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Sonic Picks 33 THU20: VROEG WERK (2012) Reviewed format: 2 CD compilation on Monochrome Vision Welcome to review number 33 in the Sonic Picks review series in which today we have this excellent 2 CD compilation of early works by Dutch experimental Industrial group THU20 titled VROEG WERK. This was released by the label Monochrome Vision which was founded and owned by Dmitry Vasilyev, who sadly passed last year. Vasilyev also created the inventive artwork for this compilation and wrote the liner notes. THU20 is a group with a lineup that changed overtime, with some members joining later on in the group’s existence but to keep things simple for now (and leave room for your own personal research if you want) I’ll list all members featured on this compilation just by name. On here we have, Jac van Bussel, Guido Doesborg, Peter Duimelinks, Roel Meelkop (who I also saw perform live at the recent concert with Kate Carr), Joe Smolders and Frans de Waard. The 2 CD (obviously) comes in a 2 CD jewel case, the cover artwork features hand drawn artwork by Vasilyev showing the artist name and title of this compilation. On the spine we have the artist name, compilation title and catalogue number as well as a continuation of the artwork on both sides. Included is a two page booklet with a description and historical details about the music contained on the compilation in both English and Russian. On the back page you can find details on the source of every track as well as a listening that shows which group member played on which track as well as more artwork in the background. The two CDs feature artwork similar to the compilation cover but with more straight edges and completely filled black rather than fuzzy lines and this artwork is inverted on DISK 2. The two CDs feature indications of the two parts (CDs) the compilation are made up of as well as copyright information. On the back you can find the artist name and compilation title again, tracklists and track times of all the tracks on the two CDs, Monochrome Vision logo, copyright info, artwork credits and contact and booking information for THU20. Now, let’s get into the music on VROEG WERK, starting with DISK 1 - STUDIO WORKS + LIVE IN BORDEAUX. What caught my attention especially in Dmitry Vasilyev excellent notes on THU20 is that he mentioned how their approach to making music is similar in style to how you’d listen and perceive a radio play. Indeed, it’s not uncommon for Industrial artists to use field recordings, radios, sound effect recordings and more in their music, but the approach I heard so far still fits these all in a continuous Noisy Industrial stream of sound or repeating rhythms, THU20 however changes up the structures of their pieces quite a bit and like radio plays often plays more into “emotional” dynamics or creating various sonic events that don’t repeat, after each other, eschewing the traditional form of Industrial often and creating their own original unpredictable compositions. Besides metallic percussion, bursts of Noise, THU20 makes use of tape / music manipulations as well as various live vocals and vocal samples that are often distorted but while the music is often pretty abrasive and sometimes aggressive, there’s also quite a lot of humour within the pieces, often the result of absurd sound manipulation and vocal effects that comes all out of nowhere and has a funny effect on the listening experience, adding some sunshine to the sometimes doom laden ambience of Industrial music. DISK 1 - STUDIO WORKS + LIVE IN BORDEAUX starts with 5720, a piece in which a Noise loop forms the background of a whole barrage of chaotic metal clanging but also funny percussive sound manipulations that sound quite cartoony. There’s also some bursts of vocal sounds, that sound like coughing. It’s an enjoyable piece in which Industrial rhythmic repetition is accompanied by richly resonant distorted “junk” percussion improvisations and there’s great manipulation of the panning of the sounds too, adding quite some depth to the otherwise quite centre focused Noise textures. 4023 features an Industrial percussion loop again as a base but also an entertaining jumpy distortion drum machine groove as well, the main performances on this piece consist of feedback manipulation as well as funny tape manipulation of material as varied as male voice recordings and a random children’s film. It’s an amusingly odd and playful piece, very nice. On 6554 we have a “swamp” like muddy texture forming a background rhythm accompanied by looped siren like sounds. Again, feedback manipulation is a main element of performance in this piece, though more subtle and mysterious this time, creating almost meditative ambience like resonant waves of sound that sweep over the muddy swampy rhythms and crackling sounds. 