Mireille Kyrou / Vox Populi! – Experimental Lineage (digital, nostalgie de la boue)
“This release is composed of the only two recorded works by musique concrète pioneer Mireille Kyrou (1931-2017), and of ‘Koro Wild’, played and composed by her son Axel Kyrou, main member of Vox Populi!”
Mireille Kyrou was born in September of 1931 in the town of Cairo. Her mother was French and her father was part of a family that migrated from Palestine to Egypt.
The only available recorded track by Mireille Kyrou is ‘Etude 1’, released on the mythical album from 1964, ‘Musique Concrète’, edited by Philips, also featuring music from giants of musique concrète, such as Pierre Schaeffer, Iannis Xenakis, or Luc Ferrari. The main sound sources for this track were a comb and a feather. (Editor’s note : the track appeared on several electroacoustic music anthologies such as Archives GRM in 2004 and Traces One in 2012)
The second track featured here, ‘Film Musique’, is unreleased, and recorded in the same environment and historical period as ‘Etude 1’. It is the soundtrack of an experimental film, which nothing seems to be known about. Although Mireille thought that the track wasn’t supposed to be listened without the film, she eventually agreed to release it.
Mireille had a peculiar love for the Vox Populi! track called ‘Koro Wild’ and insisted that it would be played at her funeral. It proved to be a strong experience, felt by all friends and members of the family attending the ceremony.
‘Koro Wild’ was recorded over a long period, 1994 to 2007, in France, Japan and Burkina Faso. All field recordings and instruments done and played by Axel Kyrou. First released on taâlem.” (taken from Axel Kyrou’s note)
Yan Jun – Feedback (CD & digital, Yan Jun / ORAL_records)
“this is one of the first works i created in my new studio in beijing.
actually my first studio in beijing.
i enjoy to stay in the room without doing anything. except some cups of tea.
i let the feedback went on. without any of my manual manipulation.
when i started with this set up back to 2007, i’d rather play it, move it, discover its possibility. nowadays i have “feedback solo” performance that i move my body instead of the instrument. in this recording neither the body of mine nor the instrument.
thanx eric mattson! thanx taku unami!
这是我在北京的新工作室做的第一批作品之一。
这是我在北京的第一个工作室。
我很享受待在这个屋子里，什么都不干，可能喝几杯茶。
我让反馈自己进行。没有做任何的干涉。
2007年开始用这套设置的时候，我演奏它、移动它、探索它的可能性。现在，我有时候会表演“反馈独奏”，我移动自己的身体，不碰设备。在这个录音里，既没有动自己的身体，也没有碰乐器。
感谢eric mattson！感谢宇波拓！” (note taken from Yan Jun’s page)
Vo Ezn – Mo.ar (digital, self-released)
Georgia starts to be well-known for its techno scene but Mika Motskobili aka Vo Ezn is part of a more radical concept : she experiments with sound. Mo.ar is a extract of a live performed at Heart of Noise Festival, TRAMatic ride in Innsbruck, Austria. Her musical approach reminds of musique concrète, repetitive electronic minimalism and early noise music. (cdrk)
Phubber – Phun (digital, FunctionLab)
Phubber is a young Chinese electronic music artist who studied conputer graphics in Japan – a universe that can be reflected in his often dystopian ambient and electronica : science-fiction universes and Chinese music influences that sometimes reminds me of Zaliva-D‘s work but more gentle.
Grave Blankets/Gamnad737 – Split Tape (cassette, digital, Tenzenmen)
Split release including one collaboration between Thai noise wall artist Gamnad737 and drone-noise-punk (or something like this) project Grave Blankets. Nice mix of ambient, harsh noise wall and psychedelic-noise-punk with a touch of post rock at some point. (cdrk)
Rey Sapienz – Mushoro (cassette, digital, Hakuna Kulala)
“Hailing from the Nord Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, exiled Kampala based producer Rey Sapienz new 6 track ep continues to explore his unique style of weirdly abstracted soukous and kalindula. Fitting into a trajectory of Congolese artists who were fascinated by the possibilities of progressive electronic music of their time such as Denis Mpunga and Zazou Bikaye.
