tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648108920171315412024-03-22T02:22:02.961+01:00Ambolthue ReviewsLooking for the place to get 100% positive reviews and recommandations on various experimental music? This is it. I don't bother writing about stuff I don't like. Here you'll get reviews of everything from the most obsure underground artists from unknown countries to highly profiled musicians. Just stuff I like that is!Ambolthuehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931902586383391158noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664810892017131541.post-7520252962224963362012-09-03T23:11:00.000+02:002012-09-03T23:11:13.039+02:00t.A.T.u.Ambolthue reviews has been quiet for a while. Projects, traveling, lovelife, and especially relaxation has been stopping me from being my old hyperactive self. Aging has also done it's trick I think. I feel like aged wine or tea these days. I'm not popping up with something new everyday, but when I do it's more special. I just hope I've aged well.
Going back to writing reviews on music was this time triggered by a little youtube session with my favorite pop band, which of course is the Russian duo "t.A.T.u.". The duo split up in March last year, and in 12 years they released three fantastic pop albums. Yeah, I know the description of this blog states that I will only review or recommend experimental music, but to justify this article a little, their history (especially considering where they're from) with the lesbian story we all know about, that the band was put together through a competition, and their music videos, I'd say that they fit in well on this site.<br />
<br />
Anyways, I'm not planning to sum up their career here, but rather focus on my enjoyment of their history. My fascination started with their story. It was a puppetry put together by Ivan Shapovalov in quite an exploiting manner. This is also a big reason for their huge breakthrough, though of course their music and great mix of beautiful and powerful vocals (which should get them to the same fame-rate as they would've had without their cotrovercy) has been important. Why did their story fascinate me? Well, the same reason why exploitation movies, horror stories and eccentric people makes me interested. It would maybe not have been so interesting if they were from somewhere else than Russia either. Russian is my favorite language, and when Russians does something, it always feel like they do it 50% more than what people from the rest of the world would do.<br />
<br />
But MUSIC! The reason to stay with them. It's pop, but it hit a nerve that pop music mostly fail to hit. Usually you like it for a day, and the next day you forget about it and it's just frustrating hearing it over and over. t.A.T.u. on the otherhand has a power feel to it. Catchy songs with a great mix of Lena's beautiful feminine singing and Yulia's chick-with-a-strong-bone-in-her-nose voice makes it impossible for me to get tired of their sound. It's important though to check out the Russian versions of their albums over the versions intended for the english speaking market. Lyrics translated and changed from their original Russian versions loose a lot of it's power. Their english speaking originals are great as they are, so it has nothing to do with their voices and the english language, it just works better. A good example of this is "Белый Плащик/White Robe" from their 3rd and last album. Judge for yourself:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Russian version</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/rUPx920wkvk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
English version</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z3bCJ-rqkMw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
To me it's two different approaches in their music. It's either a punchy groovyness to their songs, or a ballady beauty. The videos above is a good example of the first one and on their first album we find the wonderful single 30 Минут.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/lAFCTWvDqxc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
Both of these songs gives me shivers and happiness the way good music usually do, and are good examples of what music videos should look like. They appear as strong women with personality.<br />
<br />
There's not much to say about their albums as standalones really. The second and the third as a continuation of a great debute, and offers fresh new music with enough variety to not be too much like the previous album, but at the same time follow the recipe that has made t.A.T.u. what it is. But their approach and history has made t.A.T.u. more than just another popband. It's also dark and light, serious and unserious, beautiful and harsh, and lo-fi and hi-fi all together, taking the best from everything.<br />
<br />
They've now split up as mentioned and has both started solo careers. Lena with a playful and smiling approach and Yulia with a more punchy and some would say "bitchy" style. I think this has been the reason why they've worked so well together, but following both their careers instead of chosing who to follow is what makes it interesting for me to actually keep up with them. They have not got the same great power being solo artists, though they both has enough of what made me love their duo in their solo stuff for me to keep following. Their first singles aren't as great as if they would have the other to put in what lacks, but it gives me a smile and is worth checking out. Yulia seems to distance herself from the past more in her "Didn't Wanna Do It", while Lena seems to look back at their history as a band with more of a "it was nice" attitude. Lena even put a smile on my mouth covering a pop-hit that has been truely annoying to me "Mr. Saxobeat". If you don't agree you may understand my enthusiasm with the band at least after reading this. Next time I promise to be back with something more gravly sounding and less commercial, and it will also not take years before I write more.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Lena Katina - Never Forget</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/yvGF56QPppg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Yulia Volkova - Didn't Wanna Do It</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/410VPUJ8OQ4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Lena Katina - Mr. Saxobeat</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/CC4-XuzRL-U?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Kjetilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13389411540363917990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664810892017131541.post-62322606728570625282010-12-14T09:30:00.004+01:002010-12-14T10:02:38.348+01:00Various - With Friends Like These: 10 Years Of Pissing In The Wind<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLIp7-fSL4RL12nQHLZlaEszc5Q2CQIZpZU4HDaJuF1fEImdCeO-1ltE_S6CtLl8y75uMFdFWWlYEj7uMO-lvwX7IqYwMii4AhrmUXT26_EedBlNfd_Bc8Ss6l48z8SgaUWsEqvd9KZZxp/s1600/gs99.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 232px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLIp7-fSL4RL12nQHLZlaEszc5Q2CQIZpZU4HDaJuF1fEImdCeO-1ltE_S6CtLl8y75uMFdFWWlYEj7uMO-lvwX7IqYwMii4AhrmUXT26_EedBlNfd_Bc8Ss6l48z8SgaUWsEqvd9KZZxp/s320/gs99.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550460127690182626" /></a><br /><br /><br />It's been a while since I last wrote, but this blog is not dead and I'm back with another review, this time it's a CDR compilation on <a href="http://www.bek.no/~tibprod/goldsoundz.htm">Gold Soundz</a>. The label celebrates 10 years, and the catalog has now reached GS#99, so that the compilation includes 99 tracks is probably not such a big surprise.