PÅL ASLE PETTERSEN: SULL

Vital Weekly
Short pieces is what we are dealing with here. One CD has eighty of them, one fifty and one (only) twelve, so 142 in total. The latter two have been previously released, 'Skegg' was reviewed in Vital Weekly 512, and 'Spor...' in Vital Weekly 382 and 'Skitt' is a new, previously unreleased work. What was written then, still stands today: "The tracks are short and distinct indeed (and obviously succinct as well).

These are miniatures, delicately constructed from a great variety of sound sources. There is no such thing as a general mood or atmosphere; the tracks are too varied for that. The only thing one might say is that they are all sampler based (which says nothing much really)." or "No less than fifty tracks in twenty-five minutes. And it's not the first time that he goes all the way. His previous solo record 'Spor had twelve tracks of one minutes (and was pressed on a 8" lathe cut record - see Vital Weekly 382). Does that sound easy? Perhaps it does, but sit down and try and make something solid of thirty seconds. And repeat that fifty times. The whole stuff is sampled together from many different sources: popmusic, radio, electro-acoustic music, drones and served up in this ultra fast fashion that is of course part of the thirty second schematics at hand. Pettersen does his best not to make tracks sound alike, doesn't always succeed, but throughout he has done a really fine job in doing the best thing possible."

Those were two short albums but 'Skitt', with its eighty pieces is twice as long, almost fifty minutes and is the radical extension of both previous short albums, however without much variation, which I think is great, as it ties all albums together and make this a true delight to hear. The sheer shizophrenic work of so many different styles, ideas, samples, from improvisation to rhythm 'n noise, make this for me rather one long work (which effectively could have fitted on one CD, but then it would be only 99 tracks), like scanning through radio waves. Tracks range from four seconds to one minute and twenty-two seconds. Although its nowhere stated, this is great for some shuffle play too. Great total weirdness. (FdW)


Indieville - Skitt
You gotta figure; if you put together eighty tracks on one record, aren't they bound to all start sounding the same? Hell, even those ten-thousand artist microsecond compilations end up molding together into homogeneous goop after, oh, five minutes or so. But P?l Asle Pettersen, now here's a character who digs sound, and the aptly-titled Skitt expressly clarifies that very notion as it Skitters across a madcap tsunami of outer-limits zaniness. These unusually concise fragments bound feverishly from one concept to the next, masticating noise, electronics, and acoustic instruments throughout the record's length. Its zany, maudlin stuff made by and for the shortest attention span possible. Glimpse an average five-track stretch: a grumbling sandy tape loop; then pretty clarinet and guitar touched with static fuzz'n'click; spasmodic sample rabble; four seconds of blistering noise; rickety junk rock. And all that in only a few minutes...

Skitt can be a challenging listen for those of us who like our ideas fleshed out, but Pettersen brings to the table a sheer joy for sonic experimentation, allowing each concept its due time to quickly uncurl before being shunted away in favour of the next thought. Every listener will surely devise their own preferred stanzas, though my most-treasured nuggets include the blissful, momentary drone of "hrmlp," eerie waterphone snip "bldrsmn," and horror-hypnosis vortex "drnedrnn." But to refer to only a few tracks is to ignore so much of this diverse beast, which plummets through more styles than one might bear to count. There are, even, several melodic and even accessible moments -- like the a capella "nr1 cpll," cutesy, dinky techno-popper "skkrpoppmkk," and folky campfire twinkle "pskdel" -- although (to be fair!) the bulk of the record occupies itself with more abstract experiments.

But while Skitt offers plenty to talk about (at least for the ever-verbose music critic), it also challenges facile description due to sheer abundance of topics. It's this very paradox which forces me to euthanize this scrawl before it devolves further into tortuous categorization; instead I'll leave the sturdy and brave listener to bear independent witness to this multifarious adventure. Godspeed!
Michael Tau


Indieville - spor...
How about this: a CDR reissue of a 2002 Humbug Records (R.I.P.) eight-inch record that was limited to 20 copies, now out on Pettersen's very own Zang imprint. Seems we've really created a winding legacy behind us on the experimental music scene. Naturally, Spor... is a brief trip, with each of its twelve tracks hovering around the one minute mark. Some of the compositions mine the atmospheric, ambient end of matters -- like the subterranean drone of "Spor 2" and the distant electric hum of "Spor 4" and "Spor 10" -- but the main emphaiss is on more disjointed, spasmodic, digitally-manipulated sample craziness. This ranges from the Pole-esque static crackle of "Spor 1" to the more hectic sample-torture witnessed on "Spor 11" and "Spor 12," the latter producing a manic junk ambiance like a bull in a Toys "R" Us. I'm not sure how this multi-segmented record was put together, as "source material" is mentioned but hardly elaborated on, though there seems to be a recurring percussive clatter of hard objects colliding against other hard objects. I'll admit I had a bit of trouble getting into this rather off-the-wall release, but once I delved in I found it to be an intriguingly impulsive, cacophonous, and enthusiastic recording.
Michael Tau

FREANS DE WAARD: KLANKSCHAP 1999-2005

Tokafi
A passionate workhorse: Towards the very core of realism.