Rey breaks down traditional Congolese pop music into its constituent elements of dramatic vocals, fluid bass chords and dark and slowed down Soukous Synth melodies.” (Hakuna Kulala)
Liew Niyomkarn – The Secret of Mountains and Tropical Fruits (CD & digital, self-released)
“Inspired by a novel, The classic of mountains and the sea. The secret of mountains and tropical fruits conjures an image of a warm-cool landscape and airy atmosphere that can drive us somewhere.” (Liew Niyomkarn)
Liew presents here a softer variation of her music than makes you travel between ambient, electronica and new age. Dreamy atmosphere, electronic glitch and melodies that reminds the listener of water, khaen (a Northern Thai and Lao mouth organ), cicadas and so on. (cdrk)
Wukir Suryadi – Industrial Mutant 01 Indiestrial Mutant live concert at Semeru Alt Space (digital, self-released)
Wukir Suryadi, one half of infamous Indonesian duo Senyawa has been involved in the improvised music, noise and experimental scene for more than a decade now, inventing and building new instruments, he then creates a form of improvised music that blends distorted sounds with classical Indonesian music influences and repetitive sequences that now and then remind of doom and industrial music. (cdrk)
Wukir Suryadi – Nginguk (digital, self-released)
Second live concert release for Wukir, this time perhaps a bit more in the field of ambient rock and drone with some parts that clearly remind of Senyawa. (cdrk)
Gabber Modus Operandi – HOXXXYA (digital, SVBKVLT)
Indonesia’s Gabber Modus Operandi comes back with a powerful hardcore techno album on Shanghai-based label SVBKVLT. The release includes strong influences of happy hardcore, dangdut koplo (a variation of dangdut music that emerge in the 1990s), gamelan and rave music, each track track presents its own variation of the genre, from more melodic pieces to pure fast beat oriented hardcore techno. (cdrk)
“For this album, we owe a lot to the metal/noise scene and to the small rapidly growing rave crew in Denpasar, while at the same time a ton of influence strongly came from all the sounds blasting out from our banjar (neighborhood) community, the loudest spirits of Dangdut Koplo and Indonesian happy hardcore, to gamelan sounds and everything in between.” (Gabber Modus Operandi)
Various artists – Noise À Noise 2019.2 (digital, Noise À Noise)
This is the second compilation published by Iranian label Noise À Noise run by experimental musician and organiser Soheil Soheili.
Twenty carefully selected tracks, mostly composed by Iranian artists Abtin Gholampour, Owrang ft. Ghodsea, Aruman, Yellow Cream, Xerxes The Dark, XSIX, but also German-Taiwanese duo Stampf! who recently toured the country and did this Music for bycicles project, Leonie Roessler, C-drík, etc.
Glitch, dark ambient, electronica, electroacoustic, field recordings, techno and more. (cdrk)
Omar Fadel Hadi – The Destiny (digital, self-released)
Four new tracks by Iraqi artist Omar Fadel Hadi : new age, ambient with a pinch of traditional Iraqi music influence. (cdrk)
Goh Lee Kwang – Operator (digital, self-released)
Due to his more than prolific, it is hard to review all Lee Kwang’s release but also hard to not at least present one or two now and then.
Operator is a noise-glitch 45 minutes piece, one of his numerous sound experiments published this month. (cdrk)
Mukta-feen – رحلة الضوء الأزرق – the Journey of the Blue Light (digital, self-released)
Palestinian artist Mukta-feen composes political ambient music that incorporates a lot of noises, field recordings, some electronics and voices.
According to Ahmad Zaghmouri, this work is a multi-layered philosophical installation exhibition. (cdrk)
Syrphe magazine 杂志 