Tuesday, April 26
Kyrgyz Crossroads: Traditional Arts in a Transitional Nation
From the man who brought you Shüüdüngüt's Road:
On March 24th, an uprising in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan
toppled the government of Askar Akayev, the nation’s President since the waning days
of the Soviet Union. Kyrgyzstan’s revolution has done little to resolve the
problems of this poor but strategically located nation, which hosts both
American and Russian airbases. Despite its recent volatility, mountainous Kyrgyzstan
is known as `the Switzerland of Central Asia,’ a remote bastion of
spectacular natural beauty. The traditional nomadic culture of the Kyrgyz people has
much in common with that of the Mongols. Both cultures make clothing, shelter,
and decorative crafts from felt, which is pressed from wool and amazingly
strong. Likewise, both cultures pride themselves on their musicians and singers.
Writer Mark Humphrey has traveled extensively in Kyrgyzstan, recording its
traditional music and documenting its folkways in photos. Experience both
Tuesday, May 10, at 7pm at:
California Map & Travel Center,
3312 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA
Website: www.mapper.com
Tel: (310) 396-6277
Wednesday, April 20
Various Artists, Some Paths Lead Back Again—A Compilation by The Marcia Blaine School for Girls
More information on this disk
Who would have thought that a compilation album featuring The Marcia Blaine School For Girls, with a cover featuring a pretty blue pencil picture of a girl in heels surrounded by some floating birds, would consist largely of odd, experimental electronic music with some hip hop thrown in? If anything, I would have expected frenetic death metal or something completely devoid of the purity and innocence that is suggested by the cover. But the music here is quiet, contemplative, occasionally bouncy, and nearly always interesting.
All I know about the various artists featured on this release is that they all hail from Scotland, only one of them is actually called The Marcia Blaine School for Girls, and none of the others is Boards of Canada. Up-and-coming artists are the staple at Highpoint Lowlife, the London-based label that put this two-disk compilation out. Obviously, all artists are up and coming until they arrive, but, frankly, I don't much care for these sorts of compilations, in part because too many unknown artists think that the only way to become known is by copying more established artists. Hence, compilations like this usually end up being collections of lame copies of works that Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, Autechre, Pan Sonic, Taylor Deupree, Shuttle358, and Biosphere have already spent many years perfecting.
So, yes, most compilations are disappointing. However, this one isn't. I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't sense the ghost of Tangerine Dream on the one Marcia Blaine track or the faint echoes of Pan Sonic's most recent hardcore-happy experimental work on Izu's "It'll All Be." There are, in fact, faint hints of predecessors on nearly every track here. But these "hints" show up more as atmospherics, as thematic frames, than actual borrowings. In other words, these artists pay homage to their predecessors, but they do not seem overwhelmed by them; the music here stands on its own.
I think emotions are the key here. Good artists can take the most banal material and turn it into something not only memorable but also essential. Most of the tracks on this use the basic elements of hip hop and electronic music, and it would be incredibly easy for these artists to create something predictable and stale. But that's not what I hear. I hear music that is interesting yet fun, experimental yet quiet, melodious yet unconventional. There's something truly frightening about the thirteen-minute "Routed to the Spot" (by Marcia Blaine), a spiraling, elliptical ambient work that weaves a variety of synthesizer lines into an intricate (but delicate) pattern that seems neither capable of ending or beginning—just existing. It's like that nightmarish moment in everyone's life, where something truly tragic happens—so tragic that no words or thoughts or even emotions can really describe it. The moment extends into eternity, stopping time, preventing your body from reacting to outside stimuli.
That a song can capture this extended, unreal feeling is a feat. It's not alone, however. Other truly memorable tracks on this work include the aforementioned Izu's "It'll All Be," Daigoro's unusual and melancholy "Sleepy Fish" and "A Drop of Rain Slowly Dissipates," The Village Orchestra's propeller-fueled trance experiment "Picnic at Disco Rock," and Production Unit's "Sad Bagpipes" (which is memorable, in part, because it sounds almost nothing like sadness or bagpipes). I know nothing about these artists, but I look forward to hearing more of each, and I recommend Some Paths Lead Back Again as a starting point for anyone interested in looking for new and interesting electronic music.
Who would have thought that a compilation album featuring The Marcia Blaine School For Girls, with a cover featuring a pretty blue pencil picture of a girl in heels surrounded by some floating birds, would consist largely of odd, experimental electronic music with some hip hop thrown in? If anything, I would have expected frenetic death metal or something completely devoid of the purity and innocence that is suggested by the cover. But the music here is quiet, contemplative, occasionally bouncy, and nearly always interesting. All I know about the various artists featured on this release is that they all hail from Scotland, only one of them is actually called The Marcia Blaine School for Girls, and none of the others is Boards of Canada. Up-and-coming artists are the staple at Highpoint Lowlife, the London-based label that put this two-disk compilation out. Obviously, all artists are up and coming until they arrive, but, frankly, I don't much care for these sorts of compilations, in part because too many unknown artists think that the only way to become known is by copying more established artists. Hence, compilations like this usually end up being collections of lame copies of works that Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, Autechre, Pan Sonic, Taylor Deupree, Shuttle358, and Biosphere have already spent many years perfecting.
