Chris Watson - El Tren Fantasma
Chris Watson– El Tren Fantasma - The Signal Man's MixI'm on a train, y'all. Look at me on a muthafuckin train! Were this not so painstakingly composed and arranged, I'd have resurrected the
"sound of engine & industrial mechanisms" thread. Fully cinematic sound-recordist documentation aboard the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Mexico, a real-life epic "that has now passed into history". But what a way to go. Wonderful juxtapositions of Watson's more representative nature sounds - insects, crickets, chirping - against the occasionally all-encompassing – indeed, overwhelming - chuff chug hiss screech of one raunch-ass rig. One gets a sense of Watson attempting to document every of the more dramatic species of (aural) sensation to be experienced upon this fantasmagorical ride – save perhaps the odd break to take a big ol' dump (though it wouldn't surprise me if that's on here too) – all overlaid, interpolated, mixed...smeared... to output rather heavy, heady, concoction.
The Signal Man's Mix is almost worth the price of admission, containing extended mixes of two original El Tren efforts. The first I am disappointed to see is a remix my least favorite El Tren – faux rhythmic bent and all - but develops the (much preferred) ambient elements to an extent that actually salvages in me a nodding, synchronized, agreement. The second gets things back on track, electing to remix El Tren's satisfyingly thunderous closing number, spicing things up with a few ringing ambient tones, and considerably upping the oomph.
Z'EV + Chris Watson - East African NocturneI knew I'd have to wait till late night, well into a few cans, before subjecting the capacities under percolation to these nocturnal ejaculations. Perfectly buzzed conditions, I'd surmise, in which to appreciate the buzzing narrations of masters z'ev & Watson. Buzzing, well. "Buzzing" is truly not the word. Better words might include: (hyena, elephant) snuffling, (hippo, frog, lion) snorting, (vulture, insect) scratching, and other onomatopoeic words that rhyme with (real life) "flatulence". Behind all this sits z'ev, re-arranger and processor, offering a subtle backdrop of curved metal drone and scrape. Like paying witness, at the edge of consciousness, in the throes of sleepless drift, to some creepy, night-time, African ritual... at a safe distance - at least over the next rise - and separated by several reassuringly solid trees. I, Bloated Slutbag, being at this time of considerably less than sound mind, declare this z'evdarkened spew the bzst fluarrging pizzzflflubbp aarye eerurrrewwuppit.
K.K. Null _ Chris Watson _ Z'EV - Number OneAnother z'ev brainchild significantly gentrified by the wonderful wildlife of Chris "I'd record my own asshole in the name of science" Watson. Were it not for the incessant yammering of Mr Null, this could be a(nother) dank, smoldering, ritual of epic proportion. With Null, however, forget any trite manbeast struggle with nature or nurture. This one leaps right off the planet. So here we are, deep in the jungles of Zaire, venturing ever deeper, enjoying the slow z'ev'd throb amid Watson'd bugscape and- suddenly- crazy man Kazuyuki starts wailing away. Wham bam squeal slam. The dark ritual atmosphere is all-pervasive, but so too an instability, a raging tempestuousness, ever verging on boiling over. The insects populaion, alien. The fauna, dripping, grinning, salivating. The landscape... somehow wrong. A natural progression from here, I think, would be a (painstakingly arranged) Watson recordist project that cuts out these z'evnulled middle men, juxtaposing heavy industrial construction (sites) with densely populated forests, or something. Has such been done? Should.