Festooned in pixel-art packaging from the film "Scape", this is the second score by Ayers for Peter Gomes' movies. The record features roughly two cycles, the first half is rhytmic and more melodic but still deliciously minimal with hermetic titles left to describe some of the variations between the tracks. Particularly worthy of note is the second part of the record which is a mesmerizing journey in modern minimal ambient. As with Cycle, I wasn't that impressed with Ayers' work, but I'm sure that that both records would be much better if listened along with their filmic counterparts.

I knew Apop records for the amazing cd-reissue of Crisis (seminal Pre-Death in June punk/post-punk act) and apparently all the bands coming out from this label have just one thing in common: being absolutely weird. And FDASFDA's is one of the most absurd records I've heard in a long time!! Let me start from the artwork that is a work of pure genius showing a
man and a woman in some abominable 60's gym clothes with utterly idiotic looks on their faces. Describing the music on "Bossys Rygg" is a hard task... let's say that it blends late Can exotic krautisms with some psyched-out lounge moments toying with the listener with an overall b-movie lo-fi feeling.Another good comparison would be thinking about Royksopp and Cluster pilling heavily and jamming togheter with some old synths and gear after a night listening to roots oldies. Is that clear? I don't think so... anyway I love FDASFDA whatever that means and whoever they are.

Marvin Ayers, once famous for his "Cellosphere" on the Mille Plateaux sublabel Ritornell, returns with two cds. "Cycle" is the score of an experimental movie by Peter Gomes and deals with treated harmonics by two differnt pianos recorded in different places (a grand piano recorded in a studio and a slightly out of tune baby grand piano recorded in an empty room) to fashion a highly emotive brand of acoustic electronica. Ayers work fits into the latest currents of the avantgarde flora and fauna. Cycle won't be a classic as it does not add anything to this slightly overcrowded genre but it's well executed and worth hearing.

Daniel Smutny's "Telehors" is the first electronic effort for this avantgarde composer and rivals with the best glitch-ambient releases in 2006 along with Machinefabriek's "Marijn", Tim Hecker's "Harmony in Ultraviolet" and Mathieu & Schaefer's "Hidden Name". Smutny works with piano fragments and heavily processed field recs and all these loops are then repeated and layered after they are given their place in the track giving a sense of motion that resembles the work that Taylor Deupree did for the unrivalled "Still". I do not agree with the microscopic sticker on the cover that mentions Gas and Fennesz as references, a good reference point other than Deupree would be
Philip Jeck's more "melodic" stuff. Truly an exquisite record with a nice foggy mitteleuropean artwork.

Fluctwacht is a (very prolific!) German industrial act, and "Creta" is surely his most mature work to date. I had the chance to listen to his previous "When The Dogs Come Out" which was a nice experimental album dealing with treated and mostly high-pitched field recs. What you get with this new record is 12 tracks of straight forward death industrial with some more contemplative and abstract moments to recover from the sonic assault. In the end what strikes me most about "Creta" is the quality of the sound composition, quite unusual in these extreme musical territories.This project packs quite a punch and will not let up anytime in the near future. A must for Steinklang lovers.