Quote from: online prowler on January 06, 2017, 11:54:41 AM
Well written up reviews mate. Interesting reads.
Thanks for the encouragement. I'm trying to make them shorter, but the basic idea is that some people have written reviews that have made me go out and buy whatever it was they were talking about, so that's the goal here. Trying to encourage folks to try new things. Here's a couple more, will be the only ones for a while.
Dieter Muh "Feeling A Little Horse" reissue CD (EE Tapes/Mouth) More unpredictable goodness from Cammack & Co. First track is nearly forty fucking minutes long and begins with a very nice stereo-panning delay and synthesizer workout with very PE vibes before experiencing some temporary technical difficulties. When the sound comes back, the track pretty much begins again, before descending into more atmospheric territories. Background voice snippets bounce around ala Giancarlo Tonitutti's "La Mutazione." The drones get deeper, the sounds ping-ponging back and forth between channels change a bit. Heavy noise washes start to creep in. Things have built into some kinda forward-momentum progression by now. And some nice warbly effected sounds protrude and compliment some sort of eerie voice samples – or are they Mundy-type "wounded elk" vocalizations?
Fucking as usual, I'm reminded of certain Ultra moments, especially when Nicole's vocals spring up here and there. I'm aware I've bored you all by now with the comparison. The way things seem to "ooh" and "aah" around the mix is the sort of thing you sometimes hear in New Agey ambient, but it's much darker and more effective here. No flimsy sci-fi vibes. Just a weird, uncomfortable yet listenable and not overly seething atmosphere.
That section calms down into effects n' tapes (in this case, samplers) style industrial. Lurking background drone oscillations with creepy-crawly echoing voice samples and a nice pitch-shifted male voice loop. For youngsters like me, you'd do well to compare this to stuff like Remnants, certain moments in Ligature tracks, some of Rodger Stella's less heavy outings. Except that I find this slightly more compelling, not that I'm knocking those guys in any way whatsoever. Come to think of it, why isn't there a Dieter Muh/Rodger Stella split or something? Anyway, a very nice mid-range wah-wah sort of sound emerges from the center of the mix. At this point, I notice an identifiable Dieter Muh formula; certain loops and effects fade in and out of the mix, specific ones holding the track in place, while a series of differently-toned drones emerge, make their statement, then leave. Once a particular drone takes hold, the loops transition and emphasis is switched from one sample or loop to another, similar one. Very nice Twice Is Not Enough-era use of really sensuous/atmospheric, but noisy and powerful synthesizer tones.
I feel a tangent coming on, but I do feel the need to note that I can't ever quite classify Dieter Muh. I keep using the term industrial because it's an easy tag to slap on things, but here, that feels pretty lazy and cheap. Same with using the word "experimental." Clearly there is much more to this project than simple labels, which is obvious due to the longevity and progression of the project. They have moments which I'd definitely consider to be Power Electronics. Moments I truly and honestly would describe as industrial. Elements of drone, tape music, generalized experimental process-oriented stuff. But somehow the results seem to be stronger than one or two guys not entirely knowing what will happen, more deliberate than that. Very much a collage of sound but hard to sum up as a "sound collage."
Cavernous atmosphere alongside windy drones and oscillations which build to very attractive-sounding high-end sweeps. This has been happening for a while but I can't say that I'm bored – I mean this as a compliment when saying this would be a nice album to put on when not feeling well and needing to lie on the couch for a bit – will definitely take you to some nauseous places ("boiling feces" sample) but also provides some nice distraction with it's enveloping monolithic quality. This would be kind of strange to see live, I have to admit, when considering that I forgot this was a live track.
Hereabouts, things take a turn, whilst simultaneously reviving some of the atmosphere from the earlier portions of the track. More voice samples which can't quite be made out, is this deliberate or the result of using a radio as part of the equipment? Is this interference between the amplifiers and radio as Boss pedals are sometimes known to cause? Some of them sound very much anchoring to the piece, while others come off as pleasantly incidental. While this is all happening, the drones become more dreamlike, exotic, with metallic reverb, reminding me a bit of the Puce Mary tapes on Freak Animal or even her collaborations with Stella. Stops somewhat abruptly to give way to some excellent rhythmic loops and the purity of the synthesizer.