<br /><br />This idea has been used before, so I wouldn't say the concept came as a shock, but what actually did surprise me was the solid tracklisting <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sindrebjerga">Mr. Bjerga</a> (label-father) had managed to put together. With this much variation and strange tunes put onto one disc it's important with a tracklist that works. How much time that has actually been put into the final order I have no idea of, but at least it sounds like it's well planned. I expected much more lo-fi, trash, grind/noise-core, scummyness and weird shit on this disc, but it's much more a fine collage than punch-in-the-face music. Each track works well with the next and the contrast between the tracks makes it easy to hear when the next track comes on, but what I noticed quite early was how it also worked as a whole. It's kinda like a cut-up mantra- Absolutely not pretentious in any way, but high standard all the way through, with stuff like <a href="http://www.zang.no/paalasle.html">Pål Asle Pettersen</a>'s noise concrete, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/nekroxp">NXP</a>'s glitchy and catchy loops, <a href="http://www.cockesp.com/">Cock E.S.P.</a>'s 5 seconds noise jams, Bjerga/Iversen's noise-drones and <a href="http://www.ambolthue.com/torsteinwjiik">Torstein Wjiik</a> (better known as <a href="http://www.ambolthue.com/kjetilhanssen">Kjetil Hanssen</a> aka the guy who writes these reviews) with his half funny, full trashed lo-fi junk.<br /><br />So why chose to go for this compilation? There are so many compilations out there and so many good tracklists, and as mentioned already, this idea isn't new, but what this compilation has that most other compilations doesn't, it's got the feeling of working as a whole, even with it's variations. I found it all to be very enjoyable, never gets boring, and if you pay attention to each single track you'll find some hidden gems that's truely worth the money. 99 copies only.Kjetilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13389411540363917990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664810892017131541.post-37100622711093592072010-06-25T00:34:00.004+02:002010-06-25T01:18:22.862+02:00Jazkamer - JazkamerIt's July and time for another Jazkamer release in their 2010 monthly series. The last disc being 73 minutes, it was fun to see this one being almost 4 times as short (19 mins). As promised in the promo for the series, Jazkamer has come up with a grind-/noisecore "album", and with 129 songs to choose from I bet there's enough to find the summer hit of 2010.<br /><br />"129 songs, no index, no life", that’s pretty much all the info we get from looking at the cover. Iver Sandøy on drums, John Hegre on guitar, Lasse Marhaug does vokills as the cover says, and on the last tracks we get Jørgen Træen on drums as well. If you enjoyed their Art Breaker album from 2008 I bet this will make you happy. This time they're a bit cleaner in their sound production wise, but the insensitivity remains and each has their own distinctive sound. Less feedback and a bit more static than Art Breaker but hard to compare to any of the other Jazkamer releases.<br /><br />It didn't take long from I put it in the stereo and till it was over and it was also hard to keep track on which track was actually playing, but with 129 songs (I haven't counted so it may be a lie) where all sounds more or less the same who cares other than the hardcore nerds like me? But even though I'd love to see a tracklist filled with fun and enjoyable titles the music is still in your face, humorous noisecore with good production value. Another totally different release in the series and of course, another fantastic one.Kjetilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13389411540363917990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664810892017131541.post-62888023364416297202010-05-28T01:39:00.005+02:002010-05-28T16:34:38.283+02:00Jazkamer - We Want Epic Drama<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdHMBIOQmqghz91vINbZP3rfbyWmowMQbyhJh0FnACGYu5WfBsYbtqYdHCczDzTAN1bD7LRrthyphenhyphenzDB2xEv3-4W3e1K_xGZKgQkYwnHjuTDK9esHMLUrSR0pWUj_GbNTMg8imZYvqKh8hE/s1600/pica020.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdHMBIOQmqghz91vINbZP3rfbyWmowMQbyhJh0FnACGYu5WfBsYbtqYdHCczDzTAN1bD7LRrthyphenhyphenzDB2xEv3-4W3e1K_xGZKgQkYwnHjuTDK9esHMLUrSR0pWUj_GbNTMg8imZYvqKh8hE/s320/pica020.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476327960176583634" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Another month, another Jazkamer. I said earlier on that I originally planned to review all of these monthly Jazkamer-releases, but decided not to. I kinda want to go back on that now, so there may be a few random reviews of the older discs as well in the future, but now it's time to review the June-edition.<br /><br />"<span style="font-style: italic;">A big-band noise extravagansa. The first studio recording of the Metal Music Machine line-up; two drummers, electronics and three guitars. Artwork by Justin Bartlett.</span>" This is what the website says, and I was prepared for something like their classic Metal Music Machine album, but I was wrong. Starts with heavy drumming, and though there has been some intense guitar, electronics, drum sessions on their previous monthly releases this is again something completely new. It's full on trash rock metal noise without being anything other than pure energy, and this disc is also the longest disc amongst the monthly-series so far at least, with two tracks spanning over 70 minutes. It acutally sounds like the second track could've been devided into two separate tracks as well, but that's not the point really. It's often hard to make a good record lasting as much as 70 minutes as it's not enough just to make good and interesting music, but it should also work as a whole, but if there are anyone that I trust could make it it's Jazkamer. With a harsh noise wall-, drone- or ambient-record it's often important to get the length to it for it to work. With more dynamic and organic noise it's harder and especially with rock-noise. I'd say the electronics are more like a mild spice to the whole rock stew on this record than a very dominating sound source, but it's always there.<br /><br />Now why did I really enjoy this so much compared to other full on rock noise records? I can't really say why, but what hit me was that the sounds of the instruments were allways really clean and it never stopped evolving, though it at the same time were quite static in its sound. Organic and of course something different once again from Jazkamer. Already looking forward in getting the July-edition in my mailbox.Kjetilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13389411540363917990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664810892017131541.post-47448018406942678252010-05-27T00:18:00.004+02:002010-05-27T00:35:51.763+02:00Scumearth - Deranged Prototype<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitiBdsGPi3Kf4GVHaYHp1EAem4QjG8BavnS4NG3i4VmQ8FN4uuuqh4NBS4MxuSFIV7-gYknMar5asUJ6ptJQPoiHcnsk5xfc0HCMLFo2jmGFpHFn2uw8HqfpnkGgeiU6jXi2kwJlgxqB1G/s1600/scumearth.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitiBdsGPi3Kf4GVHaYHp1EAem4QjG8BavnS4NG3i4VmQ8FN4uuuqh4NBS4MxuSFIV7-gYknMar5asUJ6ptJQPoiHcnsk5xfc0HCMLFo2jmGFpHFn2uw8HqfpnkGgeiU6jXi2kwJlgxqB1G/s320/scumearth.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475710388859594546" border="0" /></a><br />So the story goes: I had 20 minutes to kill with some sound and figured I should take a dive into my pile of unheard 3"es. There should be no reason for saying this, but for those who don't know the format, it's just a smaller CD(r) than the regular 5" discs that rooms up to 22 minutes of music, and from a random pick I ended up with a 3"CDr housed in a mini DVD-case with two 10 minute tracks, released on <a href="http://ronfrecords.com/">R.O.N.F. Records</a>. It was from an artist I hadn't heard of before called <a href="http://www.scumearth.com/">Scumearth</a> with a convincing title, "Deranged Prototype".