dirk serries’s decision to close the lid on his alter ego vidnaobmana has often been portrayed as having been inspired by the desire to work with guitars and loops. in fact, both have been an integral part of his aesthetics almost straight from the beginning. canonical techniques added a dream-like grace to his classic the river of appearance, for example, and if one subtracted the machinal slow-motion beats from 2004’s legacy, the resulting textures, intricately interwoven and of a mysterious impenetrability, did not sound entirely out of tune with his first steps into drone territory a mere year later. what really motivated serries was the realisation that, despite having reached recognition as an innovative composer and meticulous sound sculptor, his ambitions had gotten out of hand. fear falls burning was an attempt at regaining the rawness and innocence of his first recordings, a stab at feeling the physical resonance of metal strings underneath his fingers instead of spending endless solitary hours in front of a monitor, splicing and cutting virtual events with a digital scissor. while the move would end up saving his passion for music, it laid bare the dualistic nature of his artistic persona, continually caught between a hunger for progression, a penchant for minimalism and a desire for continuity.
it is therefore anything but an exaggeration to claim that serries’s crisis of the early millennium was only fully resolved on microphonics i-v, an album of crucial importance in both creative and personal terms. rather than fanning out into ambient, industrial, contemporary composition and electronica, it allowed him to guiltlessly work with and within a single sound. rather than pressuring himself to avoid repetition at all costs, he would now find personal measures of renewal. instead of, jackson-pollock-like, stacking layer upon layer of paint on top of each other, his new sonic imagery was of a striking sparsity, resembling confidently drawn blue lines on an otherwise completely white canvas. it wasn’t a volte-face, this time, rather a shift in nuances, subtle shadings of tension rather than full-blown release. as the balance in fear falls burning gradually tilted towards complex studio productions constituting acoustic worlds of their own, microphonics was a work in progress, a succession of spontaneous efforts at realising a particular idea – and each new attempt, however accomplished or refined, only served to raise the bar by another notch.
in this expanding body of work (the series will reach number xix on the upcoming tour with hellmut neidhardt’s n-project), microphonics i-v still stands out, and not just because these four tracks (interestingly, part i is not part of the package, even though it is mentioned in the title) are the first recorded documents of the new approach and as such present the philosophy in its perhaps most pure state. they also differ from following episodes by having been recorded at a studio rather than on stage, which may explain for their pervasive mood of solitude, sorrow and tranquility. and while all subsequent releases were highly limited offerings of 300 copies, the re-release of the album on cd marks it as a constant reference point, whose availability is not just a question of demand but of artistic necessity.
as such, those already owning the original vinyl-version, of which, as an aside, a few final copies are still available, need not expect the kind of exciting bonus tracks and vault-clearing archival material that accompanied the recent fear falls burning re-issues. three minutes have been added to „microphonics ii“, a couple of second to two of the other pieces – nothing that would seriously question or devalue the original versions. still, as with the more ambient-leaning output of ffb, the music has certainly not suffered from the digital transfer, sounding more crisp, crystalline and transparent than ever, while merely trading in a tad of the vinyl’s golden radiance in return. as always, however, the new format reveals valuable ideas about the logic behind the compositions and how they relate to later entries into serries’s catalogue. concluding „microphonics v“, for example, acts as a bridge to what would come, its epic architecture and multi-angle topography pointing to a future, in which themes would gradually dissolve into seemingly solid structures, while opening up into myriads of micro-cycles on closer inspection.
„microphonics iv“ and „iii“, on the other hand, impressively demonstrate how serries works with gradual shifts to create effects of dreamy calm and discrete disorientation. on both, motives are at first placed in a clearly defined relation with each other, creating hypnotic mantras against a backdrop of slowly gyrating and growing melodic side-themes. already at these early stages, most of the material that will come to define the development of a piece is already present in an embryonic state. slowly but surely, the music approaches a climax in terms of density and momentum, at which a break in continuity occurs: either the components constituting the core loop are suddenly severed, causing them to run out of sync with each other. or they start superimposing each other like various layers of paint, as a result of which some information is lost, while formerly invisible parts and qualities are suddenly brought to the fore. in either case, the entire feeling of the piece is transformed, as the listener plunges from his focused meditative trance into a seemingly infinite ocean of inventions spiralling out into all directions. even though (as on „iv“) the loop may return to its starting position at one point or the other, or the initial themes may re-appear from underneath a dense mass of tangled-up notes („v“), the logic and mood of the piece has changed forever – for a music built exclusively on loops, it remarkably feels anything but repetitive.
