“Home, Sweet Home” reviewed by Rockerilla

Home, Sweet Home
I dischi di fields recording cer- cano spesso di costruire una sto- ria tra realtà e immaginazione. Il film senza immagini architet- tato dallo spagnolo Durán Vázquez in occasione del suo ultimo album per la portoghese Cronica (il disco è disponibile in download gratuito sul sito del- l’etichetta) riesce perfettamente nell’impresa. La prima traccia in scaletta, “Pictures From The Atlantic City Of Vigo”, ha una capacità descrittiva incredibile: sembra di assistere alla scena mentre un drone trasporta l’ascoltatore/spettatore avanti nel racconto. La maggior parte dei suoni sono stati registrati da Vázquez nella sua città portuale di Vigo, nord-ovest della Spagna, vicino al confine con il Portogallo. Una piccola area industriale/navale (“Building”) circondata da una Natura incredibile (“Seagulls”). Roberto Mandolini

“Sleppet” reviewed by Bad Alchemy

Sleppet
Möven, Scheiß Möven, derart schrille nervensägen, dass die Gletcher knarzen und die Kühe unruhig an den Ketten zerren, dazu Wind, Scheiß Wind, Eis, das knisternd und prasselnd schmilzt, pieselndes Wasser und kollernd rumpelnde und klackernde Steine, Vogelgepiepse, Schafe, ausnahmsweise unhörbar, ein Wasserkraftwerk, eine Fähre. Mit einem vogelig idyllischen Minütchen als Schönheitspflästerchen. Natur und anderes, derb und plastisch, erlebt und eingesammelt im Gedenken an Edvard Grieg irgendwo in Norwegen, gesendet im Juli 2008 auf Deutschlandradio Kultur.

“Home, Sweet Home” reviewed by Bad Alchemy

Home, Sweet Home
Dracula findet nur in transylvanischer Heimaterde Schlaf, Vazquez bietet hier ein akustisches Konzentrat seines Zuhauses. Vielleicht muss man aus Vigo stammen, vom Zipfel Spaniens an der atlantischen Küste, oder zumindest an einer Wasserkante siedeln, um dabei süße Déjà-vus zu empfinden. “Dabei” heißt Wind- und Brandungsgebraus, Verkehrs- und Baustellenlärm, Kinderkirren und Mövengeschreie, Autogehupe, Alarmanlagen, Glockengeläut, das Andockmanöver eines Schiffes, dröhnen eingedickt. Das Leben, mit allem Ach und Krach, ungeschönt, ungekürzt. Pfui Teufel, Scheiß Möve.

Last chance to vote for Marc Behrens’s “Compilation Works 1996-2005”

Compilation Works 1996-2005
Marc Behrens’s “Compilation Works 1996-2005” has been nominated for the Qwartz 6 Music Award (in the “Anthologies” category). The public voting has already opened and will remain open until March 15. The awards will be announced in April 2, 2010 in Paris.

To vote for Marc Behrens, all you need to do is to send an email stating your vote for “Marc Behrens: Compilation Works 1996-2005” to anthology_6@qwartz.org.
You can check the list of nominations at Qwartz’s website and if you still haven’t, you can freely download Marc Behrens’s release from Crónica.

“Sleppet” reviewed by Blow Up

Sleppet
Soundscapes ottenuti attraverso la rielaborazione di registrazioni effettuate in posti esotici della Norvegia come il ghiacciaio Brenndalsbreen o il lago Røsskleivvatnet, luoghi i cui soli nomi evocano boschi impenetrabili, oscurità e freddi artici. Behrens ha un modo tutto suo di plasmare le proprie composizioni, assai diverso da altri autori che in passato hanno sperimentato utilizzando le stesse fonti sonore (se pensi a “Portrait d’un Glacier” di Marchetti, ad esempio), riuscendo ad estrapolare l’anima nera dai suoni per diffondere un senso di totale impotenza di fronte alla forza di una natura ostile ad invincibile. Massimiliano Busti

New Crónicaster: “Futurónica 4” by Miguel Carvalhais

Futurónica 4
“Futurónica 4” is the fourth and final in a series of hour-long programs that Crónica broadcasted in Rádio Futura in Porto, during the Future Places festival of 2009. This mix included pieces by Marc Behrens, Durán Vázquez, Gilles Aubry, Enrico Coniglio, Heitor Alvelos, Lawrence English, Paulo Raposo, Ákos Garai and @c.

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Download here or subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Autodigest vol. 4 — A Compressed History of Every Bootleg Ever Recorded


The 4th installment in the Autodigest series of compressed everything: this time around, we are promised all the bootlegs ever.

At a time when the debate on music piracy rages on, it is a good thing to be reminded that the luxurious universe of unofficial recordings is now in its fourth decade and flourishing like never before. If anything, the pressing issue of containing the P2P sharing rampage of official recordings has benefited the underworld: record labels simply cannot be bothered with unofficial recordings when Britney Whatever’s latest opus leaks weeks before release and costs them billions in lost revenue. The irony, of course, is that these free, unofficial recordings are infinitely more exciting than anything Britney Whatever could ever aspire to spit out.

The music on this cassette spans over 40 years and was originally recorded on analogue and digital equipment. We have attempted to distance ourselves as much as possible from the sound of the original recordings. Autodigest Volume 4 is an attempt to reveal all limitations of the source tapes – hiss to the fore, baby!” – Autodigest, 17 Nov 2009.

Very limited release available through Tapeworm and downloadable here.