Christoph Cox.1 MARZ, WIR SIND Sind (sĭnd), province (1998 pop. 29,991,161), c.50,000 sq mi (129,500 sq km), SE Pakistan, roughly coextensive with the lower Indus River valley and bounded by India on the east and south and by the Arabian Sea on the southwest. Karachi is the capital. The province takes its name from the river, which was known as the Sindhu. HIER HIER - Harvard Institute of Economic Research (KARAOKE KALK) Berliners Ekkehard Ekkehard I wrote the famous Latin epic Waltharius (c.930), celebrating the deeds of the Alemannic prince Walter. Ekkehard II, fl. 10th cent., was the tutor of Hedwig of Swabia. He is the hero of Scheffel's novel Ekkehard (1856). Best known is Ekkehard IV, whose chronicle (c.1100) of St. Gall is an important, if historically inaccurate, account of medieval life. Another Ekkehard (fl. 1100) was an abbot of Aura who also wrote historical works. Ehlers and Albrecht Kunze produce a record of lush pop informed by their roots in electronic minimalism revealing, along the way, the link between lap steels and laptops. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2 SUSAN HOWE & DAVID GRUBBS, THIEFTH (BLUE CHOPSTICKS) A lovely collaboration between sonic experimentalist David Grubbs and poet Susan Howe. Howe's paratactic evocations of Henry David Thoreau's and Herman Melville's New England are enveloped, sliced, and stuttered by Grubbs's acoustic and electronic composition. 3 CHRISTOF MIGONE, CHRISTOF MIGONE--SOUND VOICE PERFORM (ERRANT BODIES PRESS WITH GROUND FAULT The temporary current in the ground line, caused by a failing electrical component or interference from an external electrical source such as a thunderstorm. RECORDINGS) A splendid survey of audio work by this Canadian artist. In the spirit of Antonin Artaud, Dada, Fluxus, and sound poetry, Migone playfully and insightfully explores the sonics of bodily orifices and surfaces. 4 THE RELAY PROJECT (WWW.THERELAYPROJECT.COM) The first issue of this marvelous new semiannual Brooklyn-based audio magazine, edited by Rebecca Gates and Lucy Raven, features a chat with retired sideshow performers, a pathetic found love letter, goofy improvised poems, and interviews with Alvin Lucier and Merce Cunningham. 5 MIMEO, LIFTING CONCRETE LIGHTLY (SERPENTINE serpentine (sûr`pəntēn, –tīn), hydrous silicate of magnesium. It occurs in crystalline form only as a pseudomorph having the form of some other mineral and is generally found in the form of chrysotile (silky fibers) and antigorite and lizardite (which are both tabular). GALLERY) The best release yet by this supergroup of electronic improvisers, this three-CD set documents a thoroughly engaging 2003 performance at London's Serpentine Gallery. Using all manner of equipment, MIMEO (Music in Movement Electronic Orchestra) weave a dense tapestry of digital noise, analog sweeps, stray melodies, vocal chatter, and radio static. 6 DJ ATARI, REASONER PODCAST 2: REASONABLE BAILE FUNK (HTTP://REASONER.EXPERIENCETHIS.ORG/ARCHIVES/309) Born in the shantytowns of Rio de Janeiro, Baile funk revives the joyfully combative spirit of early hip-hop. This wicked collection richly showcases its samba-soaked beats, rudimentary samples of '80s pop, and lyrics that square the rounded contours of Brazilian Portuguese. 7 THE LAPPETITES, BEFORE THE LIBRETTO libretto (ləbrĕt`ō) [Ital.,=little book], the text of an opera or an oratorio. Although a play usually emphasizes an integrated plot, a libretto is most often a loose plot connecting a series of episodes. Characterization and emotion are suggested by the words of a libretto but are expressed by the music. (QUECK-SILBER) A stunning debut by this international, cross-generational quartet of female laptoppers, led by Kaffe Matthews. By turns ferociously noisy and superbly delicate. 8 KONONO NO. 1, CONGOTRONICS (CRAMMED) Congolese trance music sung through megaphones and played with scrap percussion and thumb pianos amplified by salvaged auto parts. Astonishing. 9 LIGHTNING BOLT, HYPERMAGIC MOUNTAIN (LOAD RECORDS) With the barest of means, this bass-and-drums duo from Providence spills forth everything anyone ever wanted from punk rock and heavy metal: speed, power, manic energy, and bliss. 10 VLADISLAV Vladislav (vlä`dyĭsläf), Czech version of the name Ladislaus. Two kings of Bohemia who were thus named were Vladislav I (who was Ladislaus V, king of Hungary) and Vladislav II (who was Uladislaus II, king of Hungary). DELAY, THE FOUR QUARTERS (HUUME) Electronica is a wasteland these days, but on this disc, Finnish producer Vladislav Delay wanders through the wreckage building lovely assemblages with shards of rumbling bass, stretches of mangled beats, and snippets of tattered melody. CHRISTOPH COX IS PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY AT HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE Hampshire College, at Amherst, Mass.; coeducational; opened 1970. The emphasis of the academic program is on the individual needs of the students. Hampshire participates in a cooperative arrangement with Amherst, Smith, and Mount Holyoke colleges and the Univ. of Massachusetts. AND COEDITOR OF AUDIO CULTURE: READINGS IN MODERN MUSIC (CONTINUUM, 2004). |
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