So, yes, most compilations are disappointing. However, this one isn't. I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't sense the ghost of Tangerine Dream on the one Marcia Blaine track or the faint echoes of Pan Sonic's most recent hardcore-happy experimental work on Izu's "It'll All Be." There are, in fact, faint hints of predecessors on nearly every track here. But these "hints" show up more as atmospherics, as thematic frames, than actual borrowings. In other words, these artists pay homage to their predecessors, but they do not seem overwhelmed by them; the music here stands on its own.
I think emotions are the key here. Good artists can take the most banal material and turn it into something not only memorable but also essential. Most of the tracks on this use the basic elements of hip hop and electronic music, and it would be incredibly easy for these artists to create something predictable and stale. But that's not what I hear. I hear music that is interesting yet fun, experimental yet quiet, melodious yet unconventional. There's something truly frightening about the thirteen-minute "Routed to the Spot" (by Marcia Blaine), a spiraling, elliptical ambient work that weaves a variety of synthesizer lines into an intricate (but delicate) pattern that seems neither capable of ending or beginning—just existing. It's like that nightmarish moment in everyone's life, where something truly tragic happens—so tragic that no words or thoughts or even emotions can really describe it. The moment extends into eternity, stopping time, preventing your body from reacting to outside stimuli.
That a song can capture this extended, unreal feeling is a feat. It's not alone, however. Other truly memorable tracks on this work include the aforementioned Izu's "It'll All Be," Daigoro's unusual and melancholy "Sleepy Fish" and "A Drop of Rain Slowly Dissipates," The Village Orchestra's propeller-fueled trance experiment "Picnic at Disco Rock," and Production Unit's "Sad Bagpipes" (which is memorable, in part, because it sounds almost nothing like sadness or bagpipes). I know nothing about these artists, but I look forward to hearing more of each, and I recommend Some Paths Lead Back Again as a starting point for anyone interested in looking for new and interesting electronic music.
Tuesday, April 12
Heart of the Congos
The Congos' Heart of the Congos is probably the finest full-length work ever to come out of Jamaica, much less Lee Perry's Black Ark studio. It's utterly essential listening for anyone interested in popular music. Now, thanks to iTunes, you can all hear it and buy it for your own selves. If you have iTunes installed, just click here and check it out for yourself.Note that this is the complete Blood & Fire reissue of the CD, and it includes remixes and alternate takes over several tracks and a few unreleased tracks as well.
Monday, April 11
Kyrgyz Revolution: Revisited
Was the celebration following the Kyrgyz March uprising premature? The wonderful Central Asian news site Eurasianet offers a sobering assessment:
Hmm... Revolutionaries copying the dictator's style. Sound familiar? Haven't these people read Animal Farm?
Kyrgyzstan’s revolution is veering off in an unpredictable direction. Persistent infighting and controversial political appointments are raising doubts about the provisional government’s ability to promote civil society. Already, several alarming trends are evident that, if left unaddressed by the provisional government, could create new sources of dispute and frustration among Kyrgyz citizens.
Hmm... Revolutionaries copying the dictator's style. Sound familiar? Haven't these people read Animal Farm?
Saturday, April 2
Various Artists, Veli, sisko, kuulet kumman soiton—Avanto Compilation 2004
More Information on this Disk
The Avanto Festival is held each November in Helsinki, Finland. It features experimental musicians, filmmakers, and artists from all over the world (though with an obvious preference for Nordic artists). I've always wanted to go, as I have had a soft spot for Finnish electronic music ever since I first heard Pan Sonic. Each year, the festival organizers release a compilation CD highlighting the artists who perform in a given festival. As far as I know, the CD is available at the festival, and it is also available afterwards at various record stores in Europe and North America.
This year's CD is titled Veli, sisko, kuulet kumman soiton, and while I don't know nearly enough Finnish to translate this, I think it means "CD filled with a bunch of crazy electronic and experimental music that might or might not go together, depending on your mood as you're listening." If that's not the translation, then it should be, because that's what you'll get here. Instead of me summarizing this, however, let me just give you a blow-by-blow description of each song so you can judge for yourself.
Ian Helliwell's "May 2nd 2004, 3:30 am" sounds like an argument that turns violent, as overheard from a next-door neighbor's house. And, yes, it's as annoying as that situation sounds. "Sultans Theme" is a bit better—a rollicking Velvet Underground-like groove, and it segues into Goodiepal's "-_Mainpal Inv._Hitachi (live)," which is (for lack of a better word) a jig, complete with flutes and other bagpipey things. What these two songs are doing adjacent to an argument is hard to figure, though I suppose happy music and arguments have gone together for about eight hundred centuries (or since alcohol was invented).
