil .. ]; the other
  > sequenced tracks in Live on a Powerbook, and he grooved a bit .. =
responding
  > with warmth to the darker and colder Coil, and his gaping eyes .. =
once the
  > hoods came off, we saw their age; both had shaved heads, although =
grey could
  > be seen .. mohawks at age .. 50 ? .. impressive: hardcore and fucked =
until
  > the end, Coil I think only communicated with those who knew their =
history or
  > who know something of the genesis of industrial music in the heyday =
of the
  > '70s performance-art scene .. in any case: Coil played the =
beginnings to a
  > few tracks, although only once dropping an industrial broken beat, =
and
  > refraining from any 4/4 (although at one point it seemed they were =
building
  > to it), spending much time in their ambient excursions before =
tapping into
  > rhythms, playing three distinct tracks with pauses that melded into
  > others... the tension generated by Coil was immense, and by the end =
the
  > entirety of Metropolis was one way or another captivated. Detroit
  > technoheads speak of "educating" the crowd: this was such a =
performance,
  > with Coil demonstrating the direction of rhythm, the importance of
  > repetition, the ways in which sounds need not be busy, but need be
  > relational, to speak to each other. Later, the response was mixed .. =
those
  > who knew Coil were blown away, picking up on the references, the =
gestures;
  > those who knew nothing of Coil thought their performance irrelevant.
  > Regardless of their relevancy today in terms of an innovative force, =
seeing
  > Coil, in all their weirdness, their dark industrial tinge, their =
refusal to
  > accede to contemporary performance schemas, even, served as a =
historical
  > reminder of a past that is perhaps even less-known and appreciated =
than
  > Detroit techno: '70s industrial, the whole nexus of Throbbing =
Gristle,
  > Genesis P-Orridge, Chris & Cosey, etc... right down through Skinny =
Puppy,
  > Thrill Kill Kult, Front 242... the goth kids don't get it either, =
although
  > they are, to an extent, attempting to rebel in a teenage way that =
shows some
  > hatred for society--in fact I was speaking to someone last night: =
what can
  > kids do today to rebel? what counterculture is there that hasn't =
already
  > been consigned to the trash? isn't 'counterculture' or 'subculture' =
or DIY
  > even a cynical joke? is there hope?--where was I: yes, Coil, Coil, =
Coil.
  > Time to go back and listen all over again. There is much to learn.

  Just a few more words about Thursday's Metropolis show (BTW, nice =
reports,
  tobias):

  - A mini-rant on tickets logistics. This was my first Mutek 2003 show, =
even
  though I was planning on going to both the Ex-Centris and Studio shows =
on
  the opening night. Upon my arrival at Ex-Centris, I learn that the =
show
  there (Kontakt der J=FCnglinge, etc.) is sold out. I inquire about the =
show at
  the Studio, but am informed that tickets to that are not sold at the
  Ex-Centris. After a short walk down the street, I arrive at the Studio =
and
  am greeted by closed doors. I also learn that the doors to the Studio =
won't
  open till 10 PM!?! Not being in the mood to wait till that time and =
possibly
  find out that this night show is sold out too, I change my plans for =
the
  night (with "The Matrix" -- not getting any better since the first =
one... --
  replacing Mutek).

  Conclusion: tickets logistics are far from being ideal. At the very =
least,
  it should be possible to buy tickets for all the shows presented on a =
given
  evening/night from the starting time of the first show.

  - Onto the topic of Coil: I thoroughly enjoyed their performance, =
despite
  the absence of Mr. Balance. In an interview given by his colleague
  Christopherson to publicize the Mutek show, a quote "explaining" the
  founding member's absence was given: it was something like "I am in a =
dark
  bath, in a clear spot" (I'm recalling from memory, here).

