Vuzh Music Blog

It was a busy news week at Vuzh Music, so I thought I’d do a roundup of everything that happened, in case you missed something.
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It would be a pity if you missed the incredible new release from the new Vuzh Music artist Auzel, her release is so peculiar and awesome that it gives me shivers.
http://www.vuzhmusic.com/releases/auzel_old.html
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Then there was the big interview with C. Reider! Interesting stuff to read. Subjects discussed include listening, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico & lots of stuff about my history & method of composing.

http://autoreversetoinfinity.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/interview-c-reider-of-vuzh-music/
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Disquiet ezine wrote an informative article about the new C. Reider release “Formerly Sine Drones”, much space is given to the methodology & constraints of this strange little work.
http://disquiet.com/2011/07/11/c-reider-modisti-sine-wave/
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AUTOreverse also reviewed the lovely new Auzel release, Ian compared it to things like Skinner Box, Rasputina & 4AD releases. Money quote: “This album is scary and weird. I like it very much.”
http://autoreversetoinfinity.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/review-auzel-old-2011/
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Lastly, I joined the silly new social network Google Plus. Add me or whatever.
https://plus.google.com/115824106778896363774

C. Reider was interviewed by old friend & colleague Ian Stewart for the resurrected online version of AUTOreverse magazine. This is the first interview I’ve done in well over a decade. I enjoyed the peculiar challenge of explaining myself, and I hope you enjoy reading what I’ve got to say.
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excerpt:

I am a voracious listener. I listen to loads of music, as much new stuff as possible all the time. I listen to my surroundings everywhere I go… there are interesting sounds everywhere. I try not to listen to what people say, if I can help it, but I do listen to the way they say it, I love voices and inflections and accents. All sound influences me. Listening is maybe something like a religion.

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Read the entire monstrosity here:
http://autoreversetoinfinity.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/interview-c-reider-of-vuzh-music/

Disquiet, the essential website for ambient / electronic music, has published an article called “Time of the Sines” about my latest album “Formerly Sine Drones” with some interesting commentary about how it was made:
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http://disquiet.com/2011/07/11/c-reider-modisti-sine-wave/
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The sine wave is arguably the most rudimentary building block of electronic music. It is the source for various forms of synthesis: a simple sonic object that can be tweaked, prodded, processed, and layered to create new sounds. Simple as its sonic makeup is, that undulating up and down cycle, it can be, in the hands of some musicians, an object of intense aural attention unto itself. C. Reider has made a prolific habit of using constraints as a means toward creative ends, perhaps most notably in the employment of early drum machines in the production of music for which rhythm is not the main point. On his recent freely downloadable album Formerly Sine Drones, released by the Modisti netlabel, Reider makes several different sine waves do marvelous things.

The tracks range from wildly active to deeply sedate. The latter is the case with the album’s final cut (MP3), titled “777 Hz.” All the tracks are named for the frequency of the sine wave from which they are built, ranging between “12 Hz” to “3456 Hz,” as chosen by followers of his twitter.com/vuzhmusic account when he put a call out for random numbers.

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There’s more explanatory info, a streaming track and a graphic illustration at the article:
http://disquiet.com/2011/07/11/c-reider-modisti-sine-wave/

My post detailing my favorite netlabel releases of 2010 was quite popular, and led to a lot of people discovering some cool music, which is one of my main goals, aside from promoting my own music. It is my humble opinion that all netlabel artists ought to have the same goal: namely to promote the stuff in the netlabel underground that they think is really great at the same time as they promote their own stuff. That way ALL of us benefit, both listeners and producers. Right? Right.
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With this in mind, I am going to be focusing on each artist (hopefully-this will depend on if they want to participate or not) whom I reviewed in the best of 2010 post, re-running the review I originally wrote, but I’m ALSO going to ask each of the artists reviewed to recommend a few completely FREE netlabel albums that THEY have enjoyed recently.
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Previously we’ve had recommendations from 1.) Mystified.
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This time we’ll get Marc Weidenbaum’s recommendations. His indispensable website Disquiet is one of the netlabel underground’s most important resources. He curated a compilation which was one of my favorites from 2010.
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V/A – Despite the Downturn: An Answer Album
http://www.archive.org/details/DespiteTheDownturnAnAnswerAlbum
Marc Weidenbaum’s sonic activism compilation reacting to an article by Megan McArdle in the Atlantic Monthly, in which artists used the article’s accompanying illustration as a graphic score. Nice concept, and lots of cool music on here, including one piece by yours truly.

