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The Diplomat Project: Ritual for the
Ghosts 異靈祭典
Organised by Lona Records &
Embassy Projects
Proudly supported by Para/Site & Sonicity.org
Date: Aug-25, 2007
Time: 7 PM
Venue: Para/Site
Admission: HK$60 (include 1 CD and 1 beer)
Sound and Visuals 聲音及視像:
ahshun aka bjornho + Anytone + VJ Forivermann
Edwin + Sherman + Samantha Culp
Alok + No One Pulse + domting
ZenLu + Wilson Tsang + Stella So
Nerve + Sin:Ned + Nookei + Twiggy
Installation / 裝置：
Adrian Wong + Nookei
As a follow-up project for
Dialogue with The Ghosts, a group of local experimental artists, in the eve of
the Chinese Ghost Festival, continue to re-establish an on-going dialogue with
the deceased. Through a series of multi-media art performance aiming to
re-interpret and re-activate various local spiritual beliefs and rituals, we
will dive into the world of the unknown and attempt to make contact with those
from the other side. The ultimate aim, is to confront and acknowledge, those who
had been forgotten, but still exist on the other side (or somewhere deep
inside). This, we believe, is the only way through which, liberation can be
attained.
All audience will receive a copy of
limited edition CD (Locd36r) released by Lona Records,
containing re-interpretation mix by KWC, Alok and Sin:Ned, on the sound
materials of "Dialogue with the Ghosts", as recorded on 07/07/07.
作為「異靈對話」的延續，一群本土實驗藝術創作人，於中國鬼節前夕，透過一系列重新探討本地靈異信仰及祭禮習俗的跨媒體實驗創作，再次試圖與靈對話。面對及確認，我們相信，對於未亡及已亡，是唯一的解脫方法。
所有入場觀眾，均會獲贈由Lona Records限量印製的CD
(Locd36r) 一張，內含 07/07/07「異靈對話」的現場錄音塑材，並由KWC, Alok 及Sin:Ned重新處理混音。
查詢:
nooknookei@yahoo.com.hk
http://www.para-site.org.hk/events/20070825ritual.htm
________________________________________________________________
Review on 6 releases on Y SIN EMBARGO
magazine #12 (Barcelona)
English translation
Lona Records is a kind independent Hong Kong
seal to the passages of artists of alternative and experimental music. Its
careful catalogue consists of a list of composers and independent musicians
coming from everywhere, specially Asia and Europe. Its particularitity is based
on sending a limited edition of 50 capricious CDR of 3” (format minicd single)
and DVDR of 3” of each one of the artists.
6 CDR of 3” show the potential of the Lona's catalogue:
Splinter versus Stalin
www.myspace.com/splintervsstalin
Italian. Experimental. It manipulates prerecorded and mixed and remixed voices
with the roughest noise. From squeaks to routes of the trains soundtrack. It
samples and it creates loops entering a confusion spiral. 50 copies, limited
edition.
Kim_Nasung
www.myspace.com/kimnasung
Our already friend Matt, de Kim Nasung, creates rates based on loops of samplers
muestreados of different types from noises. Of his exploration and research
arise sounds that certainly seem real instruments. Poland.
"O" / Moon
www.myspace.com/theelectricmoon
Arlès, France. Closest to ambient but also it blankets of the controlled noise,
it creates more musical landscapes using among others sintes and some theremin,
a classic Fender Bass Jazz.
Alok
www.myspace.com/alokhk
To the purest Eastern style, that is to say, without making much noise, this
Hong Kong artist invites to us from the cold night to save some lost soul with
his tracks. Kind to create tension situations (something is going to happen) he
says that its style is Psychedelic, Experimental and Shoegaze. I do not imagine
him watching himself on the feet without watching the screen of his notebook. In
this case he presents/displays a tribute to us to Schubert. Very ambient also.
Ronez
www.myspace.com/ronezzz
Zhou Pei aka. Ronez, China Can be made music with a detector of metals and a
sensor of vibration? Yes. Its music is based on the mixture of all these strange
noises coming from pedals, oscillating, plates of discs, electronic circuits,
toys, etc. etc.
The Painful Leg Injuries
www.myspace.com/thepainfulleginjuries
The neoyorkian marriage Bill Byrne (homemade computer, voices and instruments)
and Suzanne Byrne (violoncelo) perhaps is the most charismatic pair of this
catalogue of Canvas. Their work seems an experiment in accumulating bases of
homemade instruments creating an intense pattern in the background so that
Suzanne's violoncelo can let take by such chaos and diversity.
http://ysinembargo.com/uebi/descargas/yse12/
________________________________________________________________
GET
IT LOUDER 07 - Hong Kong Homeshow - 大聲展香港咖喱秀
The Diplomat Project: Dialogue with the
Ghosts 異靈對話
日期與時間: 2007年七月七日, 晚上八時
Date & Time: Jul-7, 2007, 8:00 PM
演出場地:
Embassy Projects
香港新界火炭黃竹洋街15-21號
華聯工業中心B座4樓19室
Venue:
Embassy Projects
Unit 19, 4/F, Block B
Wah Luen Industrial Centre
15-21 Wong Chuk Yeung Street
Fo Tan, NT
Hong Kong
演出內容:
鬼是一種怎樣的存在？是一種對人事已厭倦的存在？是一種不肯離去的回億？是一種異鄉人還是一種過客？
香港一眾精英實驗創作人及新晉聲音藝術家，聯同Embassy Projects
，將透過聲音、影像、裝置藝術及互動手法等多媒體元素，邀請觀眾一同探索、重新發現及重新體驗一切有關於鬼的概念。各演出藝術家，將會以不同角度，或反思或重新理解，展開不同的異靈對話。同時，觀眾更可於演出後與眾藝術家進行交流與分享他們的鬼故事。
拼合原音樂器、電子音樂及Embassy Projects
以多媒體展示的學院派研究成果，藉實驗性構思概念，帶領觀眾以交流形式啟航，體驗一次深入本土文化的破格實驗。當晚的交流成果，將會由 Lona Records
製作成3 " CDR 出版發行。
游走於人間與鬼界之間，這是一個旨在打破界限的外交使命，關於不同媒體、不同角色及不同社群。
「The Diplomat Project: 異靈對話」乃 07 大聲展廣州站之聲音項目之一。
Performance description:
What is ghost? A fed up extistence of human life? A kind of lingering memories?
Or a kind of alienation process?
Teaming up with Embassy Projects, a group of experimental artists and sound
artists will invite the audience to explore, re-invent and re-experience the
concept of ghost through a series of multi-media performances that incorporate
sound, visual, installation and live interaction with the audience. Each artist
will be presenting their interpretation on the concept of ghost, and create
their own dialogue with the ghosts. Audience is invited to stay as long as they
want after the performance to share their ghost stories in a chill out party.
Combining acoustic and electronic music, and the multi-media approach of Embassy
Projects, this is an experimental live performance that invites the audience for
direct communication and interaction. The result of this communion will be
published by Lona Records in the format of a 3" CD-R.
This is a diplomatic mission of breaking boundaries, between different medium,
different roles and different communities—between the existence that we know and
that from the other side.
"The Diplomat Project: Dialogue with the Ghosts" is a sound art event of GET IT
LOUDER 07.
概念及策劃 (Concept & Organization): Lona Records + Embassy Projects
聲音藝術 (Sound Art): Alok / Sin:Ned / KWC / Wilson Tsang / Sherman / Edwin Lo /
ahshun aka bjornho
裝置藝術 (Installation Art): Samantha Culp / Adrian Wong / Nookei / Sin:Ned
Program Rundown
1. Edwin (electronics)
2. ahshun aka bjornho (electronics)
3. Sherman (electronics) + Nookei (visual)
4. Wilson Tsang (Piano) + Alok (Electronics) + Samantha Culp (visual)
5. Sin:Ned + Alok + KWC (Radios / Tibetan Singing Bowls / Electronics) +
Samantha Culp (Spoken Words & Visual)
6. Discussion with audience + overnight chill out party
參加辦法:
免費入場，但因觀眾名額有限，須預先把個人資料 (姓名及聯絡電話)
發電郵到nooknookei@yahoo.com.hk 登記。入場觀眾，必須:
1. 自備電池運作之小型FM收音機一個
2. 穿著黑及/或紅色衣服
How to join:
Free admission. Due to limited admission, please send your name and contact
number to nooknookei@yahoo.com.hk to register in advance. All audience should:
1. Bring a small battery operated FM radio
2. Dress in black and/or red
場地介紹 (About the Venue)藝術家介紹 (About the
Artists)
__________________________________________________________________________________
Review on Alok - C on Discuss.com (HK)
By
nihilist
論及解構、批判或顛覆，這些後現代主義詞彙，今天訴諸於藝術空間的場域中，不少己經被戲謔之徒，錯殖成惡作劇的符碼，肆無忌憚蹂躪經典，扼殺重新賦上當代意義的空間。
多元開放的特點，反諷地於陳述中，遭遇疏忽或蓄意之情況下，被約化或忽略了；重構成整體的二元對立局面，消亡了詩意美學裡朦朧的指涉，凝聚統一又獨立存在、相同亦各異等的功能。
本地實驗音樂廠牌Lona Records，近日推出的全新3”CD-R專輯
[C]，具備探索精神的廠牌統帥 ~ Alok，籍內裡單曲 [C for Schubert]，利用舒伯特的即興鋼琴組曲
“Impromptus, Op. 90 No.1 Allegro Molto Moderato”
作引子，採取純理性的角度，使用複合聲音整理，重塑曲中的氣質、性質與特質，成功衝破前述論點的枷鎖。
通過非同系泛音的使用，測試持續琴音的互換與延蔓，拓展空間維度的多向量範籌，思索偶發與比例式編曲的共容性，呈現高低頻率的相互關係。原曲經歷被闡釋後，主體轉化成客體內的文本。一方面，兼具兩者的同源素質；另一方面，卻又演進成擁有獨立藝術價值的嶄新載體。
由此可見，若由別具慧眼的新世代音樂家操刀，經典即使被解構、批判甚至顛覆後，都只會給賦上新的意義。當中的內容與能量，不僅沒有虛耗，反而有所增加。這個不就是後現代主義應用於音樂領域上，其中的吊詭之處嗎？
http://www17.discuss.com.hk/redirect.php?tid=4245718&goto=lastpost
_____________________________________________________________
Review on The Yours - Abraham
on Drowned In Sound (UK)
By
Dom Gourlay
When DiS made a conscious decision to focus
on previously uncharted territories such as the Far East, some people's
exasperated looks told their own story. "Why?" said the cynics. "What's the
point?"