5857 features a sweet Industrial machinery rhythm and plenty of harsh Noise and feedback manipulations as well as more distant voice recordings fluctuating over time for some great harsh old-school Industrial performances in this enjoyable piece. 08 JG features some wild Noise manipulations, with a lot of very fast filter resonances warbles, sharp metallic drone repetitions and some weird vocals. It’s hard to distinguish any words from them through the distortion and reverb, but it amusingly sounds like a dialogue from a Disney animation between a demon and Mickey Mouse. It’s a really odd balance between the sharp tense Noise and synth manipulations and the absurd distorted dialogue. Some wildly original music here, very good. On The Four Elements you can hear what sounds like a an Industrial interpretation of a natural soundscape, featuring water sounds, wind, bird sounds all created through sonic manipulations. One of the more experimental pieces on this compilations there’s an intriguing progression in the piece in which the looped feedback, sweeps of Noise, watery squelches and more sounds all develop subtly overtime creating a kind of “imaginary field recording” of a landscape filled with birds as a storm is approaching. A great piece. Eerste Uni is the first piece of a series of pieces that follow that are all a bit shorter and seemingly create a single longer piece together playing after eachother. It’s definitely a great quality of the tracklist sequence that this compilation flows so smoothly from track to track. Eerste Uni features a strong focus on manipulated (music) recordings in juxtaposition with crackly treble laden Noise, very nice. Tweede Uni is a quieter piece with a darker tone, featuring low distorted Noise drones, eerie manipulation of music samples and eerie avant-garde “broken” melodic patterns on piano. Human Interface is a short piece consisting of raw trebly Noise manipulation which is very effective. Rollebollen features quite a lot of high pitched tape manipulation of recordings of stones being dragged as well as various sounds made with the mouth, a fun piece. Groningen Excerpt is a short fragment of a trebly and heavily distortion crunchy Industrial piece that is pretty resonant, very nice. Insthumixermix is a very heavily high frequency focused piece that also features some glitchy crackles that subtly shift into a more hollow sound as well as a wind like noise. A mysterious that sets quite an intriguing scene of quiet tension through the many high pitched sounds creating a “night” like sonic landscape outside. Djan Remix is a Noise piece but with a lot of resonant sounds in the mixture as well and the noise is very crunchy and ferocious, feels like being attacked by a hail storm made out of metal hail, very intense and sonically pleasing as well. The last track from DISK 1 - STUDIO WORKS + LIVE IN BORDEAUX is the live track Bordeaux. It’s a long live recording of a concert by THU20 which features them at their harshest of the whole CD. It’s filled with very abrasive Noise, feedback as well as aggressive voice recordings but also amusingly mixed with astronaut communication recordings and communication beeps. While it’s obviously quite a challenging listen as long Noise pieces often can be, the variation, panning and energetic sound manipulation performances make the live track very enjoyable with the many variations in Noise, feedback, voice recording manipulations and insane synth effects, a very energetic and powerful performance, which finishes off the first CD in this 2 CD set. Then we move to DISK 2 - EARLY LIVE. This second CD is a bit less varied in terms of sonic material, being mostly Industrial and Noise oriented in a more traditional sense and at times a bit more repetitive but does feature some strong and energetic live performances by THU20 and the tracks are “mixed” into each other in a way, mostly crossfading from one track into another creating what feels like an extended live set. ’s-Hertogenbosch starts off this CD with a roomy and distant Industrial piece that is quite resonant but also rather dark and filled with shifting and shuffling sweeps of fuzzy sound filling the sonic space, this piece definitely’s got quite a great immersive ambience to it, sounding like some big hidden machine making noise underneath a thick steel floor. Intro Rotterdam is a short interlude piece featuring some fun distorted playful synth arpeggios panning through the stereo field moving to Heiloo 2. Heiloo 2 features Tribal like Industrial rhythms and Noise screeches, what I particularly like about this piece are the heavily distorted music samples in the background. They give the minimalist piece