REVIEW: amptext + bass / Blk w bear - split CD, 2011

amptext + bass / Blk w bear split CD 2011

AMPTEXT + BASS / BLK W BEAR
"Nine Strings" / "Ten Outtakes & Demos"
Split CD, 2011Cohort Records
The first track by amptext + bass, "The Ghosts Of Silent Radios," sounds like about four different scores by John Cage played at the same time, which, for all I know, it might be. It sounds like a person playing a cello. There's a bit of messing-around with a handheld tape recorder (I assume), the air in the room. An old telephone in a box, or something. Hard core avant garde. "Bodyment 1" and "Bodyment 2"  continue with the same template, while the final two pieces are less tape-menacing and more live performances, if that description makes any sense. The cello playing is deft and scrapey, and the pieces include lots of silence.  Nice. The tracks by Blk w bear that follow are of the ambient noise ilk, or dark ambience. "Valve Languere [Vasoline Mix]" includes some interesting samples and loops which gradually fade across the inner ear thing. "Reade Lactid" sounds like some sampler abuse, of which I approve. "Salt Water Coughing" finishes up sounding like a pipe organ being devoured by a poltergeist. This deeply experimental split CD is available now. Handmade covers, the whole deal. John Gore really does this sh1t up.
Ian C Stewart

REVIEW: The Implicit Order - A Wink And A Nod, 2011

The Implicit Order - A Wink And A Nod

THE IMPLICIT ORDER
A Wink And A Nod  download
Cool mixture of remixes, tributes, anti-mixes, whatever you wanna call it. Homage. Each of the eight pieces are new versions of tracks chosen by The Implicit Order, and gradually redefined with the now-standard Implicit Order engine. Echoey loops, weird spoken passages and ambient room noises populate the frequency spectrum. Some are quite noisy, others more austere.
Ian C Stewart

REVIEW: Dislocated Tones - "Compound Fractures" compilation, 2011

Dislocated Tones - Compound Fractures, 2011

DISLOCATED TONES
Compound Fractures, download 2011
Here's a fun compilation that's all over the place, stylistically speaking. Chuck Hoffman's opening track is called "Feline & Toddler Vomitorium," it's a neat pile of Casio sampler loops. "Twenty Four" by Arcade is noisy and spaced-out dub, can it be? Yes, it can be. Large beats and fractious beats, and squelched synth stuff. I enjoy. Sampleman also takes a funk-friendly approach with "Small Pink & Black Alien". "Carbon" by Yenoc is another toe-tapper, with its upbeat synth burbles and vocoder vocals. The majority of the other tracks are quite noisy and abrasive., in a couple of cases straddling the line between noise and order. "Ophelia As A Cyborg" by Haru Yasumi is a noisy bit of FUNK, so it's what, IDM, is that the category? That is the noisiest funk track this side of my own work as FZZY PMPR. I like it a lot, though all of the pieces were interesting in their own ways.
Ian C Stewart

REVIEW: ANIXAS - ZECTEC EP 2011

Anixas - Zectec

ANIXAS
Zectec EP - Mudball Records
Jamendo download, 2011
It's an EP but it's more of a 3P. Three pieces, three minutes Each. "Zectec115" The first one features a decent drum loop with cool, staccato synth stuff happening, but there's also a couple of notes, like a drone but higher, almost like feedback or ground hum, which turn it from a playful bit of MIDI action to an act of sonic aggression. I'm not sure if it's intended, or not intended. "Zectec116" and "Zectec117" deploy similar drones and MIDI synth rubs, which are not as harsh. Kind of neat.
Ian C Stewart

INTERVIEW: Jamie Hutchings interviewed by Skot

Jamie Hutchings

AUTOreverse #14, Summer 2011
JAMIE HUTCHINGS
interview by Skot Schtikla
"The title comes from the where and how of the recording which had a very strong impact on the end result. It was recorded in a run-down shack out the front of a property in Avalon that was lent to us. Thus the bleeding, spilly, haphazard non-studio quality. Secondly, it was all recorded mostly live to an 8 track cassette recorder by my friend Chris Colquhoun" - comments from Jamie about his latest album 'Avalon Cassettes'

NEWS: Love Calvin - What's Left, Volume Three - now available

Love Calvin - What's Left, Volume Three, 2011

Third volume of miscellaneous Love Calvin songs. Grab for free. These unique and truly visionary home recordings, lovingly preserved and displayed by Russ Stedman.


Stop reading this, go get it NOW or I won't be your friend anymore, if I ever was.


LOVE,CALVIN - "WHAT'S LEFT? - VOLUME THREE"

01 Superman's True Story
02 It's A Big World
03 Blue Egg
04 Leave Me Alone
05 Burn Victims Suck (Acoustic Version)
06 Don't
07 Blue Lights & Jesus
08 He Served Us Some Fires
09 I'm An American
10 Regrets
11 Crawl
12 Cheesemeister (Alternate Version)
13 Feel All The Dirt


Love Calvin Love Calvin Love Calvin Love Calvin Love Calvin Love Calvin Love Calvin Love Calvin


http://www.lovecalvin.com/whats-left.html