Shit yeah! Always makes me happy when a new record from Mika Vainio drops. He's one of those artists that you sorta know what you're gonna get but then really you don't as he does traverse a few styles but it is pretty much guaranteed to be decent, well at least in my eyes (ears?). Initially I though this was an EP of new tracks...I mean I struggle with track names a lot these days so remembering Finnish language words is beyond my depleting brain capacity. And so as far as I can tell 'Heijastuva' is new and comprises the entire first side. A wonderful subtle and slowly developing piece which as it grows becomes most magical indeed. It sounds like a loop being gently manipulated with skill with nuanced transformation but really it's not all that minimal (well probably to my mam it is). This track is apparently "Vainio's implementation of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno's guitar feedback experiments from 70's". It could be derived from samples of Kermit the frog banging Miss Piggy for all I care - the results are no less gorgeous. I can't tell you how long this track is as I appear to have lost all sense of time which is a thing of joy when getting lost in sound. The three tracks on the underside of the wax are 'Anksiolyytti' which appeared on the 'Tetra' CD. This one is a spacious and eerie slowly decaying minimal bleep/tonal composition. 'Einsimmainen' which was on the excellent and now OOP (I think) 'Kantamoinen' CD and is a short but sweet little spooky, celestial ambient interlude. Finally 'Hikari' was a bonus track on the Japanese CD release of the 'Oleva' album and consists of reduced saddened micro-tones that twinkle away into the ether. Reccommended for any Vainio/Sahko fan.
Followed by this little exquisite masterpiece from an old friend of mine from way back.....
Note: CD cover is different....
CD re-release review:
"As much a restoration as a re-release, this CD version of what was for most people their introduction to the music of Tim Story is most welcome. The passing of all these years has done nothing to harm the 15 jewel-like pieces... the album is still a must." -- Audion , UK
Reviews:
"* * * * *... What's most apparent is a feeling of space and proportion. Everything is so tastefully arranged: the subtle and sparse use of backing instruments, the simplicity of melody, the moments of silent suspense which keep the listener balanced on a knife-edge. Little wonder the album is without name. Like an untitled canvas it suggests and hints, asking you to form your own conclusions. I've already formed mine." -- Sounds, UK
"There is something particularly autumnal about Story's music, the slow, meandering melodies combined with his rich, earthy piano. Like great classical music, Story deals not in specific ideas, but in feelings... Tim Story may restore faith in the future possibilities of this new area of exploration." -- San Diego Tribune, USA
"With uncommon ability, Story is able to color the melody lines without obscuring them. This is great artistry in a small format... listen and you will be rewarded with music of rare quality and beauty." -- Aftenposten, Norway
Ivor wrote:This is all a bit "samey" but brilliant.
Nice one Ivor :-) Still waiting for the vinyl, which I know will never come out :-( Still I can always listen to Manofon....wonder if the vinyl only bonus track is on the CD above?
Ivor wrote: ....wonder if the vinyl only bonus track is on the CD above?
there is a second CD with "When We Return You Won’t Recognise Us" on it. Is that the vinyl track? My copy came from EMI and may not be the standard retail issue.
Ivor wrote: ....wonder if the vinyl only bonus track is on the CD above?
there is a second CD with "When We Return You Won’t Recognise Us" on it. Is that the vinyl track? My copy came from EMI and may not be the standard retail issue.
Ivor, the track in question is 'Random Acts of Senseless Violence (Dai Fujikura Remix)'...and I see it's on the Wool CD. BTW what is the bonus CD like? Is it the usual drifting electronic stuff?
Disc Two: “when we return you won’t recognise us”
For the first time, a stereo mix of David Sylvian’s audio installation “when we return you won’t recognise us,” is available on CD. First commissioned for the Biennial of Canaries 2008-2009, the work was inspired by a 2003 genetics research article focusing on the Canary Islands, which discovered that despite Spanish colonization and the slave trade, fully half to three-quarters of the population retains its aboriginal genetic lineage. As Sylvian writes, “My interest lay in the connection between the physical or scientific reality of our biological make-up, the links to lineage (genetic genealogy), location and, to move beyond the realm of science into intuitive logic, the interior life of a community or people. An implied cultural heritage.”
The work pairs a group of star improvisers—John Butcher, Arve Henriksen, Günter Müller, Toshimaru Nakamura, and Eddie Prévost—with a string sextet directed by Fujikura. “The process of creating the piece was informed by the Manafon sessions themselves but taken a step further by having both written text, regarding the context of the installation and the concept behind it which included references to specific sound, and by having Dai ‘improvise’ with a sextet of string players. This was handled by settling on a handful of chord clusters prior to the session and Dai formulating a series of hand gestures that would indicate which combination of responses were required from the sextet at any given moment in time. I believe we recorded five takes total and each take was vastly different from the one prior.”
The installation will be presented again later this year at the Punkt Festival in Kristiansand, Norway. This rendition will include newly commission work by visual artist Atsushi Fukui, and its setup will allow for individual musicians, poets and writers to interact with the audio element in live performance.
