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Chromata - s/t  [cd 2009 coo records]

Coo team comes from Thessaloniki, Greece. The coo idea (their own words) includes a very interesting net radio (I spent at least a week listening to its program and I was surpised to the multiplicity of the shows) and a label (coo records). Their first two releases are here.

The list of collaborators in this album is really endless. There is the basic group core of Eva Ieropoulou and Filis Ieropoulos (who work in Veroia, Greece) and contributors by any means include...designer Valero Doval (the excellent design of the artwork), musicians dUdU (bass), Thanos Anagnostopoulos (violin), H.Insall (cell), C.Calaras (bass), Dalot (vocals, electric piano), Lilly Zinan Ding (keyboards, vocals, programming), K.Tsougras (accordion), Feloche (mandolin), Natela Itschouaidze (vocals) and Marcel Van Limbeek (mastering in Alchemea studios, London). The general feeling is that of loose electronica ranging from ambientish Autechre (incunabula era) to Beehive era Moby with spoken, ethereal and sometimes childish vocals. The voice of Eva sometimes reminded me of Lena Platonos while the lyrics are full of pictures and stories.  There is an underlying musical story in this album. It starts very rhythmically and succeds in moving the focal point to the contributors and back to rhythm while at the same time western musical tradition meets something untouchably Greek in essence and back again. This is an album of three parallel movements if u add narration which is central to its conception. A well designed album, well balanced that doesn’t draw attention at first but full of nuances in the background, almost pointillistically. If u focus to every track separately u get the impression of almost haiku-like austerity, a need to make a comment as fast and accurately as possible. This is exactly why the great number of contributors is necessary. They provide the different backround/approach necessary to reciprocally emphasize in a different manner each word and track, depending on each listener’s standing point. [Fervent]]

links
cooradio radio

Dalot - Flight Sessions [cd 2009 coo records]

Dalot produced and composed this ep that includes six tracks that deal with electronica, ambient, bits of post rock and sound recordings. The variety of approaches on these six tracks bring to forth the schizoid personality of this musician as she eclectically blends various styles (one time the music reminds u of alva notο while the other panamerican). Sometimes you get the impression that u r listening to an exercise in styles and software know how but there is soul in each and every track. Dalot is not faithful to any style. On the contrary the sweet (more or less) melodies are juxtaposed to abstract rhythmic patterns (bringing to mind the northern European scene) but all the time beginning with the prefix post- for any stylistic description.  This is a very hopeful approach indicative of an era of free approaches. Dalot’s music sounds like seeing (synaesthesia?) art nouveau and art deco buildings constructed with hypermodern materials, shiny, limpid playing all the time with the ambiguousness of every element, probably indirectly disputing its meaning. You feel like there’s always a tongue in cheek approach, a feeling of ‘I can and I wanna do everything’ that i am supposed to be the listener to. I am almost sure that the next release by Dalot will be definitely groundbreaking. She shows that she is about to do so. [Fervent]

links

Coo radio cooradio

Dope Of Gods- The Old Child [cd 2008 Bminor]

My last reviews are kind of eulogies lately. This is because I review the albums that for one reason or another left me with a nice impression. I listen to many albums lately and more of them were from big labels etc. when u listen to such albums yr hopes are too high and most of the times u just get disappointment because instead of listening to music yr listening to statistics transformed in music, a bit of 80s, recalling a past superstar with a bit of disco blah blah blah.
Dope of gods’ the old child is the case here. Sounds like these guys put all their life in productions as the old child that I hold in my hands. This is a 3fold digipack accompanied with a 20 pages booklet for fucks shake! How cool is that! Even though I am not that into dark almost industrial rock there were tracks that I really loved. The first track 1988 is excellent, heavy guitars, industrial drumming and an absolutely introvert voice that is almost mourning. This is a great track to begin, it catches u by surprise and this works. This is the way also that the album continues with the equally heavy a dead girl and chains in my mind. Don’t misunderstand, this is neither an industrial album nor metal or whatever, dope of gods almost all the time give u the impression that are standing on moving sand. The focal point of the albums is the way its compositions are mostly disjoint from any kind of orthodox listener. This sometimes makes the album inaccessible but at least sounds sincere. For example my favourite tracks marching out of the past (a monster magnet kind of ballad that transforms to prog porcupine tree) and I said enough (a sap period alice in chains acoustic) could play in the repeat for hours but they sound even better in the concept of the album. Really check their myspace, I said enough is so beautiful that I could definitely put it next to I stay away by alice in chains. Really this is what I love with these records, u don’t know what to expect, they are always capricious and eclectic, they always are full of surprises that no superband can dare to offer.  [Fervent]

