“They are at the intersection between not wasting a second, and having all the time in the world to deliver a work of defiant minimalism. … By the end it’s a late night ping pong match where all the lustre starts to slowly drain.” — TJ Norris

“De geluiden passen zich aan de omgeving aan en vormen samen een delicaat geheel. De uitdaging bestaat er in om uit de grote diversiteit aan klankkleuren het momentum aan te voelen en vast te houden.”

“…Stichworte: Abfallsymphonie, Intermediaperformance, Living Radio, Intercultural Chirps, Schprachgelüste… Mello mixt Hör-Spiele und Soundclashes aus Rap & Klassik, aus Robotik und ‘La Paloma’”

“… From integration to disintegration, in just 60 seconds. I suppose this might be making some observation about the forces of chaos and order at work in nature, or a more fundamental point about human beings who fail to get along and whose attempts at communication are fraught with misunderstandings and the words coming out wrong due to heightened emotional states. Chen and Nørstebø could be seen as actors, improvising their own script, as they take these demanding roles and work hard to express this eternal human dilemma.”

“Nabelóse certainly reaches new heights of subtle atmospherics…”

“Süßes Nichts, herbes Alles: Rough Tongue von Beam Splitter ist eine stimmige, ja vielstimmige Platte voller magischer Momente…”

“The voice is sharpened like a razor blade, sometimes it’s the blade of a guillotine, the trombone creates bush spittle, which eventually sink deep into the sound universe.”

“Dialogene rommer smidighet så vel som konfrontasjon….”

Scrivendo della Corvo Records in un articolo, vedi qui, ne parlavo come di una naturale erede della compianta Absinth, e almeno due di questi dischi confermano quella mia affermazione (Robin Hayward e Gilles Aubry erano presenti anche in quel catalogo). Oggi è infatti proprio la Corvo Records a porsi quale più attenta documentatrice di quanto …

Não sendo um álbum de jazz, “And Who Sees the Mystery” retrata todo o fascínio que o Norte de África e o Médio Oriente provocaram neste género musical, muito por via da admiração que Paul Bowles e os escritores da Beat Generation durante algum tempo radicados em Tânger dedicaram à música tradicional de Marrocos.

“… It’s a spellbinding, cathartic combination of beauty and discomfort, a stunning climax for a record that seems to be about investigating textures as much as it is about loneliness, longing, and the inevitable drift of history.”

“…De sa nouvelle errance, Gilles Aubry a ainsi fait deux (sur)faces pleines et ravissantes.”

“With their extended techniques they create very soulful music… A surprising album.”

“So haben wir es in Wahrheit mit einem brillanten, die Tiefe, die Stille und die Emotion nicht scheuenden Bluesalbum zu tun, das auch international seinesgleichen sucht…”

“… »Nabelóse« ist ein magisches, berührendes Album.”

“… Kakaliagou, als bloße Zeitkratzer-Bläserin offenbar unterschätzt, geht der Diaspora-Blues von den Lippen wie bitterer Honig. Schmoliner singt gewagter, ihre Frau zittert vor Hunger und Frost …”

“…His processing draws out the individual orientations of sound check ephemera, percussion, bells, drones or digressions, smearing them into larger patterns or using them to rebound in new directions — resonating, ringing, wailing, or wandering. The resulting sounds elicit a sense of creation and destruction, tightly bound together, held in stasis for perusal.”

Manchmal wird man noch überrascht: Anstatt einer klassischen Promo mit Hintergrundinfos und der Platte, bekommt man hier neben viel guter Musik (dazu später mehr) auch noch eine wissenschaftliche Arbeit zum Themenspektrum der zu besprechenden Platte.

(…) ensuite, ce sont des preuves d’une réalité à réinventer comme à distance, qui prendront les atours d’une abstraction à énigmes.

(…) An einer Stelle dieser grundgütigen Platte nimmt Gilles Aubry einen poetischen Text in Angriff, tribute to the ear von Farid Zalhoud.
Dann wird es fast gruselig schön. Und das ist bei weitem nicht die erste brillante Veröffentlichung des Berliner Corvo-Labels. (felix)

Here we go with two Shindig! reviews of the final releases of the series —— SAZ BEAT III and THE TRIP IV ——

“… for me not understandable voices, combined with LoFi noises, his typical micro electronics and drones create a super interesting grounded sound…”

“This is some fascinating stuff, I must say. This is not your usual layering of some water/rain/sea/forest sounds, but a rather intense trip…”

…”politics of invisibility by establishing correspondences between Paul Bowles as an ‘invisible spectator’, the veil as a strategy of resistance against colonialism by the women of the Addal music ensemble and the Pythagorean curtain of French acousmatic music.”

“Borromean Rings is a challenging yet deeply meditative listen, and is certain to reward those with deep ears and open minds.”

“Without electronic digressions or other extra accessory, the two musicians manage to create a full drone sound”

“… Diese kontemplative organische Musik wirkt aber niemals statisch oder stoisch. Es ist eine unglaublich interessante und genaue Arbeit, die die HörerInnen in eine tiefe, bewegte Ruhe versetzt.
Große, große Empfehlung meinerseits, von den Katzen gar nicht zu sprechen! “

“Každá taková maličkost, znamenající narušení nadvlády témbrů, působí až eruptivně, nebývale expresivně. Ovšem za předpokladu, že posluchač je patřičně ponořen do hudebního magmatu.”

“…Saz Beat 2, like its preceeding volume is another limited edition vinyl only release which, via its selection of twelve fresh rarities, further explores the seemingly continuous cross fertilisation of styles and genres within Turkish popular music which was set in motion as a result of Turkey’s exposure to the all conquering tide of western pop and rock during the high times of the 60s and 70s.”

“…an energetic feast of sound poetry delivered in scribbly, broken, fragments, with a palpable human presence behind it which cannot be ignored.”

“…puisque deux mondes y évoluent en miroir avec une grâce confondante.”

“Fantastic work…”