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| Issue #001 (August 2002) |
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| Various Artists - Communication Problems (Vibragun) |
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Various Artists
Communication Problems
(Vibragun)
This the third release on Sydney based label Vibragun features both local and international sonic art creators. The double CD compilation is entitled Communication Problems and the printing on the packaging and the discs themselves echo the theme of compilations title with text and graphics scrambled all over the place. In fact one must refer to the website to get a decent picture of the track listing! http://www.vibragun.com.au
An absolute wealth of sounds, styles and durations are waiting to be discovered here with tracks ranging in length from 14 seconds to nearly ten minutes. Tracks range in style from the dark drum n bass of Napalm Death’s ex-drummer Mick Harris to strange mutating morse code bleeping of Speedranch vs Jansky Noise, with things like the avant hip hop of alleged Jungle Brothers' muse Sensational in between. Then there are the downright bizarre tracks such as Chopper Read & The Blue Flames’ curious spoken word meets acid techno number.
Brisbane sound artist Andrew Kettle provides a curious 14 second short track which I chose to listen to on repeat for a while to get the hang of it. However this caused me to think I was going mad as the track seemed to sound different each time through! Curious… Also appearing is Sydney’s Pimmon who gets in on the communication theme with a track reminiscent, at first, of morse code being played by a fog horn. Aussie sound art heavy weights Oren Ambarchi and Martin Ng deliver an enchanting drone/tone piece where timbres shift and twist cunningly. I must admit though that I have become completely enchanted by the track from Thomas Koener (aka Porter Ricks) which hints at beautiful voices floating amongst powerful fluttering subsonics. Plenum’s track amuses and confuses with its disembodied voice and his search for religion. Farmers Manual do their data sonification trick raw data screams past your ears. Kim Cascone, Steve Law, Supercute Bye Byes, Atom Heart, 8bit, John Watermann and many more all put in diverse offerings. A strong release from this young label bound to keep your ears surprised for some time.
Luke Dearnley |
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