Room40
EDRM410 (LTD)
The fifteen contributors to this compilation were asked to create works invoking “senses of disconnection, isolation and solitude”. While I’m by no means certain that I could have guessed such had I lacked this information—there’s nothing as overtly referential to same as was heard in the mid 90s “Isolationism” quasi-movement—I’m happy to report that there’s not a seriously weak track to be found here (though a couple verge on the overly ambient) as well as a handful of excellent ones.
The first cut causing my ears to perk up is David Toop’s “Chair Creaks, Though No One Sits There”, an eerie piece with a group including Rhodri Davies, Miya Masaoka, Stefano Tedesco (vibes) and Emi Watanabe (Japanese flutes); a wonderful combination of instruments creating a breathing, expansive sound world. One of several lovely field recordings is encountered with Richard Chartier’s soft, deep exploration, “A Field for Recordings.3”, containing faraway booms and wind whorls alongside closer clicks and crackles. Hadn’t heard anything by Scanner in quite a while, but he serves up an intriguing mix of found sounds and piano, leading into the first of two real stunners, Jeph Jerman’s “Albuquerque Hotel Room”. Isolative? I suppose so but for this listener, more beautifully evocative of a specific place, of the hum that pervades enclosed spaces. It seems to be purely found sound; if so, it’s a very well chosen, subtly haunting sample.
An enjoyable, if Eno-esque track by Zane Trow (“Bryry”) and a fine troubled work by Janek Schaefer that mixes natural sounds with swelling, organ-like drones lead into another beaut, “untitled III” by Ben Owen, a low-level, metallic friction-sounding piece that seems just on the other side of being clearly heard, as though clarity is being frustrated by some unseen barrier. If any of the cuts here achieve success in that initial charge, it’s this one. Ben Frost’s lovely piano (with some electronics) composition, “4 Good Reasons to Leave All This Behind”, evokes Satie and early Bryars and precedes perhaps my favorite of the disc, the concluding “Riwalla Farm (Excerpt)” by Greg Davis. All but silent, my guess is that it involves a nighttime field recording at said farm where an exceedingly gentle rainfall is in progress accompanied by the odd low rumble and animal cry (bird? goat?). Beautifully realized.
Overall, I received more a sense of peacefulness and acceptance than isolation (at least in its pejorative meaning). In any event, “On Isolation” is a tasty compilation, well chosen and sequenced and worth everyone’s time.
Posted by Brian Olewnick on February 4, 2007 11:31 AMAll of Lawrence's compilations are excellent. Which is why I never review them, hahaha - no, seriously, you'd need a review fifteen times as long as this to do justice to everything. I try and mention everyone involved, just for fairness' sake, and woe betide me if I forget someone or gloss over their work.. I still recall being taken to task (rightly) by Jason Lescalleet for doing that.
The Toop track is my favourite so far. (There's also a splendid new Toop disc out on Samadhisound, David Sylvian's buy-online-only label, with contributions from Angharad & Rhodri Davies, Miya Masaoka, Gunter Muller, Rafael Toral et al)
seems that one wing of "eai" seriously considers going "ambient", especially the prominent three of 'New London Silence' - Wastell, Davies, Halliwell..
Gunter Muller is seems long lost, now we wait to see who else - I hope not many...
"seems that one wing of "eai" seriously considers going "ambient", especially the prominent three of 'New London Silence' - Wastell, Davies, Halliwell.."
Heh... erm, no.
Posted by: Richard Pinnell at February 6, 2007 5:02 AMI second that "Heh... erm, no."
Posted by: Bryan Merely at February 6, 2007 5:12 AMDepends I suppose on how wide you want to drag the Ambient net. I wouldn't describe the latest Wastell and Davies (Rhodri, I suppose he means) albums as such myself, but some of the +minus stuff with Halliwell, Wastell & Günter is perfectly agreeable at wallpaper music volume. I find the whole Ambient phenomenon quite puzzling, to be honest: if we follow it back to its Satie roots in "furniture music" then it clearly isn't intended to be listened to with any concentration at all (Satie got quite pissed off when people actually started listening to his musique d'ameublement). That works very well with Eno's Discreet Music, I find, but later Ambient albums of his with Harold Budd, and the (over?)trumpeted Music For Airports can stand some close listening.
There seems to be a whole lotta electronica out there today - thinking of several releases on Lawrence's Room40 label here: the DJ Olives, the Janek - that function perfectly well on both levels: they "richly reward repeated listening" (hawhaw) and are just as pleasant at background music volume level. Mark's Amoungst English Men on the other hand I find extremely intense; the sounds impinge on your consciousness, draw you in.
But I wouldn't expect all the music I listen to do the same; Ambient is not a dirty word in my book.
I love both DJ Olive discs I have ("Buoy" and "Sleep"), I guess they're pretty ambient on a few levels, certainly quite agreeable to folks who have no interest in various branches of music I follow/blare at my house or in my car. Superb Valentine's Day music to boot. Sometimes I like soft, wispy, saccharine accessible drone stuff.
Posted by: Michael Schaumann at February 6, 2007 9:39 AMi have a hard time thinking of g. muller as ambient. certainly not his latest esquilo double disc. ambient is not a dirty word in my book either; i just don't think what he's doing is so easy or lifelessly pleasant.
dj olive on the other hand comes from a completely different background (he plays turntables like turntables, not like erikm or dieb13 who both play turntables like electronics) and it seems in the notes that accompany both of the olive discs that he wants the music to just be background. which they are fine at. soft wispy saccharaine accessible drone stuff indeed.
Posted by: field mouse at February 6, 2007 10:17 AMHeh... erm, no.
Not much of an argument there. I have to say I kind of concur with the initial conjecture, though I agree with Dan in that there certainly are releases that fall outside of that moniker. As for Ambient and its relationship to Satie, Eno has stated quite clearly that his agenda for ambient music was exactly as Dan describes Music for Airports - background music that can sustain closer scrutiny. So in that regard I think that Eno wasn't trying to do what Satie at least claimed for his Furniture music.
Posted by: Robert at February 6, 2007 12:01 PM"I was trying to make a piece that could be listened to and yet could be ignored...perhaps in the spirit of Satie who wanted to make music that could 'mingle with the sound of the knives and forks at dinner.'"
Brian Eno/liner notes to Discreet Music.
In that spirit, I enjoy some co-mingling and saturation of ambient music with my cutlery. As Dan points put with Wastell's recent work, some music, superficially seeming to fit that bill, insists on closer attention, a happy suprise.
Posted by: Jesse at February 6, 2007 2:14 PMErrata
As Dan points out...
"some music, superficially seeming to fit that bill, insists on closer attention"
Man, I hate attention seekers . . . gimme the quiet guy in the corner any day. :)
That fact that one piece insists on closer attention doesn't necessarily mean that it has more or less merit in comparison to a less-instisting piece when listened up-close.
Posted by: whisper at February 7, 2007 2:41 AMRight. I suppose you could give in to this insistence on close attention and then find that it was like some people I know.
Posted by: walto at February 7, 2007 4:17 AM.................................................. © 2003 - 2006 bagatellen ..................................................