quite a unique kind of juxtaposition in which cheerful music is combined with tense and sometimes harsh Industrial sounds, very effective and enjoyable. On Heiloo 3 the juxtaposition of distorted music samples and screechy Industrial is continued though with a much harsher and darker sound and the male voice dialogue samples add a nice recurring theme to the intense mixture of sound. Winterswijk 4 features a more droney reverberated sound mixed with squelchy synth effects and film samples that feels a bit like a quirky thriller film soundtrack, interesting sound. Rotterdam 2 features a heavily thumping Industrial groove, fuzzy distorted voice and some hilarious details like the easy listening jazz samples and siren like synth that does bring back some of the playfulness of CD 1 though with a harsher sound overall. ’s-Hertogenbosch [outtake] features a spooky drone and a text in Dutch about the pressure that is put on people in their daily life. Indeed it’s a piece that’s more effective if you can understand Dutch, but the gloomy mysterious ambience definitely does give off an intriguing feeling in this piece. Heiloo 4 is completely built of manipulated voice recordings that credit fuzzy, crunchy and squelchy distorted tones and rhythms, a very raw Noise sound collage piece, sounds good. Winterswijk 5 is an aggressive Noise piece with an Industrial mechanic rhythm within it, quite abrasive and energetic, it’s definitely a nice track to add some wild screeching to the mixture on this CD and the phaser usage is great too. Rotterdam 3 is quite a straight-forward Noise piece featuring screechy high frequencies and helicopter like pulsations. Rotterdam 4 is another rather aggressive piece with insane screaming vocals, thumping distorted drum machine groove and a lot of screechy Noise and feedback. Delft 3 is a very resonant feedback based piece with water sounds, delay manipulation and also some fun Industrial banging sounds. Heiloo 5 is a long track with a pretty hilarious Industrial drum groove that actually features an orchestral hit, there’s also plenty of Noise and Industrial percussion performances in here as well as more aggressive screechy harsh vocals, this all is combined with a distorted recording of what sounds like a Gregorian choir, the percussion performances in this piece are particularly nice. Rotterdam 1 has quite a great ambience with mechanical sounds that sounds like a big hydraulic machine slowly moving creating this distinctive sucking sound and bang afterward which is accompanied by feedback, water sound and amusing manipulated music recordings, quite a bit different of a piece and a nice interlude in between the other tracks. Afterwards we have a short Industrial loop in ’s-Hertogenbosch [excerpt] which leads into Mainz [excerpt]. This is definitely one of the stronger pieces on this CD featuring some really harsh mechanical Noise that’s very screechy, speeding up and down overtime, really intense good experience. Last piece Stuiterthu Ariane Danssolo continues this vibe some more but moving into a rhythmic Industrial direction again with looping percussion accompanying a lot of high frequency laden squelchy synth effects, very nice final track. All in all VROEG WERK by THU20 is definitely an essential collection for anyone who wants to get into the Dutch underground music (tape) scene from the 80’s and while I do prefer DISK 1 a bit more than DISK 2 (due to the more varied sound on DISK 1), both CDs features some great energetic performances and THU20 definitely has their unique twist on Industrial and Noise music with the often absurd juxtapositions of sound manipulations, inventive compositional structures and the sometimes surprisingly subtle pieces that you can also come across on this 2 CD set.
ETHNIC ACID: POWER-WORKS 1986-88 (2009)
Reviewed format: 2 CD on industrial RECOLLECTIONS
Hello again, I'm onto the review of the second music gift I got for Sinterklaas, this excellent 2 CD compilation of Industrial / Noise works by ETHNIC ACID from the late 80s titled POWER-WORKS 1986-88, released on industrial RECOLLECTIONS. This compilation features 16 tracks spread over 2 CDs, labeled VOLUME 1 and VOLUME 2 and the tracklist continues directly from VOLUME 1 to 2, going from track 1-16 in the numbering as a whole. The two CDs are housed in a pretty glossy 2 CD jewelcase and the back cover doesn't show the tracklist, instead this can be found on the back page of the 4 page booklet that also includes the compilation credits as well as a convenient overview of the original cassette tape releases the tracks are sourced from, 4 tracks are previously unreleased. Besides that, there's a ETHNIC ACID discography listed as well as photos from the original cassette tape covers on page 3, pretty neat.
