Friday 25 October: Soirée Enfant Terrible with live Distel, Europ Europ and Neurobit

Friday 25 October 2013 there is the next Enfant Terrible label night .This time at the new location at the heart of the Gooiland: Sociëteit 12tot24. Live performances by Europ Europ, Neurobit and Distel.

Europ Europ – noise / experimental from Norway

Neurobit Dutch master of 8 bit Music.

Distel post industrial and post electro sounds from Holland.

Dj’s M. en Alacidus.

This night is a collaboration with Stichting Magdalena.

All starts at 20:30 / Membership: 5 euro / Location: Sociëteit 12tot24 / Stationsplein 12, 1211 EX, Hilversum / Hilversum Centraal Station, busstation, next to Starbucks, 4th floor (old tax agency office)

More information here...

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: Various Artists - Vanity Records / Finest Selection, 1978 to 1981

I am not a fan of bootleg's... I almost never buy them and I never will sell them in my webshop... but here is a record that is an exception. I will still not sell it in my webshop but it deserves to be mentioned. Also this bootleg is for a part justified as all music concerned is very hard to get... if not impossible. Next to that most artists will be very hard to trace down.

What we are dealing with here is a compilation around the well known but obscure Vanity Records label. This Japanese label was active between 1978 and 1981 and released ten albums, some singles, one compilation album and some cassettes and flexi discs. The music released on Vanity Records was experimental, avant-garde, proto elektro/techno among some other noises... often with a typical Japanese twist.

On this LP are twelve tracks by twelve artists. The liner notes are in bad English, but the tracklisting states the origin of all the music. But more imnportant it is a real trip into some excellent minimal and experimental music.

What to think of the track by Dada for example?! A deep scary bass drum is the basis on top of which some Pink Floyd like guitar improvisations are played... mind blowing! Equally good but very much post-punk is the Mad Tea Party piece. A track Joy Division or The Cure could have done when on a trip. A twisted reggae tune is served by RNA Organism and a strange and dark soundscape is delivered by Arbeit.

Then I did not mention yet a Japanse cover of a Joy Division track by Morio Agata, or a piece of Kraftwerk like minimal proto elektro by Normal Brain or the outstanding weird but scary minimal music tune by Tolerance or or or...

If you need more references... well I could name two of my favorite 1980's band to give an idea of what to expect... think Alesia Cosmos and think Ptose... if you dig those bands you will love this compilation.

While the originals are almost impossible find, or if you find a good copy you will need to pay a few hundred euros for it, I advice to pick up a copy of this LP now... or be sorry later...

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: Undergangen - An Audio Companion To The End Tymes

What a suiting release to listen to at this time of the year... it is dark outside and this is a soundtrack to warm you up! This is a massive compilation indeed. Both in volume (it is a C120... oh yes for the unaware... that means it is a cassette tape) and in music: it is lenghty and goes into many aspects of electronic/noise/drone/and more music.

The main thing that speaks from this release is authenticity. Maybe not all tracks are a 100% my cup of tea... it does not matter as this release is true to its tradition and strong in showing real independent (and obscure) music. Due to this the whole selection is what really counts not the individual tracks. Even though some are really good and better as others... of course.

This compilation takes you from dreamy drones to harsh noise to electronic sound tapestry. It is in my opinion pointless to go through all the tracks here. It comes down to this: the sound is overall dark, experimental and only for adventurous and experienced listeners. There are a few acts that might ring a bell with some people (I hope)... like: Enema Syringe, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, Adolf Filter, Monster Apparat and The Skull Defekts. Next to that there are many more artists present to check out for sure.

Funny to note is that the more accessible bands like Adolf Filter and Monster Apparat deliver tracks that are much more experimental as their average output. It is very nice to hear this side of these artists!

I cannot say otherwise as that this compilation is a strong selection of sounds, moods and feelings. Perfect to enjoy in the nighttime and in the dark. Add some red wine and the waiting for the end had never been this pleasant.

Ah... I forgot to mention... I believe the tape is sold out already. Maybe there are a few left at some places. If not... well simply check out some other fine (ultra limited) releases by the Fukk Tapes Lets Erase label.

Have a nice End Tymes!

review: Musamore Editions

Coming from France is the small independent label Musamore Editions. Since 2008 they have been putting out cd's in editions of only 100 copies with some excellent electronic music. Almost all cd's are by different projects but they share their dark electronic sound and experimental touch from time to time. All releases are somewhere in between elektro and experimental electronica. At times the sound is dancefloor orientated but also more ambient and experimental sort of pieces are popping up on all releases.

The cd's are mostly packaged in a cardboard sleeve and most of the time something else is added to the packaging like an enveloppe or a piece of rope. One of the highlights on the label so far is an exception. The Yabboq Penuel double cd release comes in a nice black cardboard box with an inlay card.

This way of packaging in combination with the small editions (which are hand numbered) and the fact the cd's are hard to find (only a few places sell them) make them real collector pieces.

Musically this will please fans of dark electronic music who like their elektro not mainly aiming at the dancefloor. If you like elektro in the style of Le Syndicat Electronique all of the releases are simply a must have. I can imagine some IDM lovers will also dig this. Especially if they like the things as early Autechre and Aphex Twin. Maybe also if you are into Clock DVA these sounds will please you.

Musamore Editions maybe releases music that has more of a rough edge as the bands named above (except for Le Syndicat Electronique which comes quite close) but in moods, sounds and structures there are some comparisons.

The first three releases (the trilogy by Stauros To Okema) is gone at the label and some last copies can be found by searching the internet for specialized webshops. All other four releases untill now are still available at the label (and again some specialized webshops).

Must haves? Yes, for for sure! All of them! Highlights? Well... personally I like the Yabboq Penuel double cd a lot. It has a great mix of tracks from ambient to pounding elektro beats. Also Im.Persona is excellent with it dark electronic pieces and the latest by Ruth's Monkey is more then excellent in the way the album is structured.

Behind all the releases and project names there is more to discover when it comes to the symbols used, the track titles and the artists names. But as all is presented in quite a mysterious way I leave it that way... find out for yourself... internet is a good source at times...

The Musamore Editions releases can be bought from the label directly: www.musamore.com or the Enfant Terrible webshop: www.enfant-terrible.nl (see under shop).