<br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">The first sentence I noticed were "Played and recorded live with no overdubs or computers", something I though would be interesting to fill my time-gap. Only a few seconds after I pressed play I was into it. It sounded very controlled, but still chaotic and improvised. Dark and heavy with an intro to take you slowly into the first piece, but it didn't really take long before it was a full blast. No overdubs but still very composed in a way, with enough layers to keep the interest up all the way through, and before I knew it the first track was over. A great piece that made me happy it was one more track to come.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">And then the second track started with full on noise, but it's not what I would call a classic harsh noise wall track, but rather space-industrial harsh noise. Too much variation to make it a wall, and to be honest I did actually like this second track even better than the first. If it's so that this is live material, not edited nor fixed I'm really impressed with the steadiness of it. I like nothing more than to find harsh noise records that I feel I could put on over and over, and with this I did that. I actually walked over to the stereo while writing this review to put it on again, and now I'm back on track two. Reading a bit more within the info from the cover I see who directly or indirectly (as it says) has inspired the artist on this release, and with references like Pain Jerk, M.S.B.R., Merzbow and more pure gold artists, you've set gold’s that are almost impossible to reach, but this time I'm convinced. It's happy noise all the way through, a pure euphoric journey with loads of energy and interesting sounds.</span><span style="" lang="EN-GB"></span></p> <span style="" lang="EN-GB">If you're into noise, trash, grind core and other great stuff you should check out R.O.N.F. Records' website. There should be something for everyone there. And by the way, I also have a tape compilation with fresh-idea-experiments coming out there soon as Torstein Wjiik.</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Kjetilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13389411540363917990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664810892017131541.post-33704099133667995432010-05-14T14:35:00.008+02:002010-05-28T16:34:53.913+02:00Bjerga / Iversen - Time Lapsed & Short Circuit (Two floppy discs)These two reviews were written on discogs a while ago. Decided to rewrite them a little and put them here. Both releases are strictly limited, but rumours says they will be re-released sometime in the future as part of a box-set. More on this later (maybe?)!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjif0fBMpim8jBhjrhxpzQ9NJkPhtnhLuIBhMj_rmlJE_QPWxaAOlSlSIkLwzAlzKOSEtDldzASeRFhqJ5Gbd9nRaoDPJf617mSh-k22Ys1xvm49_cB_h7mSEhYtGlXpqab5fyYFNvd8fcE/s1600/timelapsed.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 310px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjif0fBMpim8jBhjrhxpzQ9NJkPhtnhLuIBhMj_rmlJE_QPWxaAOlSlSIkLwzAlzKOSEtDldzASeRFhqJ5Gbd9nRaoDPJf617mSh-k22Ys1xvm49_cB_h7mSEhYtGlXpqab5fyYFNvd8fcE/s320/timelapsed.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475711434694860082" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TIME LAPSED </span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Originally written April 13. 2009)</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>Classic format, strange music. This is some of the strangest work I've heard from the fantastic duo, Bjerga/Iversen. It's only just over 1 minute long which made me think I was gonna get a short drone/ambient-piece, but it seems to be a speed-up of a longer track or something, which makes it hard to get a hold of. It's also short on the low frequencies, something I think would be better for a longer track. But it's definitively interesting, as this is one of the most on the side releases from this hyper-productive duo. Never have you heard them like this before!<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Short Circuit </span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Originally written January 25. 2010)</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>Ok, what is this?<br /><br />First of all we have the format, which is excellent in its way of being very little accessible. Then we have the "problem" that most people can't even get the file out no more as floppy-drives are no longer the most common thing on the modern computer. Then there's the size of the disc which does not allow very much of either playtime nor quality as it can only store 1MB which compared to the modern MP3-players would usually be 250.000 times less storage room. Needless to say it's a pain for most people, but for format fanatics, like myself, this is pure gold. And when it comes to the music… The last time I heard this duo on a floppy-disc it was something strange which almost sounded like a speed-up version of a concert or something. This time it's a static noise-drone with some people talking over. Sounds like a recording of someone talking during a very static sound check where the mic is being moved around. It's really hard to get into, but when you've heard it once it's hard to put it away without wanting to spin it again just for the fun of it. And glad I did 'cause the more I played it, the more I got out of it. It's not what I would concider a high quality release, but damn is it a great one! Fun, unpretenceaus and it's so damn short you can't get tired of it before its over. Another great floppy from the duo. Please keep 'em coming!Kjetilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13389411540363917990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664810892017131541.post-57836974462774300512010-03-30T00:02:00.007+02:002010-04-02T04:39:03.799+02:00FNS & Svarte Greiner - Sound Of Mu 28 March, 2010 (Concert)As you probably know if you already know me is that I'm usually to be found at almost all concerts held in Oslo within the experimental scene, and most of the time with a recorder in my hand. I finally decided to start writing reviews of memorable concerts as there's not many of those to be found no more, and my first concert review will be of the release concert for the new album of <a href="http://www.apartmentrecords.com/fns/">FNS (Fredrik Ness Sevendal)</a>.<br /><br />This concert was held at <a href="http://www.soundofmu.no/">Sound Of Mu</a> on March 28th to mark the release of his new self-titled album <a href="http://www.miasmah.com/recordings/cat.html#MIACD012">"FNS"</a> which was released on <a href="http://www.miasmah.com/">Miasmah</a>. This is actually a re-release of the debut album which was originally released on <a href="http://www.apartmentrecords.com/fns/clearsnare.html">CDR</a> by <a href="http://www.discogs.com/label/Clearsnare+Records">Clearsnare</a> in 2005, but this time it's a remastered and pressed CD and there's even a bonus track on it for this new release. Anyways, the guy behind Miasmah is the man behind <a href="http://deafcenter.net/sg/">Svarte Greiner</a>, Erik Knive Skodvin who also played.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHXhx37P6pMB0Rmk_43Q7mTyovuyR8Zc2lH483ZNFjHntV952t2x48dKqWkrqUojlnETVJa7NZswlIJwhgjDSrHKWa-B2cAa-UdNL9K-3xQLq-DLnmSLe0z-WhMBIc1FM99r9gsBv2n-lM/s1600/P1010001.