ENT
Fuck Work
URKUMA
Rebuilding Pantaleone's Tree
(ETRE)
A Post-Fordist Parade in the Strike of Events
[Baskaru, www.baskaru.com]
It's easy to dismiss French label Baskaru as another flash in the pan in the
eai game. They're a lot more than that of course. With the help of acts
that accentuate the tender side of the game, they come up with results that
are oftentimes quite unpredictable.
Ent is an Italian outfit formed by two multi-instrumentalists - Michele
Scariot and Emanuele Bortoluzzi. Before their proper album debut "Fuck
Work", they've released a number of CD-Rs, as well as having appeared on a
number of compilations. To call their music simply quiet would be somewhat
of a misnomer. It's hushed but only to a point. It's glitchy, but only
marginally. It's slow but only to a certain extent. These two basically
utilize any musical sub-category they can think of and brew up a stew that
is without question their very own. The process for the CD was someone
construed. First, the pieces were composed at home. Then, they were
deconstructed live through improvised sets. Following all of this, the
pieces were again reconstructed in a recording session. Pieces feature a
wonderful thick bed of crackly vinyl. Synth [or sampled synths] are
apparent in odd places and radio waves can be heard as well. Even processed
guitars are to be found if one listens carefully enough. "All Night Long"
builds a lovely groove that is accentuated by a bass drum. Nearly a shaman
ceremony of sorts, it allows the ears to follow a certain pattern that is
enjoyable. The clinking and clanging sounds on "Eternal Plans" remind me of
horse hoofs hitting winter snow, while the most rhythmic track is "Milk
Oblo", which features actual broken-down glitchy beat. Saying these guys
are all over the map is an accurate statement. I hope further releases will
only confirm their staying power.
Another Italian artist on Baskaru's roster is one Stefano De Santis that
goes under an alias Urkuma. His career began as a playwright and only later
did he began to appreciate building concepts out of sound. Urkuma [which
means an opposite of the Buddhist concept of nirvana] builds a well woven
narrative to the CD. By choosing to play whatever instrument is within
reach - clarinet, electronic devices, home made instruments and tapes - he
weaves a tale based on a monk and the Pantaleone's mosaic floor in the
Cathedral of Otranto. [google this one to see how unreal and hauntingly
beautiful it actually is] While the album does contain a few glitch-filled
passages [such as "L'Asino Arpista"], for the most part De Santis moves as
far away from that realm as possible. "Achmed Giedik" is full of
distracting high-pitched noises but once you get past this hump, the real
story starts to unfold. "Abraxas" features a great slew of what possibly
could be processed radio waves that create a soft and lulling
waves-crashing-on-the shore effect. "Bestiaire" is a long humming,
bass-filled chant from what could be a monk. Ultimately, this is nothing
more and nothing less than a full fledged journey. Best to experience this
on headphones, with eyes closed.
Another Italian audio artist, Salvatore Borrelli hides under the guise of
(Etre). Playing a variety of guitars, drums, toys, field recordings and
max/MSP programming, his release is a blast of varied proportions. While a
track like "Naturalist Tokyo 3.0 (for Michel Houellebecq)" features a
mish-mash of high-pitches, jittery effects and cartoonish voices, it
ultimately does a bit too much in a short time-span to be fully absorbed.
That's probably the biggest problem of the whole release. Too many ideas
come flying in too short a time span. While the next track "And you are
free in the icon of neurotic realism (for Santiago Sierra)" is somewhat
better in articulating a certain idea [with its multiple, layered guitars
strangling the constant glitch], this is still too overpopulated with
concepts. Borrelli's best tracks are the ones where less is used to express
more. "Dogs from my childhood: multiple white (for Thomas Hirschhorn)"
takes a simple guitar motif and stretches an idea over an eight minute
length. While in sections, the guitar sounds serene, in other places, it
resembles a Hawaiian luau ceremony. (Etre) sounds as if he's still
searching for that common ground, where he'll feel most comfortable with his
art.
