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MUSIC NEWS
OCTOBER 1998
FluxEuropa is pleased to receive material for
review. The postal address is:
BM BOX 4392, London WC1N 3XX, ENGLAND.
Right: a wistful Andrea Haugen
SKALD
Voices Of Thula
(1998 TURSA 018 CD)
HAGALAZ RUNEDANCE
The Winds That Sang Of Midgard's Fate
(1998 SAG8 CD)
As our sensibilities for the old religion of the North
quicken with the approach of Winter, two eagerly anticipated albums have
arrived to excite the listening pleasure of the huscarls in my mead-hall.
Skald's Voices Of Thula
features songs, instrumentals and a spoken-word rendition of the Völuspa
- the Norse creation myth. Sowila's French-accented English is
sexy and, whilst not 'authentically' Icelandic, provides an 'otherness'
which is somehow more convincing than might have been the case with the
voice of a native English speaker. The relatively light instrumentation
afforded by Jaufré's Breton harp-playing is the perfect accompaniment,
maintaining a folk-like concentration on the narrative.
Viking songstress Andrea Haugen has followed her
7" debut as Hagalaz Runedance
with a full-length CD which fully lives up to promise. The album includes
the two songs from the vinyl and eight additional tracks ranging from
the Amerindian-style incantational 'Seidr' to the mediaeval-sounding 'Das
Fest Der Wintersonne'. Andrea's vocals, percussion and alto-recorder are
supplemented by strings, male vocals, contrabass, Hardingfele, Norwegian
dulcimer, synth and guitar. Despite these additional instruments, the
basic folkish dynamism is maintained.
Rik - 4 October 1998
DEATH IN JUNE
Take Care & Control
(1998 NEROZ 42)
This album will be remembered as the one with the picture
of a shirtless Doug sipping wine in a Gothic graveyard while wearing a
German helmet. I have received an assurance from at least one former colleague
that he will not be following suit. Setting aside the graphics, this is
a well-crafted musical collaboration between Douglas P and Albin Julius
of Der Blutharsch, reflecting their interest in WW2 themes.
A rich and entertaining combination of songs and samples
is set against a brooding and dramatic orchestral background reminiscent
of the theme tunes to historical TV documentaries like World At War.
I particularly liked 'Little Blue Butterfly' which seems destined to become
a DIJ classic. The Australian version (which we received for review) contains
an extra track, 'Circo Massimo', an apparently historical recording of
the 'Giovinezza'.
Rik - 4 October 1998
STILL SUFFERING
OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN
Seven Ovens Of The Soul
(1998 CD)
4TH SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE
Lost Hour World
(1998 CD)
Suffering Clown - the label run by Bryin Dall
of Loretta's Doll - has released two quintessential
industrial CDs.
Of Unknown Origin is a collaboration between Bryin
and Derek Rush of Dream Into Dust, and
Seven Ovens Of The Soul is an alchemical treatment of sound which
begins with an hypnotic injunction and transports you through soundscapes
ranging from "atmospheric tribal-industrial to deepest ambient".
4th Sign Of The Apocalypse is more anonymous but
I understand that it is largely the work of Bryin Dall. Lost Hour World
is "A dark journey to the centre of the psyche telling a story
of emotional breakdown". Using analogue synths (no computer
sequencing), it represents a sort of retro-industrialism! Full of quirky
sounds, it is also intimate, oppressive and affronts my sense of classical
detachment, all of which I am sure is its purpose.
Rik - 4 October 1998
INDUSTRIAL SUBCULTURE
COMPULSION
http://www.callnetuk.com/home/compulsion
Tony Dickie,
MALDOROR
Apdo 218, 28100 Alcobendas, Madrid
Compulsion and Maldoror are two printed publications
recently received for review. Tony Dickie's Compulsion is
a packed and well-produced magazine highlighting some of the views, beliefs
and obsessions associated with artists and fans of the industrial/dark-folk
and related musical genres.The current (third) issue includes features
on ANSWER Me! magazine and the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow
(the stomach-churning freak show). Recurring themes such as apocalypse
culture and modern primitives (both titles of books), outsider art and
the occult, constitute a recognisable subculture albeit at the industrial
end of the gothic-industrial spectrum with no bats or vampires in sight.