Ohne's "Lieber Gott" is another animal entirely. Its sputtery, fizzy electronics sound like reworkings of the great Finnish electronic pioneer Erkki Kurenniemi. The hollow steel-pipe echo effect is particularly interesting on this piece, though I can't get over the juxtaposition of this work and the previous jig. But the end of the song answers my question: the digital noise transforms into a few snippets from what sounds like a German Oktoberfest ditty.
Aavikon kone ja moottori's "Karavaani" sounds like one of those subtle, esoteric Pan Sonic works, complete with repetition galore and tweeps. It's a song in static—repeating the same process over and over again for three minutes. It is followed by Aprox.'s "Elbow Knock (From Avanto with Love Remix)," which sounds like one of those noisy, beat-driven Pan Sonic tracks from early in their career—or a particularly derivative Kid606 track (think Kid606 trying to create a parody of Kid606 tracks). Next comes Astro Twin's "20041014," a title that I can only imagine refers to the date of the performance (November 14, 2004). It's a bit like a non-beat driven version of the previous two tracks—very digital and fuzzy and squeaky, but no beat.
Next up: "Sama vanha sama jutto" by yet another artist I've never heard of (Kemialliset ystävät). This might actually be the find of the CD: a sprawling, elliptical tune that reminds me of a Tuvan throat-singing epic (only with a guitar and whistle instead of a throat). The song is a mixture of a bunch of different sounds and digital distortions, all of which coalesce into something unforgettable until the very end, when the various sounds all disengage from the groove and break into the scattered noise they started as.
This is followed by the ultra sine-wave grooves of Krzyzosiak Verhaverbeke's "The First." Yep, sine waves—loud ones. They rumble at times, so the song is not entirely static. There's a song like this on every Avanto compilation—something that lasts forever but annoys the hell out of me. Not much better (though less annoying) is Mikko Hynninen's "Klasma-teatteri," a slow, accelerating work that starts out like a steam engine dopplering towards you and then continues to build into wave after wave of rumbling noises. It's more interesting than the previous song, but it gets annoying, too.
And then there was "665,9F [Hot Like Hell]" by the first artist on this compilation that I've heard of, COH. This one's a treat, as is everything this Russian artist comes up with. Imagine thousands of tiny nanobots slowly clearing the earwax out of your ears and then drilling imperceptibly tiny holes into your eardrums. That's what you get here: hovering bodies, shimmering waves, and snappy stabs that all coalesce into a truly living, organic whole. And then…those various sounds turn into a cool beat that storms on until the plug is pulled. Fantastic.
Frankly, the remaining six songs on the disk can't match the high point that is COH's contribution, but they do have their moments. Cellule d'Intervention Metamkine's untitled work has some nice found sound collage noises (snapping and scraping and slurping, mostly), and these all come together in the end when they turn into some sort of machine sound that seems to be grinding and hammering away. So it's an interesting experimental track. The Leo Bugariloves's "Muukalainen" is a French industrial pop song (think Skinny Puppy with more sauce). Alec Empire (another familiar artist) then steps in with "Breakdown," which takes that found sound concept and turns it into an Aphex Twin retread. It basically sucks, as does the one-minute long noise fest "April 2004" by Mattin. The Belgradeyard Sound System's "Brush It! (live version)" takes John Zorn experimental jazz and transforms it into experimental electronic music realm. It's not successful (the jazz parts are muddled by the noise parts), but it an interesting experiment. Finally, Michaela Schwentner & Didi Bruckmayer's "Giuliana 64:03" ends the disk on a fuzzy note, as it takes what sounds like radio static and turns it into, well, radio static.
My overall assessment of this work is that it has its share of high points—the tracks by COH, Kemialliset ystävät, and Goodiepal in particular—but more than its share of misses. I guess that's the story of nearly every art festival, though, isn't it? The good news is that the high points here are as good as any high points you're likely to find anywhere. If you are an obsessed fan of COH (and that should include every single one of you out there), then you might want to pick this up just for his performance alone.
The Avanto Festival is held each November in Helsinki, Finland. It features experimental musicians, filmmakers, and artists from all over the world (though with an obvious preference for Nordic artists). I've always wanted to go, as I have had a soft spot for Finnish electronic music ever since I first heard Pan Sonic. Each year, the festival organizers release a compilation CD highlighting the artists who perform in a given festival. As far as I know, the CD is available at the festival, and it is also available afterwards at various record stores in Europe and North America. This year's CD is titled Veli, sisko, kuulet kumman soiton, and while I don't know nearly enough Finnish to translate this, I think it means "CD filled with a bunch of crazy electronic and experimental music that might or might not go together, depending on your mood as you're listening." If that's not the translation, then it should be, because that's what you'll get here. Instead of me summarizing this, however, let me just give you a blow-by-blow description of each song so you can judge for yourself.
