Hans de Wolf: new video work

Do you remember the beautiful tape object and online exhibition by Hans de Wolf we recently realized? It consists of a cassette with his music on it and it comes with a drawing on birch bark... and online there is the short animation film and photos of more of his drawings. You can still see it here...

Some tapes are still left for sale at the ET webshop...

In the meantime Hans has made a new video work... very dreamy stuff... pleasantly naive and soothing like a morning sun...

how are you from Hans de Wolf on Vimeo.

sound previews for Logosamphia and Neurobit releases

Out during the first week op February are the cassettes by Neurobit - The War Of The Worlds (C60) and Logosamphia - Passage Omni (C20).

Neurobit treats us with his interpretation of the classic radio drama The War Of The Worlds from 1938. Here is an excerpt of this 60 minutes long piece...

Neurobit-The War Of The Worlds (excerpt) by EnfantTerribleNL

Next to that there is the ambient music of Logosamphia composed and performed entirely with the Omnichord. Here is a full track preview...

Logosamphia - Passage Omni I by EnfantTerribleNL

These cassettes are for sale (pre-order) already at Enfant Terrible webshop....

review: Bex, Niedowierzanie, Henrik N. Björkk, Jan Svensson

Well that is about it for 2011... only a few hours left this year to play some records. I do not like end of year lists and I will not be joining that trend here. Still in this last day of the year I want to share a few words on a couple of records that were released quite recently and I played a lot here this last period of the year.

The German double label Treue Um Treue / Reue Um Reue did suprise me again with some very nice releases. In the past I preferred their more elektro influenced release on the TUT part of the label. But since some time the RUR part with it's more experimental music releases is what I play the most here.

This year a third vinyl by Novy Svet was released... a second archive release as the band is not active anymore since some years. The other archive record was a massive 2LP document with early (post)-industrial stuff... absolute great. Totally different is "Into Your Skies"... a record consisting only of guitar tunes... mostly acoustic guitar tunes. It took me some time to appreciate this one... but because of the amazing and beautiful song 'Silver & Grey' I kept coming back to this LP again and again... and even though I still think this record does not showcase the uniqueness of the band and incredible talent of the musician(s) behind it is still a record I enjoy a lot.

Then there was the second Niedowierzanie LP... the first one was a bit of an IDM influenced album... not bad at all but it never did grasp me as this new album "Attendre" does. The sound has shifted towards a more mediterranean kind of thing... like what O Paradis is famous for... still Niedowierzanie is more dynamic and his music shows some more variations within the context of one album. Also the musician shows here he is an excellent instrumentalist... I saw him this year performing live with Wermut in Berlin as he is now part of Wermut... and there too it was evident he is capable of playing various instruments very well.

Still there was one more record on RUR that truly blew me away... it was the debut vinyl by Bex... having a (post) black metal background this album "Rosegger" is going way beyond that. You could described this as a drone record, or dark ambient music or whatever... still this would not be fair as the music is less easy to define... it has a dark mood full of suspense with drone like structures but with twists that sets it apart. It is not otherworldly like the amazing Karl Bösmann record "Eskalation" but still it comes close and I often play these two records after each other...

Curious to hear what else is coming from Bex in the near future, but also from Niedowierzanie and other acts of what seems to be a new scene operating from Berlin and centered around the Reue um Reue label.

What else did attract my attention this last period... well there are the latest releases on cult label Börft. Here is an independent industrial / experimental / whatever music label dating back to 1987 and coming from the same scene as Cold Meat Industry. Unlike Cold Meat Indsutry the releases put out by Börft are still interesting... CMI has moved more towards a cliché industrial and gothic world while Börft has stayed much more true to the nature of industrial music as being weird and undefined and experimental.