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Here are his comments and recommendations:
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I’d like to add one comment by way of introduction. I entirely agree with your statement that it’s “important for the netlabel underground to actually talk about netlabel music,” and not just “promote” it. I do, though, want to propose that not all talking is verbal or written. A lot of the best netlabel communication occurs in the form of remixes and collaborative projects. However, that is musicians talking to musicians, and I agree it is necessary to communicate in a more broadly accessible language — e.g., the best-of list. So, here goes. Three of these five are on netlabels, one is a podcast, and one is a project housed on a musician’s website. The latter, two, though, being freely available, strike me as being netlabel in spirit.
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For a Touch Radio podcast entry, saxophonist Thomas Ankersmit did a spell of Deep Listening inside an echo-heavy Estonian hanger:
http://www.touchradio.org.uk/touchradio_56_thomas_ankersmit.html

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Elisa Luu’s The Time of Waiting emphasizes variety: playful beats, quasi-orchestral extravagance, and a real keeper that artfully employs processed vocals:
http://www.archive.org/details/LBN003_-_Elisa_Luu_-_The_time_of_waiting

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The music on Diego Bernal’s Besides… is the like some secret side-project team-up between Ennio Morricone and DJ Premiere, mixing atmospheric melodrama and rough beats:
http://exponential.bandcamp.com/album/besides

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The track “Homage to Jack Vanarsky,” featuring viola and motorized gadget, on the album Solo Viola d’Amore by Garth Knox, sounds more and more like a duet the more you listen to it:
http://shskh.com/

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Tim Prebble’s Synaesthesia project invites musicians to respond in sound to photos that he posts. In this case, one from Bali. Gamelans not required:
http://disquiet.com/2010/01/07/tim-prebble-synaesthesia/
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Full list of 2010 favorites at:
http://disquiet.com/2010/12/31/best-free-releases-2010/
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Happy new year.

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Thanks Marc!

