If you've not already caught these reviews from Sweden's Stephen Fruitman (who occasionally posts to Hyperreal's Ambient Mailing List), here are his latest. Stephen's attentive ears and expressive thoughts are appreciated by many, and I'm glad to offer this forum to my e-friend. Alog: Red Shift Swing & Various Artists: Love Comes Over the Mountains   (Rune Grammofon) Alog is a brand-new duo hearkening from Norway, acknowledged home of ever-interesting experiments in ambience. Espen Sommer Eide, who also trades under the name Phonophani, comprises one half of this band, whose sound is characterized by a mixture of improvised acoustic and electronic sounds which are thereafter manipulated every which way imaginable. The opening cut of Alog's debut CD Red Shift Swing starts up like a take on Tortoise's "Djed", but as the cuts continue to roll by, influences extending far beyond post-rock (including techno, ambient and Reichian minimalism) make themselves manifest. Not the least, this reviewer detects the strong influence of the Sommer Eide aesthetic - the Phonophani sound from his first solo release, with its loops and eerie, echoey and yet somehow childlike innocence, becoming more and more prevelant as the disc progresses. A thoughtful, surprising CD - some harsh turns now and again, but generally a low-key, subtle and convincing journey. Rune Grammofon (happily continuing its tradition of housing its music in brilliantly-designed digipaks courtesy of Kim HiorthÀy) have also just released a compilation of new Norwegian electronics, all cuts exclusive to this recording. While Love Comes Over the Mountains includes numerous yeoman efforts by the likes of Information, Phonophani, and Deathprod, plus a generative, one-time-only piece by Arne Nordheim and a live collaboration between Biosphere and Deathprod recorded at Oslo Cathedral (recycling many of the sounds they produced for Rune Grammofon's brilliant Nordheim Transformed remix project), this lengthy CD is an otherwise rather plodding affair. However, it does feature the creme of Norwegian electronics experimentalists, so anyone wanting to keep abreast of what's happening in the studios scattered along the fjords at the end of the millennium can hardly afford to miss this release. Hiroshi Fujiwara: In Dub Conference (Victor), The APC Experience (APC), Flowers (Apesounds) Beauty and elegance are not necessarily always to be construed as mere romantic conceits, but can actually conceal deeper levels of cultural meaning. Japanese pianist Hiroshi Fujiwara is a case in point. On three short CDs released over the past four years, he has pursued an aesthetic of beauty and elegance which, however straightforward on the surface, seems to in fact offer the attentive listener much more than mere pleasant diversion. His sound is unique. Diaphanous melodies played on a grand piano at times accompanied by slow, seductive beats (betraying an affinity with the likes of Eraldo Bernocchi or Mick Harris) and the occasional sample, no more complex than so. He presents himself as a dub artist (and further emphasizes this claim through many of his track titles), and although echo and reverb do play their role on these recordings, the "dub" aspect is more mentality than actually studio manipulation of the sounds (with the odd notable exception, like "Dub Hunter" on The APC Experience). For example "Universal Dub", the opening track on In Dub Conference features a quiet, droning ambience expanding the space surrounding the slow, thoughtful piano stylings. "Hard Boiled Dub" on the same album begins and ends with the caress of a graceful, violin-like Japanese instrument, while on "Meconopsis" on Flowers, he abandons the piano altogether for a downright funky, bass-led groove. The same EP's closer, "Abelmoschus", explores Harold Budd territory to fine effect. On top of their musical content, each of these CDs is packaged in its own high-concept sleeve or jewel box, extending the aural enjoyment to the actual physical pleasure of its container. In Dub Conference and Flowers seem only to be available in Japan (although two of the four tracks on the latter are available on the APC compilation Abstract Depressionism); The APC Experience is available, naturally, through APC in Europe and the States. The brevity of each of these recordings - Conference is half-an-hour long, while the other two run at twenty minutes apiece - acts both as a parameter demanding the artist say as much as possible in a succinct a manner, while whetting the appetite for more. Michael Gordon: Weather (Coalition Recordings) Opening with a clap of thunder followed by the deep resonance of cellos, Weather by Michael Gordon of the Bang on a Can collective is a sixty-five minute piece for large string ensemble and a few surprises. Inspired by Steve Reich and apparently encouraged in the composing of the piece to imagine writing for an orchestra "playing straight up into the air", Weather is both turbulent and tranquil by turn, minimalistic and repetitive without ever becoming the least bit uninteresting. Divided into four movements of varying lengths and performed by Ensemble Resonanz, Weather might strike some as far-too literal in its depiction of meteorological phenomena at first, but the fervent execution of the piece captivates the listener in the end. Imaginative electronic elements, including a cascade of breakbeats about one-third of the way through, distinguish this work from much of the "contemporary classic" music I have heard in the last little while. Accessible but not dumb. Pre Fade Listening: Way Back Home (Different Drummer) Way Back Home by Pre Fade Listening (a two-man English outfit) is quite simply one of the best ambient releases of the 1998. Imagine if emit still existed and released a dubbier version of Woob; or if Universal Egg had continued to explore the niche it began carving out with releases by Extremadura and Sounds from the Ground a couple of years ago. Way Back Home is not the heavy, traditional JA dub, but rather the best example I have heard of True Ambient Dub. With simple means (bass,percussion, organ, melodica, the occasionally flute and vocal sample), this sixty-minute excursion explores the possibilities inherent in space without every resorting to reverb overkill or cheap gestures. In its review, The Wire got it right (for once?): "It's not about how big and booming your bass is; it's about the tonal depth and its effect on everything around it." Highly recommended to warm up those cold winter evenings ahead. Various Artists: Abstract Depressionism (APC) Having heard just about all of the CDs released by APC, the Parisian fashion house with excellent musical taste to boot, I feel confident in venturing that Abstract Depressionism ranks among the best they've put out, a strong contender alongside the jazzy dub offerings on APC Tracks_ Vols. 1 & 2. Produced by Bill Laswell and Jean Touitou, Abstract Depressionism has a fine cast: two tracks each by Hiroshi Fujiwara, Eraldo Bernocchi (whose trademark "sound" I would say informs the whole of this compilation), Mick Harris, DXT and Laswell (under the guises of Praxis and Material, respectively); and one each by Mami Chan and Solo (who may or may not be APC boss Touitou himself). An essential CD for those who enjoy illbient-type soundscapes and the world of dark dub and rhythms Bernocchi has been exploring as SIMM and into which he has successfully drawn Laswell and Harris on the Equations of Eternity releases. There's not a single uninteresting cut on this 70 minute CD, and in stating that I even include the sweet little opening number by Fujiwara, which provides an interesting contrast to the heavier material to follow. The Laswell contributions are stalwart efforts, the first of which ranks alongside the best in the genre. Praxis' "Dreadnot" pits eerily swirling strings against a solid beat, with Laswell taking the piano sample from "Red Night" on Oscillation and tweaking it nicely indeed, while Material's shorter "Downward" has shades of spaghetti Westernisms in its guitar pluckings. But I wonder if Solo's, DXT's and Bernocchi's stuff aren't at least as strong as "Dreadnot". Repeated listenings recommended. A handsome package featuring twelve excellent variations on a theme, so to speak. The disc can be ordered directly from APC's website. Stephen Fruitman's Reviews were posted on Septemeber 29.

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