The term „workhorse“ must have been invented especially for de Waard, who diligently fires off his equally legendary and controversial ‘Vital Weekly’ newsletter every single week for what seems like forever. But besides acting as a busy bee in the field of journalistic enterprises and reviewing next to everything on the contemporary side of music productions, he is actually also an active musical contributor himself. With ‘Klankschap 1999 – 2005’ he now presents six compositions, which he assembled and worked on through these years. Field recordings are the centrepiece of this release, accompanied by silence and sounds of unclear origin.

I was most impressed by the two pieces called ‘Werkplaats #1’ and ‘Werkplaats #2’. To understand this you should know that the Dutch word ‘werkplaats’ means something like ‘workplace’, and this definitely refers to his desk and computer and the very room, where he produces this gigantic output of reviews and comments on the music scene. Here, we are confronted with a hard-core and extremely straight approach to new music. Field recordings are being pushed to the very core of realism; Sounds of wind and noises generated by the coincidental arrangements between the recording unit and nature are accompanied by electronically enhanced additions. These compositions congenially reflect his perspective on composition, timbre and development.

On ‘Epitaph’, de Waard used sound materials of the late John Waterman, who died in 2002 and whom he has always held in great regard. This was an unfinished project of Waterman, and de Waard has arrived at some well-balanced criteria transforming the piece into an intelligent display of careful alterations. It enhances the original, while giving it a whole new meaning and value.

Overall, „Klankschap 1999-2005“ feels like a heartfelt contribution to experimental music. It is certainly not de Waard's only one, though: When I heard that he's also on tour with his music I could hardly believe it. Where in the world takes this man the time to do what he does? Not everyone may always agree with what he has to say, but I tip my hat to one of the most active contributors to everything concerning experimental music.
Fred M. Wheeler


The Sound Projector
Klankschap 1999-2005 (ZANG:RECORDS Z:023) is a compilation CD of Frans de Waard pieces showing many aspects of his reworking techniques to great effect. Two real stand-out pieces for me are 'Klanschap #9Åå, with its very extreme treatments of water recordings made in Veere; and the mesmerisingly eerie 'Epitaph', which derives from materials prepared by the great John Watermann, part of a strand of investigative and collaborative activity which also resulted in the excellent tribute CD Epitaph For John on Frans's Korm Plastics label. (We noted this great record in TSP #15). I'm also partial to the opening and closing tracks 'Werkplaats #1Åå and 'Werkplaats #2Åå which seem to use light industrial machinery as a starting point. Like everything on this CD, common sounds are transformed in ways that make everything seem unfamiliar, and a huge range of textures and dynamics result.


Vital Weekly
A little while ago I played a gig in Krakow, and a couple of guys were shouting and heckling me for a short while before they left. Apparently they were disappointed because the music wasn't "entertaining". They had repeatedly asked the organizer - who also manned the door - if it was entertaining music, and he had repeatedly answered "no". Neither is this CD from Frans de Waard. This is definitely not entertainment music or background music, but instead listening music of a rather intriguing, evocative, and - for some (most definitely for these hecklers in Poland!) - provocative music. Not because it's really radical, but because it demands close attention to detail. What can one say about Frans de Waard that hasn't been said (or at least thought of) before? One of the pillars of the European fringe music community, writer, publicist, tobacconist, conceptualist and a guy who's heard more music than most, this is actually only his second proper full-length CD under his own name. Yep,I also found it hard to believe.

This disc consists of 6 pieces, all realized between 2002 and 2005, despite the title. It's bookended by 2 short pieces called "Werkplaats #1" and "Werkplaats #2", both derived from older Kapotte Muziek workshops. Both of these splurts out some manipulated machine sounds and odd electronic treatments and work well as intro and outro. The second piece is entitled "Klankschap #9" and in this piece we're literally exposed to the elements. The 20 minute piece is based around field recordings of running water, which I guess is a waterfall or a river, and howling wind crashing against the microphone. It's a tricky business to capture sounds from a specific environment and release them in a new sonic terrain. The sounds are "recontextualized", ultimately transformed into new sonic values, but there's always the danger that the link between what it once meant and its new life is missing. The other approach to this "problem", is of course, as we all know, to just "set the sounds free". As music concrete, this piece doesn't quite do it for me. And sticking to the first approach, I seem to somehow be missing that link here. However, "Epitaph", based on recordings by the late John Waterman is great. Somewhat threatening drone sounds, like they are coming from inside a floatation tank or some kind of a pressure chamber are combined with bursts of static. "Klankschap #2" is based on recordings from a shop in Tokyo, and later revised in 2007. Crunching and thumping sounds, like a piece of sandpaper is played on a turntable, are followed by high-pitched electronics that becomes quite unpleasant. The static that comes in halfway through has the effect of highly needed summer rain on dry stinking asphalt. The piece ebbs and flows with some treated field recordings combined with what sounds like manipulated turntables. Great piece. Equally great is "Ramp" from 2002, constructed from pieces of recordings from the US by de Waard, Peter Duimelinks, Roel Meelkop, Jason Talbot and Howard Stelzer, the latter one of which de Waard definitely shares a similar sonic aesthetics. Expertly mixed, this piece is crackling away, like electronic insects hovering in the humid air in a rainforest jungle on an alien planet. De Waards second proper CD release is certainly intriguing, the pieces are fresh sounding and balanced, dynamic and expertly mixed. Somehow the second piece that is largely based on rather pure field recordings fails to engage me. Still highly recommended to anyone interested in fresh sounding electronic compositions from the world of "klankscapes" rather than "klangfarben"….
Sindre Bjerga

