Subterrestrial : Camera Obscure / H-21 : Experimental Elextronics

Reviewed by Cthulberg


Subterrestrial is a dark ambient/experimental music project from the San Francisco Bay Area, spawning ground of a myriad experimental music acts through the last 40 years (+) with an equal myriad musical expressions. Subterrestrial explores hollow earth and subterranean themes that appear in science, literature and religion using a variety of experimental musical styles as a vehicle.



I’m going to cover the two most recent Subterrestrial releases here, as the musical expression differs significantly between the two, starting with Subterrestrial’s third effort ”Camera Obscura”. Straight off the bat it is evident that a lot of preparation was involved in generating the rather complex electronic soundscapes which makes up Camera Obscura. The entire release is delicately executed and managed to keep me interested despite my inherent fear of tracks longer than twenty minutes. Sometimes forceful, bordering on noise – sometimes beautifully and pleasantly complex multi-layered reverberation with more than a little hint of feedback peeking through the veil of databent circuitry. Camera Obscura starts off (and ends) with short signature tracks, and we then get to the heart of the matter with three twenty five minute long slabs of high-grade experimentalism. The title track is the middle ground it seems, quite pleasant and full of details with much room to ”peer” into the soundscape, while Fantasmagorie is more abrasive and is definitely the most accurate portrayal of the psychedelic noisescapes as advertised by the artist. Zoopraxiscope starts out slowly, cautiously, building up tension quite effectively with much ebbing and flowing and is by far the most thoroughly ambient of the three main pieces. It reminds me a lot of some of the newer NWW releases (Space Music etc.) and is masterfully produced and realized. Bravo! It should be added that I have not been able to listen to this more than a couple of times and solely in headphones at moderate volume, so I cannot vouch for the people with audiophile stereo rigs. Chances are this will sound pretty awesome on a good rig though.



Tracklist ”Camera Obscura”:

01 Magic Lantern I

02 Camera Obscura

03 Fantasmagorie

04 Zoopraxiscope

05 Magic Lantern II



Get it here: http://www.archive.org/download/SUB003_Subterrestrial_Camera_Obscura/SUB003_Subterrestrial_Camera_Obscura.zip




Next up is the second Subterrestrial release ”H-21” which according to the artist makes use of harsh 8-bit noise and heavily aliased exotic rhythms to explore the violent life and tragic death of Mata Hari, whose alleged codename was H-21. And rhythmical it is. Very sparse and barren music starts the release off with endless repetitions with a bare minimum of dynamics and depth. Quite the culture shock after the previous release then! Thankfully H-21 diverges from this vein and continues down a more traditionalist path of experimentalism with the next few tracks some of which manage to become quite harsh, for instance H-21 III, which winds up massively and is more reminiscent of the Camera Obscura-release in that there is much room to listen between the lines for most of the track. Track four manages to have almost conventional rhythmical patterns albeit bathed in reverbed low-bit noise to the point of incongruence. The release is brought to its conclusion in a track that is more loosely structured and a much more challenging listen that the other four. H-21 was not as rewarding to me as Camera Obscura, but still managed to pique my interest to some degree, mostly due to the fact that it is shorter, differently structured and another expression entirely.



I still prefer Camera Obscura though, which is highly recommended if you are interested in well-wrought ambience, which is adequately topped up with some top-notch experimentalism. Subterrestrial is definitely on my watch list from now on.



Track-list ”H-21”:

01 H-21 I

02 H-21 II

03 H-21 III

04 H-21 IV

05 H-21 V



Get it here: http://www.archive.org/download/SUB002_Subterrestrial_H_21/SUB002_Subterrestrial_H_21.zip

IKE YARD – Nord : experimental electronics

Review by Cthulberg

Following in the surge of bands reuniting after several decades, Ike Yard is no different and duly presents the first new material in 28 years. Ike Yard's cult-status-approved, self-titled album was released on Factory America in 1982 and surely must be one of the most austere and morose electronic records released. Should any of you unfamiliar with the previous output of Ike Yard, it mostly consists of barren soundscapes of modular synthesis basslines, sparse guitars and oddly paced syncopated drums with little or no deviation. The vocals are presented with a complete and utter absence of zeal and vigor, but still speaks to you at a level several times the recording one. The very essence of no-wave then.

