Electroacoustic Music Volume V

Order Number ELCD013

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In these days where electronic music is generally thought of as mindless dance beats with sampled accents, it's important to remember that the pedigree of electronic music goes back many decades before "Moby", "Chemical Brothers", and even "Kraftwerk" and "Tangerine Dream". The earliest experiments came from modern composers pushing the boundaries of music, more from laboratories than studios. "Electroshock Records" seems to be in the business of reminding us of this fact. Here they present their fifth sampler (the first I've heard) of the current generation in this long tradition. Here are seven examples from a wide variety of origins all over the world, some more successful than others. Claire Laronde from France starts things off with "Vibration de la Matiere", a fascinating fourteen minute succession of abstract sounds, many from recognizable sources (piano, violin, marimba), many completely unrecognizable. Estonian Peeter Vahi's "Fugue and Hymn" is a strange combination of a processional march for brass accompanied by electronic noises. The oldest piece on the CD is from 1980, "Anatomy of Chase" by American Robin Julian Heifetz. It's an insistent workout for analog synthesizers, sort of a mutated dissonant electronic Philip Glass. Anatoly Pereslegin contributes the unusual "Model #1. A Violin and Virtual Orchestra", which presents some virtuoso violin playing backed by intense noises that sometimes resemble real instruments and sometimes just a wall of noise. My only complaint about the collection is the complete lack of liner notes. How were these works produced? Who are the musicians (if there are musicians)? " - John Davis ("Expose")

I haven't heard the previous volumes (or anything else on this label) but to judge from the selection here there's reason to explore further. Not everything excites: Anatoly Pereslegin's piece for violin and virtual orchestra is harmonically and timbrally a little obvious; Robin Julian Heifetz's "Anatomy Of Chase" resembles nothing less than some of Keith Emerson's dissonant, jagged motives from, say, "Tarkus" or "Karn Evil 9". Fun, but a little rambling at nine minutes. "Vibration de la Matiere's" rubbed-glass harmonics, cityscape and wobbly piano construct an involved, though detached piece. In this Claire Laronde has created an equal to the best "Metamkine" mini-CD series (and that's high praise indeed from this reviewer). The stand-out has to be Dieter Moebius' 10-minute "Alte Mir". It has all the hallmarks of classic "Cluster": bursts of drum machine punctuate hobbled electronics as they stumble and surge through a grotesquerie of machinic and organic tomfoolery. Incoherent voices occasionally accompany a synthetic left-hand boogie-woogie, itself an accompaniment for a sustained, blurred guitar. Or something like that. By the far the most humorous and compelling piece here." - Chris Atton ("The Rubberneck")

"This CD features a variety of music, and several of the tracks are classic in style giving a true concert hall feel, orchestra and all. The tracks by Peeter Uahi, Robin Julian Heifetz, "Karda Estra", and Anatoly Pereslegin fell into this territory, with Pereslegin's being something like a violin concerto. Claire Laronde's contribution was one of my favorites being an ethereal space journey that utilizes numerous competing singing tones and bells on the one hand, and light industrial sounds exploring more avant-garde territory on the other. A seemingly simple piece that carefully blends its arsenal of sounds and really held my attention over the 15 minute length. The great Dieter Moebius strengthens the set with the CD's only true freaky electronic space excursion. Bubbling and gurgling synths along with an assortment of interesting, if unidentifiable, sounds make this a cool spaced out freak-fest. And Christopher De Laurenti plays a full symphonic electronic piece a al Vangelis and the like." - Jerry Kranitz ("Aural Innovations")