A new album by French artist Laurent Girard, Melodium, well-known for his fine albums on Audio Dregs, Arbouse Recordings and Autres Directions in Music. The label calls this album his most graceful and elegant.
Fast forward a few months and Scott is releasing Nivalis (Latin for "covered in snow"), a short, sixteen-minute release created while he was (what else?) snowed in for a couple of days. The piece was created extemporaneously; as the snow fell, Scott continued adding to the pieces, mixing the results as the hours passed and chucking in some field recordings of the event as well. In many ways that mirror Wixel's year long project from last year: it gives us the opportunity to peak into the life of an artist during a delineated amount of time.
On some level it's difficult to be critical of the work because it's so obviously created as an experiment and was not a planned musical moment. But, then again, it is being released for public consumption, so all's fair game, right? What is good about the track is that it's mostly unassuming. Scott does a good job with the production and everything has a impromptu air to it. It's kind of strange hearing an ambient track that's been improvised, but, hey, it's not so bad. What it lacks is almost everything that made me interested in Navigare: subtlety, brevity, purpose, and heart. Since the track was created as the snow raged outside, it's not difficult to find the moments when Scott becomes bored with the project, apparently stunned that the snow is still falling, and returns to his instruments to mash out a few more minutes. It's a nontrivial glimpse into the world of a musician, trapped in this studio for two days, but not something that needs to be tracked down for those who aren't completists.
It's safe to say that Simon Scott has finally kicked the bug that's been following him around since his Slowdive days and can finally step out into the world as a new musician. Navigare is a strong debut, and Nivalis is a welcome experimental release. Scott's on his way to an exciting second career as a solo musician, and something tells me that his best work is ahead of him yet.
Over time it became apparent that this project needed to spread its wings, and with lots of support from the lovely Yasuhiko Fukuzono (Aus), and other close friends, I decided to ask more friends to join in with the project. I’m so lucky that all the friends I wanted and asked agreed to be involved, creating highly unique pieces from the original sources (sometimes changing them completely). As such I suddenly found myself with this amazing album, featuring past, present and future Home Normal, Tokyo Droning and Nomadic Kids Republic artists and good friends.
The grand result is a really nice review of where Home Normal is at in some ways I guess, as well as highlighting where I am at musically too, albeit through the voices of others who know me. One of the results of these artists giving their time and enormous talents so freely to this was that I decided that this release should be for charity.
In 1982 my father set up The Archway Foundation, a charity that focused on helping those in various walks of life who are deeply affected by loneliness. They hold weekly social events, organise dinners, visits, drivers to take people to places and all sorts of support work. I grew up attending and helping out the various events, but have less to do with them after my parent’s retirement and my moving away from Oxford. In these difficult economical times, charities, which rely on the donations of others, are suffering terribly. But these people still need all the support they can get, so I guess I just figure that, even if it’s a small level of support we can provide, at least we can try.
Although we consider Liminoid/Lifeforms to be a solo effort, there are in fact no less than eight guest musicians helping out on the recording. These include Canadian noise legend Knurl (a.k.a. Alan Bloor) who has been released three times on Alien8 Recordings prior to this recording, as well as members of Arc, Picastro, Forest City Lovers and Whisper Room.
Liminoid is a composition for large ensemble exploring sonic immersion in drones and textures, rhythms and pulsations. Incorporating composed and improvised segments, the piece uses elongation of sound and layered polyphony in an attempt to create a liminal and/or numinous state. This recording of Liminoid is from its premier at The Music Gallery’s X-Avant Festival in Toronto, October 25, 2008. The piece features a powerful vocal performance with every member sharing the vocal duties. The lyrics have been adapted from 5th-8th century Coptic Christian texts and inspired by the book Ancient Christian Magic by by Marvin W. Meyer & Richard Smith.
The ensemble members for this performance were: Aidan Baker (guitar/voice), Clara Engel (guitar/voice), Nick Storring (cello/voice), Jakob Thiesen (drums/voice), Richard Baker (drums/voice), Tillman Lewis (cello/voice), Laura Bates (violin/voice) and Jonathan Demers (guitar/voice).
Lifeforms is a composition for strings, prepared/effected guitar, and amplified metal works. Likewise incorporating written and improvised material, the piece was originally commissioned and performed by The Penderecki Quartet in 2003. This recording was made in August 2008 at Commonwealth Studios in Toronto. The performers were: Aidan Baker (guitar), Nick Storring (cello), Mika Posen (violin) and Alan Bloor (metal works). alien8
In September 2004, after three years of honing his unique combination of found sounds, an essentialist “minimal aesthetic”, and a subtle dash of undeniable groove, Rex successfully separated himself from the pack with the release of his surprisingly mature and meticulously crafted debut “Use” on Oakland’s n5MD label. Inspired by his urban adolescence in Inglewood, CA (LA’s SW suburban sister) and the mechanistic physical concepts of his academic life, “Use’s” stark, moving melodies, underwater dub grooves, and elastic beat collisions combine to capture the “warm and emotional aspects of the city” that Rex believes are all- too-often ignored in modern representations of urban life. Expansive, yet intimate, “Use” is an album of fragile, abstract soundscapes that recall the early work of Lusine and Pole, while refusing to conform to either artists’ style.
Building on the foundation of “Use”, Rex’s sophomore effort “Patience” was released in September 2006. Culled from an original cache of 36 working pieces, “Patience’s” 9 tracks are organized as a seamless multi- movement work, outlining an emotional arch that peaks with the gorgeous “Green and Olive” before introducing the dark and ominous lullabies of its second half (particularly “Slave” and “Birthing”). Offering a listening experience described by n5MD as “akin to standing still as urban inhabitants pass you by at hyperspeed”, “Patience’s” depth and precision eclipse expectations of an artist this early in their career.
AEM’s third full length album, entitled “Five”, will be released on November 5th 2008 by the n5MD imprint. Returning to the more minimal, beat-driven approach of his debut, Rex avoids simply rehashing the past by infusing “Five” with unexpected stylistic shifts into Techno, Electro and even House all the while maintaining the chaotic, but recognizable patterns of noise that have characterized his releases in the past.