Loops begin to dominate again before the electronics sharply move in another direction entirely – more percussive, more machinelike, thoroughly industrial. Can't help but compare this transitional section to moments on Grunt's Seer of Decay 2xCD. Well, some of the earlier tracks, especially the sample-driven "angelic" moments Mikko is so well-known for; I could suggest that Dieter Muh have a similar signature technique of somewhat unsettling ambient moments which heavily rely on samples. By the time I've typed such an observation, the industrial element has almost entirely taken over, with really sexy-sounding rhythmic noise coming from the synthesizers, creating a sort of harmonics that's only present in industrial music. Not exactly sure if anyone else knows what I mean by that, sorry, I have no technical explanation for that. This is the closest thing to aggression I've observed in the Muh sound, and I like it, but sadly, it represents the abrupt end to one of the more daring and certainly longer opening pieces to any live album I've heard short of Swans or those dumbass projects like Bong that seem to enjoy doing everything for way too long. In this case, the length of the piece was quite nice and adventurous. Could have easily been the entire CD, but these guys wouldn't do that to you.
Second piece is pretty much ¼ the length of the previous, and much subtler. Eerie field-recording background drones complimenting a Sleazy Coil-esque (GET IT??) beat that wouldn't be alone amidst a New Juche Whores Of Leith album. Again, here, I'm reminded of lesser-known US projects like Remnants but just more evolved, more considered. Based around assembly of technique rather than riding out one extended technique until you've convinced yourself you're Aaron Dilloway. These guys don't have that problem, but I will say I'm glad this one is comparatively shorter. Feels more transitional than substantial, although the background voice loops commencing the piece are goddamned flawless. Sublime attention to detail. I don't know who the PA guy was, but he was doing a damn good job here helping these guys maximize the effectiveness of their sound. Final moments degrade into one pulsing Heavy Electronics rhythm alongside a shimmering background drone. Again, very Tesco, very Twice Is Not Enough.
Third piece continues the forumula/atmosphere of the previous track, but based more around the wonkiness of certain watery effects and the consistency of the voice loops. I guess this is pretty much something I'd consider musique concrete, even if one of the guys is generating certain sounds spontaneously in the live setting. The fact that structure in this project seems to be always established through looping of pre-recorded material pretty firmly places their concrete traits, at least from where I stand. So far, this is the shortest track, at about five minutes, and dare I say, has my favorite moments so far. The effects are subtle yet noticeable to the loops, and certain moments where slight knob-tweaking can be heard to modulate them is very, very fucking good. I consider this to be extremely relaxing, almost psychedelic music, but I could see how this would be really disturbing to some people, simply because of the watery effects and the nice pig-snort modulation that you also sometimes hear in Iron Fist Of The Sun recordings. How do you achieve that? What the fuck kind of effect is that? What would you call that? Sample declaring "god is dead" concludes the piece. Great.
Familiar-sounding drones kick off the final, fourth track. Where have I heard those drone sounds before? That exact fucking sound. I can't place it, but I heard it elsewhere first. That's what happens when you have similar types of people buying and using similar equipment, I guess. Doesn't really bother me, but is sometimes a funny feeling of deja vu to experience. The special thing here is that some sort of vaguely-Asian sounding percussive rhythm has now kicked in – is this achieved with a drum machine, the synthesizer, or sampled tablas and xylophone even? I don't feel like it's a reach to say that this could appeal to the limited few folks who've heard stuff from the Korea Undok Group label/project or even are aware of it. There is this distinct feeling of exotica mixed with the neurosis that is audible in, I don't know, certain Maurizio Bianchi material. Like the Industrial Tape. Things get pretty slithery with some nice PE background drones before a hard-hitting heavy drone sort of quickly invades. Things get really Cold Meat-style here – I'm thinking Deutsch Nepal's "Rapist Park Junktion" 2x7" minus the unlistenable Fank Sinatra impression. Noisy and approaching sinister qualities but totally atmospheric and not really having "creepy" vibes. Here I can easily imagine Andrea Cernotto's or Mark Solotroff's, fuck, even William Bennett's voice kicking in to deliver the PE obscenity goods, but I like that there is not that kind of payoff in Dieter Muh's work. They don't just hand it to you, you do have to be patient. And when it ends, you'd like things to keep going. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this album.