the reward is an acoustic experience which is as remote from the soothing relaxation of traditional ambient as it is from the surrealism of dark and noisy soundscapes. the skill of the performer, however, lies not in creating confusion, but in avoiding it. a violinist once asked stockhausen: „mr. stockhausen, how am i to know whether i’m playing at the rhythm of the universe, as you requested?“ to which stockhausen replied, smilingly: „i’ll tell you.“ similarly, these rotating harmonic dreams always appear to point to an underlying organisational principle. the magic is that they never quite tell you what it is.
source: tokafi
tf090, a review (2)
if the name ex-wise heads is unfamiliar, its two musicians are considerably less so, as the group boasts former henry cow member geoff leigh (saxophones, flutes, keyboards, programming, electronics) and porcupine tree’s colin edwin (fretless and double basses, programming) as members. their third ex-wise heads full-length, celestial disclosure, captures their heady blend of jazz, funk, electronica, and global music in full flight. originally released in 2007 in a vinyl format, it now appears on cd with a bonus track, “manikarnika,” that was recorded at the same sessions as the original two pieces and which adds indian-born acoustic guitarist rajan spolia to the mix. all three pieces are long-form, which makes them feel somewhat stream-of-consciousness in character. though they feature soloing, the pieces aren’t pure improvs, however, as pre-planned compositional structures are clearly evident.
after five minutes of at-times spooky atmospheric sound scultping, “heliosphere” settles into an explorative episode of fretless bass-and-tabla playing that isn’t unlike something bill laswell served up on his 1988 solo album hear no evil. electronic touches and percussive accents also simmer in the background before drums enter, followed by leigh’s robust soprano sax attack. with seventeen minutes at its disposal, the track has ample room to pursue mutliple pathways and so caps that uptempo section with a meditative one featuring flute and bowed double bass. like the opening piece, the slightly longer “solar mass” starts unhurriedly, with a curdling synthetic drone the initial focal point before the material enters a laid-back section where edwin’s beautiful bass tone is given a few moments in the spotlight. his tasteful playing, always supportive of whatever’s happening in the moment, is one of the album’s prime selling points. leigh’s flute and saxophone playing also proves to be a major part of the music’s appeal, as shown by the mournful flute solo he contributes to the piece’s second half and the rather eastern-flavoured sax solo that comes after. on “manikarnika,” spolia’s acoustic guitar playing adds a contrasting sound to the mix. ex-wise heads’ affinity for eastern-styled mysticism is prominently felt within the piece when the guitarist solos against a pedal-point drone at the track’s start before edwin’s fretless bass and leigh’s flute eventually recast it as a funky meditation. the bonus track is as tasty as the other two, so much so that one presumes it was omitted from the vinyl release purely on grounds of space issues.
source: textura
after five minutes of at-times spooky atmospheric sound scultping, “heliosphere” settles into an explorative episode of fretless bass-and-tabla playing that isn’t unlike something bill laswell served up on his 1988 solo album hear no evil. electronic touches and percussive accents also simmer in the background before drums enter, followed by leigh’s robust soprano sax attack. with seventeen minutes at its disposal, the track has ample room to pursue mutliple pathways and so caps that uptempo section with a meditative one featuring flute and bowed double bass. like the opening piece, the slightly longer “solar mass” starts unhurriedly, with a curdling synthetic drone the initial focal point before the material enters a laid-back section where edwin’s beautiful bass tone is given a few moments in the spotlight. his tasteful playing, always supportive of whatever’s happening in the moment, is one of the album’s prime selling points. leigh’s flute and saxophone playing also proves to be a major part of the music’s appeal, as shown by the mournful flute solo he contributes to the piece’s second half and the rather eastern-flavoured sax solo that comes after. on “manikarnika,” spolia’s acoustic guitar playing adds a contrasting sound to the mix. ex-wise heads’ affinity for eastern-styled mysticism is prominently felt within the piece when the guitarist solos against a pedal-point drone at the track’s start before edwin’s fretless bass and leigh’s flute eventually recast it as a funky meditation. the bonus track is as tasty as the other two, so much so that one presumes it was omitted from the vinyl release purely on grounds of space issues.
source: textura
tf090, a review (1)
can you define something by explaining what it isn’t? let’s see: even though ex-wise heads geoff leigh and colin edwin got together through a chance meeting at a specialist ethnic instrument shop in brighton, they’re not a specialist ethnic band. neither does their collaboration qualify as world music, despite the inclusion of „exotic“ instruments such as the moroccan guimbri and jaws harp. their third full-length relies heavily on improvisation, yet it has nothing to do with jazz. you don’t have to study ethnology to understand where this music is coming from and you don’t need to know about eastern polyrhthms to appreciate it - even though it helps. celestial disclosure involves samples, programmed beats and atmospheric synth pads, but it sure isn’t electronica. it’s groovy, but not danceable. psychedelic, but not psychedelia. it’s far too intense to be chill-out, too rhythmical to make sense as ambient, too carefully arranged to be filed under kraut and too progressive to be appreciated by most fans of progressive rock. edwin and leigh are probably best known through their involvements with two renowned bands respectively, but telling you which they are will not increase your insight into this album one bit. can you define something by summing up what it isn’t it? it doesn’t seem likely in this case.