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHXhx37P6pMB0Rmk_43Q7mTyovuyR8Zc2lH483ZNFjHntV952t2x48dKqWkrqUojlnETVJa7NZswlIJwhgjDSrHKWa-B2cAa-UdNL9K-3xQLq-DLnmSLe0z-WhMBIc1FM99r9gsBv2n-lM/s320/P1010001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454726949643411474" border="0" /></a><br />First off were Svarte Greiner (translates Black Branches) which is, as said above, the solo project of Erik K. Skodvin. Skodvin is hard to describe as anything but a truly nice guy, but as soon as he starts playing music, everything becomes darkness. It's all in the music as well, because what you see is a usual concert with the musician sitting there playing his music and using his ears and intuition to decide where to go next in the soundscape. He started out quite easy with only his guitar fading slowly into his line-up of pedals. Within the first 5 minutes I'd become part of the music and it sounded like it was the soundtrack of a slow and dark film (without any specific references here). It evolved and evolved and I enjoyed the whole thing, although I think the last part worked best, but that also may be because I had had the time to digest the previous material presented as well. It was dark and beautiful, but the amp used seemed to have a bad response to the lower frequencies played sometimes, so I'm afraid I lost my concentration a couple of times at the beginning, but as said, after 5 minutes I was part of the music through to the end. Lovely performance!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpoXuiz_4rwxOAfPkLCfDPsXhEVFKOQ87cgAzN11A1zaX8vBkqBSOdpKO00VMonLkRcdk78oJCbgBw1j1u_Oz9D6Hmb1Xv0tMcTcjVVOFEGzKwyPBy1RPW87W8HS91sPC8uFIQFhODZoUS/s1600/P1010008.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpoXuiz_4rwxOAfPkLCfDPsXhEVFKOQ87cgAzN11A1zaX8vBkqBSOdpKO00VMonLkRcdk78oJCbgBw1j1u_Oz9D6Hmb1Xv0tMcTcjVVOFEGzKwyPBy1RPW87W8HS91sPC8uFIQFhODZoUS/s320/P1010008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454727373891984674" border="0" /></a><br />Then it was the headliner of the night, the man the release concert were held for, FNS. I've seen and heard his music many times before, so I was prepared of a good show, but this just blew my mind. In just a few weeks I've seen tons of concerts, but this took the cake and will be one of those memorable concerts I will look back at with a smile. Also here were it a bit too much amp-distortion in the very beginning, but that was quickly fixed. From playing hands at his acoustic guitar he went to use a bow, and as soon as the bow touched the guitar it was pure magic. This means that the last 90% of the show could easily be described as one of the most pleasant concerts I've ever been to, and I how well he manages to use the loops and keep evolving slowly but steady is just amazing. If you've heard either the FNS-album or his <a href="http://www.discogs.com/Fredrik-Ness-Sevendal-No-Foly-Bow/release/970400">No Foly Bow</a> from 2007, you should know what I'm talking about when I say he has control in his music, and it also worked live. I could've listened to this guy playing for many more hours, and hopefully it's not the last time I see him do a concert. I'm not sure, but I don't think I know any guitar players who does folky sounds as good as Mr. Sevendal. A true evening of joy.<br /><br />Take a listen to some extracts from each of the concerts:<br /><a href="http://rapidshare.com/files/370810967/Svarte_Greiner_extract.mp3">Svarte Greiner</a><br /><a href="http://rapidshare.com/files/370807138/FNS_extract.mp3.html">FNS</a>Kjetilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13389411540363917990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664810892017131541.post-50502628676558563682010-03-25T01:00:00.002+01:002010-04-01T20:05:22.814+02:00Jazkamer - Musica Non Grata<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MztNYZdsU6o/S6qvzjrI98I/AAAAAAAAAAc/Vpu2nsmt0cE/s1600/R-2113041-1264722393.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MztNYZdsU6o/S6qvzjrI98I/AAAAAAAAAAc/Vpu2nsmt0cE/s320/R-2113041-1264722393.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452363599169779650" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />I originally planned to do a review of the whole 2010 monthly releases series by <a href="http://jazkamer.blogspot.com/">Jazkamer</a>, but after hearing the difference between all the three first releases I figured it would've been too much to write about, at least for now. I decided to go with the february release this time and why would that be? Well, I have a good experience listening to Jazkamer. I've heard almost all their released music so far and they are probably the band I've seen live the most, and after hearing their classic <a href="http://www.ohmrecords.no/10ohm/10ohm.htm">Sound Of Music</a>, I didn't think they stood a chance making a new release that I would like better, but they proved me wrong! Not just is it my new favorite Jazkamer release, but I'm pretty sure it's among top 5 noise releases overall for me as well, and probably the only one not being classic harsh noise. Here it is feedback and not much more, but it never gets too much. Exhausting, yes, but never does it make you wanna turn it off. It's pure bliss! I didn't even get to play it at a good volume because I played it at night and wouldn't wanna wake anyone up, but damn, it blew me away.<br /><br />What you get here is not the common feedback noise we've heard so many times before, but a very well produced composition where feedback is used more as a tool than an effect. It's extremely variated, but at the same time drony with a feeling of ambience to it. Not at all ambient, but space like. Not sci-fi space, but a feeling that makes your head float around the room and try to pick up everything that's happening. It may be because I was quite tired the first time I heard it I experienced it this way, but I would compare the feeling with the exploration of the album in the same way I experienced the film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/">2001: A Space Oddyssey</a><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/"></a> (again not the sci-fi part of it). It's a simple idea, but it's so well done. I can't really explain it. Take a listen and judge for yourself.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P0fPC4bc8M&feature=player_embedded">Sound clip on youtube</a>Kjetilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13389411540363917990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664810892017131541.post-83681763607267242012010-03-24T23:26:00.001+01:002010-04-01T20:17:19.195+02:00Francisco López - Nowhere Short Pieces 1983 To 2003 (10CD Box)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.discogs.com/image/R-1590826-1267372369.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 234px; height: 234px;" src="http://www.discogs.com/image/R-1590826-1267372369.jpeg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.franciscolopez.net/">Francisco López</a> should be a well know name for most people who has listened to noise for a little while now. I have to admit that I haven't heard too many records of his, so I decided I should get me the Box set "Nowhere Short Pieces 1983 To 2003", released on <a href="http://www.blossomingnoise.com/">Blossoming Noise</a> and <a href="http://www.discogs.com/label/Gender-Less+Kibbutz">Gender-less Kibbutz</a> in 2008. The release comes as a standard 10 CD box, but there's also a special edition limited to only 100 copies where you'll get a pin + a 5" vinyl as extras. I do have the special edition, but I decided to review just the CD's as it covers a wider audience and more importantly, I have an auto-return on my turntable so I haven't had the time to enjoy the vinyl yet.