Well, here in just under 30 minutes is one of the reasons why a part of the
world not normally associated with innovative, creative music has come under
the microscope.
Hong Kong four-piece The Yours, formed approximately two years ago, are a
prime example why some of us here are getting a little hot under the collar
at the dearth of talent currently emerging from the Eastern underground
scene.
Their influences read like a historian's guide to Creation Records circa
1986-1990, which is all the more remarkable considering their youth, and
while some may criticise them for being a tad retro, it all depends on what
your vision of the five-letter R-word entails.
For example, the obsession with retro sports clothing from the late ‘70s and
early ‘80s over post-millennium garish garments is never brought into
question, and while the origins of Abraham can quite easily be traced back
to the likes of Ride, My Bloody Valentine and the Telescopes, surely an
obsession with this kind of style and sound is far healthier than the other
side of retro, which deviates around bland plagiarism of what was (arguably)
initially borrowed/stolen (you decide...) in the first place courtesy of
Kasabian, The Twang et al.
Throughout its seven tracks, Abraham puts its pedal-foot firmly to the
floor, meaning wah-wah and reverb are the order of the day, and with the
almost-lazy-but-incessantly-charismatic vocals floating in and out like
flares warning of an impending iceberg in the distance, The Yours offer an
exciting new variant on an often, unfairly derided genre.
Despite being released at the tail-end of 2006, Abraham has a timeless
quality about it, ensuring it unlikely to ever feel out of place regardless
of what trend follows the current or any ensuing fad.
Rating: 8/10
http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/10047
______________________________________________________________
Review on Weltraum - Traum / Trauma EP
on Lunakafe.com (UK)
By
Tim Clarke
Several years
ago, when Godspeed played epic gigs that lasted upwards of two hours, and
their music was transportative rather than tedious, the possibilities of
instrumental guitar music seemed endless. Now, with Mogwai's latest album a
pale shadow of former glories, and very few bands managing to shake free of
the now-meaningless 'post-rock' tag and create music that transcends
influences and tired progressions, it's even more remarkable to discover
instrumental guitar music that can truly inspire.
The Traum/Trauma
EP by Italian quintet Weltraum is truly inspiring. Over the course of two
long tracks and 23 minutes, Weltraum transport the listener through
cavernous emotional arcs, from despair to euphoria and all the shades of
subtle feeling shimmering between.
Most
distinctively, Mimmo Napolitano's synth whoops, groans and screams over the
rock-solid bed of two guitars, bass and drums. Nothing repeats for long, all
the instruments tightly roiling around each other, sounding as though
they're moving together like a mass of snakes - but each one is moving
alone, changing, shifting, bleeding.
Every time I
listen to this remarkable CD I appreciate something new. The 23 minutes must
be heard all the way through to allow the themes to sink into your
consciousness, and for the monumental moment at the start of 'Trauma' when
the whole band chimes in with a heavenly chord progression, like the best
shoegaze band you've ever heard.
http://www.lunakafe.com/moon124/it124.php
______________________________________________________________
Review on Various Artists -
Psychedelic Vol.2 (Northern Star Records) on Drowned In Sound (UK)
By Dom Gourlay
 Phew!
There really is no easy place to start here among the 35 tracks on offer across
this two-CD package of occasionally well-known but mostly up-and-coming artists,
except to say that if your existence doesn't owe some kind of patronage to the
holy triumvirate of The Byrds, My Bloody Valentine or Spacemen 3, then you're
not welcome here.
London-based indie label Northern Star is fast
gaining a reputation alongside more established kindred spirits AC30 and Sonic
Cathedral as being one of the leading exponents in unleashing new, noise-based
pop onto an unsuspecting but rapidly increasing audience. Psychedelica Volume
2 is the follow-up to last year's debut release on the label, and as it
gathers together bands from literally every corner of the globe (Italy, Hong
Kong, Canada and Australia all find themselves represented here, as well as the
UK and US), this record could even be renamed as the South By Southwest
encyclopaedia of shoegazing.
Of course that wouldn't quite tell the whole
story, as to merely lump each and every one of the acts here together would be
about as incorrect and disserving as it gets. One is just as likely to hear
space-age ambient electronica (Perfect Blue) or ‘60s-flavoured psyche pop
(Belles Will Ring, The Lovetones) as one would feedback-drenched,
white noise-fuelled drones.
Clawing together a mix of bands both new and
old, Psychedelica... is actually a refreshing listen compared to the
usual tried and tested compilations currently clogging up the shelves, and the
propensity for discovering a host of previously unknown artists is immense, as
I've found for the past few days trawling through MySpace for an insight into
the backgrounds of Asteroid #4 and The Stevenson Ranch Davidians
among others.
As for stand-out tracks, well there are so,
so many to choose from. Cardiff's The Voices with 'The Sound Of
Young America' and Hong Kong's The
Yours ('Missed Call') take some beating, particularly in terms of getting
the balance right between the equal sprinklings of noise and emotion that
manages to conjure up a good tune.
Aside from that pair, Mancunians Air Cav
and London six-piece The People's Revolutionary Choir are both names to
watch out for in the coming months, as the former's visionary soundscapes are
reminiscent of the likes of Dinosaur Jr. while the latter brings to mind a less
hedonistic (for now) take on Spiritualized. All good, then.
And frankly, it is. For only a tenner, which
works out at around 35 pence per song, can anyone honestly have any complaints
over this record?
http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/9904
_____________________________________________________________
Review on
Jeffrey Bützer - She Traded Her Leg on
Gza Eta (Canada)
m
How many musicians
do you know who are capable of playing toy piano, accordion, glockenspiel,
bamboo xylophone, guitars, bass, banjo, drums and ocarina within the span of one
single record? I know of only one and his name if Jeffrey Bützer. In a
revolutionary way, on his debut record he spans the globe for musical
inspiration. His take on music is simple
�
allow all influences from childhood on in to filter through and make the music
what it is �
a true expression of one's self. Some melodies on this release remind me of
traditional German accordion tunes one hears during Oktoberfest in Munich.
"Rabbit Catcher" and "Piper Cub" both fit that category nicely. With barrelling
accordions and xylophones in tow, the guy is having loads of fun. By the time we
arrive at "Wooden Giraffe", the mood turns a bit more self-reflective. "The
Scrivener" is a joyous, hopscotch-like piece, while "Hoodwinked" has the styling
of a mid-tempo tango. Question is does Bützer ever get serious
�
even for a second? Sure he does. On "Broken Blunderbuss", he exposes a bluesy
side. Even with a ton of toy piano barrelling around, the piece ends up sounding
quite "serious" [whatever that word could entail?]. The final part of the album
is made up of a six part opus named "One Hundred and Sixty Three Black Bubbles".
This is where the composer's interest turns towards the Far East. With heavy
uses of gamelan elements, violins, autoharp, the music becomes more serene, less
concerned with melodies and more attached to individual sounds. It's at this
point the music truly catches my ear. This is where subtlety comes clearly into
focus. "She Traded Her Leg" is one of those rare albums where the listener is
actually rewarded with an immense climax at its very end. Seven minute long
closer "Her Body is a Swamp" is a mish-mash of intense guitar swirls, harmonica
elements and accordion riffs. While he seems to be simply doodling at the
beginning of the piece, by the end you can clearly hear everything as it's put
into focus. Bizarre combination of genius, madmen and melody, this album
delivers the kitchen sink to those willing to take the bait.