- Tom Sekowski
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RECENZJE
+ Anthony Braxton - Sextet (Victoriaville) 2005 / Roscoe Mitchell - Compositions/Improvisations Nos. 1,2 & 3 + Älgarnas Trädgard - Framtiden ar ett svavande skepp, forankrat i forntiden + Henry Kaiser/Charles K. Noyes/Sang Won Park - Invite the Spirit 2006 + My Cat Is An Alien - Il Suono Venuto Dallo Spazio + V.A. - Jukebox Buddha + Casio Casino Vs. Neville Attree - AAcid Code 8 + Matthew Dear - Asa Breed + Vladislav Delay - Whistblower + Brian Ellis - Free Way + Thomas Fehlmann - Honigpumpe + Filewile - Nassau Massage + Andreas Heiszenberger - Ah + Kiko - Tragolta + Lawrence - Lowlights From The Past And Future + Hakan Lidbo & Alex Van Heerden - Simple + Montag - Going Places + People Press Play - People Press Play + Phonique - Good Idea + Porn Sword Tobacco - New Exclusive Olympic Heights + Rancho Relaxo Allstars - The Answer Is Yes + Rother Vs. Beliayeva - Roses Remix/Don't Worry Remix + September Collective - All The Birds Were Anarchist + Throbbing Gristle - Endless Not + Tied & Tickled Trio - Aelita + Death Vessel - Stay Close + Apparat - Walls
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+ COR FUHLER - Stengam + MAD JUANA - Acoustic Voodoo + MARISSA NADLER - Songs III: Bird on the Water + AXEL DÖRNER/LUCIO CAPECE - Axel Dorner / Lucio Capece + SPOOKY - Open + DAVID S. WARE QUARTET - Renunciation + JUNE TABOR - Apples + PETER SCHARLI SPECIAL SEXTET - Hot Peace + BUFFALO AGE - Buffalo Age + JACKSON HARRISON TRIO - Land Tides + SYLVIE COURVOISIER - Lonelyville + RAN SLAVIN - The Wayward Regional Transmissions + ANTHONY BRAXTON & FRED FRITH - Duo (Victoriaville) 2005 / WOLF EYES & ANTHONY BRAXTON - Black Vomit + CHILDREN OF THE STONES - The Bright Day is Gone / JOHN BUTCHER / CHRISTOF KURZMANN - The Big Misunderstanding Between Hertz and MegaHertz / FELIX WERDER - The Tempest / Electronic Music / ARTANKER CONVOY - Cozy Endings CD/DVD / ROB BROWN TRIO - Sounds / THE CHROME CRANKS - Diabolical Boogie (Singles, Demos & Rarities: 1992 B.C. - 1998 A.D.) / MATHON - Muntsulej / FERGUS KELLY - Material Evidence / TAO G. VRHOVEC SAMBOLEC / TOMAZ GROM - Tilt / WALKING BICYCLES - Walking Bicycles / UNITED BIBLE STUDIES - The Shore that Fears the Sea + PRIVACY - Without Mercy + PURE SOUND - Submarine + YABBY YOU - Deliver Me From My Enemies + TEXT OF LIGHT - Rotterdam.1 >> ENT - Fuck Work / URKUMA - Rebuilding Pantaleone's Tree / (ETRE) - A Post-Fordist Parade in the Strike of Events + GUTEVOLK - Tiny People Singing Over The Rainbow + ENRICO RAVA QUINTET - The Words and the Days / JOHN ABERCROMBIE - The Third Quartet / PAUL MOTIAN - Time and Time Again / FRANCOIS COUTURIER - Nostalghia - Song for Tarkovsky + MICHAEL FAHRES - The Tubes + ZMF TRIO - Circle the Path + GIANLUCA BECUZZI & FABIO ORSI - The Stones Know Everything + OV - Noctilucent Valleys + JIM DENLEY & SCOTT SINCLAIR - Gleanings + ADAM LANE / KEN VANDERMARK / MAGNUS BROO / PAAL NILSEEN-LOVE - 4 Corners / (((POWERHOUSE SOUND))) - Oslo / Chicago: Breaks + ANTONY MILTON - The End of This Short Road + DAVID LIEBMAN / RICHIE BEIRACH / RON McCLURE / BILLY HART - Redemption - Quest Live in Europe + KLIMA - Klima + ERSAHIN / TRUFFAZ / MADSEN / RUECHERT / PENMAN - Our Theory / WAX POETIC - Copenhagen + WILLIAM PARKER & HAMID DRAKE - First Communion & Piercing the Veil - Summer Snow + TILOMO - Soft Lunch / SECRET VOICES - No Time For Silence
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WYWIADY / RELACJE
+ Techno dekathlon master - rozmowa z Hakan Lidbo
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