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March 8 at Bar Pink
New Black Mountain Track
Loveman in Cleveland
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Montalban Quintet S/T 10.22.11
 Imagine the project born in the epic openness of Monte Alban in Oaxaca.
Arisen like Robert Wyatt, Gavin Bryar’s mooded loop in"Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet" is so perfect. The timbre sways in this cover to the heart of the project, with sentimental soft drums and horns accompanying the loop gently, swooning in a long warm bath of slow ripples. Originally recorded for the Obscure label, this song does the original justice and is the clue in which the album is best taken. I would prefer this track ended the disc, filled with this monumentally satisfying bliss.
This collection is mostly an ambient piece, perfect when it resides in Eno’s compelling balance of non/being creating a silent translucent underwater scrim, that colors the world as it plays through your subconscious. Across genres, the album is populated mainly with horns. Regardless, in the background and production, you get a feeling of the San Diego sound, the carefully constructed and crafted vibe of recorded Pinback and Album Leaf, coupled with accomplished song crafting. Many of the players have been in the SD scene for a while; Sleeping People, No Knife, Tanner +. This debut album by the band was recorded over the past 5 years, seemingly between other projects. And, it listens as the moss greens the ground, with great ambiance.
The instrumentation keeps the vibe in a seamless pocket and for the most part the vocals are treated gently and sit in a bed of smooth sounds. Though the drums are often pounding (IE: "Lonnie’s Lamen"t) and the vocals often wail loud in the room, like Boilermaker, both are mixed at a level sufficient for ambient imbibing. Layered textures and thoughtfully constructed orchestration allow a gentler listen to a bigger sound. Occasionally a mysterious broken loop or buried vocal evoke a feeling of another world. These are some of my favorite parts within the songs. In Abajo del Mar, there is a vocal loop living throughout the song, textured by horns and some great Jerry Garcia simple, repetitive guitar lines.
There are six different horns used on the album, as well as a vibraphone, and you can feel the use of air, the natural movement of the breath. It’s a sweet 8 tracks that mostly cross fade into a 50 minute feast, definitely a sit down record. If you only listen to the electronica or the guitar-driven sounds of San Diego, it’s definitely a twist and a different vibe.
About half of the songs are originals and the others are based around tracks by Coltrane, Miles Davis +.
The vocal loop in the "Feast of Manioc" (C Prescottand and K Thibideau) is evocative and compelling and touches a bit of what High Mountain Tempel aims for (disclosure: Thibideau has mastered all four of High Mountain Tempel's records). This track turns the disc in a new direction for a couple of minutes, before the horns make their presence felt again, and lift the songs into their climaxes. Down by the water you can loll in the ever-evolving layers. The longer songs are assisted by a slight touch of a fever, something that tarnishes the perfectly recorded sounds, and adds a ghostly seance to the proceedings.
Is it born in Oaxaca?
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THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART NY PRESENTS THE FIRST LIVE RETROSPECTIVE OF THE ELECTRONIC MUSIC PIONEERS KRAFTWERK
Kraftwerk–Retrospective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Comprises Complete Experience with Music, Ambient Sound, Video, Set Design, and Performance
Entire Repertoire of Eight Conceptual Albums Performed Live Over Eight Consecutive Evenings from April 10 to 17
Each evening will consist of a live performance of works from one of the group’s eight albums, created over four decades, followed by a selection of original compositions from their catalogue adapted specifically for this exhibition’s format, to showcase both Kraftwerk’s historical contributions and contemporary influences on sound and image culture.
The elaborate staging of the performances will combine sound and 3D images to present more than 40 years of musical and technological innovation, with new improvisations and 3D projections. The albums will be performed in chronological order: Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991), and Tour de France (2003).
Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider began the Kraftwerk project in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1970, setting up the pioneering Kling Klang studio, where all of Kraftwerk's albums were conceived and composed. By the mid-1970’s they achieved international recognition for their revolutionary “electro sound paintings” and their musical experimentation with tapes and synthesizers. The compositions also featured beautiful distant melodies, multi-lingual vocals, robotic rhythms, custom-made sequencers and vocoders, and computer-speech technology. Their use of robots, among other innovations in live performance, illustrates Kraftwerk’s belief in the respective contributions of people and machines in making music. The artists’ physical surroundings—both natural and man-made—have heavily influenced both the sonic direction and graphic identity of their eight concept albums, which draw on elements such as the noises of transit or industry to create their repetitive mechanical melodies.
In recent years, starting with their performance at the Venice Biennale in 2005, Kraftwerk has been invited into the visual arts context, festivals, and museums, most recently performing at the museum Lenbachhaus Kunstbau in Munich. In contrast to all former presentations, where Kraftwerk videos, visuals, or the “robots” were presented in a museum context but performances were staged as concerts, MoMA is realizing a groundbreaking new display: the first synthetic retrospective to present simultaneously and in one location the complex layers of music, sound, videos, sets, and performance as a total work of art in MoMA’s main atrium.
Tuesday, April 10, 8:30 p.m. Autobahn (1974)
Wednesday, April 11, 8:30 p.m. Radio-Activity (1975)
Thursday, April 12, 8:30 p.m. Trans Europe Express (1977)
Friday, April 13, 10:00 p.m. The Man-Machine (1978)
Saturday April 14, 8:30 p.m. Computer World (1981)
Sunday, April 15, 8:30 p.m. Techno Pop (1986)
Monday, April 16, 8:30 p.m. The Mix (1991)
Tuesday, April 17, 10:00 p.m. Tour de France (2003)
Kraftwerk at MoMA PS1
As part of Kraftwerk–Retrospective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, a presentation of Kraftwerk’s historical audio and visual material will be on view in the new MoMA PS1 Performance Dome at MoMA PS1, from April 10-May 14, 2012.
Brad Shitt Download by Bruin
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