twenty

157-166


Asencio/Chenard - Ocean a vendre/for sale (Ambiances Magnetiques) 2002

A duo recording driven primarily by Sylvie Chenard, who is a multidisciplinary artist with several Ocean/Whale based sound works. Working in guitar and electronics she is joined by Jon Asencio on electric bass for free play that is in line with the Quebec label's aesthetic. Leans to the side of soundscape over melodic exlploration... may not be for people who like even their free jazz with a little structure.
++++++++++++++++++


Robert Ashley - In Sara (Lovely Music, Ltd.) 2002

Ashley reads a 128-stanza poem by John Barton Wolgamot wherein the same line introduces a sentence that constantly changes four elements, the names or lists of names and the active portion of the sentence. It blurs the line between Dada, concrete poetry, sound art... mostly because of it's effects that accrue slowly and through near-repetition. In that way it is also not unlike interesting minimalist music like Steve Reich's or Terry Riley's. It features underlying music by Paul DeMarinis on Moog synthesizer.
+++++++++++++++++++


Ask - Formulary of Curses (Discus) 2004

Larger ensemble recording by Discus label boss Martin Archer. Ask features a primarily jazz mode, but one open to processing and manipulation of sound. For all of that though the core is much more rooted in individual participations than in group dynamics. Balanced and interesting play.
+++++++++++++++++





Wendy Atkinson - Trim (Smarten Up & Get to the Point) 2003

Atkinson is a Vancouver-based artist with ties to long-standing art-punk duo Mecca Normal. This solo album is an improbably ambient exploration using all manner of electric and acoustic bass as a starting point. She manages to discover interesting textures by flattening rhythms down to still points and layering them or pulling them apart to discover their warm hearts.
++++++++++++++++++++++


Aube - Cardiac Strain (Alien8) 1998


Aube/Knurl - Split (Alien8) 1997

Aube (pronounced Obey) is the alias of Japanese artist Akifumi Nakajima. His works are typically begun with a simple single sound source that is then given extremely radical processing in order to create gigantic soundscapes that belie their humble beginnings. For Cardiac Strain the sound of a heartbeat is turned into something urgent and enormous, which perhaps is really what the heart signifies ultimately. For the split release with Toronto's Alan Bloor whose alias is Knurl, Nakajima uses the sound of a telephone to create a gradually building alarm clarion. The other aspect of Aube's works is their usual very limited runs, making them quite collectable. For Bloor's side of the above split he is much more visceral and "hands on" using amplified sheet metal run through all manner of distortion. The result is more typical of what is conjured when the term "noise music" is mentioned.
++++++++++++++++


Melanie Auclair - Puce a l’oreille (Ambiances Magnetiques) 2004

Debut album for this excellent singer / cellist. She is joined by choice artists from the Ambiances Magnetiques roster including label head Joanne Hetu and guitarist Bernard Falaise. The results are eight medium length pieces that have a surprising attention to detail, but without sacrificing compelling musicality. Acoustics are given the foreground, with the smallest sounds of things standing tall and strong.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Autechre - Chiastic Slide (Warp) 1997


Autechre - LP5 (Nothing/Warp) 1998


Autechre - Gantz Graf (Warp) 2002

This duo are long-haul electronics wizards that have come up through the ranks shoulder to shoulder with Aphex Twin and Squarepusher. And also like those two they are fans of throwing endless curveballs just when critics come near to pegging them. Usually tagged with the much-derided IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) description, they often create abrasive sounds atop near-trance beats that have the tendency to suddenly shift or drop off just when the rhythm becomes comfortable. Unlike their labelmates Autechre seem to prefer sticking more closely within a purely electronic framework... though what they do there melts the selfsame framework down to slag at times. From Chiastic Slide there is a more regularized approach that hits the margins of Trance and Drum and Bass... but by Gantz Graf "playing nice" was something that came up less and less frequently, preference given to rapid eye cuts and crippled beats.