Being a person to intensely enjoy such music I was blown away by the news that the "1980-1982 Collected" compilation on Acute (2006) was soon to be followed by first a 10 inch on Phisteria called "Öst" and then by a full-length CD on Phisteria/Desire. On "Nord" Ike Yard are one member short (Fred Szymanski) and is currently made up of Kenneth Compton, Michael Diekmann and Stuart Argabright, who I guess do way more programming now than in the previous incarnation of the band. I got to thinking that after reuniting in 2007 the guys must’ve really felt that they could add to their music rather than detract in order for them to get back in the studio and record. I’m seldom apprehensive listening to new music, but I have to admit that before listening to this CD for the first time I was mentally prepared to be hugely disappointed.

Well, I wasn’t. This entire CD, while in many ways different in approach to the original Ike Yard, still feels extremely familiar in all the good ways. There is a lot of warmth on this record and a few of the songs herein rival the impact their first album had on me all those years ago. Also, "Nord" is more of a varied experience and has more in common with Ike Yard’s debut "Night After Night" (12inch - 1981) in that is not an exclusively electronic record. There’s even the odd acoustic guitar and some pained vocals here and there without it sounding out of place. The whole album flows smoothly from start to finish with some tracks really standing out – Traffikers, Oshima Cassette, Citiesglit and Mascochistic. Desire could have charged ten times the amount for the CD and these four tracks would still have made the purchase worth it to me. In short, Nord is a really, really good album and certainly one worthy of following up the cult-status attained by the band nearly three decades ago. Now for some concerts, eh?

Denmark/USA, CD album, Phisteria/Desire, 2010

Tracklist:

01 Traffikers

02 Mirai

03 Masochistic

04 Oshima Cassette

05 Metallic Blank

06 Beautifully Terrible

07 Type N

08 Citiesglit

09 Shimmer

10 Orange Tom

11 Robot Steppes

http://www.myspace.com/ikeyard http://www.phisteria.com/ http://desire-records.blogspot.com/2010/07/ike-yard-nord.html

Mystified with others: Collusion / Experimental Electronics, Drone, electro accoustics, (remixes)

Reviewed by Gird_09

As track one slowly unwinds I find myself with a facial expression of deep surprise and fascination. Judging from the cover I was expecting something else entirely. Not sure what, but certainly something utterly boring. Cos lets face it, the cover is everything but interesting. The intricately woven sounds of the first three tracks, remixed by PBKsound, form a dense tapestry reminiscent of a mix between experimental ambient music, electronic composers of the fifties, electro accoustics and field recordings of high voltage. The music is organic and vibrant without actually sounding like anything else. It's purely electronic, but feels natural. The music also manages to demand your attention constantly, but in a very non-intrusive manner. The music lands somewhere in the landscape between noise and ambient with nods to both ends of the scale.

Track four, Heartstrong (remixed by KR-ohm, is slightly more contained than the first three, and signals a shift in focus. It's more ominous, but not unsettling, and reels the listener back in after perhaps losing ones path on the lengthy track that preceded it. Mystic Crunch, remixed by The Implicit Order, continues in this fashion, and is probably the most moody track of the album. The Implicit Order have remixed a total of four tracks for the album and their various remixes are both varied and interesting, adding depth to the album. I find myself drifting off as the album slowly nears the end, but without losing interest. A good sign. The sounds are a good addendum to a world in which the electric hum of various appliances form a constant backdrop. The final track, Windhypnose, remixed by Kwalijk, slows down to near inertia and ends the album.

Evidently the people behind this obscure project have been turning out underground music for quite some time with an impressive list of releases to their name, and I'm bit surprised by the fact that I haven't discovered them earlier. The music is well composed and deserves more attention.

This music certainly isn't for everybody, and chances are it's perfect for driving your pets and/or significant other insane, but over here at Kaliglimmer we've established ourselves as great believers in the qualities of experimental electronics, and that is just what this is. And quite interesting as such.

Various contries, File download, 2010

http://www.archive.org/details/ca308_m (download link)
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Mystified
http://www.last.fm/music/Mystified


1 PBK Mystified Remix 1
2 PBK Mystified Remix 2
3 PBK Mystified Remix 3
4 Heartstrong (remix by KR-ohm)
5 Mystic Crunch (remix by the Implicit Order)
6 Mystic Falling Thru (remix by the Implicit Order)
7 Untitled (remix by the Implicit Order)
8 Mystic Station (remix by the Implicit Order)
9 Windhypnose (remix by Kwalijk)