A mixture of new and old releases (well, mostly new this month) in the unpredictable variety of styles that you've come to expect in this section, the catch-all drawer of the AmbiEntrance. Aidan Baker: Element   (Ah Syd Music - 2000) (8.1) Aidan Baker fills more than forty minutes with unusual electric-guitar-spawned soundscenes... by "playing" with drumsticks, he somehow generates the murky resonance of Element #1 (3:27)... only occasionally do the ringing of strings offer a clue as to their original source, generally thrumming within mysterious, metallically-texturized depths. The enigmatic harmonics of Elemental (11:20) stream with various degrees of intensity, sometimes just wavering machine-like in space, other times chiming like glassy droplets. I guess no one told Aidan not to play with sharp objects... he achieves more-overt results with scissors as Element #3 ping-ping-pings into a slurred void. Baker also plays with a violin bow (in the droney and/or glaring ripples of Element #2) and above the headstock (in the clunky shimmer-and-sheen of a second track entitled Elemental). The spirit of the sonic explorer definitely exists in these hypnotic atmospheres, which may well sound like so much random noise to those not attuned to such things. Client/Server: Client/Server   (Three Lonely Kaiju - 2001) (8.2) Jennifer Deforge and Tom "the Fish" Guttadauro make up Client/Server; they don't sound computerized as that name might imply. The slowly strummed acoustic guitar notes of contemplative Mighty Sunfish form hypnotic patterns, accompanied by a recurring monotone buzz. Slurry, blurry guitar swirls are Outsourced into a replicating cycle of psychedelia. Similarly trippy reverberations emerge from Chrome Dome (4:25) though with a grungier edge (as also heard in subsequent track, Ceecilweed, which sounds like an old Sonic Youth feedback-haze getting a few oddly fragmented spoken samples (repetitously) tossed into it). Speaking of oddly fragmented samples, Short of Hold or Not will test your tolerance of such things; mine is short, unfortunately. The guitar drones and such are cool by me, but when I hear (something like) "radarwalterzeenash chinese who were already ever chinese who were already ever chinese who were already ever chinese who were already ever chinese who were already ever chinese...", I stop caring what the message may be... sorry. Minimally-variating organ drones dominate Porco Rosso part one (16:35), though faint mechanical undercurrents are heard (and eventually, soap-operatic words of an unknown origin, then more disjointed word chunks and tweedling flute sounds). Pleasant acoustic jangles wrap up the hour as Don't Like Noodles? Try My Fist! provides something of an experimental neofolk exploration. Karl Gerber: Untitled Extra Mode CD   (Karl Gerber - 2001) (7.9) With a background in microelectronics and a degree in physics, Karl Gerber "explores algorithmic music composition in realtime, generating MIDI events with a Commodore 64 programmed in assembler". What that means is, rather than using post-processing to warp and torture existing sounds, he programs simple mathematical number series into four discrete channels, which then results in warped and tortured sounds straightaway... like the dense, pulsating blur of muted sparkles, bleeps and watery plops which open the disc, as Sync8 unfolds as a (challengingly) disorienting miasma of sound. Clattery percussive elements and swirl in Four's hyperactive patterns, joined by sparklingly dissonant crystalline shards. Stark, buzzing currents erupt into analog TC430 growing into ever higher and rougher squalls. One of several "piano-based" pieces, Shortango (0:42) emits deconstructed ivory tinkling, as does Ensemblend; random spurts of plinking, clunking and chiming as if gremlins were at work inside a grand piano, sometimes creating havoc, other times just choosing to twinkle softly before launching into a moody crescendo. analog TC4365 warbles, sputters and fibrillates wildly as electronic ripples disintegrate. A rhythmically percolating stream courses through Rhythm 3 (12:36) as faint musical droplets and plucky occurences play on its surface. Most recommendable to those who crave the unexpected (and sometimes grating) in their experimental computer noise. The CD-R contains more info, MIDI data files, longer MP3 versions of several tracks (which sound considerably "warmer" to me) as well as video material my Mac won't read. Adding points for the serious sonic exploration, but docking a few for listenability... a little too in-my-face... Check out www.ordinateur.de for yourself (it helps to be able to read German...) Charly McLion: The Nature of the Universe   (Kingfisher - 2001) (8.1) Sometimes the center of one man's universe may be the outer fringe of another's... though the two can definitely overlap. What I'm getting at is Charly McLion's The Nature of the Universe leans heavily into territories of gently progressive rock/contemporary sounds, though is decorated with a certain amount of experimental touches more in keeping with the usual fare here. Obtuse electronic resonance opens The Gate of Time, where it is overlain with more-straightforward