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tim feeney & matt samolis
Monument Aquarius Records review From the percussion duo of Tim Feeney and Matt Samolis, this 20+ minute piece is all percussion and is the soundtrack to a short film, documenting the destruction of a television set, from the perspective of the TV, and manages to be clattery and chaotic while at the same time being dreamy and hypnotic. A multilayered soundscape, in the foreground, a dense filed of clang and clatter, like someone rifling through a silverware drawer, or someone digging through a bucket filled with pottery shards, a jagged bit of crunching and crashing, that manages to be sort of nice to listen to, as the track progresses, it sounds more like someone bending metal, creaking and grinding, the sound of rubber stretching, rubbing against steel, sort of industrial but also sort of creepy. In the background, bits of metal moan and groan, like distant foghorns, slow, whale call like tones, drifting across the sound field all wrapped up in reverb. Later on the creaking and groaning bits of metal, get louder, more insistent, sheets of metal boom out like thunder, bits of metallic high end scream like feeding back guitars, a muted cacophony, as weirdly lovely as it is creepy and abrasive. |
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wisteriax
The Specimen Jar Gothtronic review The Specimen Jar is another Wisteriax release on Lildiscs, now just under her own project name only, but she works here together with Mike Langie, who did add samples to Karen's manipulated cello improvisations. On this CD it is not one long track but eight different pieces all quite different in atmosphere and character. Although the cello sound is very manipulated, it still is typical cello you hear, sometimes gently, sometimes like a saw and sometimes deep and unearthly. The Specimen Jar is the most pop orientated Lildiscs release yet, it has more melody and rhythm then before. Some tracks are pretty moody while others are more fierce and powerful. There are also trip hop elements like in "Alive in the Ice" for example, but "Voyage of the Lovecraft" is more heavy metal orientated. Wisteriax has experimented much with different influences and atmospheres, she is looking for different ways to express herself with her cello and that makes me curious for what the future will bring. |
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rob byrd | kris thompson | wisteriax
Easter Invocation Grave Concerns E-zine review Another limited edition three-inch offering from the Lildiscs series, this collaborative trio's offering consists of a single extended track. Starting off with industrial ambient noise and slow, hollow percussive sounds, "Easter Invocation" begins like Nurse With Wound by way of the Cold Meat Industry label. As scrapings give way to more esoteric guitar meanderings, however, the song loses a bit of its creepiness, though the presence of Kris Thompson's theremin does give things a bit of an autumnal atmosphere that's reminiscent more of Halloween than Easter. Like a number of the other releases in the Lildiscs collection, this is an excursion into ambient and drone that still hints at roots in experimental rock and psychedelia rather than industrial noise, and fans of weird instrumental music should enjoy both the sonic atmosphere and the ornate handmade packaging. Aquarius Records review Easter Invocation features guitar, theremin (courtesy of Kris Thompson of The Lothars), and processed cello, all stretched and twisted, tangled and warped into a single 21 minute soundscape of gauzy creep and haunting shimmer. Simple, heavily reverbed martial percussion, muted and murky, more of a pulse or a throb than a pound, underpinning a landscape of distant low-end swells, slow building waves of creak and moan, soft swirls of hiss and fuzz, languorous stretches of slow motion rumble. Dreamy but also quite dark and ominous. ULTRA LIMITED and painstakingly hand assembled. Tiny 3" black fold over sleeves, with a glossy full color image affixed to the front, sealed at the bottom with two rivets, tied with a ribbon, with a little circular badge. Inside the disc nestles between two sheets of gorgeously textured paper, hand printed and so lovely. VERY RECOMMENDED! Gothtronic review This CD sounds even more like Voice of the Eye than the Wisteriax & Adja the Turkish queen CD. For those who do not know Voice of the Eye; The story goes that Voice of the Eye was a big inspiration for Troum, Only Voice of the Eye sounds more dark, more haunted and that is also how this piece sounds like, very haunted and very dark. This is ambient at its very best, you find superb dark and delicate drones occasionally pierced by creaks and theremin shrieks while the guitar drifts and the cello howls in the night. There is heavy reverb on the percussions and the music moves in slow motion, it is like a psychedelic ritual in Mexican moon light. The music was recorded live on Easter 2005 and I wonder what spirits have arisen that wonderful night. In my mind's eye I see the landscape of Kadath. This is absolutely fabulous and a must have for those who adore the music of those bands mentioned above. But again, there are only 50 copies made so hurry up! |
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ajda the turkish queen & wisteriax
Recorded Live 7 May 2005 Gothtronic review The first thing I have to say about this release is that I absolutely like the hand made package, this proves that the people behind this label feel real love for the music they are releasing. It is not only the music which is important when you are releasing a CD but also the presentation is important and these guys understand that the packaging is as much an art as the music. This is a little piece of art I have in my hands here, a hand made 3-inch envelope with a full colour image affixed to the front, sealed with two rivets tied with a ribbon and a badge with the Lildiscs logo. Really beautiful. The music is a twenty minute long live recording. It feels a little improvised and leads you through an exotic eastern landscape or maybe the hanging gardens. It sounds powerful but also quite ethereal and is of delicate beauty. It has a certain dark ambiance created by the shimmering cello played by Karen langlie, the textures are spiky and rumbles and gets more restless towards the end when dusk is setting in and the spirits comes alive. It reminds me of the live album by Voice of the Eye. Both Voice of the Eye as well Ajda are from Texas, so maybe there is a connection. You also can place the music somewhere between Drone Records and Amplexus. So if you are a fan of both labels then I can recommend this nice little 3-inch CDR, which looks most like a Valentine present. There is only one minus; it is limited to 50 pieces only, so if you are interested you probably have to hurry up. |
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christy romanick & karen langlie
4,29 Grave Concerns E-zine review The first in a new series of limited-edition three-inch CDs in handmade packaging from the Lildiscs label, this two-track gem features the collaborative efforts of guitarist Christy Romanick and cellist Karen Langlie. The instruments themselves, however, are only occasionally recognizable, processed as they are through a number of electronic effects which convert the familiar sounds of picked, strummed and bowed strings to layers of ethereal droning ambience. The first track comes closest to the conventional sound of experimental pop and rock, though it's still far more of a psychedelic tone poem than a traditional song, while the second selection is reduced further still, until nothing remains but a sequence of pulsing, ringing drones. Perfect for aficionados of minimal atmosphere that still retains tenuous roots to more traditional music, this will appeal particularly to fans of acts like Windy And Carl or Stars Of The Lid, and it's an intriguing enough sample to inspire hope that Romanick and Langlie might work together on a full-length offering some time soon. Gothtronic review The label Lildisc has released a series of 3-inch CDRs with every discs packaged into a sweet small cover with a picture and a snare around it. Of each release 50 copies are made and they each last about 20 minutes. The label deals in ambient, ethereal music, drones, noise and shoegaze. This recording is entitled 4,29 and has two tracks of Christy Romanick together with Karen Langlie, also known as Wisteriax, and they have made lengthy atmospheric shoegaze ambient, produced with a guitar and electronically manipulated cello. Sometimes it seems a rhythm comes to the surface but it again disappears in the atmospheres of the layers of ethereal drones on this recording. The second track has been completely drowned in drones. A nice and achieved experiment. |