- Tom Sekowski
http://www.gaz-eta.vivo.pl/gaz-eta/recenzje/gazeta.php?nr=53&id=s_45
______________________________________________________________
Review on
FM3 / Dou Wei - Hou Guan Yin on
Gza Eta (Canada)
m
The man
responsible for the all important Buddha Machine from a couple of years ago,
Zhang Jian is back under his FM3 moniker. This time around, with the help of a
couple of other musician, he's released a real charm of an ambient record. "Hon
Guan Yin" is nothing more and nothing less than a fully dignified, completely
understated piece of atmospheric music. Clocking in at just over 36 minutes,
each of album's 2182 seconds exudes a feeling of significance. Each moment
appears to have been gruellingly prepared and thought out carefully ahead of
time. While Zhang Jian plays organ, piano and electronics, Dou Wei joins in on
the drums. These are often times individual strokes or beats that are pushed far
into the background. When percussion does appear, it's always in a highly
repetitive fashion. Christian Virant adds some light guitar scourges along with
some drones. What does the album sound like, you ask? It's a textural affair,
full of the quietest nuances you're bound to hear all year. Oftentimes, just
bells or simple piano melodies are heard. The three musicians don't actually
come in conflict with each other. Material they play is fairly even-handed in
terms of tempo and texture. It's light and full of constantly shifting
contrasts. Believe it or not, electronics that Jian employs are moderate in
nature. There are no clicks, pops or distracting buzzes. He's fair to his
partners and allows instrumentation to do most of the talking. But even when
delicate melodies appear �
as they do near the end of the disc
� these are soon enough replaced by washes of sound or
more percussive tinkling. In the case of this record, 36 minutes, just isn't
enough. Program this release on auto-repeat to allow your body to go into full
relaxation mode.
- Tom Sekowski
http://www.gaz-eta.vivo.pl/gaz-eta/recenzje/gazeta.php?nr=53&id=s_11
______________________________________________________________
We Play Neo Sound!a
——深港實驗音樂集體騷暨WePlay
Records首張唱片發行
演出時間： 2007年03月25日(星期天) 20:30-23:30
演出地點：墨客空間一渡堂
演出地址：華僑城創意文化園 F3棟墨客空間(中國深圳華僑城恩平街·康佳北300米)
F3 Block,
Mooka Space,Enping Road, Oversea Chinese Town,
Shenzhen CHINA
票價： 20RMB(前50名購票者可獲贈
neo sound刊物一本)
聯繫電話： +86-755 83452586
參演藝術家：
Dickson Dee(Hong Kong)
Alok (Hong Kong)
Wilson Tsang(Hong Kong)
Sin:Ned(Hong Kong)
No One Pulse(Hong Kong)
ZenLu(Shenzhen)
Huang Jian(Shenzhen)
Abai(Shenzhen)
更多資訊請查詢：
www.weplayrec.cn
neosound.blogbus.com
實驗音樂和聲音藝術最近幾年在國內開始嶄露頭角，逐漸進入社會關注的視野。這種前衛藝術逐漸被人們認知和接受，以前所未有的前衛姿態，進入後現代文化的領域。受到影響的新生力量逐漸投入創作領域，一些獨立的實驗廠牌紛紛成立，一些演出場地和藝術展覽開始接納這些嶄新的聲音，一些展覽將聲音藝術納為重要部分之一，同時也給多媒體藝術時代塗抹上嶄新的顏色。同時，來自世界各地的聲音實驗樂手強勢進入中國，演出、交流、合作出版唱片，北京、上海、杭州、廣州這些城市成為中國當前最為重要的實驗音樂重鎮，而深圳作為文化開放走在國內前沿的城市，近兩年也在這個領域裏，開始活躍起來。 3月25日晚8:30-11:30，一場由深圳新晉實驗音樂廠牌We
Play！和Neo
Sound(離騷)藝術團體發起的主題為“We
Paly Neo Sound！”實驗音樂會將在OCT-LOFT內的墨客空間舉行，主辦方將邀請五位香港實驗音樂樂手/聲音藝術家，聯合三位深圳本土樂手共同出席。這也是香港實驗音樂第一次在國內集體亮相，除了大家熟知的Dickson
Dee之外，有Lona
Records主持Alok，多重藝術身份的Wilson
Tsang，MCB寫手、現投身聲音創作的Sin:Ned以及他的新團體No
One Pulse；深圳三位本土樂手分別是實驗電子樂手、We
Play!創辦人陸正，自由藝術家阿白和實驗吉他手黃健。當晚的音樂會也是We
Play!首張唱片<over a foul
line,simple questions>的首發演出，現場將有聲音結合影像，除了樂手個人表演之外，還會有不同樂手之間的自由即興。
We Play!是由實驗樂手ZenLu主持創辦的獨立音樂廠牌，根植於深圳，專注於出版發行國內外優秀的實驗音樂作品。
We Play! is
an independent label rooted in Shenzhen, hosted and founded by experimental
musician ZenLu. It specializes in publishing and distributing quality
experimental music works from China and overseas.
www.weplayrec.cn
info@weplayrec.cn
Neo Sound(離騷)是一個紮根於深圳的年輕藝術團體
。Neo Sound以創作為主(戲劇/音樂/攝影/影像藝術)，涉及出版和策展，同時堅持吃到吐、喝到死。
neo sound
is a young artistic group based in Shenzhen. neo
sound includes: composing
(drama,music,photography,video art) /publishing/exhitition planning,and
persist in eatting (until vomit) and drinking (until
die).
neosound.blogbus.com
neosounds@gmail.com
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Listen up: When the Plug is ONa
多媒體藝術展覽（2007年3月1日至14日）：
由香港獨立音樂廠牌Lona Records籌辦的Listen up: When the Plug is ON
多媒體藝術展覽，結集本地各界的創作人，分別以聲音裝置、攝影錄像及美術作品的形式，合共營造一個令人耳目一新的視聽環境，展現其獨樹一幟的實驗美學。是次展覽中的所有展品及商品，皆由音樂出發、以音樂為題，探索由音樂延伸至其他藝術形式的可能性。
開幕表演（2007年3月3日）：
這次開幕表演請來了多位大膽創新、意念獨特的另類／實驗音樂人，包括Sin:Ned、Wilson Tsang、實驗電音樂團No One
Pulse和來自中國內地的特別嘉賓ZenLu，為大家帶來少有接觸的另類聲音——從深沉憂悒的鋼琴音樂到簡約微模或結構嚴密的氣氛化電音，他們將以其獨一無二的聲響創作迸發出電波流竄的無限靈感。此外，我們亦有幸邀得資深音樂人／DJ黃志淙擔任當日的司儀，作為觀眾最親切合適的音樂解說人。
Video Here:
The Exhibition (1 March – 14 March 2007):
“Listen up: When the Plug is ON” is the very first multi-media exhibition
organised by Lona Records. This two-week exhibition at LOG-ON (Festival Walk)
will showcase creative works including sound installation, videos and paintings
by local independent artists, all of which are centered around the theme of
music.
Prick up your ears and keep your eyes wide open once you step into our
eye-dazzling exhibition zone—you are walking toward a new aesthetics of
experimentalism.
The Opening Show (3 March 2007, 3pm-5pm):
On 3 March 2007, four idiosyncratic experimental artists—Sin:Ned, Wilson Tsang,
No One Pulse (aka Sin:Ned and Chau Kin-wai) and our special guest from the
mainland China, ZenLu will take us on a two-hour sonic journey. From melancholic
piano tunes to minimal or sophisticated atmospheric electronic sounds, they are
bound to make an ordinary Saturday afternoon in a bustling shopping mall sparkle
with a stream of unique airwaves. (MC: Wong Chi Chung)
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The Yours' "Missed
Call" on Northern Star Records' (UK) Compilation <Psychedelica Volume 2>a
Buy CD >>
_______________________________________________________________
Review on Jeffrey
Bützer – She Traded Her Leg on
brainwashed.coma
Written by Duncan
Edwards
22 February
2007
Some
uncompromising records of good quality seem predestined for neglect or
obscurity. So it is with this taut and melodic release; an interesting mix of
jaunty minimalism, baroque abstraction and a smidgen of the kind of understated,
introspective instrumentation that is to myths of the American Old West as beer
foam is to a glass.
On his debut
release, Jeffrey Bützer plays piano, toy piano, electric piano, accordion, toy
accordion, melodica, glockenspiel, reed organ, banjo, harmonica, guitars, bass,
autoharp, ocarina, tongue drum, drums & percussion. Regardless of whether or not
we need a Jeffrey Bützer action figure to play those toy instruments, the result
is most definitely an album, since it bears repeated listening from start to
finish, thanks to a vigorous breadth and subtle development. The odd title track
has an almost ska-like opening rhythm. The wheezing melancholy of "Wooden
Giraffe" might be an out-take from The Draughtsman's Contract, while there is
much darker avant-expressionism on "Her Body is a Swamp." The record carries an
endemic quasi-gamelan pulse and has a physicality that sporadically twitches
like the leg of a dreamer. Bützer knows the value of repetitive phrases but is
brave enough to allow a surprising element of decay and breakdown to emerge,
which, of course, in hindsight seems entirely natural. Either that or he ran out
of ideas.