Marc Weidenbaum of Disquiet, today released a compilation of “sonic activism” in protest of a dismissive ‘critique’ of Susan Philipsz work, and the fact of any sound artist winning the Turner Prize written by Richard Dorment, published in the Telegraph.
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I was happy to have a brief piece included on the compilation… I have to say all of that music by a lot of artists that I admire, all based on the sound of sighs is pretty dreamy stuff. Great concept & execution!
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I recommend reading Marc’s insightful description of the motivation for the compilation, and then downloading it, or streaming it. All of this can be done if you follow this link:
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http://disquiet.com/2010/12/20/lowlands-a-sigh-collective/
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It was a good year for netlabel releases, and that is for certain!
I mean it: download everything on this page. You had better.
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We’ll start with a brief roundup of my releases this year and then move on to my favorite releases by other artists.
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It was a bit of a sparse go-round for Vuzh Music this year, but I did put out a really great remix of a split tape from 1991 by PBK and Vidna Obmana which I hope you didn’t miss:
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C. Reider – Fragment Three Re-Works
http://www.vuzhmusic.com/releases/fragment.html
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Dark Winter netlabel also put out a collaboration between me & Desohll of a longform guitar darkambient piece. Quite dark, somewhat ambient as well.
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C. Reider / Desohll – Falling into Disrepair
http://www.darkwinter.com/dw072.html
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I’m pretty sure 2011 is going to see a whole lot more activity at Vuzh Music, so watch out!
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Now on to my favorite netreleases this year. All but one are free to download. They are presented here in alphabetical order, because I could not rate them, they’re all too good.
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Andreas Brandal – Breaking a Mirror
http://andreasbrandal.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/new-mini-album/
Calm cinematic soundtrack-ish atmospheres and scenarios. It is constructed like a kind of collage music, but breaks into intimate little musical themes with real instruments. Quite lovely. I will need some more of this composer’s work.
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Das, Jeph Jerman, John Hudak, PBK – Chain Mail Collab June 28, 1988
http://soundgenetic.blogspot.com/2010/11/das-jeph-jerman-john-hudak-pbk-chain.html
Old school looping industrial noise. This sound never gets old for me.
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Christian Doil – Eis
http://justnotnormal.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/jnn090-christian-doil-eis/
A chilly collection of pinging synth tones, plucky percussives and arctic belltones working through fluctuating musical themes while accompanied by icy, ghostly drones. The crystal cathedral, indeed.
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The Euphoric Hum – A Circle of Equal Altitude
http://www.archive.org/details/isor016ACircleOfEqualAltitude
Churning noisy ambience that intensifies and dissipates in dramatic ways. New sounds continually enter the mix, keeping things interesting. A sort of diffuse industrial/minimal techno throb emerges from the ambient noise.
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Fosel – Problem of Universals (C. Reider Remixes)
http://earthmantra.com/release-detail.php?id=146
Is it bad form to nominate this as a best of 2010 when it’s a remix of my own music? Well, for me it honestly is a great album. Ambient beat music done beautifully.
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Gurdonark – Butterflies of North Texas
http://fluttersongs.blogspot.com/2010/07/gurdonark-butterflies-of-north-texas_24.html
Gurdonark’s unique brand of sampling-synth musical fancies takes a move into slightly darker territories than last year’s wonderful “Seven Virtues”. Don’t look for scary dark ambient or anything though! Self-described “kid music” with odd modes, interesting sounds and unexpected changes.
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The Implicit Order – s/t
http://www.archive.org/details/sPE_0049
I’ve been a full-throated advocate for the music of Anthony Washburn for years. This new effort does not disappoint. His haunting blend of looping samples alternate between creepy and jarring, and is always intriguing. “Dumb Generation” = great song title!
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Miquel Parera Jaques – nx004_Automatic
http://www.archive.org/details/nx004_Automatic
Tinnitus drones moving along algorithmic flight paths. Computer music for hypnotizing organic life forms.
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John Kannenberg – Oculus
http://www.wanderingear.com/we014.html
The basis of this album is a set of site recordings of various video projection mechanisms in art museums. High strength of concept and execution. Those gorgeous ultra high frequencies in “Television Monitor”, jeez, how did he do that so beautifully?
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Christopher McFall – A Long Time Running for the Suicide Strays
http://www.archive.org/details/rb090
Sepia loops of tones & textures clustering and spreading apart. Unmissable.
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Meteer – Unless
http://www.bfwrecordings.com/releases/Meteer/Unless/
Blocks of odd samples move in rhythmic patterns a la Biosphere or Taylor Deupree. Somehow, even with all the ring modulation and lo-fidelity and occasional distortion, (not to mention lack of overt beats) it still feels like a lush ambient techno piece.
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Mutamassik – That Which Death Cannot Destroy
http://www.roughamericana.com/publicfiles/MUTAMASSIKThatWhichDeathCannotDestroy___.zip
Messed up hip-hop instrumental music with middle Eastern samples, the beats start off totally mutant and then they go and mutate some more. Fans of Muslimgauze will enjoy this.
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Mystified – A Pale But Lasting Hope
http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/mystified-palehope/
Mystified puts out a lot of good stuff, and then he puts out some fucking great stuff. This release falls into the latter category. Rattling percussion elements and zigzagging synthetics form imaginary sonic structures. Loops that fall out of sync. Among my top favorite things I’ve ever heard from this artist. Please note that this release is on Magnatune, and so it streams freely, but you need to pay a $15 fee before you can download (but then you can also download everything else in their catalog).
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Kurt Nimmo (Fosel) – Complex Silence 8
http://www.archive.org/details/complex_silence_8
No fair, Mr. Fosel made it to the list twice this year! This guy puts out some great damned percussive ambient music. Includes a remix of Phillip Wilkerson and two remixes of C. Reider. Bonus points for the Kurt Vonnegut reference. Not sure whom to credit, because the cover says Fosel and the ID3 tags say Kurt Nimmo. Ah well.
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Olifaunt – Innocent of the Smoke and Noise
http://www.archive.org/details/InnocentOfTheSmokeAndNoise
Olifaunt just keeps improving and improving. I think this is the best outing yet from this composer. Extremely minimal, quiet, calming string work with elements of drone/trance and musical progression. Very pretty ambient album.
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PBK – Appeal
http://soundgenetic.blogspot.com/2010/12/pbk-appeal-1989.html
A newly remastered digital re-release of a cassette from 1989. Early PBK tapes were pretty heavily loved by me, so it’s great to hear them again all cleaned up! Industrial quality machine noise that accumulates a calmed atmosphere better than most ambient music… pricks at your imagination.
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V/A – Despite the Downturn: An Answer Album
http://www.archive.org/details/DespiteTheDownturnAnAnswerAlbum
Marc Weidenbaum’s sonic activism compilation reacting to an article by Megan McArdle in the Atlantic Monthly, in which artists used the article’s accompanying illustration as a graphic score. Nice concept, and lots of cool music on here, including one piece by yours truly.
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V/A – No-R-Mal II
http://justnotnormal.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/jnn100-various-artists-no-r-mal-ii/
The only person that can out-do Mark Stolk, it appears, is Mark Motherfucking Stolk! His five hour long compilation of netlabel artists from last year was followed up by a SEVEN hour long compilation this year… seven fucking hours of cool underground music, as good an overview of the netlabel underground as you can get, period.