There is a new series now on Börft entitled "Synthesator". Two parts have been released recently. Volume two is by Joel Brindefalk and a piece of electro-acoustic music... so very much for art music lovers. Volume one on the other hand may appeal to more people. It is a piece of dark ambient by Henrik N. Björkk, who is known from such bands as Mz. 412, Pouppeé Fabrikk and Nordvargr. What makes this record really nice is that it is done completely with modular synths and the music was not processed in anyway afterwards. You hear this and the sound of these synths is great and makes it also interesting for lovers of synthesizer music instead of only (dark) ambient fans.

BUT what really suprised me the most was the record "Pogrom" from label boss Jan Svensson himself. It suprised me in various ways... first as I had expected the music to be noise music... well if you look at the sleeve it is a classic industrial/noise piece of artwork and then you put on the record... it is really nice synth music. The music itself surprised me too... it is not just a really nice piece of synth music... it is really quality stuff we are talking about here. It is rather atmospheric with some parts which are maybe a bit more moody but mostly it is quite light and easy listening... it reminds me of some Minimal Music like that of Terry Riley but less freaky...

Also this album calls to mind the Hero Wouters LP I released on Enfant Terrible "Muziek Voor Leven En Dood". It has the same balance of being poppy and experimental... it is neither and has elements of both. Also in mood and feeling it has the same dramatic feeling with some suspense and some frivolous parts...

These records made up an excellent soundtrack for the last periode of 2011 for me... but I am sure I will be enjoying them way into the new year and for much longer...

The Niedowierzanie, Bex, Henrik N. Björkk and Jan Svensson records are for sale in the Enfant Terrible webshop...

And... here is a full track preview from the Jan Svensson LP...

Jan Svensson - Happening by Terrible Music Blog

review: Ilya Monosov and Rosa Ensemble

Recently released on the superb label You Don't Have To Call It Music from Germany is an album with a collection of pieces by Ilya Monosov. Ilya Monosov is a contemporary musician / composer who is active in the field of experimental music. Since 1999 there has been quite a number of releases with music by him, mostly on tape and vinyl.

His works range from drones and psychedelic soundscapes to electro-acoustic pieces to minimal music and to improvised pieces. And... this LP collects all that in a fantastic way. You get eight pieces as either an introduction to, or as a confirmation of, his work.

The record is not just a collection... the pieces are sequenced just in the right way to make this a true adventure in sound and music. From playful to darker moods and from pleasant harmonic pieces to more difficult to follow experimental pieces. It is all here.

You Don't Have To Call It Music has released some fabulous other records as well. For example the RBE (Raudive Bunker Experiment) collection with true early industrial music. For fans of Cabaret Voltaire this one is not to be missed But also the Karl Bösmann LP "Eskalation" is excellent. Probably one of the most intense en darkest records I have ever heard. Somewhere in between psychedelic music and experimental drones. If you like Lustmord or Attestupa then this one is for you!

Also experimental but much more easy listening is "The Blind Spot" by Rosa Ensemble from the Netherlands. This album, which they call themselves their ambient album, was already released in 2006 on their own Bonte Koe Records label. It is being re-released now by Dying Giraffe Recordings.

Indeed this is an ambient album but very much unlike the ones you have probably heard before. Ambient has become a fixed genre and has moved mostly out of the art music world into pop territory where it is produced by people with laptops. "The Blind Spot" is nothing like that. First of all as the music is performed with real instruments, with electronics on the side, and second also because of the diversity in sounds and moods on this album.

Mostly the mood is also quite light on this album while for a large part ambient tends to be rather dark or at least bleak these days. The pieces range from soundscapes in the tradition of minimal music to what you might call experimental chamber music.

If you like to listen to ambient I really recommend to try this album for a change. I am quite sure you will be suprised... in a pleasant way...

review: Woud / Bebe Fang

Samling is a small label from Holland and has released up till now five releases. Next to three cd-r's and one tape they also published a book. The second and the latest release are both related to the Dutch band Eklin which I wrote about earlier on this blog.

