arty crap



Henri Pousseur - 4 parabolic mixes

Henri Pousseur is a Belgian avant-garde composer, this CD is a live recording where 4 artists, Robert Hampson, Philip Jeck, Markus Popp and the composer himself attempt to create a parabolic mix based on Pousseur's 8 ètudes paraboliques. So as you can guess we're up against some seriously pretentious nonsense, chances of finding a tune or a rhythm are going to be slim, an I'm sorry I've no idea who Henri Pousseur is, and I'm damned if I can work out what a parabolic mix is, does the tempo or structure follow some a basic parabolic curve? I'm not sure they do here, anyway I'm not any sort of mathematician or wire journalist so I'm not going to go into details. All I'm here to do is describe what they sound like and if I like them. Well Henri Pousseur version is the least interesting in my opinion, too chaotic - basically he mixes effects with a couple of sound sources playing randomly generated mono-synth samples. Hampson's is much better, more ambient but with teeth and he's not afraid to mix in a few extra sound sources such as towards the end when a brass instrument is heard in the background along with general crowd samples. Jeck's is my favourite, normally he uses old battered record players and vinyl - I'm assuming he's doing the same here - ambient music at it's most sinister. Last mix is from Markus Popp of Oval, my only exposure to Oval is from playing Rez on the PS2, I can hear the connection here - Popp mix basically transforms the original into his own. So, my opinion on this CD? Well, it's hard for me to recommend since I find it quite hard work to listen to so I know other's will have more trouble with it. It's interesting... and good to listen to semiconcious...



Various - Warpmart1

This is a sampler from Warp Records online shop, I recommend a look at it since they stock plenty of other CDs from obscure record labels (the Pousseur CD is a case in point). Anyway on to this compilation, well it's difficult to review for one major reason: track 14 - Closed Shoulders (cLOUDDEAD Remix) by Boom Bip. It is so fucking good! The sort of song the Boards of Canada would kill for! I haven't really listened to the other tracks as much, not that they are bad: tracks by Ardisson, The Gasman, and Intricate are all very good... just not as good as that damn cLOUDDEAD mix!