Who is she and
what did she get in exchange for her leg? Someone's hand upon it? A brief or
lasting freedom? Regret? Does the title (as if Hans Christian Andersen's little
mermaid in reverse) refer to the trading of some physical mobility to gain the
means by which to articulate expression? Was it sacrifice, or gain? A life
spared? Season tickets to Old Trafford? Is the leg of flesh or wood? We can
enjoy this record and keep the mystery of speculation.
"Tarred and
Feathered" sounds less like an experience of violent retribution than a pleasant
afternoon spent by the river, having tea and cakes with the vicar's
daughters.The pretty sounds on "Carbonated Sewing Machine" don't appear to be
derived from a device for stitching. Actually, such sounds embroider "Valse 1"
instead, as if figures in a tapestry wandered over to the next scene for a
relaxing interlude. The track "Broken Blunderbuss, One Hundred and Sixty Three
Black Bubbles" has the feeling of an epic journey beginning, a sense which,
apart from a see-sawing lull on "Part 2", is more-or-less maintained throughout
it's following 6 parts. At times like this a reference to El Topo is
unavoidable.
On the final
track, "Her Body is a Swamp," Bützer shows a willingness to dissolve
compositional structure and also to incorporate a raw, noisier dynamic. Images
of a motorcycle traversing sand dunes came to my mind, trying to avoid getting
stuck; along with a vague sense of memory clinging to skin. It would be a
stretch to wonder whether or not Jeffrey Bützer will follow a more minimalist
path forged by such luminaries as Terry Riley, maybe choose to add words and
singing to his work, perhaps veer whole-heartedly into a 21st Century folk dance
music, or (more likely) plot another course entirely. She Traded Her Leg has
enough pure listening pleasure and signposts for future projects that, either
way lies intrigue and, most probably, reward.
http://brainwashed.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5955&Itemid=64
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Review on Jeffrey
Bützer – She Traded Her Leg on
audiversity.coma
 Jeffrey
Bützer's debut release for Hong Kong-based Lona Records is an interesting
blend of street performer waltzes, minimal avant-garde doodling and
soundtrack-like ditties. Influenced by the deceptively simple and subtly
moving film scores by minimalist composer Michael Nyman (The Piano) and
Fellini sideman Nino Rota, Bützer's songs, which typically clock in at about
the two-and-a-half minute mark, sound as if specifically composed for a series
short films. The album is split into two distinct halves; the first 14 tracks
reminiscing of the French pop of Yann Tiersen (best known to us Americans for
the Amélie soundtrack) and the second half featuring two longer songs (on of
which is broken into six parts) that drift into instrumental experimentation.
The first, more appealing half finds Bützer mostly arranging bright melodic
percussive instruments like xylophone, glockenspiel, piano and ocarina over
elastic accordion waltzes. The tracks are short enough to not wear on your
nerves and frequently conjure images of French street performers and the
colorful circus acts of the 40s. 'One Hundred and Sixty Three Black Bubbles'
and 'Her Body is a Swamp' on the other hand rarely find any sort of
recognizable melody as Bützer strums hauntingly on his autoharp over
meandering xylophone totters and heavily reverberating something or another.
She Traded Her Leg is definitely an interesting album for those of you that
like to dig under the surface for odd fissures in pop music.
http://audiversity.com/
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Take Off the Headphone and
Turn to 10 - Review on Discuss.com.hk
Reviewed by:
nihilist
Photos
音樂會全長約兩個半小時，包括10分鐘中場休息；高峰之時，入場觀眾相信超過一百人。
記憶所及，出場次序分別為 (如有錯漏，煩請糾正，不勝感激！)：
Sherman
Huang Jian
Magdalen Wong
Sin:Ned
Wilson Tsang
Zenlu
Alok
L W T V
Splinter VS Stalin
No one pulse
Free Jam Session
對各樂手的演出略述如下：
Sherman 以深沉而氣氛化的電音，為音樂會掀開序幕。
Huang Jian 併貼型式的創作，方向駁雜，略感失控，似乎未竟全功！
Sin:Ned的個人創作，或跟Anytone合作的新組合 ~ No one pulse 的樂章，都甚有Raster Noton 廠牌的電音樂風，水準極高。
Magdalen Wong 的隨機視像跟即時人聲重叠配合，堪稱本地前衛代表作；其將會在Lona Records 出版之新作，已被自己歸入熱切期待之列。
Wilson Tsang 演奏被過濾的玩具鋼琴聲樂實驗作品，前段稍見失準，幸好後段重拾水準。
Zenlu 感性飄逸的電音作品，結構緊密，音色豐富，絕對是上乘佳作。
Alok 再向低限探索，輔以自製器材，創作獨特音色，驟聽還以為是Richard Chartier 的作品，喜見其路向越見精鍊。
L W T V 繼續以小提琴演奏簡約之音，意境立體深遠，教觀眾耳目一新。
Splinter VS Stalin 的終極噪音，洶湧澎湃，挑戰感官極限，台風更是爆炸力十足。
Free jam session 開始時，各樂手也略見爭雄之像，均曾出現音量過大的情况。
幸而，Alok 不久已經於mixing desk 將各方納回正軌，兼且調校得恰到好處，清楚分辨羣雄之音。
完結之時，更是流暢有序，部份觀眾更加意猶未盡，頻呼encore！
整體而論，此次音樂會實屬本地難得的高質素演出；Alok儼如將軍指揮若定，音響定位優秀，氣氖跟節奏掌控得宜，絕無冷場。
雖則上半場曾出現過度迴輸現像，銜接亦稍欠暢順；但中場十分鐘休息後，下半場相關問題已經迎刃而解，可見籌劃方面之嚴謹與專業。
(後記)
此場免費音樂會，較不少收費的本地獨立音樂會，來得嚴謹與專業，擁有清𥇦的方向。
即使分別有十個演出單位，音響編排與主題貫徹兩方面，都控制得恰到好處，未見往常本地獨立音樂會的雜亂與失序。
況且，Lona Records 在推廣實驗/前衛音樂確實不遺餘力，替本地死寂的音樂市場注入強心針，其義無反顧的態度，無視經濟風險，怎不教人動容！
縱使實驗/前衛音樂從來難於普及，卻具備超越時代的前瞻與指導方針，亦反映當地對藝術的包容與認受。我就是難於接受香港滯後於海峽兩岸！怎麼我們居住在這個具備最自由資訊流通與人均富裕程度相對優越的地方，目光跟品味會如斯貧乏狹隘？
2007年1月20日，我親身體驗了這一項突破，不是從CD 紀錄之中取得的非即時感受，而是置身其中的愉悅與興奮。
打從那天起… 我相信香港不再是實驗/前衛音樂的廢土！
Alok 正在替本地獨立音樂寫下新的一章，我是如斯相信的。
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Little Sound [ls010]
Alok & L W T V
"Amidst The Boredom, They Gather Forces（22"56'）"
Live at 香港九龍塘浸會大學舊校, 2006年10月25日
(3″cdr limited copies 50)
Releases Date: December 20,2006
Buy Here:
http://shop34096725.taobao.com/
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Review on The Yours -
Abraham on
Music Emissions (US)a
Rating:
 4.5 / 5
Reviewed by:
Mike Wood
The Yours are a Hong Kong band that has been
paying attention to international music. This debut is a crunching droning
monster that equally evokes early 90's shoegazing and fuzz-toned post-rock.
The sound is BIG, going to eleven while still being melodic and catchy. The
Yours put the Power in Power Pop. "Another Teen" kicks off the record with a
burst of pure joy, like the one you got when you heard the first Matthew Sweet
single in the middle of a shitty music season. The title track, the huge
"Missed Call", and "Cigarette to Start The Day" are rough, Dolls-esque rock,
driven the twin guitar attack of Jack and Nic (single names only for these
guys, thanks). The rhythm section of Azia on bass and Ho on drums complete the
lineup of those about to rock. This is what The Strokes promised and never
delievered.