The latest release is a cd-r by Woud. The cd-r itself comes in a small plastic bag with a fold out poster on A3 format with a nice black and white drawing by the musician himself. Woud is the bassplayer of Eklin and on this debut release he serves the listener three tracks of trippy ambient. Opening track 'Fire' is the most dark track and could be a ambient piece by Burzum... if he was on a happy trip. This as Woud never gets too dark... his ambient structures are more spacey and relax and peaceful instead of dark and mean.

Listening more and more to the disc and to the other two tracks the music goes more and more into a sort of ambient pop or dream pop style. With this music you do not need to take any drugs to start floating... the soft sounds, tranquil vocals and soothing melodies are all you need. And... it is a happy trip for sure!

Released earlier but still available and even more interesting as Woud is Bebe Fang. This is a duo with another Eklin member behind the controls. Bebe Fang is much more ritualistic as Woud, almost becoming some sort of folk music. This debut tape with five tracks feels like an obscure field recording from the heart of old Europe, or Scandinavia.

In away this could have fitted on the great Fonal label as it is freaky and experimental and as said folky in a weird way. The pieces without rhythms are more ambient like... in away as those of Woud but darker and more mysterious. When the rhythms come in the music truly becomes ritualistic and shamanistic. It works the same way into your system as some of the Zola Jesus pieces, but Bebe Fang sounds more authenthic... and again as said more like an obscure field recording as contemporary pop music. Really amazing and mind blowing... it gives me shivers and I love it... highly addictive!

Both releases are very limited... the cd-r of Woud is released only in an edition of 50 copies and the Bebe Fang tape comes in an edition of 100 copies. You can get both releases at the Enfant Terrible webshop here...

review: Eklin - Lydl Tellet / Onwa

From the ashes of Dutch elektro-noise act Adept came Eklin. Eklin is very different in sound as this previous project. To give an idea I might call this experimental indie pop, or ambient pop. This are there are pop structures and sounds to be found but most tracks have this edgy feeling. It is never on the save side of pop but neither on the abstract or academic side of most experimental music.

When poppy there is always an element that makes the song stand out in between your regular indie pop. When experimental the music keeps easy to consume without you needing to understand any music theory.

Many tracks are rather ambient... dream like soundscapes but not boring at all. The organic sounds float in and out of your living room and leave this nice warm feeling... Because of the mix of these more ambient pieces and some more song structured tracks the records are pleasant to listen to. They are very well put together with just the right dynamics for your listening experience.

Both records are self published by the band. "Lydl Tellet" is a 4 track EP and "Onwa" is an 10 track album. Both are highly recommended!

You can see Eklin live on stage at the next Enfant Terrible event, Soirée Enfant Terrible on April 2 in Theater Kikker in Utrecht, Holland. See here for all details on that night...

review: Nature Morte - (nuées)

As a counter part to the more elektro / rhythmic orientated Treue um Treue is the sister label Reue um Reue specialized in post industrial sounds. Ambient is of course not always a post industrial genre as it depends where the musicians take their inspiration from and thus in what tradition they work.
Anyway this is the second release by Nature Morte on the label. The first one was a cd. For the people who thought that by listening to that release that Nature Morte was "just" another ambient act there is this more then excellent LP to show them wrong.
While the cd was more drone like and possible a bit more typical dark ambient with ongoing sounds building a structure slowly this vinyl release works more clearly and faster to certain climaxes. Therefore it is probably more "easy" listening as the other album and will most likely appeal to a wider audience.
The variation in sounds and structures is for sure more evident as with the previous album. Due to this also the different layers in the music are more easy to recognize. And because of this it is easier to get into the stream and let you drift away in the soundscapes.
Besides this the record is built on nice tranquil layers of sounds on which various noises, melodies, sounds and spoken and whispered words are placed. The overal mood that the tracks breath is dark and moody but majestic.
I am not a big fan of the genre as I prefer some more freaked psychedelics, krautrock and kosmische scene outputs BUT this ambient record does it for me in the same way.
The record comes on colored/marbled vinyl and in a very limited edition of only 222 handnumbered copies. Don't miss this trip!