taking a route of descriptive negations is particularly ill suited to celestial disclosure, the band’s third full-length effort, which, despite its occasional moments of mystery and gloom as well as its generally darkly glowing ambiance, constitutes a decidedly uplifting effort. the opening sections of both „heliosphere“ and „solar mass“ may be made up of deep, brooding swells, foreboding harmonies, eerie micronoises and hallucinatory cluster-chords. but as opaque shapes are transformed into concrete forms, abstract allusions replaced by physical palpitations and embryonic ideas nurtured into fully developed themes, their pent-up suspense is gradually released, resolved and sublimated into pure energy - above all, these are exercises in building and holding musical tension until it becomes unbearable and the cue of the drums, suddenly connecting loose hihat figures into an irresistible beat, is greeted as a promise of deliverance. these pieces are essentially the product of single thoughts stretched to twenty-minute-epics, their creative cells constantly twitching, shifting and changing positions to arrive at new constellations and patterns, like a musical rubik’s cube being discretely manipulated at the hands of its creator.
even more distinctly, however, the album is the result of the interaction between two musicians who have very much arrived at a personal voice. edward’s bass is dynamic, direct and playful, searching for delicate variations in simple motives and painstakingly avoiding cliches. you can hear how much the asceticism and purity of dub have become an integral aspect of his technique, how elements of rock, funk and jazz have percolated into his vocabulary. and yet, what results from this fusion is something completely his own. on „solar mass“, his approach can be described as a method of sonic teasing, his lines remaining in the upper and middle range of his instrument for extensive sequences before finally taking the plunge into the deep and revelling in concentrically expanding circles of subsonic resonance. his licks are never mere harmonic grounding or rhythmic propulsion but an emancipated compositional tool and leigh congenially responds to this confidence by entering into challenging dialogues and countering his musical partner’s majestic retention with sprawling fountains of neverending melodies. short inventions serve as springboards for extended, jaggedly shaped passages, harmonic schemes are continually broken apart and reconstructed, simple repetitions turn out to be mere openings for larger-scale structures. and yet, quicksilver fluidity and lyricism always top his list of concerns, as his lines spray from his flutes and saxophones like crystal-clear streams of water from a fountain of youth.
in a fortuitous concurrence, both edwin and leigh build their pieces on the strength of ideas and motivic variation. even though they have factually solidified as a studio project, their origins as a live formation still shine through in their passionate defiance against using technology to cover up creative deficiencies (if there are any, that is). not only does this mean arrangements are breathing rather than being cluttered and packed with myriads of events. more importantly, it allows the musicians to draw all attention to the unfolding of their musical arches, to the process of their interaction and to all but imperceptibly plays with time and arrangements to create subtle yet highly effective transitions in the listener’s mind. on „solar mass“, leigh’s first solo is of a mesmerising simplicity and purity, almost played as if in a trance and in a state between waking and dreaming. increasingly, however, his tone turns more raw, carefully transitioning into oriental scales and tapping into its harmonic well as a new reservoir for themes, tones and timbres. edwin quickly follows suite, expanding his at first one-note emanations into strings of vibrating frequencies and then entering into a slow-burning groove. and so it goes for minutes on end, each performer speaking and responding, leading and following and propelling the narrative forward.
the eastern tendencies are intensified on closer „maninkarnika“, which has been added to the original two tracks as a bonus on the occasion of the cd-re-issue. here, indian guitarist rajan spolia opens the proceedings with beguiling barrages of bent, bowed and broken themes and a recurring leitmotif. it should only seem appropriate that celestial disclosure should end with this trio session after edwin and leigh have gradually taken their own capacity of transcending their borders to the limit. after all, this is what it is: a manifestation of the pure will to create and to express oneself as immediately as possible by working with everything and everyone one holds dear. (tobias fischer)
source: tokafi
taking a route of descriptive negations is particularly ill suited to celestial disclosure, the band’s third full-length effort, which, despite its occasional moments of mystery and gloom as well as its generally darkly glowing ambiance, constitutes a decidedly uplifting effort. the opening sections of both „heliosphere“ and „solar mass“ may be made up of deep, brooding swells, foreboding harmonies, eerie micronoises and hallucinatory cluster-chords. but as opaque shapes are transformed into concrete forms, abstract allusions replaced by physical palpitations and embryonic ideas nurtured into fully developed themes, their pent-up suspense is gradually released, resolved and sublimated into pure energy - above all, these are exercises in building and holding musical tension until it becomes unbearable and the cue of the drums, suddenly connecting loose hihat figures into an irresistible beat, is greeted as a promise of deliverance. these pieces are essentially the product of single thoughts stretched to twenty-minute-epics, their creative cells constantly twitching, shifting and changing positions to arrive at new constellations and patterns, like a musical rubik’s cube being discretely manipulated at the hands of its creator.