http://www.musicemissions.com/artists/albums/index.php?artist_id=3682&album_id=4832
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Review on The Yours -
Abraham on
HK Magazine (HK)a
______________________________________________________________________
Review on The Yours -
Abraham on
MCB-online (HK)a
THE YOURS專訪
二元嘗試
Text : 細孖匡
Post Date : 2006-11-01
無可否認，本地獨立樂圈近年熱鬧非常。從89268及維港唱片等本地廠牌協助的樂隊陸續推出唱片、作現場演出甚至為別人作監製，可見香港其實也可以容納不同的音樂類型，令人快慰。不過，近期有人覺得樂圈再一次微微沉靜下來了。其實不然，只是沉靜代表著醞釀，好音樂需要時間來準備。這一年，本地音樂舞台上就出現了一個新名字——The
Yours。
The
Yours組成於2005年，在大眾認識他們之前，筆者就已觀看過他們的數次演出，而在荷李活道的演出翌日，筆者就在他們的Band房與他們作了第一次訪問。「其實差不多每天，我們放工或放學後都會上Band房練習，興趣與習慣已融為一體。」主唱兼結他手Jack在訪問開首已表明他們練習的緊密程度。
不單一化音樂影響
Jack與另一主唱兼結他手Nic是自小認識的玩伴，從小到大，已有聽音樂的習慣。在一次偶然的機會下，他們發現「其實我們也可以組樂隊」，於是組成了他們的第一個樂隊，為他們結成The
Yours打下了一個不錯的基礎。樂隊解散後，他們結識了低音結他手Azia及在網上認識了鼓手Ho。商討過後，他們決定The Yours的音樂類型主要會是Shoegazing及Post-Punk。或者你會奇怪，樂隊不是都不希望被所謂的「類型」所限制的嗎？「這兩類型的音樂都是我們所喜愛的。」Jack說道：「而不同時期也可以玩不同的音樂，難保我們遲些不會玩其他風格的東西。」
對於受到自己喜歡的樂隊影響，他們直認不諱，然而這種影響卻絕不單一化。「例如，雖然我們很喜歡My Bloody
Valentine，但不是他們做過的我們全都要做。其實，也很難說哪一樂隊影響我們最大，因為我們不是Copycat。」Nic補充說：「例如我們想營造Slowdive的整體感覺、The
Jesus And Mary Chain的歌曲結構……諸如此類。這樣才有趣。」同時，The
Yours也明白到一個道理：「這個年頭，很Original的東西其實很難再有，就算更好，都不免滲透著一種前人的感覺。」鼓手Ho更認為「創新不就是一定代表好，前陣子很流行的……例如Hip
Hop混合中樂，一些樂手就喜歡這種Fusion，但不是我們。」
而事實上，他們喜愛的音樂類型也迥異。筆者在Band房中，叫他們每人揀選自己最喜歡的專輯。Azia選擇了Campag Velocet的Bon Chic Bon
Genre與Mogwai的Young Team，而Ho選擇了Xiu Xiu的Fabulous Muscles與My Bloody Valentine的Loveless，Nic則選了The
Cure的Boys Don’t Cry(他的唱腔也很Robert Smith)與Art Brut 的Bang Bang Rock ‘n’ Roll，Jack就最愛Dream
City Film Club的同名專輯及Telescopes的Taste。樂迷由此可以想像他們的音樂所充滿的各種可能性。
「暫時來說，我最難忘的演出就是『Aloks 31G x The
Swamp沼澤Live』，那時是我們處子演出的一週後。在樂隊成立初期便有機會在九龍灣展貿這種大型場館演出，又知道聽Alok及沼澤的樂迷都很資深，所以在演出前難免緊張。」Jack繼續說：「另一次是在何文田一間中學的演出，因為當天我們需要到中環參加另一場演出，我們甚至放棄了那邊的綵排來到那間中學。那是一個聖誕派對，氣氛很好，人人也悉心打扮。雖然他們都沒有聽過我們的歌，但都聽得很投入。而我們玩的一首Cover歌(註：筆者也在場，那首是Jimmy
Eat World的Last Christmas，也令現場的氣氛更熱烈。)
視聽之娛
有看過The
Yours演出的，都會留意到他們與大部分獨立樂隊的不同——對於外表打扮十分講究，原來絕對不是「貪靚」或「裝帥」的意思。Ho說：「如果我們願意在外表上花點心思，表演一定會比『不願意』的話來得更吸引。」Jack則指出：「其實Live
Show就是一種Art
Performance，一場現場演出，是包含『視』與『聽』的。你會見到外國的MV在這方面都很講究，我們都認為這是很重要的。MV，不只是Music
Video；整體的視覺效果，都是The Yours的一部分。」Azia更指出「尊重樂迷」這一點：「Performer絕對有責任Dress
Up，因為這是一種尊重的表現。」
「你們暫時的目標是甚麼？」Nick：「盡快完成各張唱片及現場演出。」Azia則說：「吸引多點樂迷及增加知名度，更成功地推廣The
Yours。」鼓手Ho則關注創作的問題：「最好當然是在創作中多添新的元素吧。」
話題一轉，筆者便問及有關推出唱片的問題。「現在我們加入了Alok的Lona Records，第一張EP已剛剛出版了。」Jack繼續介紹The
Yours的計劃：「第一波，我們會推出唱片及作多個現場演出。Debut EP玩的多數是Melodic一點的Shoegazing，或者說，Noise-Pop音樂。」筆者知道，對於Shoegazing，年輕樂迷可能認識不太深，而他們也注意到這點：「這張唱片其實是較易入耳的，好讓較多的樂迷認識我們。」
分類錄製
「明年年初左右，我們會推出首張大碟。這張專輯會是節奏較強勁的Post-Punk。我們把歌曲分類錄製是為了避免令樂迷混淆。」筆者及後得悉，這張大碟的曲目是較適合在現場演出的。
讓我們先來聽聽The Yours的首張EP出品Abraham吧。Another Teen作為唱片的序幕，The House of
Love式的搖滾，的確稱職地打響了頭陣。Light A Cigarette to Start a Day中則是MBV式的結他音牆，全曲帶有一種無動於衷的疏離感。筆者最為喜歡的是Tasteless與Missed
Call。前者的結他噪音整理令人聯想到「收斂了的前期的The
Creation」，後者則保留了Post-Punk的低沉而層次井然的特質，後段的流暢結他獨奏則帶有Bloc
Party的味道。主題樂曲Abraham是為一位朋友而作的，在Ho的小軍鼓式打法與Jack內斂的演繹中，歌曲漸漸推進，感染力亦隨之逐步加強。
「真的很多謝廠牌方面如此支持我們的音樂活動。特別要多謝的是Alok、Elf
Fatima的小章與維港唱片的阿松。」的確，很少獨立樂隊會準備一連串的音樂活動，而The
Yours就是有這份決心：「真的決心要完成一件事，而這件事當中的各項細節也是要Interlinking的，真的，唱片與live show是不可分割的。」
筆者在訪問最後問到四子有沒有說話要跟樂迷說，The Yours只留下了這一句：「多點上我們的MySpace，聽我們的歌。」
The Yours嚴選五張最愛專輯：
Joy Division 《Heart And Soul》
My Bloody Valentine 《Loveless》
Ride 《Smile EP》
The Jesus And Mary Chain 《Psycho Candy》
The Cure 《Boys Don't Cry》
http://www.mcb.com.hk/online2/article/article.php?did=2&aid=370
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Review on Perfect Blue on MCB-online (HK)a
Text : 袁智聰
Post Date : 2006-10-31
Perfect Blue這張Sunshine EP是Lona Records之3”CD單曲系列旗下的首隊英國樂隊出品，廠牌主人Alok對此出品顯得額外雀躍，因為他是英國Shoegazer樂團The
Telescopes的忠實擁躉，而Perfect Blue則是The Telescopes的圈中好友。
Perfect Blue看似那些悶蛋清新結他樂隊名字，實情他們是迷幻樂團The Electric Mainline成員Scott Causer和Rob
Allen，以及Nisei23的Maria Navarra所組成，取名自一齣日本動畫名稱。而Perfect Blue是他們朝向實驗性音樂探討的Project。
在Sunshine EP內，他們打造出是一種深邃而氛圍化的結他Ambient音樂(據知他們並沒有採用電子合成器作演奏)，讓聽者馳騁在其Soundscape之間，好比曾幾何時的Seefeel、後來的Windy
& Carl甚至My Bloody Valentine在Loveless時期的靜謐曲目。
他們所營造的奇麗夢幻Ambient意境，在主題曲Sunshine裡已表露無遺，然而那低迥的人聲Chanting，以及帶點工業味的冷冷闇黑氛圍，卻為樂曲凝聚出一股神秘異色。光明與黑暗彷彿共存在同一空間內。
In Fear Of Fear那波瀾壯闊而帶點後浪漫式悲壯的氛圍，就懾人心魄得簡直好比德國電子大師Klaus Schulze的Synthesizer
Music般。而The Destruction Of Time亦猶如早年柏林的漫天無際、神秘莫測太空電子音樂呢。
http://www.mcb.com.hk/online2/article/article.php?did=3&aid=371
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Review on The Yours
on BC Magazine (HK)a
Mandobeat
: A Matter of Taste
Words: Hamish McKenzie
Sick of the same old shouted rock?
Well, young post-punkers The Yours might just have the Cure for you.
Sunday afternoon at Rockit. Four impeccably dressed young men are on the main
stage. Twenty-one-year-old Nicholas Wong – a mushroom of black hair, lily-pad
dark glasses – wails into the microphone as if he’s The Cure’s Robert Smith. The
post-punk music is fresh, quirky, and a cool change from the usual
shout-your-innards-out fare many local ‘indie’ bands churn out. But the crowd
don’t seem to get it, and a cock-up with the marquee means Rockit is running
behind schedule. Wong and his band The Yours are shuffled off stage prematurely.