Dieter Muh "Carli Saluti" CD reissue (Functional/Tesco) For some reason, the thirty seconds of silence which precede the opening track disturbed me more than some of the worst news I've received throughout all 2016. What the fuck does that say about my mental health?
So by now, I feel like I've identified distinct traits of the Muh formula and know what I'm getting into. Weird, tremolo-like effects on semi-cut up synthesizer electronics which very frustratingly fluctuate in volume and mix placement against more strange, echoed n' looped voice samples. Very much in line with the overall whole of the project. This track is nice but actually a challenge to listen to, which I welcome. My hearing isn't quite normal in one ear due to a weird health problem, so the lopsided stereo field of my hearing today is not a friend to this recording. Like when you break up with someone, "it's not you, it's me." The Toniutti and Dilloway comparisons seem more appropriate then ever before, here. Too weird to be appealing to most harsh heads, but also too weird to appeal to a lot of the other young US guys my age. I just feel like there is not a huge audience for things so unspecific over here, and that's a huge part of why Dieter Muh are refreshing for me to listen to. Like being reminded of something you found funny but forgot about. Plus, this is what music in shopping malls, elevators, and other public areas would be like if we lived in a Stanislaw Lem science fiction novel. By now, the momentum and volume has found a lot more strength, building the drone elements and sort of shimmering to the top of the mix. Then things echo away.
More pig squeal noises amidst very weird vocal samples, "uh, um, eh." Some M.B. electronics collide, and then some guitar and synth sort of awkwardly deflate the track, abruptly. Damn, that was good. I see why they make it just short enough for you to skip back and listen to that one again.
More of the atmospherics I noticed as particularly important to the previous CD, especially the opening track, as well as the more recent Hanson live tape. The tones nearly approach what I've heard in ritual-style industrial, but I would never use such a description for this. This is more like music for dreaming. Think Eliane Radigue but in collaboration with William Bennett or Philp Best. There's some moments that, although I can't really explain it, remind me of that Horn Of The Goat album from CE, Ramleh, and Merzbow. Atmospheric and psychedelic but not in a hippie-dippy sense. And when a nice sort of Thai-sounding percussive rhythm comes in, field recordings kick in and reinforce the futurist airports vibe. I could easily see a certain straightedge Italian fella who makes comic books getting a big kick out of this. Again here they use some PE-type synthesizer sounds, but as usual, never loud enough to sound far apart from whatever else is happening on any given track. I sometimes wish things could get louder and more aggressive when this happens, but in truth I'm interested in whatever ride Dieter Muh feel like taking me on. And you wouldn't really be wrong to describe parts like this as "ambient." I have to note in a positive sense that it's hard to tell whether these were recorded live in-studio, live, or line-in. Very nice. Apparently pieced together from all three variations.
I have to admit the latter part of that track was the first occasion of hearing a Dieter Muh piece which meandered and drug on for too long. But, shit, better something listenable than lazy amp buzz or over an hour of the exact same static crunch.
This next one again has those nearly-mystical drones I've heard in other projects but just don't feel the same here. They have a cinematic but non-narrative vibe that seems to carry though all DM tracks. There is also some nice shimmery overlay that's not unlike the Ultra drone tracks, "Yohimbe," "Wad," "Malaria," "Ultratumba," etc. Not a lot to elaborate on, except that modulation and layering keep things interesting much like those guys, not giving you any opportunity to grow bored. You could almost consider this a good example of modern Classical.
Things continue along that Ultra/HNAS vibe again, with some kind of samples and electronics drenched and almost swimming in reverb, not to mention the absolutely kick-ass rhythmic wet pounding that comes in amidst weird shortwave electronics and more PE-sounding synthesizer noise. Here's where the label "industrial" is accurate and not used out of laziness. The title "Serves You Right" reminds me of a Total track called "You'll Get Yours Yet" from Hard + Low, and I suppose the overall harder vibes resemble it sonically, as well. God damn it, this is good. A Ramleh comparison wouldn't be invalid, either. I'm aware that most of you will hate me for saying this, but I like this much more than Ramleh or Total – both of which have only one release I am particularly fond of, Dieter Muh hitting all the spots with each release I've heard so far. Sorry, rimjobbing fanboy acolytes. You can learn more about mixing by listening to this than you can learn how to paint-by-numbers wishing you were Ramleh or Mauthausen Orchestra.