One of the netlabel under-world’s resident saints, Marc Weidenbaum of Disquiet, is writing for Boingboing for a short while — and he’s used the opportunity to post about netlabels with a very nicely done, surface-scratching, invite-you-to-discover-more-for-yourself overview:

Netlabels: Release, Remix, Repeat
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Disquiet posted a review of Steam Inspector.
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http://disquiet.com/2010/09/20/c-reider-steam-inspector/
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If the title summons up some Hayao Miyazaki vision of a homunculoid cartoon character making its way through a realm equal parts fantasy and dessication, you aren’t far off.

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Read the entire review here

Marc was interviewed about the brand new music compilation “Despite the Downturn”.
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Here’s a pretty great quote about some of the contributions, including my own:

What made this project so natural was that the illustration by Jeremy Traum suggested itself as a score because it had a score in it. Some of the musicians on Despite the Downturn interpreted the music in the score literally, especially Tom Moody, who fed the notes into MIDI and took it from there — the result to me sounds like Scott Joplin and Conlon Nancarrow getting along quite nicely. Others used the score as a canvas that only by coincidence had notes in it; they took it as a narrative, the way C. Reider has the hip-hop appear at the end, an aural symbol of the urchins that is, compositionally, like something Paul Dukas might have done if The Sorcerer’s Apprentice — perhaps the great work of narrative music about the unintended consequences of systems — had been about filesharing.

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Here’s part one
and part two.
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There’s also a cool writeup of the compilation at Flavorwire here:What “The Death of the Music Industry” Really Sounds Like.
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In case you missed earlier opportunities to download this cool compilation of new experimental music, here’s the link:
Despite the Downturn: An Answer Album

Disquiet / Marc Wiedenbaum’s compilation “Despite the Downturn: An Answer Album” — on which I was pleased & honored to be able to appear — was noticed by Cory Doctorow & written up for the enormo-e-zine BoingBoing.
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http://www.boingboing.net/2010/05/05/musicians-record-alb.html. Go check it out! It’s fun reading the comments there.