The band’s other singer, Jack Leung, 23 – wispy dyed blonde hair, straight black
suit – only has time to finish his song The Decent, to some enthusiastic
applause, before he’s asked to make way for the next band, to accommodate the
organisers’ blunder. He takes it well, despite looking ready to launch into the
next number; despite already being made to wait half an hour to take the stage.
He laughs nervously, smiles, and leans into the microphone: “Thanks – we’ve
really enjoyed it.”
The Yours have done well to make it to Rockit, but they aren’t suited to an
outdoor festival. They ought to be experienced up close in the dark and smoky
climes of small bars, where sounds reflect off the walls and wrap the audience
like a blanket. They’re not to be roared for, or moshed to; they’re not to be
screamed at, or sung along with – they’re to be looked at and listened to. And
if you listen closely enough, you’ll hear a band rough round the edges but sure
to rise quickly through the ranks of the indie scene.
Wong, Leung, bass-player Azia Chou (21), and drummer Chin Ho Chan (20), are no
musical whizzes. Aside from Leung, who had three months’ guitar tutelage,
they’re all self-taught. In fact, Chou joined the band without even really
knowing his way round a bass – but that’s not what he told them at the time. “I
just tried my best to jam with them,” Chou says with a laugh, a week after a
performance at Underground 32, that had a crowd of about 100 hollering for more.
Chan, whom Leung conscripted by ICQ, doesn’t even own his own set of drums – he
practises on pillows in his room. But the four do hold one vital key for
success: a strong work ethic. Three nights a week, they can be found in a
bandroom in Kwai Fong, practising from early evening until the wee hours –
sometimes 4am. Now, a year and a half after forming, the band has just released
an EP through Lona Records, and are working on an LP, set for release early next
year.
The two releases are arranged according to style. For the EP, you can expect
easy-listening, melodic – but still noisy – fare inspired by the likes of The
Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, and Ride. For the LP, still in the
pipeline, brace yourself for heavier stuff marked by loud drums and strident
bass. The divergent works on the two albums at least show The Yours’ versatility
– which was also on display at that successful Underground gig. Stuck for an
unexpected encore after underestimating their popularity, the boys were left
wondering what to do. They’d only prepared their set list, and were fresh out of
material to offer the hungry new fans. Not to be fazed, they launched into a
free jam to finish the night. Asked afterwards what it was, they simply
explained it was a “new song”.
Their other songs are somewhat less spontaneous. They say their music is
actually quite structured, even if their philosophy to writing starts with, “We
always just pick up a guitar and play.” Lyrics – written mostly by Wong and
Leung – are observational, wry, and not without a healthy dose of attitude.
Another Teen, for example, speaks of the band’s drive to be something out of the
ordinary – not just another band off the pop conveyor belt.
“We wanted to make something different; make something unique; something
special. We don’t want to be just normal teens,” explains Leung.
Of course, they don’t expect to be to everyone’s taste, but they don’t much care
either. That’s why they wrote Tasteless, Leung’s favourite song. “When I wrote
the song I was sad at the time because someone was leaving me. I was just
saying, if the person didn’t choose me, they are tasteless,” he says. “And for
the band, if people don’t like us, or they don’t listen to us, they are
tasteless.” A laugh follows, but he only half means it.
http://hk.bcmagazine.net/hk.bcmagazine.issues/bcmagazine_webissue219/08mandobeat.html
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Review on The Yours -
Abraham on
Indie Eye (Italy)a
Abraham è l’ep di
debutto degli hongkonghesi The Yours, a giorni in uscita per la
notevole Lona Records, l’etichetta
cinese che distribuisce, tra i tanti, artisti come
1605munro e
FM3, recentemente usciti con uno splendido
lavoro di avant-ambient-folk intitolato Hou Guan Yin e
realizzato insieme a Dou Wei,
musicista noto alla nostra stampa intelligente solo per aver devastato (a
ragione, secondo noi) la redazione di un giornale in seguito a gossip non
gradito. The yours probabilmente sono tra le uscite meno
sperimentali ed estreme in casa Lona, e giocano con l’amore per My Bloody
Valentine senza troppi misteri e trucchi cosi da essersi guadagnati il rispetto
come una delle migliori band live di Hong Kong. Ascolti presso il
profilo myspace ufficiale.
http://www.indie-eye.it/recensore/2006/10/15/the-yours-abraham-ep/
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Review on FM3
+ Dou Wei 竇唯 - Hou Guan Yin 后觀音 on
Cokemachine Glow
Rating: 72%
Let’s start here: if you don’t already have a
Buddha Machine (the object) get one, because Buddha Machine (the album) is
phenomenal, even despite the fact that the relative success of the machine is
probably, at least in part, based on the novel concept. A little box that can
play nine loops (each one for as long as the batteries of the machine might
last), the behind-the-curve 2006 hullabaloo surrounding the 2005 object made FM3
a household name (well, a geeky household name).
Okay, but that’s Eno’s wet dream; this is a boring old 20th century Compact
Disc-format album. Well, “boring” only because of the format, since while the
tracks of Hou Guan Yin may not be able to spiral into Buddha Machine infinity,
FM3 and guest Dou Wei are spinning into another orbit entirely. It’s kind of
like chess: the FM3 duo (Zhang Jian and Christiaan Virant) lull you in early on,
playing with foreboding drone patterns and bailing water from leaky hulls, but
eventually drummer Dou Wei grabs fistfuls of FM3’s sonic tapestries and rips
them to shreds. Well, sort of, I guess, because there’s a lot of castleling
going on. This album is about building bulwarks, and it’s not quite as simple as
quiet drones and loud drumming, in part because Jian and Virant are playing
keyboards and guitars both in the lap top and more traditional senses, and in
part because this band orientation of sounds seems to rephrase the ambient
textures FM3 excel at as forays into the land of Sunburned Hand of the Man and
Wooden Wand. It works, I think, because the sense of restraint the duo has
gained as ambient musicians makes this trio’s (well, quartet really, since noise
master Yan Jun is creeping around backstage) brand of freak explorations far
stronger -- or at least more consistent -- than those two bands.
But what is really striking about this album is how readily it bridges the gap
between early seventies prog (like, the experimental kind, and not the more
popular formalized version of Yes and ELO) and present day electronic music.
Xhol Caravan, Agitation Free, Area, Tangerine Dream, Cluster, Battiato -- their
fingerprints are all over this thing, which isn’t entirely shocking, since some
of the roots of electronic music exist in that cluster anyway, but insofar as
the intent is to draw the soothing and sore together, I haven’t heard an album
that is so evocative of that nexus of noise in a while. Like those bands, FM3
understand that vibrant tremors exist in all sorts of contexts, groupings, and
tempos, and that an album doesn’t have to be a collection of ideas, but rather
it can be the idea, and that its parts can simply explain the narrative through
moods. Hou Guan Yin swells and breaks, and from the cover to the clanging
percussion employed by Dou Wei it’s an incredibly watery album. It poles between
straightforward post-rock patterns (without the expected eruptions) and obtuse
sound experiments, but the focus on overall tone ties these excursions together.
Which is exactly how something like Xhol Caravan’s Motherfuckers Ghmb (1972)
worked -- bits and pieces carefully folded into an overall piece, so that while
there are tracks, those tracks are more like movements in one coherent idea.
Which -- and, I mean, the lack of titles for most of the tracks here makes it
obvious -- is exactly what’s going on here.
Which makes it hard to talk about individual tracks, since most of the time
we’re simply fading in and out between specific ideas. Often, the basic FM3
format stays fairly intact, throwing a blushing powder of opaque sound over the
palette and then playing with the results. Other tracks swarm around specific
movement, lobbing Dou Wei’s percussion through the inertia. And when all three
connect, when the group is done foraging for ambient textures and new overlaps
in avant-garde music, they let out the steam in grand style (on tracks 6 and 10,
for example), and the result is beautiful. 10 especially makes the noodling
explorations of Sunburned and Wooden Wand look amateurish by comparison,
simultaneously funky and completely off the map.
This isn’t an album you’d want to cherry pick from -- it’s a coherent statement,
and some of the experiments fall a bit flat out of context -- but the overall
quality maintains FM3’s status as one of the most important avant-garde groups
we have working today, both for their fantastic compositional skills and their
commitment to constant experimentation. Hell, Eno bought like eight of those
Buddha Machines, and maybe we can hope that the act is some sort of prophecy.
Maybe in a few years FM3 will be invited to produce all sorts of indie albums,
and we’ll get some Lamb Lies Down on Broadways (1974) and Remain in the Lights
(1980) for our generation. Or maybe FM3 will just continue on knocking out some
of the greatest experimental music ever. I know I’ll be happy either way.