<br /><br />But let's get started, and as a contradiction to the Hijokaidan box, I'm not gonna do a one and one CD sum up here. The reason why I decided to do it as a whole is because I think it should be listened to that way. I know it's a collection of various pieces from a time period of as much as 20 years, but still, I think it works as whole. I usually have a hard time listening to "concentration music" on records and especially for many hours at a time. I think it's much easier to put on some of that good ol' harsh noise and sit back and relax and let the noises wash away everything else. I like combining the listening experience with other activities, and I find that hard when I feel I have to pay more attention to the music that takes away my focus from what I do on the side. Francisco López makes music that could easily have been a focus-stealer, but it's not. I have no idea what the average dB on this record is, but it spans from complete silence to the very opposite, and I had a few episodes where I had to check if the disc was still playing or not. It's a situation that you may find absurd, especially if you're not used to silence being used as an effect to intensify the listening experience even more, and most of the times I hear silence for as long as this I fall out of it. But here do we have an artist who can really master the most important tool in any noise, namely silence. I didn't get bored once during the ten hours the box lasts, and even though the truth is that I had to walk up to the speakers once in a while to see if I could hear anything at all, I think this was a fantastic listening experience. The intensitivity and excitement of every minute of this box made me really happy, and I couldn't wait putting the next disc on the stereo as soon as possible after each disc was over.<br /><br />Before you now think that I'm contradicting myself on the statement that I don't like records that takes away the focus of any other activities, this is not what I've tried to say here. I had no problem doing other stuff while listening to the music. In a strange way I feel that I managed to absorb all the elements in a subconscious way and listen to the easier parts as I usually listen to music. And also since so many of the silence-parts (most of which has more lurking in them than you would know) lasts for quite long periods, I learned quickly to work with it.<br /><br />Well this has been quite a scratch at the surface, and maybe more of a look into my personal feeling while listening to the music rather than a review of the music itself, but what should I say if I decided to do just the music. With a few exceptions on the latter discs there's not much more to say about the music than it's a combination of silence and different pitched white noises, and if that's all that would've been said I don't feel I'd get the message across on what it's actually like. 'Cause it's good. It's really good, and I don't think this is a release that would just be sitting in the shelf gathering dust in the future. I'm looking forward to listening to it on a headset, on a different stereo, but most of all, just to get through it again. And when I get some good speakers on my computer, I'll definitively load all discs and take a full day's listen. It's like a ten hour piece, but never is it too long. ...and most importantly, there's nothing to get. I'm tired of explaining people who try to "understand" noise that there's nothing to get. Just sit down, enjoy, and listen like any other record. Just let your ears adjust!Kjetilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13389411540363917990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664810892017131541.post-90910809190181311042010-03-22T15:26:00.000+01:002010-04-01T20:05:22.815+02:00Kobi - Live in Japan & Earplugged<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lddkV5GYWLnIClilJ6sQiMo86FI8BUmKZVn5JDOqMRBGRJKlG12DLz520wCsyStlkoBlh2fuWVlSU2Lr4GKY50c4DId0ls_4YU1SwO0HM5LPlGdpqVgWH8ohan7_7USabyhodiuJwZ3K/s1600-h/kobiwobi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lddkV5GYWLnIClilJ6sQiMo86FI8BUmKZVn5JDOqMRBGRJKlG12DLz520wCsyStlkoBlh2fuWVlSU2Lr4GKY50c4DId0ls_4YU1SwO0HM5LPlGdpqVgWH8ohan7_7USabyhodiuJwZ3K/s320/kobiwobi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451469471528998930" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Live in Japan | Earplugged</span></span> <br /></div><br />Kobi should be a well known name for people who knows their Norwegian experimental underground-music now. It's a project by Kai Mikalsen, usually joined by various friends. This time he comes with a solo studio album (Earplugged) and a live album from his Japan-tour in 2007 (surprise surprise, Live in Japan). I've never heard Kobi as noisy as this before (with the exception of the album's release concert in Oslo), but at the same time I would not say it's complete noise either. This could be said about both albums, but let's try to separate them as they're quite different from each other.<br /><br />Earplugged: You'll find a good combination between low and high frequencies, and though its loads of variations on the release it's also a good example on how important a tracklisting is. It works very well as a whole and the thirteen pieces on the album floats through each other smooth as silk. Kai shows us here that he has the ability to very well control what he does and it gives me a feeling of being both a very composed, but at the same time improvised album. It's very organic and it's just enough material on there. I hear an album every once in a while where if I didn't have a clock near me I couldn't tell whether I had listen to music for 10 or 80 minutes, and this is such a release. It gives me just the right amount of music to want to maybe wanna put it on again as I could've listen to it for a little longer, but at the same time it's not at all too short. It's perfect, and I love finding records that gives me this feeling. It's also produced very well, and being packed with many high pitched tones all the way through, I think the final master has come out very well. It could easily have been an exhausting listening experience, but at least to me it was not. It may be because of my hardened hearing (to say it like it is, I'm not quite earplugged), but I think the balance is done very well here. I may have just repeated myself here with different ways of saying the same thing over and over, but I wanna get it through that I truly enjoyed the production value of the record as I hear loads of albums based on similar ideas that really doesn't work that well. It's in a way very minimalistic and I would rather call it a musique concrete album than a noise album. It's a total different listening experience than what I get from regular noise releases, and also very different from the rest of Kobi's discography so far.<br /><br />Live in Japan: Here you'll find three live recordings from Kobi's Japan tour in March, 2007, that he went on with Love Hz and Crazy River. Here we get Kai joined by others as we're used to and on the first two tracks he plays with Petter Flaten Eilertsen (now a member of the regular live constellation of Kobi, and also the guy behind Love Hz) on two very different tracks. The first could hardly be classified as anything else but noise, while the second is more, well... Kobi. Its noisy ambient music and I have a hard time trying to explain what I mean about it being Kobi-sounding, but that's what it is! The same could be said about the third and last track where Kai is joined by Kelly Churko. It's a bit more noisy again and maybe a little more space sounding than usual, but Kobi nevertheless. It's way more variated as a whole than Earplugged, and more a documenting release than an album, but I bet the pieces chosen for this disc are carefully chosen, 'cause it sounds good, and never does it get too much.