Now, the music on this compilation is definitely pretty powerful and intense, featuring a lot of crunchy analogue distortion, feedback and metallic effects but there's definitely a nice kind of contrast between the two VOLUMES, VOLUME 1 being a bit more drone / Industrial oriented while VOLUME 2 goes into harsher straight on Noise territory. VOLUME 1 starts with SEVERED FROM LIFE which features a metallic mechanical clanging groove in the background as well as many washes of Noise and intense high frequency synth effects, what's particularly nice about this piece is the higher Droning metallic resonance that starts in the second half of the track. This is music that really feels like an intense chaotic representation of a factory and while like most pieces the music is very extreme there's still plenty of progression in the sound, moving the textures and crunch foreward rather than keeping it idle, which keeps it exciting. IL PAPA droning guitar like sounds as well as screeching in the left channel creating a crunchy wash of sound that drones on rather nicely. It's quite an intense stream of darkness these sounds create and the delayed resonant sounds alongside the guitar noise add some extra dystopia to the mixture. It's really interesting to focus on the variations in the screeching in the left channel in this one, there's quite a lot of things happening even tho the drone stays pretty consistent throughout. In the next track SEXODUS 1 we have quite a lot of Industrial scraping, rumbling and glassy resonant sounds. The piece starts with some crunchy resonant glassy and that moves towards sections of bass heavy distorted metallic scraping sounds onto resonant hollow sounding tube like distorted noise, very rich in texture and an exciting piece. SEXODUS 2 is connected to SEXODUS 1 in that it follows a similar Industrial approach, though it's much harsher and intense featuring a lot of metallic resonant delays and screeches all through the stereo field, it's absolute mayhem, with a lot of feedback and fuzz going on, really nice. PUSSY IN EFFECT then, is a more stripped down piece and features some tasty ear piercing feedback, mysterious manipulated vocals and some pretty fun sampled music manipulations. Pretty simple in instrumentation but well executed in a dynamic avant-garde way, nice track. ANGEL OF DEATH is a more recognizable harmonic piece with distorted guitar like drones again, wild twisted vocals and intense fuzzy distortion, more of a traditional sounding Noise piece but still enjoyable and good music. THIRD EYE combines a remarkably calm guitar melody in the background with plenty of quirky delayed feedback goodness panning around the stereo field. Quite an interesting piece of music, a kind of Noise Ambient in a way, great sonic creativity in here. UNTITLED 1 is a short metallic Industrial piece that sounds a bit like knives being sharpened in a bathtub, accompanied by ghostly resonances in the background, spooky. UNTITLED 2 is an Industrial drone piece that features some awesome flanged hollow sounds as well as a cloud of crackling distortion, feels a bit like an "Industrial swamp" with crackling sound almost feeling like bugs buzzing. We then move onto VOLUME 2, which is more Noise oriented. INTRO is a short intro track that features some awesome "waves" of Industrial resonant feedbacked Noise that punches down and hovers around the stereo field, a great physical listening experience of sound. SPIRIT features a lot of high end Noise over an improvised drum machine beat, an entrancing soundscape of metallic resonant Noise and feedback, the piece feels pretty mysterious and ever evolving in its tense atmosphere. BATTLECRY features a wash of Noise, particularly rhythmic in the right channel that intensifies as the piece moves forward, sounding like a hellish wind turbine turning faster and faster, there's quite some evolving movement going on in the heavily distorted metallic and feedback laden sound and the piece is always turning into a different resonant direction of harsh sonic mayhem, very cool. BLACK ASS 3 is bass heavy "concrete" Noise, massive blocks of crunchy sound every changing in a hefty structure of bass heavy filth, very enjoyable Noise and great variations in the sonic manipulations once again. HEAT FLASH 2 is a much harsher piece that's focussed mostly around a rhythmic noise pattern in the middle of the stereo field with additional mechanic rhythms being added to the mixture over time, hypnotic but also a great piece in which you can focus on the seperate elements overtime to dive into all the resonance, crunch