Mark Abraham
October 24, 2006
_______________________________________________________________________
Review on FM3
+ Dou Wei 竇唯 - Hou Guan Yin 后觀音 on
Giant Robot
 
_______________________________________________________________________
Review on FM3
+ Dou Wei 竇唯 - Hou Guan Yin 后觀音 on
Foxy Digitalis
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Review on FM3
+ Dou Wei 竇唯 - Hou Guan Yin 后觀音 on
Billboard
If Brian Eno were
Chinese and had come of age in the era of digital sampling rather than the era
of analog tape manipulation, it's very likely that his music would have ended up
sounding quite a bit like that of FM3, an avant ambient collective based in
China that is expanded, for this recording, by guest drummer Dou Wei, guitarist
Christiaan Virant, and electronica artist Yan Jun. The music they make on Hou
Gan Yin is a gorgeous fusion of traditional Chinese sounds, abstract noise,
faux-natural sound effects (synthesized insect chirps, dripping water, etc.),
and floating wisps of harmonically minimalist piano and synthesizer chords.
There are no songs as such, and hardly even any tracks, really -- most of the
tracks on the program are simply numbered, though a handful of them are rather
bewilderingly titled "Wu." Not that it matters: this isn't the type of album
that will lead listeners to say "Hey, go back and play that third track again."
It's the kind of album that will lead listeners to sit back deeply into the
couch and close their eyes for 36 minutes -- and at the end they'll wish it
would go on for at least 36 more. Of course, one nice thing about an album like
this is that you can set the player on "repeat" and no one will ever notice the
repetition. Recommended strongly to anyone who owns at least three Harold Budd
albums. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
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Review on FM3
+ Dou Wei 竇唯 - Hou Guan Yin 后觀音 on
Boomkat
On Hou Guan Yin,
the team that brought you the now seminal Buddha Machine have expanded upon the
looping microsound aesthetic that established their name internationally and
have made a welcome return to a more conventional format. The group’s founding
members, Zhang Jian and Christiaan Virant are joined by Chinese experimental
artist, Yan Jun and the rock singer/musician, Dou Wei, who provide additional
electronics and drums, respectively. The idea of FM3 incorporating drums into
their sound might sound entirely at odds with the ambient minimalism the Buddha
Machine is associated with, but while that contraption’s technology made economy
and reduction a necessity – constricting FM3’s sound palette into thirty-second
loops – the CD facilitates a conceptually very different side of their work,
allowing for an altogether freer, more ornate music. The eleven sound pieces
that make up Hou Guan Yin function as a series of heavily layered vignettes
composed from environmental sound materials, treated live instruments and
digital synthesis. Switching effortlessly between the fax machine lullaby of ‘?’
to the other-worldly post-rock of ‘?’, complete with guitar, beats and clipped
vocal interjections, FM3 have produced an album that not only follows up on the
Buddha Machine’s promise as a calling card for an innovative sound design team,
but successfully marries Western pop structures with Eastern harmony and
ambience. Brian Eno would do well to buy eight of these too.
http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=23921
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Review on Perfect Blue - Sunshine on Kitten Painting
Related to those psychedelic explorers at Northern Star records, Perfect Blue
tread an elegantly drawn line between quivering dreampop and
floating-on-the-ceiling ambient. The four tracks here blend into one another, a
miasma of sound that stretches and spirals, taking its time, building into total
immersion trip music. The subtle shifting and shading of musical mood is
suggestive of and complementary to a spot of journeying into the mind’s eye,
whiting out in a thousand yard stare space.
Track one, 'Sunshine' and the thump of blood pumping in your ears pulses a beat
across a delicate, trickling almost-melody, like a gentle come-down cousin to My
Bloody Valentine’s ‘All I Need’. Then the heartbeat drifts away to leave an
eerie, soothing soundscape of hovering, humming bliss which waxes and warps its
way across the grooves (or whatever CDs have), allowing you to meander and
drift, lapped by sound. The E.P.’s fourth track, ‘The Destruction of Time’
(there’s nothing like tackling the big issues eh?) brings things to a sinister,
ticking end. A bell tolls in a ‘seeing your own funeral’ way, a chill wind blows
and suggestions of Loop’s ‘Shot Like A Diamond’ swaddled in cotton-wool and
Valium creep in unbidden. A twenty-four minute technicolour dream.
R.R.R.G: Existential honey bamboo
http://www.kittenpainting.co.uk/recordreviews/perfectblue.html
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Review on Perfect Blue - Sunshine on Diskant
With a name like that, I was expecting an MOR indie band with
their eyes on the major label stardom prize, for some reason. Turns out, to my
immeasurable joy, that Perfect Blue are in fact creators of abstract, blissed-out
soundscapes that recall the less beat-y moments of Seefeel, the floating
repetition of Pink Floyd's 'Live at Pompeii' set and the subtle, intricately
textured layers of Main.
The four tracks here shift in and out to form a blurred whole; multilayered
planes of sound building up a many-frequencied core that's reinforced by
occasional, muted beats and vaguely human sounds. At times it threatens to go
full-blown into 'Loveless'-style lysergic overload, especially on 'In Fear of
Fear' which twists up the tension rating a notch with carefully looped sounds of
(perhaps) heavily treated strings or feedback.
Just staying on the right side of lame chill-out blandness, Perfect Blue inject
enough darkness into their relatively sedate music - sinister echoed tubular
bell sounds here, shifting bass sounds there - to maintain the attention. Like
some of the finest music for relaxing to, it relaxes you in a way that's
slightly frightening and intimidating.
http://www.diskant.net/reviews/2006/09/perfect-blue-sunshine-ep-cd.htm
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#271
September 2006
 
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Review on FM3 + Dou Wei 竇唯 - Hou Guan Yin 后觀音in the August issue of chinese Rolling Stone /
音像世界
________________________________________________________________________
Review on FM3
+ Dou Wei 竇唯 - Hou Guan Yin 后觀音 in
HK Magazine from Hong Kong
| HK Issue 639 |
  |
|
By Estella Hung |
| |
FM3 is the creation of Chinese
rock-godfathers Zhang Jian, Dou Wei (famously Faye Wong’s ex-husband and her
baby’s daddy) and Christian Virant. The album marks the rise of the Chinese
sound-art movement and is happily far, far removed from the soulless,
cookie-cutter world of Cantopop music. Most tracks sound like they’ve been
recorded in a forest somewhere in China, what with all the gushing water, breeze
and chirping birds in the background. On the whole, the sound is very abstract,
quiet and meditative and will appeal to Buddhists and space cadets alike. It
blends traditional Chinese instruments like the erhu with electronic blitzes,
beats and blips. The artists themselves have called this "unique audio poetry."
But like all modern art, it is not easy to understand and can be a little more
"zone-out" than "chill-out." Maybe it’s more than my simple mind can comprehend,
but I’ll applaud these guys anyway for the revolutionary music movement they’re
leading in the mainland. – NL
http://www.asia-city.com/index.php
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Review on Alok - Stalement EP
in
HK Magazine from
Hong Kong
| HK Issue 639 |
|
|
|
By Estella Hung |
| |
If you think your player is
broken, don’t worry, it’s just Alok’s second mini-album, "Stalemate." Its first
and most interesting track, "Stalemate Re-configured" pretty much sets the tone
for the rest of the cute, three-inch CD: it’s one sustained experiment with
electronic interference; "click-electronica," – and it sounds like the random
blips of impending doom. And no, Alok, a local boy, is not Scandinavian. The
first track opens with monotone piano pounding interrupted irregularly by the
sounds of a dangerously defunct machine; later it breaks into a runaway piano
sequence while the sounds of electronic death push on. The track ends with
clicking and odd electronic complaints continuing in isolation. There’s a weird
modern piano track, "Digital Dweller," before the rest of the album continuous
on its meandering explorations of noise and more noise. Obviously, it’s no party
album. But listening to the waves of drone, you can’t help but start focusing
your mind in on itself. If that’s not your thing, that’s OK: You’re probably in
Joe Bananas anyway.
http://www.asia-city.com/index.php
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Review on Perfect Blue - The Sunshine EP
on STNT from France
 Perfect
Blue est un des nombreux projets auxquels participe le prolifique Scott Causer (touche-à-tout
qui est aussi à la tête d’un label de psychédélique et qui écrit pour divers
webzines)… J’avais déjà eu l’occasion de parler de lui pour sa participation à
la compilation « Psychedelia Volume I » avec The Electric Mainline… Ici, point
n’est question des Cure ! Non, pas la moindre ligne de chant (enfin si, un tout
petit peu sur le premier morceau) ni de guitare dans la musique de Perfect Blue
(un nom assez évocateur pour ce qui est du climat général – Perfect Blue ou une
certaine idée de la sérénité…)… normal pour de l’ambient, non ? Bon, de
l’ambient par moments teinté de techno (particulièrement sur le premier titre)
et d’electro (sur le troisième morceau)… On reste dans des termes génériques qui
recouvrent pas mal de réalités différentes. Il faut donc faire appel à
l’habituel cortège d’adjectifs si on veut être un poil plus précis : musique
douce et sombre, chaude, assez éloignée des dance floors, même quand elle se
technoïse ; les beats ne sont jamais agressifs et ce sont surtout des nappes
dronisantes qui font le travail (Brian Eno a laissé des traces !). Le premier
morceau me rappelle un peu le Plastikman de Consumed, mais sans le côté
oppressant ; référence qui est un peu plus pertinente sur le dernier titre, qui
est aussi le plus sombre. Ce mini (qui fait partie d’une série de CDs 8cm
réalisée par le label Lona Records) ne révolutionnera pas le monde de la musique,
mais on sent qu’il a été fait avec amour – il est très agréable à écouter.