Links
Dope of gods Myspace

VA - Compilacion Mainumby Vol II [cd-r 2008 Mainumb Yediciones]

The second part of the compilacion mainumby includes 18 tracks. It is quite a surprise that though we were waiting to listen to a similar approach we were proven wrong. The production is much better and the tracks tend more to electronics even to the minimal wing. 12 groups contribute tracks to this release including minimalista pais, 0+yn, nebel dots, Im, Pretzel, Kiz, (swag) gra kran among more. The greatest surprise is the two tracks that wave tank contribute, a band from Greece influenced by the dark sound of the 0s that reminded me the good old scene that flourished back then. An interesting tracks is also the one by flor.con.venas a very nicely worked and structures composition with lots of glitchy elements. Minimalista pais also appear with an outstanding track, their minha provincial travels in a dark place similar to that of cas en urano and 0+yn. The fact that I don’t mention the rest of the bands does not mean that they don’t deserve it or you should not check them on myspace, on the contrary there is a high quality of music in all of them, some sound a little bit oldfashioned though the ideas behind them are filtered in a new style. This compilation mostly comprises a document of a very special scene with its own sound and style! A really nice release! [Marios M]

Links
Mainumby ediciones Myspace

Flue - Beyond The Edge Of Nowhere [cd Diophantine discs]

The Flue trio comes from the experimental music scene in Bay area and its members are Mason Jones  (member of subarachnoid space, culper ring, the classic trance project, runs also the  charnel music label), Jason Stein (subarachnoid space, tekachi) and Chris Miller (tekachi). I was a big fan of subarachnoid space till almost 2000 and I considered their view on progressive, space rock unique. You could feel with the first listening that the whole band when playing was swimming in deep waters, they didn’t compromise by no means to jamming tactics and this very thing categorized them in the most unpredictable bands of those genres. Flue also bears the same qualities. in this second release by the trio (there was their debut 7” on Obuh) they incorporate electric guitars, bass and analog keyboards that they pass through various distortions, filters and effects in real time. The result is a musically unified work that could be described as abastract or artificial ambient but beyond the notion of simulating an already existing environment. While their musical pallete is composed by sounds generally approachable the dialogue in which the musicians partake is supplementary but on a subject that is by definition unknown or impossible to be approached. Maybe the title of the cd could be some help here but the negative reading that keeps coming to my mind (inside a continuous somewhere) leads me always back to the title. Someone could claim that this is a jam (probably in the manner of subarachnoid space or tekachi) but every musician is constantly providing space to the following making the music organic or organized fluent but at the same time the barrier of abstraction makes the oversight of the music impossible. the music is absolutely immersive.  The approach in beyond the edge of nowhere brings to mind a unified message that asks to be decoded in an excessive manner based on the intermediate space between the 14 tracks of the cd. Beyond the edge of nowhere comes in a blue laser cut paper envelope with silver prints and will definitely satisfy everyone into the bands that the trio has participated in or fans of sun ra and the primal freaked out hawkwind.. [Fervent]

Links
Diophantine discs Site

Chora  - Moist Friends [cdr 2007 Lattajjaa]

This is Chora’s first full leanght cd, released 8.1.2007 at a great record label Lattajjaa. The album was recorded in Sheffield during the summer of  2006, performed and recorded by Ben Morris and Robert Wye. This cdr includes 3 tracks, two of them have long run time(19.50, 23.02). as the album starts we understand that Chora music direction. They play  Psychedelic drone music. Moist friends starts with a big variety of instruments playing some noisy and some melodic peaces, constructing all together they create a chaotic music edioma. It’s very interesting listening to a music track that overwhelmes you with  a variety of emotions but still remains concrate.  There is nothing will change at the second track. This lo-fi experiment will keep thrilling us with all this unhuman sounds.  3rd tracks characteristic moment is when all this chaotic construction is covered by an ipnotic synth. Some wind instruments start playing over it. The track restarts bilding up noisy layers of sounds , reaches a high peak and terminates. And fade out. I think that Chora have the colifications to be  big sometime. They are realy, a groop that will be a very interesting experience to see performing live. It was very interesting  listening to such good music, but Lattajjaa records always provide realy good work. The truth is that Chora is one of the most interesting stuff i have listen this  period. [M M]