  Anyway, the music heard on that night was still very much Coil-ish. I =
want
  to underline the fact that the two participants had *very precise* =
control
  of the sounds they were broadcasting to an audience that, =
incidentally,
  seemed unsure of how to react to the proceedings (partly because it =
didn't
  know what to expect). The spatialisation of the different =
sounds/layers was
  absolutely fantastic -- crystal-clear and very well used. As tobias =
said,
  the keyboard playing by Thighpaulsandra (especially when it took the =
form of
  short outbursts) added a dramatic note, injecting momentum in the hazy
  washes of sound constituting the basic layer.  The music gave me the
  impression of being "filled with space" (if you'll pardon the facile
  paradox), of being airy, despite the fact that it was often quite busy =
with
  numerous sound events colliding against each other.

  I'm not sure if I remember correctly, but I think they opened with a =
more
  "accessible" number, which used beats (?). Then, it got more abstract =
and it
  seemed to me that as time passed, they verged more and more towards
  melancholia (melody anchored in D minor towards the end, etc.).

  The visuals were OK, but mostly forgettable [at least, the frame rate =
was
  good...], except for the last (or next to last) piece, which showed a =
slide
  show of very cool B&W photographs. For each photograph, the camera =
would
  zoom in or out and reveal an interesting element of the picture that =
was not
  immediately visible.
  Does anybody know where these come from? I suppose it's from some =
stock
  archive...?

  > Next was Philip Quehenberger, who sang little shitty ditties over =
noise
  > records. Kind of so-lame it was cool, but it wore thin. As Dj =
Fishead noted,
  > he played an entire set of noise that should have been cut for 30 =
seconds
  > worth. The noise became boring and overdetermined. With so many =
excellent
  > noise practitioners--and DJs.. Aleph Empire.. Fishead.. =
Doormouse--why
  > Quehenberger?

  Indeed. Why Quehenberger?

  After the razor-sharp clarity of Coil's sound worlds, Quehenberger's =
set hit
  me as one big jumbled mess of sound. He used an inflexible rhythm =
track
  (most of the time, it would remain exactly the same from beginning to =
end!
  -- and it was also not particularly interesting) upon which he would =
heap
  chunks of what I would qualify as "junk sound". Phew... How boring! =
And
  before I receive threatening accusations of not being attuned to
  peculiarities of noise (music), let me say that I do own and listen to =
a
  bunch of noise records. But, as tobias said, the noise rapidly became =
boring
  (I'm not sure exactly what you mean when you say "overdetermined", =
though),
  nondescript.

  > Finally .. yes near the end, was the "Iggy Pop" antics of T. =
Raumschmiere.
  > Well, hardly Iggy Pop -- the rhetoric of the Mutek flyer being a =
little
  > overzealous. I mean Iggy Pop ate chickens and shit. Live chickens. =
This
  > tattooed guy just rolled around with his mouth open, stood on the =
table,
  > jumped up and down, all to his post-retro-new-wave-industrial-techno =
that
  > kicked some serious ass, Shitkatapult in tha house and all that, had =
us all
  > bangin' and jumping around and waving, kicking out the booze, =
smokin' the
  > spliffs, as Metropolis emptied into the night .. but please: the =
antics of
  > Felix Kubin and Nova Huta last year bested this dude hands down. =
Let's see
  > some real shit. I wanna see someone smash their Powerbook. Throw =
their Nord
  > Modular into the audience. Fucking light, at least, a shitty MIDI =
controller
  > keyboard on fire, pick it to bits, put keys in your mouth, singe =
your teeth,
  > sing with electricity, go into spasms .. that would be some Iggy Pop =
shit ..
  > lick a 96 degree processor and scream from the burns .. hell ..

  Heh... Still, he rocked the house -- not anywhere near the level of, =
say,
  Atom & friends @ Mutek 2002 (that reference is pretty unbeatable
  anyway...)... but still... (as I've said)

  To conclude: why, oh why do the shows have to start an hour after =
their
  scheduled beginning time? The same thing happened at the Richie Hawtin =
&
  friends show yesterday (Friday)... This is annoying.

  I don't really have the time to comment on that night -- tobias will =
no
  doubt indulge us with another of his fine reports. I'll just say that =
it was
  a nice event -- DJ Magda did a really fine set and Senor Hawtin took =
risks
  and tried things.

  g.

  --=20
  Guillaume Grenier - grenier.g@xxxxxxxxxxxx

  in space there is no north  in space there is no south
  in space there is no east   in space there is no west

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