After a series of tapes and a massive 3-hour tape-box, N. comes back with its first cd, collecting recordings from '97 to 2000. What immediately puzzled me is the cover with a simple, abstract design – could be the sleeve for an emo-rock band or whatever. I suppose it's a choice. The back cover and inlay, on the contrary, delve into the medical/biological field, which seems more appropriate to the titles and samples used. Unfortunately, no further graphics are used in the cd, which is a sort of lost opportunity in my opinion. As for the sounds, N. stays true to his old-fashioned, nihilistic approach to industrial/power electronics anti-music: equipment is a Korg Poly 800, tape decks, memory man electro harmonix and a big muff pedal. As you can guess, tracks are mostly repetitive synth patterns with layers of washing distortion. Think of Atrax Morgue's "Cut my throat" cd to have a clue. What I really think is missing is a plus of sonic violence, as lots of the tracks seem static without being really obsessive. Some titles work better with the pathological samples, and the last track ("It's better don't exist" coherently being unexisting!), "Valeria", is a long sampled child song with underlaying noise, which does have a disquieting effect. I think that with the new recordings N. will have either to push the violent approach or to develop the more subtle and morbid side of his sonic pathology.

The music Brian Williams is releasing since "Paradise Disowned" has always been related to images in general and to soundtracks specifically and the fact that he collaborated for the realisation of forty soundtracks is proving that. ZOETROPE is an extended and revised version of the soundtrack of the same short movie. Directed by Charles Deaux, and produced by Matchgirl Pictures, and based in part on Kafka's "The Penal Colony".
Consisting of both the music and extensive sound design of the movie, melded and mutated to recapture the atmospheric nightmare of the world that is Zoetrope: a haunting examination of a man imprisoned in the inner depths of his own mind, only to discover the truth about himself and the world of oppression which has driven him to this inescapable fate. The short media file included into the CD made me remember another movie inspired by the novel "The Castle", a movie directed by Steve Soderbergh and well played by Jeremy Irons titled "Kafka". Musically, the tracks have got different moments which goes to the magmatic drones kinda ones to the mix of sounds coming from the motion picture along with treated percussions. If you loved "Paradise Disowned" or "Monstrous Soul" this one is for you!

First of all, this cd-r has a brilliant packaging: a cloth (hemp?) bag with hand-printed titles, containing the cd-r with a photocopied cover and an A4 sheet with poems and information. Quite simple but elegant and effective. S'agitarecordings is run by Logoplasm, who have some interesting releases out, check out their site for more information. AAL is the solo project of Davide Valecchi, a young musician cultivating both abstract ambient with a Cosmic/Kraut slant (he self-released two cdr's I'll review soon) and electroacoustic compositions. This cd-r belongs to the latter, with really sporadic incursions in the former (see the long final track "Il giorno non è ancora spento"). While it actually features tracks with instruments like synths, guitar and piano, they're used in an expressionistic, unorthodox way (mainly through minimal repetitions and interactions), and perfectly merge with the field recordings. Sounds come from a country environment, but the general feeling – now I talk about personal impressions, but the poems sort of back me up – is not exactly bucolic tranquility. There's a shifting mood between melancholy and a kind of abstract suspension. Possibly some latent anguish, some sense of decay or transformation (ashes, dead leaves, organic combustion). Living in the country, I feel these sounds and atmospheres very close. The work is fairly long (65') and not all the tracks manage to create that mood, but again, it's more something you have to experience and relate to rather than simply "enjoy". After all, this is "cosmic ambient" too – just more bound to the earth than to the sky.

Some brutal and sick stuff goin' on here. Azoikum is the other project of the German unit Narbenerde, who has just released a full-length cd on Art Konkret and a limited cdr on Spatter as well. While Narbenerde should be more into harsh noise, Azoikum is a letal mix of power electronics, harsh noise (see track 4) and some rare atmospheric parts (not quiet at all, anyway). Tracks are fairly long (10 x 64') but manage to be BOTH obsessive AND well structured, so torture fortunately doesn't become a bore. Heavy doses of repetitive synth patterns, feedback galore and low-pitched filtered vocals. The best parts alternate static death-like drones with full-on noise explosions. Lyrics are not included, but judging from titles and samples there's an anorexia/bulimia concept behind most of them. The cd-r comes, like all Spatter releases till now, in a DVD box, and is limited to a mere 100, probably already selling out. Cover features a female cadaver, back a cunt full of worms. Again, sick and brutal are key-words here.

After a series of tapes and a massive 3-hour tape-box, N. comes back with its first cd, collecting recordings from '97 to 2000. What immediately puzzled me is the cover with a simple, abstract design – could be the sleeve for an emo-rock band or whatever. I suppose it's a choice. The back cover and inlay, on the contrary, delve into the medical/biological field, which seems more appropriate to the titles and samples used. Unfortunately, no further graphics are used in the cd, which is a sort of lost opportunity in my opinion. As for the sounds, N. stays true to his old-fashioned, nihilistic approach to industrial/power electronics anti-music: equipment is a Korg Poly 800, tape decks, memory man electro harmonix and a big muff pedal. As you can guess, tracks are mostly repetitive synth patterns with layers of washing distortion. Think of Atrax Morgue's "Cut my throat" cd to have a clue. What I really think is missing is a plus of sonic violence, as lots of the tracks seem static without being really obsessive. Some titles work better with the pathological samples, and the last track ("It's better don't exist" coherently being unexisting!), "Valeria", is a long sampled child song with underlaying noise, which does have a disquieting effect. I think that with the new recordings N. will have either to push the violent approach or to develop the more subtle and morbid side of his sonic pathology.