piano meanderings, synth sweeps, sultry e-rhythmics and guitar highlights. Electric guitar noodling alternates between fretboard acrobatics and long, pitch bending sustains as Private Cosmos drifts in an ocean motion of bass, synth/piano and light percussion. Guitar strings and synthesizer ribbons intertwine in the beatless etude of Eye in the Sky while keyboards waft behind. Keyboards and reggae-ish flanging effects dance around Black Hole (7:22) to be joined by hovering flutations of an "adult contemporary" nature (Please, don't make me use the (Kenny) G-word...) and occasionally, writhing guitar. Lightly crunchy beats add a little hip-hop-iness to the strums and swirls of Rainbow Kiss (5:07) as they do in Sunshine which features some dancey-diva wails and words. It would easy for some to derisively refer to these sounds as dressed-up "elevator music", but that would be an overly broad slap. Cool beats and grooveable electronics give an edge to the borderline New Age melodies. Apparently Charly (formerly 1/2 of Double Fantasy) is working on something a little more trancey... Visit Kingfisher's site for more. mad professor: RAS portraits   (Ras Records - 1997) (8.5) Not ambient, but definitely atmospheric... in that hazy, lazily upbeat style of the electro-Rastafari. RAS portraits gathers 13 of the best of the mad professor's RAS releases between 1982 and 1996. Abundant basslines follow familiarly meandering trails through electronically altered reggae grooves and island percussion, leading to relaxed good times. Echoey vocalizations top the dreamy Beyond the Realms Dub from 1982. Raspy brass rings out from Buccaneer's Cove, buoyed by bouncy bass and drums. Spoken samples are submerged into Hi-Jacked to Jamaica giving it some more local flavor. Even when delivering socially-aware commentary as in Anti-Racist Broadcast and Harder Than Babylon the irresistible vibes seem to gleam in sunshine and warmth. Various Artists: Working with Children & Animals, Volume 1   (Wasp Factory - 2001) (8.2) The only thing ambient about these aggressive slabs of sound are the spaces between the notes, and the few of those are filled with lingering noise... 8 groups from the UK's Wasp Factory toss two tracks each into the ring. The Chaos Engine starts the show with an appropriately big bang... two simultaneously tuneful and chaotic entries, of which I prefer the alternative-edged electro of "Complicit". A little acidic thrash-and-twang never hurt anyone (except for the whole hearing-loss thing...); Arkham Asylum throws a little of all things electronic (and lotta punkish guitar) into a blender and churns out "Machine" (2:51). Goteki exhumes some old-school stylings from punk, Goth and electronic's early days, recombinating them into "Disco 4 the Dead". More tooth decay than sweetness, blustery bursts add extra graininess to "Sugar Sugar", hopped up further by Tarantella Serpentine's quietly-delivered vocals and all-over-the-place e-drums. With the apt samples, spunky beats and multi-tracked manifestos of "Wake" (6:44), Hydra loudly denounces the system, but dance-ably, before shifting into a morbid lull. Growling guitars lurk beneath Squid's rockingly mid-tempo darktronics of "Craving Dragons", topped by croaky whisper-to-a-scream vocals. Skinflowers' boppable "Mad Powder Keg" closes the show with lighter harmonies and folky-to-fuzzy alternarock guitars. I've had my head out of this kinda thing for so long, it's pretty darned envigorating to me... even though a few underproduced pieces could have been sharpened up a bit. For your own adrenalilne injection, surf over to Wasp Factory to hear the buzz. Wench: Wench   (Razor Byrne Productions - 1999) (8.3) When she's not dealing in darkly exotic multi(sub)cultural garb (WenchWear), Frances Byrne may be heard forging a similarly enticing blend of electro/ethno/industrial sounds around the San Francisco area. 10 tracks stitch poundingly technoprimitive drums, powerful-to-delicate Gothtronics and seductive whispered-to-wailed vocalizations into moody tapestries of intrigue and energy. It may help to imagine a nocturnal urban assault by a more-aggressive, more-electronic Dead Can Dance... Brooding bass, steamy hisses and rough electronic blasts set an ominous scene for Ghost (2:58) where feminine tones and organ drones reverberate through Byrne's darkened soundfactory. Softer synth is injected with faster e-percussion and hushed words... until Wasteland periodically erupts into violent feedback squalls, laced with Eastern-ish chants and media-speak-samples. The almost-but-not-quite-epic grandeur of Ophelia points toward my only gripe... a somewhat malnourished level of production which muddies much of the work here, but can't hide the creativity, style and passions. The 42-minute disc closes in the most-ethereal realms of beatless/wordless Sidonia, set adrift in shimmering synthlayers. Visit the stylish www.wenchmusic.com site where you will hear and see more... including the unusually-trusting pay-later option. (Stay in good Karma, though!) Posted May 31, 2001 | 1999/2000 Overviews Index

AmbiEntrance © 2000-1997 by David J Opdyke (except CD cover art, rights retained by original owners).