Much of this subculture descends from the darkside of 60/70s
Underground culture, and it duly pays its respects to such icons as William
Burroughs, Charles Manson, Anton La Vey, and Robert
DeGrimston (founder of The Process Church Of The Final Judgement).
In spite of what might be assumed from Flux's musical coverage,
I personally find only some points of resonance in all this, but if you
live at home and have had your dick pierced, this will probably appeal
to you.
Maldoror is a glossy Spanish magazine covering
the gothic/industrial/dark-folk genres. Issue 9 features interviews with
Lina of Deutsch Nepal, In Slaughter Natives,
and Whitehouse etc and reviews of artists and groups such as Sol,
Current 93, Runes
Order and many, many more. The magazine is supported by the European
Union 'Youth with Europe' programme. It could never happen here...
Rik - 4 October 1998
ATMOSPHERES AND RIFFS
MENTAL HOME
Black Art
(1998 THE END RECORDS CD)
Commencing with a dramatic piano intro, strangulated vocals
and a surge of heavy rock, Mental Home's Black Art delivers
exactly what is expected and wanted by fans of dark atmospheric metal.
Founded in Moscow in 1993, Mental Home produce metal which
is both driving and tuneful, and thanks to the excellent new American
label, The End Records, they are now reaching a international audience.
Rik - 4 October 1998
TIE ME KANGAROO DOWN SPORT
YGGDRASIL
Herrelaus
(1998 GRAPPA MUSIKKFORLAG HCD7135)
Yggdrasil is a Norwegian group who began with playing
Balkan music but are now moving towards a more Norwegian idiom. The name
of the group and their imagery suggests a pagan orientation, but as the
track titles and words are all in Norwegian (and very properly so) I can't
elaborate on the lyrical content.
Their debut CD, Herrelaus, still has a very strong
Balkan flavour. Their approach might be compared to the (defunct) English
'progressive folk' group, Blowzabella, and they sustain a similarly
racey pace. Featuring clarinet, tuba, flute, didgeridoo, fiddle, Hardanger
fiddle, accordion, mouth-harp, guitar and percussion, the album is more
instrumental than vocal. Where the vocals - including mouth music - do
appear, they are very clearly and precisely articulated.
I presume that Yggdrasil fall into the 'conventional' folk/folk-roots/world-music
mainstream, but they have an experimental edge including a tribal trance
track, and the almost 'industrial' noise to be had out of a didgeridoo.
All this without Rolf Harris or a crusty in sight.
Rik - 4 October 1998
PUTTING HUMPTY TOGETHER AGAIN
I FAGIOLINI/CONCORDIA
All The King's Horses
(1998 MET CD 1013)
I Fagiolini (voices) and Concordia (viol
quartet) have followed their All The King's Men album with All
The King's Horses, and it is another very fine recording. Despite
their Italian name, I Fagiolini were formed at Oxford University some
twelve years ago, while Concordia was formed in 1992 and also hails from
these shores.
Their first collaborative album featured Renaissance music
from the courts of England, Spain and the Low Countries, while the new
one moves to those of France, Germany and Italy. Whilst the first album
began with the popular 'Hey trolly lolly lo' and ended with the gypsy
folk-dance 'Schiarazula Maruzula', the new CD is rather more courtly.
The Renaissance was a musically transitional period which
witnessed the development of polyphony, consort instruments and the pursuit
of music as an art form rather than as a mere adjunct to the pageant of
state. These albums ably demonstrate contrasting elements of the time
as the flux of change washed somewhat unevenly through the courts of Europe.
Rik - 4 October 1998
4 October 1998
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