Ian Helliwell's "May 2nd 2004, 3:30 am" sounds like an argument that turns violent, as overheard from a next-door neighbor's house. And, yes, it's as annoying as that situation sounds. "Sultans Theme" is a bit better—a rollicking Velvet Underground-like groove, and it segues into Goodiepal's "-_Mainpal Inv._Hitachi (live)," which is (for lack of a better word) a jig, complete with flutes and other bagpipey things. What these two songs are doing adjacent to an argument is hard to figure, though I suppose happy music and arguments have gone together for about eight hundred centuries (or since alcohol was invented).
Ohne's "Lieber Gott" is another animal entirely. Its sputtery, fizzy electronics sound like reworkings of the great Finnish electronic pioneer Erkki Kurenniemi. The hollow steel-pipe echo effect is particularly interesting on this piece, though I can't get over the juxtaposition of this work and the previous jig. But the end of the song answers my question: the digital noise transforms into a few snippets from what sounds like a German Oktoberfest ditty.
Aavikon kone ja moottori's "Karavaani" sounds like one of those subtle, esoteric Pan Sonic works, complete with repetition galore and tweeps. It's a song in static—repeating the same process over and over again for three minutes. It is followed by Aprox.'s "Elbow Knock (From Avanto with Love Remix)," which sounds like one of those noisy, beat-driven Pan Sonic tracks from early in their career—or a particularly derivative Kid606 track (think Kid606 trying to create a parody of Kid606 tracks). Next comes Astro Twin's "20041014," a title that I can only imagine refers to the date of the performance (November 14, 2004). It's a bit like a non-beat driven version of the previous two tracks—very digital and fuzzy and squeaky, but no beat.
Next up: "Sama vanha sama jutto" by yet another artist I've never heard of (Kemialliset ystävät). This might actually be the find of the CD: a sprawling, elliptical tune that reminds me of a Tuvan throat-singing epic (only with a guitar and whistle instead of a throat). The song is a mixture of a bunch of different sounds and digital distortions, all of which coalesce into something unforgettable until the very end, when the various sounds all disengage from the groove and break into the scattered noise they started as.
This is followed by the ultra sine-wave grooves of Krzyzosiak Verhaverbeke's "The First." Yep, sine waves—loud ones. They rumble at times, so the song is not entirely static. There's a song like this on every Avanto compilation—something that lasts forever but annoys the hell out of me. Not much better (though less annoying) is Mikko Hynninen's "Klasma-teatteri," a slow, accelerating work that starts out like a steam engine dopplering towards you and then continues to build into wave after wave of rumbling noises. It's more interesting than the previous song, but it gets annoying, too.
And then there was "665,9F [Hot Like Hell]" by the first artist on this compilation that I've heard of, COH. This one's a treat, as is everything this Russian artist comes up with. Imagine thousands of tiny nanobots slowly clearing the earwax out of your ears and then drilling imperceptibly tiny holes into your eardrums. That's what you get here: hovering bodies, shimmering waves, and snappy stabs that all coalesce into a truly living, organic whole. And then…those various sounds turn into a cool beat that storms on until the plug is pulled. Fantastic.
Frankly, the remaining six songs on the disk can't match the high point that is COH's contribution, but they do have their moments. Cellule d'Intervention Metamkine's untitled work has some nice found sound collage noises (snapping and scraping and slurping, mostly), and these all come together in the end when they turn into some sort of machine sound that seems to be grinding and hammering away. So it's an interesting experimental track. The Leo Bugariloves's "Muukalainen" is a French industrial pop song (think Skinny Puppy with more sauce). Alec Empire (another familiar artist) then steps in with "Breakdown," which takes that found sound concept and turns it into an Aphex Twin retread. It basically sucks, as does the one-minute long noise fest "April 2004" by Mattin. The Belgradeyard Sound System's "Brush It! (live version)" takes John Zorn experimental jazz and transforms it into experimental electronic music realm. It's not successful (the jazz parts are muddled by the noise parts), but it an interesting experiment. Finally, Michaela Schwentner & Didi Bruckmayer's "Giuliana 64:03" ends the disk on a fuzzy note, as it takes what sounds like radio static and turns it into, well, radio static.
My overall assessment of this work is that it has its share of high points—the tracks by COH, Kemialliset ystävät, and Goodiepal in particular—but more than its share of misses. I guess that's the story of nearly every art festival, though, isn't it? The good news is that the high points here are as good as any high points you're likely to find anywhere. If you are an obsessed fan of COH (and that should include every single one of you out there), then you might want to pick this up just for his performance alone.