<br /><br />Both are available from <a href="http://www.looop.no">LOOOP</a>.Kjetilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13389411540363917990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664810892017131541.post-87705748835979189792009-09-19T05:42:00.000+02:002010-04-01T20:05:22.815+02:00Hijokaidan - The Noise<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGwqrpWOWLcZekltNHkliY1CLvRxSv937pzMp74_XzQkq_lWGUDt6Lsb5e58o21mSPEMFpl3-Nyw8f4-528AS0z9s7Ppq3xsUCSbVOLRyjuKhiipc3oQZkYOrhBJLPKzK5hf318mqB_J4/s1600-h/hijobox.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 362px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGwqrpWOWLcZekltNHkliY1CLvRxSv937pzMp74_XzQkq_lWGUDt6Lsb5e58o21mSPEMFpl3-Nyw8f4-528AS0z9s7Ppq3xsUCSbVOLRyjuKhiipc3oQZkYOrhBJLPKzK5hf318mqB_J4/s400/hijobox.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383024192087219106" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD1:<o:p></o:p></span></b><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">The oldest material in the box, and definitively a good start. It's harsh, intense and gets right to the point. This could very well have been a recent recording with the band, but you lack the vocals of Junko of course.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD2:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">More (or should I say less?) guitar presence here. It's more "melodic", and it's got the sound of some guitars played very “properly” to be Hijokaidan, some classic desperate vocals and cable-knotting. A disc to show Hijokaidan's variety and another reason for you to actually buy this box set. It shows that not all of the discs sound the same.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD3:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">The last of the discs recorded under "The Original Hijokaidan". It's a single live piece, lasting almost 40 minutes. Once again it's guitars, some effects and a lot of variety, but still quite static! If these three discs are almost all there is from "The Original Hijokaidan", then I must say I am impressed with what they managed to do! A short lifetime, but this is what rock music truly is!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD4:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">The first as Hijokaidan with a line-up I'm not a hundred per cent sure who consist of, but the first thing I noticed was the very rhythmical drums that I don't think I can remember hearing in my long career of Hijokaidan-listening before. And after a few seconds I wasn't even sure if I heard the voice of Junko or what, but she didn't join the group that early, did she? (No, it turned out to be a saxophone). This CD shows yet again that the band can be more than just the same stuff over and over.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">...And oh, there's even piano pling-plong here!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD5:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Doesn't take a genius to recognize an album with this opening track. The debut album from the band, and in my eyes also one of the strongest. Perhaps because of the legend around it, but still a really great album which I will play over and over 'till the day I die. If you still haven’t heard it, make sure you’ll get a copy of it in some way. This is a mandatory listen.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD6:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Another live disc and another single long track lasting for almost 40 minutes. It's groovy actually, and makes me want to dance. The rhythms are in the back from the drums, and with guitar and saxophone noise put on top of it, it simply just makes me happy. Dance music for noise-heads is what it is, and at the end you hear the presence of the desperate vocals Hijokaidan are famous for.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD7:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">So far the longest disc in the box, with as much as almost 70 minutes of noise. Five tracks recorded live one day in February, 1985, and to be in the audience during this show must have been intense. It starts out with loads of feedback which just keeps on going, and is so far the most high-pitched record in the box. But hey, I love high frequencies, so don't take me wrong. If you like high frequencies and loads of feedback then this is the record you'll love the most! It's an exhausting listening, but very nice indeed!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD8:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">This one I listened to as a background record and it's probably what you would consider yet another high-freq. record, but compared to the static disc seven, this is nothing. Six more enjoyable live tracks which sounds like a bunch of instruments living their own life in chaos. Beautiful, but still chaos. It's actually, though it's another intense one, very good as background music, and you hear presence of the guitar more again. Some feeding which I guess is just a mic through some pedals or something, but you never know. One track is actually almost minimal when it comes to instruments. Guitar/guitar feedback + desperate vocals. Then again you have some more instrument-filled tracks that almost sound like they're taken from a rock concert, and the last track is even a noise-core track. Short sweet sessions with the good old "1,2,3,4" in front of 'em. Another well played disc!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD9:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Probably no need to mention it anymore, but this is yet another live disc. And once again I envy the audience! Not much more to say about this disc other than its very classic Hijokaidan. Great amount of guitars, feedback and vocals. And if I'm not completely mistaken we have the saxophone once again, and (correct me if I'm wrong) Junko on vocals. Three tracks spanning a total time of just a little less than 1 hour, with the last track as the longest. This is more what you'd expect of Hijokaidan than what has been on some of the previous discs, but its music that never tires me. This disc could just go on and on, but that's why we have the repeat-button, isn't it?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD10:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">The first of the two tracks on this disc starts out with some synth sounds, before it slowly evolves into a more massive piece of music, and before you even know it, it's over... The second track is more straight on. Distant noise from the band with a good room-feeling to it. Both tracks are quite different from each other, but at the same time similar. Loads of distortion and messy sounds. And only 40 minutes, why is that? Well well, 20 discs to go, so it's ok. Would've turned out good as a LP this disc!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD11:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Here we go again. A few days break since I heard the last disc, but now I'm back in the Hijokaidan mood. This disc starts off with an almost psychedelic track. Almost reminds me more of Boredoms actually in its sound. More rock than noise and also some quite moody music here. Some parts of it might be more intense than others, but all together it's a quite beautiful meditation-like sound to it. Hard to describe, but pleasing. Vocals with reverb are what make this track what it is I think. Natural room-reverb it sounds like, but still... Track 2 has got a rock style that slowly grows into huge chaos. What could've been the most intense set ever is actually quite pleasing due to its evolvement. Finally it ends up in some electronic drones which feels like a good back-rub. Track 3 is more Hijokaidan-ish, so I don't want to say too much about it as you probably already know their sound. Some nice electronics feed-sound-like stuff over guitar mayhem.