Links
Lattajjaa Site

Here is a compilation of the new psychedelic underground, released 26.7.2006, that still  today holds great interest. This is a Limited edition of 100 copies cdr from Lattajjaa. This compilation includes 19 artists (Black to comm, Keijo and Jussi Karsikas, Bjerga/Iversen, Ajilvsga, Anla Courtis, Vluba, Ville Moskitto, Silvester Anfang, Kulkija, Rene Kita, Utos ...) wich participate with one track each. The opening band Black to comm starts with a very strange composition constracted by tape recorders. Besides the tracks name is also cassette opera! Some of the most interesting sounds comes from vluba,.. A latin-american group, from buenos aires playing quite noisy with a bass playing a realy evol monotonic . December’s “hunters green” an acoustic gitar basited song with realy flat vocals. One of the best songs is from united bible studies. A religius type of song that realy matters. A melodic trip to heaven. Loachfillet with a short but very goοd track with mixed noises constructing a quite scary music background.The last track, by Greippi is this very interesting compilation with an analog children piano baist song that has a more funy aestetic. Unfortunately it is very hard to mention all the participant bands but I hope you can realize that it conteins a vast number of new and quality bands.. [MM]

links
Lattajjaa Site

Soon Clyde - A Man Needs A Way [cdr 2008 Self-released]

This is Soon Clyde ’s self-released album. Grey Pardew (songs, instruments, vocals) seems to be the leader of this group that comes from BALTIMORE, (Maryland of United States). This is a gitar band with folk-pop influences. This release comes in a simple envelope, but it seems to me very beautiful. It sounds fairly melodic with a very good instrumentation. Grey Pardew’s singing is sweet. He is a realy good song writer, making melancholic but also sunny melodies. It’s  a very good soundtrack that you can listen over and over again. It’s like the best moments of Deus  era  when they released the album “in a bar under the sea”. The Soon clyde play easy gitar songs but they also have tunes that sound curious for example  “black grass”, giving us an idea of experimentation. Not bad at all. [MM]

links
Soon Clyde Myspace

This is Soon Clyde’s second cdr. It’s a pretty handmade digipack with a beautiful cover. These guys did a very good graffic job this time! This release includes 10 songs, in the same motive with their previous one, called “A man need a way”. Guitar based songs with very good instrumentation,with a big variety of sounds. Grey Parker’s lead with his guitar rithms and a big variaty of instruments (piano, violin ...) following him, give a good vibration. Tracks like “Given light,given sleep, the sea had a first and “Fish feet”, follow the same characteristic pattern. But in this album there are also other songs that in my opinion are the best ones, if you are more focused to instrumentation. Tracks like “Migratory one” - with a characteristic violin, “Tributary to Sanctuary” - with the percussion make this track sound realy electronic, “Migratory two” - a drone like track and the beautiful and “Sea saw” - sounds very electronic, are some of the best ones. Nice album! [mm] 


links
Soon Clyde Myspace

Mummel radion is a group from Sweden. I didn’t know them, until i resieved their cdr. My first impression, based on the beautifulcover,  was that this one may be an interesting release. Simple, childishly graffics, propably made by pensil. This cdr is a small duration EP, that incldes 5 short lengthed tracks that last up to 15 min. The first track starts with an acoustic guitar, violin and some very interesting woman vocals. It’s a pure romantic song, that will make you think that simple and easy listening tracks have the same intrest with the noisy ones! It’s pretty obvius that mummel radion have a good aesthetic and they manage to make very beautiful songs. Folk music is mixed with lo-fi production, giving us a melanholic but also powerfull Ep, full of feelings! There are no bad songs in here! The music fits so well with the sweet vocals reminding us  Belle Sebastian’s good moments. The only negative point is that 15 min are not enough for such great music! We hope we get the chance to listen a full lenghted album by them! Great experience! [MM]

links
mummelradion[at]gmail[dot]com

Keijo –  Hetki [cdr 2007-2008 Lattajjaa]

Another release of Lattajjaa recordlabel. Keijo recorded this album in the cities of Jyvaskyla and Kuusankoski in Finland at 2007 / 2008. The album cover, that was illustrated by the same artist with Lella, giving us a glance of the  Finnish countryside, and a sence of freedome. But this is faulse. This cdr is not for the faint harted. Ok, it may start with  some folk elements wich continue throut the track, such as the melodic guitar, but when the strange vocals start along with the phsycedelic background it leads us to a scary paths. “Ilta”, the second track, along with Keijo’s vocals is only a small exeption. The rest part is quite different. In general, this is a pure improvazed – phsycedelic Finnish music, based on guitar experimentation, mixing blues and folk music.Percutions and some electronic instruments give us the atmoshere of  good quality music, so in the composition as much as the result . “Blue on the boil” and “Around here” are amongst the top tracks, with a very good musical plot. The drone improvisation of “I’ve been walking” and the “Notes for peace”, a pure experimental song with funny percusions,  also exhibit some great momments. As a negative point in this album we could indicate the fact that vocals sound very funny in some ways and make this cdr good but not a great one.

links
Lattajjaa Site