and washing sounds happening in this piece. KLUDD features a lot of screechy action in the high frequencies, wild vocals as well as plenty of chaotic reverberated waves of richly textured Noise, really intense and good stuff. REDUCE THE DISTANCE then, is the last piece of this compilation and a 31 minute 37 second monster of a track. It was definitely the most challenging listen on this album as it starts with quite lenghty sections of rather harsh and piercing waves of feedback laden Noise, that features what sounds like AM radio in the background as well as trippy high synth effects. This moves to a mid section that features very metallic radio samples, still harsh but more in a high frequency focused sound spectrum, it does feel "lighter" though. This flows to a section with intense delay and feedback effects in the mid and low frequency range and finally strips down to mid - high frequency distorted tones that funnily enough at the end almost start to sound like a rather twisted and abstract but recognizable Rock improvisation, great flow. REDUCE THE DISTANCE is definitely a piece to prepare yourself for as it's often really harsh, but rewarding in its well made creative manipulations of the sounds and ever evolving sound, great stuff.
POWER-WORKS 1986-88 by ETHNIC ACID is a compilation that's in no way subtle of course but which features a nicely varied selection of quality Industrial and Noise music from the 80's that's not just intense and harsh but also imaginative, well executed and enjoyable in the rich textures, dark atmospheres and heavy physical experiences these 16 tracks are. A recommended listen for anyone whose a fan of Industrial / Noise music and people looking for some classic quality Industrial music from the 80's (cassette) underground scene.
2 CD is available from the NORTHERN HERITAGE / FREAK ANIMAL RECORDS WEBSTORE here: https://www.nhfastore.net/ETHNIC-ACID-power-works-1986-88?search=ETHNIC%20ACID
Gintas K: Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound (2006) Reviewed format: 2 CD released on Crónica Hello again, I'm back with the next volume in my review series of Crónica releases, today I have for you this double CD album Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound by Lithuanian sound artist Gintas K. The 2 CDs are housed in a clear jewel case that also includes a 4 page booklet with more images of the album's abstract cover artwork. Lengvai / 60 x one minte audio colours of 2kHz sound are two pieces that each take up one disc of the 2 CD set, a total of 2 hours 5 minutes of music. Lengvai being described on the back of the jewelcase as a rhythmic and textural post-techno inspired piece, while 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound is a more conceptual sound art piece that also literally does take up the 60 tracks on Disc 2, all with other 1 minute variations of 2kHz sound. This 2 CD set is definitely an interesting and enjoyable varied release of music that kicks off on Disc 1 with the first part of Lengvai (easily or easy in English), titled Lengvai. The first track is the most minimal and microsound influenced part of Lengvai starting with filtered liquid synth ticks moving towards frequency manipulation of sine wave tones accompanied by a soft subtle glitch rhythm and sine chords that kind of sound like Dub Techno stabs completely reduced to the first building block of the synth sounds. Mysterious and abstract but also with frequencies playing with your ears in the sensitive part of hearing, the first part is a calm start of a composition that does get more rhythmic and varied very quickly. No spoilers yet in this first part however. Ilgiau Ilgiau features glitch drums with a very funky groove to them, stereo panned noises and high frequency beeps are also part of the mixture. The sound does remind me a bit of Ryoji Ikeda's more rhythmic works but with a swing and a "rougher" sound design. The glitch beats drive the music towards three note synth pattern that feels very "homely" and comfortable but also pleasantly clicky. Near the end of this part the music moves towards a more diffuse drone that gets glitched up as well in the rhythm of the music. That's one of the interesting aspects of Gintas K music, the abrupt chopping up or manipulation of sound and unexpected moments. It creates a very fun kind of playfulness in the music that keeps it from sounding rigid and cold. Kūlgrinda, the third part is a much longer part that features more intense Glitch rhythms that accompany a pretty funny kind of distorted synth melody that features a heavy Wah like filter effect (sounds like manipulation of the Body Resonance of the Scream 4 effect in the DAW Reason), as well as some heavy phaser action. Maybe a little cheesy in its sound but it gives the music a funky and also pretty humorous sound. After this section the music fades to a watery synth sound, very liquid, like a kind of device sucking out water accompanied by high frequency clusters of ticks. This crossfades into a distorted drone and gets accompanied by the glitch beat of the first section. Now however the sound of the full mix gets gradually more and more mangled into distorted, folding and trembling by the manipulation. The added high harmonics give the music a very nice adventurous vibe and I found this manipulation especially great. The full mix gets more and more distorted at the end, ending a full wave of warbly distortion, excellent. Fourth part Koto starts with a great drone mostly at the left side of the stereo image that gets heavily flanged, the flanger settings being manipulated in various patterns that add cool resonances and Noise like harshness to the sound. The music builds with a more sparse, polyrhthmic Glitch beat accompanying the drone. In the second half of this track the drone fades out and the music is more focussed on the glitch rhythm in which now also short tones are added for resonance. This second part also features it's own microsections of repetition, giving the composition new twists of direction. The piece moves toward the end with a different drone, more similar to first track Lengvai, pure sound in a higher range of frequencies, soft beds of Noise add a bit of rain / wind sounds to the mixture, the piece then ends with only the drone and noise beds. Early Set is the final part of Lengvai and is also the longest track at 27 minutes 19 seconds length. Just like the pieces before, the music flows through various sections but with even more variation. Highlights in this part for me are the bird like sounds in the first half, that also sound like distant car alarms. Then there's the awesome build up of Noise in the second half that speeds up in a big and loud way, very impressive to listen on speakers with great work in the bass too. In the last section of the piece there is a section of what sounds like music samples being combined with washes of Noise and rising high frequencies, harmonic and harsh at the same time, very nice. At the very end the piece breaks down to a minimal stereo glitch rhythm that gradually gets more and more distorted and mangled, even slammed. Until it sounds like microscoping broken black holes of sound. Great ending to Disc 1 of this release. Disc 2 features the full piece 60 x one minute audio colours of 2kHz sound. Because the piece's 60 tracks are actually part of the composition and sound manipulation method I will obviously now give an overall impression of the piece rather than go through all the seperate tracks. This piece was definitely a pretty unique listening experience, the 2 kHz sinewave sound is audible on pretty much all the 60 tracks, either pure or manipulated in frequency, rhythm or other ways. The length does of course make the piece a bit challenging because sounds at 2 kHz can sound rather fatiguing on the ears for a long long time, fortunately Gintas K creates quite a lot of variation in the piece, not only manipulating the 2 kHz sound itself but also adding other sometimes glitchy high frequency sounds to it. I guess the best way to describe how this piece felt to me is that it's somewhere in between a physical experience of raw sound as well as rooms and other places where this sound might be coming from and environments that distort the sound. At one point the sound even gets really loud intense and fast in ticking, sometimes also sounding a bit like an alarm. In general it's a really unique piece to describe and I definitely like it mostly, but especially at parts where the 2 kHz gets changed up. The more progression the better with this kind of sound. So definitely a unique but challenging piece, a good listen. Lengvai / 60 x one minute audio colours of 2 kHz is an equally fun and unique listening experience of double album. Disc 1 is more accesible and suited for repeated listening but Disc 2 also does offer a great kind of study of sound that is at point just as playful and progressive as Disc 1. In any case, this is a great creative release of glitchy sonic work by Gintas K and a good listen, so check it out for sure. 2 CD is available from the Crónica Bandcamp page here: https://cronica.bandcamp.com/album/lengvai-60-x-one-minute-audio-colours-of-2khz-sound