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD12:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Starts out with a short and "sweet" track. A little over 3 minutes of intense noise. The shortest so far in this box (with exception of the intro on CD5). The next almost sounds like a solo Junko-track with some very very distant guitar noise in the back. Beauty as always with this vocal-goddess screaming! The guitar sounds come in more in the second half of the track, and makes it rich and powerful! Track three is a distorted guitar-based track. Not much more to say about that I think!? And yeah, the fourth and the last track on this disc is a 10 minute piece of dark noise, like it was taken from a horror movie.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD13:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">For those who maybe know the works of Incapacitants might understand what I mean when I say the first track is similar to the Incapacitants-noise. It's a long track with loads of electronics, and the most distinct difference between this and classic Incapacitants are the guitar. It's maybe not that strange both Mikawa and Kosakai (the two members of Incapacitants) has been/are members of Hijokaidan too, but still, this is the first time I really thought they were similar. The second track is more classic Hijokaidan again. Desperate screams, guitar-noise and also some electronics. It's good, quite lo-fi and with enough variation to make it interesting. Two tracks with a lot to offer on this disc...</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD14:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Another disc with two live tracks here. The first a bit longer than the second, and also somewhat more brutal. It's got lots of vocals, guitars and distortion put together the way only Hijokaidan knows how. The second track is kind of the same, just without the vocals. Also more distorted and "lo-fi" (without being lo-fi) than the first. All in all, another well played noise-disc.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD15:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">This sounds to be the most distorted disc so far in this box. Loads and loads of layers of chaotic sound. Some sounds you know, and some you can't figure out where comes from. Noise at least! And this disc is almost 70 minutes. Just takes the breath out of you. It's stunning how intense they manage to keep it, and such even insensitivity rate all the way through. Probably not a good choice to play it at 5AM on a Monday morning, but still... Even I got a little exhausted after listening to this disc!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD16:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Another two-track disc with more (yes, believe it or not) live material. The first track has more vocals in front than any of the previous discs has had. It sounds like very very distorted lo-fi background noise, most likely coming from more electronics than guitars, and some vocals less high-pitched than Junko's usual voice. The second track is more blended instrumentally. It's got vocals presence as well, but more mixed into the track than the previous. Equally distorted and chaotic, and yet another fine track.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD17:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">With 11 discs of previously unreleased live recordings since the last pre-released disc, its back again to another re-release in this box, but it's not what you might would've expected; it's the third CD in the 4CD-box (The Neverending Story Of The King Of Noise) which goes for blood money once in a while on eBay. And it's a tight disc indeed and deserves to be revived from its death (or as it's called for records "sold out"). Harsh + Intense = Hijokaidan.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD18:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">You may have thought you'd only get one quarter of the four discs in the "Neverending Story..."-box, but you were wrong. The last disc is also here, with two more tracks of pure noise bliss. So you unlucky bastards who have yet to own the previous box-set, get this while you can! You'll get a lot for your money I can assure you!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD19:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Back on the line of live-recordings and here we go with some more electronics, guitars and vocals played together in a controlled chaos that no other noise band can do it. It's hard to find new ways to describe it, and it's not that it's the same over and over; it's just that it's Hijokaidan. It's all chaotic, noisy and intense. One thing can be said, and that is that this disc kind of reminds me of the noise of Pain Jerk at some times. More clean electronics underneath the distortion, something that makes it sound very pure in a way. Feedback, screams and electronics are what makes the first track what it is. The second track is way more rock-orientated than the first. Drums, trashy vocals, some guitars and electronics slowly coming into the piece. Most "jazzy" tune I've heard from the band, and of course not being jazz at all. In noise we trust!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD20:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Disc 20 already. Finished with 2/3 of the box, and I'm not tired of it at all. Well, it's always possible to re-listen to it... This disc starts out with a high pitch noise which turns into a mess of electronics, soon to be added are guitars and vocals. The usual style, but in a new twist. Evolving and evolving into harsher and harsher noise. This applies to the whole disc, though it's variations amongst the tracks. It's during the first 5-10 minutes evolving into a huge noise mess and then it's kept that way for the rest of the disc. Loads of long nice feedback-sounds here.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD21:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Junko and guitar-noise, can it get any better than this? If it does, let me know. It sounds like only Junko and Jojo is playing without anyone else on the first track. A good 20 minutes of screams and guitar noise. The second track has more to it. Drums once again, and some electronics there too. Rock concert gone bad!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD22:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">This disc starts out with a track lasting over half an hour. Static harsh noise with Junko screaming all the way through, and at the end you can hear Jojo contribute with vocals too. This recording feels sort of like a mantra, with its long ongoing static feel. The second track is both shorter and less static. Still static though, and it's without vocals. Only electronics and guitar. The last and also the shortest track on this disc are more static again, and Junko is back. More electronics to hear than usual, and the whole thing have a nice flow to it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD23:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Who would've thought? This disc starts out with a great surprise; Junko singing Janis Joplin's classic "Mercedes Benz", and then it goes over into some Japanese pop rock which just sounds really good. The pop slowly evolves into more noisy stuff, and before you know it you're way into a piece of rhythmical noise rock which yet again shows a new side of Hijokaidan. I was about to say; "this is not Hijokaidan, but a popish side-project", but it proved me wrong. And it works (again)! The second track goes the other way. Starts out with pure noise and at the end almost turns into a piece of "classic" rock'n'roll. It's brutal and intense, and becomes more and more danceable. A popish record, but with many elements that get you aware it's still Hijokaidan you're listening too!