even more distinctly, however, the album is the result of the interaction between two musicians who have very much arrived at a personal voice. edward’s bass is dynamic, direct and playful, searching for delicate variations in simple motives and painstakingly avoiding cliches. you can hear how much the asceticism and purity of dub have become an integral aspect of his technique, how elements of rock, funk and jazz have percolated into his vocabulary. and yet, what results from this fusion is something completely his own. on „solar mass“, his approach can be described as a method of sonic teasing, his lines remaining in the upper and middle range of his instrument for extensive sequences before finally taking the plunge into the deep and revelling in concentrically expanding circles of subsonic resonance. his licks are never mere harmonic grounding or rhythmic propulsion but an emancipated compositional tool and leigh congenially responds to this confidence by entering into challenging dialogues and countering his musical partner’s majestic retention with sprawling fountains of neverending melodies. short inventions serve as springboards for extended, jaggedly shaped passages, harmonic schemes are continually broken apart and reconstructed, simple repetitions turn out to be mere openings for larger-scale structures. and yet, quicksilver fluidity and lyricism always top his list of concerns, as his lines spray from his flutes and saxophones like crystal-clear streams of water from a fountain of youth.
in a fortuitous concurrence, both edwin and leigh build their pieces on the strength of ideas and motivic variation. even though they have factually solidified as a studio project, their origins as a live formation still shine through in their passionate defiance against using technology to cover up creative deficiencies (if there are any, that is). not only does this mean arrangements are breathing rather than being cluttered and packed with myriads of events. more importantly, it allows the musicians to draw all attention to the unfolding of their musical arches, to the process of their interaction and to all but imperceptibly plays with time and arrangements to create subtle yet highly effective transitions in the listener’s mind. on „solar mass“, leigh’s first solo is of a mesmerising simplicity and purity, almost played as if in a trance and in a state between waking and dreaming. increasingly, however, his tone turns more raw, carefully transitioning into oriental scales and tapping into its harmonic well as a new reservoir for themes, tones and timbres. edwin quickly follows suite, expanding his at first one-note emanations into strings of vibrating frequencies and then entering into a slow-burning groove. and so it goes for minutes on end, each performer speaking and responding, leading and following and propelling the narrative forward.
the eastern tendencies are intensified on closer „maninkarnika“, which has been added to the original two tracks as a bonus on the occasion of the cd-re-issue. here, indian guitarist rajan spolia opens the proceedings with beguiling barrages of bent, bowed and broken themes and a recurring leitmotif. it should only seem appropriate that celestial disclosure should end with this trio session after edwin and leigh have gradually taken their own capacity of transcending their borders to the limit. after all, this is what it is: a manifestation of the pure will to create and to express oneself as immediately as possible by working with everything and everyone one holds dear. (tobias fischer)
source: tokafi
tf52, a review (1)
its been a while since i last heard final, justin k. broadrick’s solo project, following his involvement with napalm death, godflesh and jesu (all of which were never really my cup of tea). it was in those years when ‘isolationism’ was a much used buzz word to describe music that was firmly rooted in ambient but with a noisy edge. final, along with say lull, was a project in which the guitar played an all important role. broadrick didn’t use the name final for nearly ten years but now picked it up again, and recorded this 2lp, especially for this format. its like going back to something that you haven’t done in ages, but it still feels conformable. although i expected four lp sides with a piece each, this is quite the contrary. the pieces are rather short, a few on each side, and each side has its own character. the harsher, analogue synthesizer like sounds are on the b-side, while the a-side is much more mellow, rhythmic even, certainly towards the end. the first record seems to be all electronic, synth based, but the second is all about guitars and effects. broadrick strums away, while his effects pick up the signals and create long form, sustaining patterns with that. the isolationist music in optima forma (a fine reminder to play that double cd on virgin again also, come to think of it). as such it seems nothing happened but maybe that’s of less importance: the music is still great. an excellent return. hopefully more to come! (fdw)
source: vital weekly
source: vital weekly
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