Evidemment, quatre titres c’est un peu court pour juger de l’homogénéité du
style de Perfect Blue… Conclusion : on attend la suite ! ---
Yann (31/07/2006)
http://www.stnt.org/chronique.php?i=1717
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#271
September 2006
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Review on FM3 + 竇唯 - Hou Guan Yin 后觀音 on MCB on-line
By Sin:Ned
FM3這個植根北京，由Christiaan
Virant及張薦組成的二人聲響藝術樂團，繼Buddha Machine之後，再次帶來另一神來之筆：后觀音。
仍然是充滿著破格和超越意味的概念轉化。單是演奏陣容，已足以叫人眼前一亮。FM3加上竇唯，絕對是個充滿破格性的合作。還有身兼詩人、樂評人、實驗演奏家及地下音樂推手的顏峻作聲音助興。而負責出版后觀音這張專輯的，又是由Alok
(Slow Tech Riddim) 所策劃的香港實驗廠牌Lona Records。這一切，都叫人對FM3+竇唯這張新專輯萬分期待。
與我們所見慣的近年那些已變成陳腔濫調及膚淺的所謂”Crossover”不同，后觀音是一次極深層的多向性融合。
音樂上，它不著痕跡地，化合著FM3的實驗性環境聲像及竇唯的搖滾樂根源，造出一個相互引發及補充的演奏狀態。FM3的聲像如流質物滲透著竇唯的敲擊，誘發出其潛聚待發的環境音樂及後搖滾似的特質。同時間，竇唯那恰到好處的節奏元素，又將FM3聲像中的抽像動態，含蓄地彰顯成形。
再深一層地聆聽，你又會發覺，FM3及竇唯彷彿是在以西方實驗音樂的演奏模式，去理解及感悟東方哲學思想的抽像概念。疏落的聲響，彷彿水墨畫技法般畫黑留白。重要的，不在於發聲的部份，而在於發聲與發聲之間，於空白位置所遺下的氛圍餘音所造就的冥想空間。憩靜而平和得近乎禪的意味。甚至乎是一種近乎無為的演奏狀態。同樣地畫黑留白，全張專輯十一首作品，只有第二、五、九及十一首分別命名「烏」、「無」、「吾」、「悟」，其餘曲目都只是留著空白。從「烏」(黑->色)
到「無」(白->空) 再到「吾」(自我) 及最後「悟」(頓悟) 的過程，透過的，是對於虛空的參悟冥想。這不是很富東方哲學色彩的佈局嗎？
重實驗感而又不乏可聽性，概念化之餘又不流於理論化。一切，都能從聲響的角度以聆聽的方式細意體會及感悟。一種完完全全道地中國的實驗音樂。
http://www.mcb.com.hk
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#269 July 2006
FM3 : Christiaan Virant & Zhang Jian
"The Chinese electronica duo have gone into overdrive to
meet the demand for
their Buddha Machine."
Interview by Marcus Boon
Click here to watch their new video
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HK Magazine
# 628 ( Sound Of The City) - Interview
By Alexandra Carroll and Adam White.
Photos by Debby Hung.
Loud and Loving It
We talk to artists inspired by the sounds of our
city.
Of course, not everyone thinks the city is too noisy. In fact, there are many
people who revel in the soundscape of Hong Kong. Sebastian Seidel is the
Artistic Administrator of Videotage, a new-media art collective operating out of
the Cattle Depot in To Kwa Wan. Videotage supports new-media artists (film
makers, digital animators and sound artists) by hosting exhibitions and
performances. Its informal Friday night gatherings, The Rec Room series, have
this month been focusing on sound artists and electronic musicians. With
everything from the psychotic synthetic pop of Rainbowtron to improvisational
performances by sound artists such as Magdalen Wong, Videotage has been loud and
proud about Hong Kong noisemakers. Does Hong Kong make better sound artists
because we have, well, so much more sound? “I guess it’s because we’re
over-saturated,” says Seidel. “This place is so heavy with sounds and sights –
people are used to having a multi-sensory experience.”
Alok Leung runs independent music
label, Lona Records. Leung defines
himself as a “real musician who just wanted to do something more experimental.”
His last album, “Stalemate,” is a composition of quotidian sounds Leung recorded
around his house (the hum of the air-conditioner, the sound of the fridge door
opening) and mixed into tracks. Leung was inspired by the experimental music
scene of Hong Kong in the 80s and early 90s when legends like Dickson Dee (who
now runs the SoundAsia music label) and PNF were just getting started; “PNF were
great – doing analogue stuff on their computers and then things like drilling
into cans, hammering metal – all this really noisy stuff,” says Leung. “The
didn’t worry about needing an audience. They just went out and made their
music.” Leung’s three-year-old record label has already released nine CDs and
has attracted experimental artists from the US, UK and Italy.
Vince Li is one of the artists
attached to Lona Records. Li does droning – holding notes together for a
sustained period of time so that you can hear the harmonics. “When it lasts for
a long time it gets you into this really weird headspace,” says Li. “You don’t
need to take drugs because it’s a drug itself with its own energy and
everything.” Li admits he found the noise of Hong Kong a bit overwhelming when
he returned last year,
“It’s weird because you are overloaded with noise and it’s hard to distinguish
different sounds,” says Li. “That’s the sound I’ve been trying to make with my
droning– no matter where you are, the city throws back this drone sound at you.”
Sound artist and founder of experimental label
Moneme, Cedric Maridet, won an award at last year’s Hong Kong Art Biennial
for his sound and video installation, “Huangpu.” Consequently, he’s been asked
by the Visual Arts Centre to run an open workshop starting in July, teaching
students to become critical listeners as well as contributors to Hong Kong’s
soundscape. Participants will go on soundwalks, a guided listening activity, and
in the end, they’ll all make their own podcasts of their individual “acoustic
ecologies” – their world in sound. “You can actually train your ear to listen
better,” says Maridet. “Just go outside, focus on individual sounds, and you’ll
hear things you’ve never noticed before.” While doing just that experiment with
a friend in deep Wan Chai, Maridet was surprised to hear a church bell peeling
above the hum of Johnston Road, “It’s more of an attitude of listening that you
have to develop.” For the really brave and experimental, Videotage’s Seidel
suggests a more dangerous but certainly more effective method: “I’m sure that if
you close your eyes, you could find your way through this city just by listening
– by acoustic orientation.” Give it a go. A few near-fatal accidents should
sharpen your senses pretty quickly.
http://www.asia-city.com
Review
on Monitors' Buller on STNT (Sans Tambour Ni Trompette) from France
 Les
Monitors… je n’ai pas trouvé de jeu de mots intelligent pour introduire ces
américains. Du coup, comment m’y prendre ? Sans doute ferais-je mieux de parler
directement de Buller, quatre titres sorti sur un petit label de Hong Kong – in
media res ! Sauf que ce détour géographique symbolise assez bien la démarche de
ce mini – il réussit le tour de force (en quatre titres, je l’ai déjà dit, non
?) de faire voyager l’auditeur, de le mener de surprise en surprise. Ca commence
par un titre rock, noise rock teinté de math rock pour se risquer à l’exercice
périlleux de la classification (Note : n’étant pas une grande biologiste, je ne
garantis pas mes classifications). Un titre péchu, efficace, avec des voix
maîtrisées (je veux dire : matures, et qui apportent quelque chose, un côté
décalé, punk, jamais prétentieux), qui me rappelle un peu Jesus Lizard. Avec le
deuxième morceau, on passe à quelque chose de plus directement math rock :
toujours des guitares noise, mais aussi pas mal de mesures « boiteuses »,
nombreux breaks, dissonances, et plus de voix. D’ailleurs, c’est fini, il n’y a
plus de voix jusqu’à la fin du disque. Conduction, le troisième morceau
constitue une sorte de transition avec le bien nommé Improvisation. En presque
dix minutes, on passe de diverses formes de musiques contemporaines (musique
concrète par exemple ; impossible de ne pas penser à John Cage, à Franck Zappa)
à des bribes de rock, le tout animé par le tourbillon d’une improvisation
parfaite. Les Monitors brouillent les pistes à merveille. Et si Buller n’est
pour eux qu’un exercice de style(s), ils excellent dans tous ces styles qu’ils
abordent. Apparemment, ils n’existent que depuis 2004… l’apogée n’est
certainement pas encore atteinte (ils ont le potentiel de forger un nouveau
style), et le meilleur est à attendre !
---
Gaelle
(20/03/06)
http://www.stnt.org/UneChroniqueDeDisque.php3?i=1085
HK Magazine - The Best Of Local Music 2005
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