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD24:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">We're back on full total noise. The first track has the classic Hijokaidan style, which I'll try not to mention once more what is, but the second track on this disc is more interesting to say something about. The feedback that comes in from the beginning is much clearer and present than usual, and quickly changes into more distorted feeding. It's basically just Junko screaming and some feeding, soon changing into the sound of a synth. Maybe it was a synth from the beginning as well? It's at least interesting sounds, and it's got another feel to it than previous Hijokaidan. Seems like they've taken a trip into space to record this, and it's groovy. Evolving and evolving, until it fades away with some more organic instruments again and Junko's voice of course.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD25:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">I've already come through 4/5 of the box set, and the journey is soon to be over. Two live tracks here, one from 2005 and one from 2006. Not long ago in other words (at least not in written time). It's another classical Hijokaidan disc with the style we know. I've come to realize there are more drums in this band than I had noticed before. Maybe time to go through my previous archive again when I'm done with this box-set? Never change style, Hijokaidan! Variation, yes! Changing of style, no!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD26:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Two more recent live tracks, here from 2007 and 2008, and they're both quite standard, heavy Hijokaidan-noise with loads of action all the way through. I just notice I more and more want to go see them live, or take up a guitar and make some noise myself. It's dynamic and chaotic all over, and very energetic.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD27:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">It's quite sad to say, but I've actually gone through the last disc in the box-set with live recordings of Hijokaidan under the name of Hijokaidan, and all three tracks here were recorded in 2009, and I can say that Hijokaidan stayed Hijokaidan all the way through. King of Noise that is! Still three more discs of miscellaneous music from side-projects of the band, but more on that in the next three sections. All in all another great disc, and I hope it's not the last we hear from this magnificent band!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD28:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">This disc contains solo stuff from Hijokaidan-members. An exclusive track from Mr. Mikawa which is an intense electronic noise-piece. Jojo with an instrumental rock ballad(ish) track, that is quite beautiful. Fumio Kosakai delivers no less than two previously unreleased tracks, that both are something quite different from what I thought. One track is something like a spooky theme-song from an experimental horror movie. Beautiful, and the best way to describe it are to use Keiji Haino as a reference. And last but not least, Junko has the A-side of the legendary "Sleeping Beauty" LP as her track on this disc. Vocals without anything more, and it's very pleasing to hear this once again, and digitally this time! A nice collection of solo stuff!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD29:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Another disc with other Hijokaidan-related stuff, and here we get side-projects. To open we have Genbakukaidan with a punk-noise-rock song that is quite catchy. Makes me want to nod my head a little. The next track is from S.O.B.Kaidan and has a lot in common with the first track. Same genre, but sounds more like black metal in the approach than Genbakukaidan's track. Over to Subvert Kaidan, that can be described as a psychedelic rock track on the line with some of the best psychedelic bands there is. A little more noise elements than I'm used to in this genre, but it's more an element than distortion, and makes a good dynamic to the track. Next band out is Tomei Kaidan. Rock with noisy elements, and for those who knows Jojo's solo works, this can be mentioned to be the most similar in the whole box with the exception of his actual solo-track on the previous disc of course! Becoming more and more desperate in its sound. Acid Mothers Kaidan is the next band out, and this sounds more or less like a dirty version of Pink Floyd with Junko on top, gone total improv. It even starts out with a classic Pink Floyd riff, which I'll let remain "untitled" as a gem for you who still have yet to listen to this. And to end the disc, Fabricated Hijokaidan shows up, with C.C.C.C. collaborating with Hijokaidan to make a fine intense noise track. It sounds like Hijokaidan, but it's got a slight diversity to the rest of the discs with the band in this box. Hard to hear if you didn't know, but the main difference is, as mentioned in the booklet, a substitution/parody of Junko's voice. Pleased once again after going through this disc! I can't say whether or not some of these tracks have been released before as they are all untitled on this box-set, but I believe they are all exclusive.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CD30:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">I have no idea who the rest of the members are here, but how important is it? It's good, and that's what counts. Star Kaidan is the name of the band, and it's a good last disc to have in this box set. More rock'n'roll with a distorted, "trashy" sound to it. Trash rock if I may... Hard to describe with other words than those above, but it's not because it's so diffuse that it's hard to recognize. It's a live recording, but it doesn't say anything on where or when it was recorded or who's on it. It's a mystery who the "stars" are, but how can a band ending with the word "kaidan" be bad? Still have yet to prove me wrong!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-GB">CONCLUSION:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">This box-set has shitloads of variation. Mainly noise, but touching into other genres as well. Distortion and purity goes hand in hand on these 30 discs. It's strange to say it, but it's not too much music put into one box. It's just the right amount actually.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">If you want to get into noise and don't know where to start, and you're ready to put some money into a good investment, buy this box. It's a good introduction to the harsh noise scene and you'll get to know why Japanese noise has become the king amongst noise-nations, and of course, why Hijokaidan has become the "king of noise"! High-pitch and low-pitch, complicated and simple, trashy and beautiful, you'll get it all! It's inspiring, and sometimes just makes you want to get up and noise along with the band. I even managed to enjoy some discs at a low volume (wouldn't like to wake up the neighbours at 4AM) which always is a quality-proof in noise records. A very physical release, both in sounds and presentation. Comes in a very good looking box with a booklet stuffed with pictures and a very interesting story of the band written by the man himself, Jojo Hiroshige. I can't say enough good things about it, so I just stop here. My hat goes off for the one and only.... Hijokaidan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Ambolthuehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931902586383391158noreply@blogger.com2