SONAROPHON: DE FRIE ELEMENTER

BT
Kort dypdykk
Terningkast 4 «De Frie Elementer»
Fotografier skaper assosiasjoner under utvikling
Sonarophon, bestående av gitarist Alf Terje Hana og vokalist Line Horneland tar på seg eksperimentelle våtdrakter og begir seg ned på en improvisatorisk dykkertur, inspirert av fotografier fra Ogna. Duoen inkluderer selv den mest udrevne lytter på skattejakten, og avdekker en fauna av assosierte korallrev, ved hjelp av alternative teknikker, elektronikk, akustikk og oppfinnsomhet. Hana trakterer gitaren med masser av katedralske klanger, og benytter få, men velplasserte elektroniske virkemidler for å endre det dvelende lydbildet. Hornelands vokalutprøvinger og elektronikk opererer forenlig med Hanas spill, og de oppnår mange treffsikre kombinasjoner som gjerne kan utvikles i enda større grad. Turen ender dessverre altfor brått til at man virkelig får gått i dybden, men etterlater også et ønske om å få oppleve mer.
Stephan Meidell


Vital Weekly
Behind Sonarophon are Line Hornland (vocals, electronics) and Alf Terje Hana (guitar, electronics), who recorded the free elements - as the title translates to - at the Kunst Og Kulturfestival in Ogna (Norway) in 2008. Almost twenty-five minutes of free play on guitar and vocals, but the electronics play an important role in this piece. I am not sure what to think of this release. Its of improvised music pur sang, but it seems to be mostly to be doing a sort of vaguely ambient texture. It seems to me that they want to create a moody, atmospheric sound texture through improvisation, but they do not entirely succeed in that. The music drifts around like it should be, there is a bit of a noisy element thrown in (perhaps due to the fact that this is a live recording, I'd say) but its a bit to thin to convince me that this is really moody music. The idea to create such music is nice however, a merging of two ends that almost never reach, ambient and improvisation, and that's the thing
that I like about this short album. A somewhat daring move, that may not have worked out entirely well, but they tried. Frans de Waard


Connexion Bizarre
“De Frie Elementer” is a live recording of guitarist Alf Terje Hana and vocalist Line Horneland performing as Sonarophon at Helgåleiren kunst- og kulturfestival in Ogna on 5th November 2008. Composed around a core of experimental and ambient electronics, their set features the six string skills of Hana combined with the vocal yet wordless vocal techniques of Horneland. Recorded as it was performed, “De Frie Elementer” comprises of a single 24 minute track split into a number of linked elements.

Starting out with a low rumbling drone and disembodied voices, the tone is initially very relaxed and calm with an Eastern tinge to proceedings. Although the deep subterranean grind crackles ominously to begin with it eventually gives way to soothing guitar and gentle vocal tones. Everything is very steady, calming and relaxed until around the five minute mark where a sense of urgency starts to creep in and everything breaks down like radio interference complete with static buzzes. When the music returns at around eight minutes the mood is considerably darker and more troubled. An extended period of buzzing static and feedback is accompanied by spectral wails and groans while the guitar is harsher and more aggressive. The mood switches to a murkier atmosphere of shapes shifting in the shadows, ominous tones and grinding guitar feedback. By the 14 minute mark, however, even this dissipates and minimal ambient tones replace it. Odd little sampled fragments of sound are mixed with tiny organic sonic shards and a disturbing patchwork of sped up vocal fragments that conjures thoughts of tortured insanity. All this is augmented with some suitably discrete minimal guitar playing to result in an extended passage of edgy yet low key electronic ambience. To close, “De Frie Elementer” returns to the theme it opened with; a gentle, relaxing mix of flowing tones accompanied by some ethereal vocal melodies.

For a relatively short piece recorded live, “De Frie Elementer” covers a good range of styles from ambient to minimal electronics via dark ambience. Each style is approached skilfully although the transitions are a little abrupt at times. This, however, is a minor gripe with what is an interesting piece of music performed and recorded live and captured for posterity.

-- Paul Lloyd [6.5/10]

PÅL ASLE PETTERSEN: KOMPOSISJONER 2005-2008