I barely noticed the transition to the sixth track, which I mean in the best way possible. Things just sort of shifted, and although the sounds themselves chaned, the atmosphere and some of the reverb and echo effects sort of continued where they'd been left off. I wouldn't always be in the mood to listen to this, certainly, but when in need of something with a clear, cohesive thread or sort of narrative between tracks, this fills the bill. Again, very cinematic; unobtrusive, almost angelic tones, weird scractchy electronics skitting and shimmering all over the stereo field, hidden unintelligible voice samples, metallic reverb tone. Very much returning to a previous place in the story, or whatever. If there was one. Nice title, too, "Haemotomania." Wouldn't be out of place as a Shellac or Rapeman song title. But yeah, I like this a shit ton more than those bands. Ends prior to going stale nicely.
Great! Rhythmic cut-up harsh noise bursts for a couple of seconds prior to aggressive industrial electronics. Gotta say, though, and sorry Steve, what the fuck kinda song title is "Shi Tak E?" In my opinion, not a very good one for my favorite moments on the album so far. Herein I'm tempted to bring back the IFOTS comparison, but the little percussion that I can't tell what it is ruins that vibe in a totally positive manner. Warped voice sample loops sounds like a drunk Alan Rickman. What the fuck is going on here? Listen to this one in an unfamiliar location far away from home and you might start to feel pretty uncomfortable.
Damn, another unexpected introduction. Almost Blackhumor-style voice loop that's cut hard and fast, harsh noise-style, but with just enough of this weird reverb effect to offer a genuine Steve Reich vibe!! Mixing academic technique with scummy industrial is certainly a good thing, why the fuck do you think I keep comparing this project to Ultra? Because they're the only fucking ones who've done this!! There's even a really nice-sounding vocalization loop that actually, literally sounds like St. Degeneratus' voice on tracks like Aff, Kiddie Litter, and the varied ones from Spray/Death/Ultra and the Sweet Flowers/Unkissed Beauties releases. This is the point in the album where I realize this is what I wish Randy Greif sounded like. Well, he sometimes does, but never as engaging as this. Note to self: get his Alice In Wonderland box set from Soleilmoon. Anyway, things build to a pretty intense mixture of psycheleic synthesizer drones, a pounding industrial rhythmic loop (presumably modulated from the earlier voice loop), and noisier swaths of near-static amidst the persistent vocalization loop. Not really deserving of the title "Relentless," but still somewhat massive.
Ah, nice...more musique concrete Dieter-style, and this time around, you could tell someone this is a Pierre Schaeffer track and probably convince them. Seriously. It's just urban area field recordings and train sounds, but god damn is it good.
Next track is just a more electronics-oriented continuation of the previous. In my mind, they attempted to recreate the last piece with electronics rather than field recordings. And succeed. Ends after less than a minute. Just enough information.
Tribal drumming and what sound like subway station recordings open up the final piece. I'm almost anxious because there's no telling how long this track will be or what will happen in it. The New Juche Whores Of Leith atmosphere rears its pretty little head again, especially through the use of the garbled vocal loops in conjunction with the Phillip Glass-style rhythmic percussion which the tribal drumming has by now morphed into. Ah, those oscillations, why did they only happen for a second? Things get fairly chaotic with the voice work here, and the comparison which comes to mind immediately is the Ramleh tracks from the third and fourth RRR compilation CDs. You know, that mishmash of overlapping vocals and the fluttering PE tones that intrude occasionally. This all happening over that insistent tribal beat. I don't know why someone would dislike this, but even they would have to admit it's unique, and probably at it's time, very innovative. And things do sound genuinely disturbing and violent at this point. Would go as well with Christopher Rage videos as any of the earlier Swans albums would. But I shouldn't be bringing that up here, Steve's a family man and doesn't need weirdos like myself sullying his name.
Does that last sample say "you fucking bitch motherfucker, you will suffer??"
Order this immediately, you won't regret it.
