REVU ET CORRIGE CD, Trente Oiseaux 1995 (TOC 954) |
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Stand firm for RLW´s Revu Et Corrige CD. It´s
a shattered deja vu of truncated drones, flashbacks of chirp
orgies where flea-sized harpsichords and polygon-shaped asphalt
flatteners got magnetized and helplessly swept between the talons
of an electroacoustic tuning fork. The effect is akin to sitting
in a barber chair spinning around as a ballerina with a fish
head pumps it higher and higher towards the ceilings of 30 different
cathedrals per minute. Slow, without an end, almost nauseating
in its relentlessness, but completely lacking in bombast, Revu
Et Corrige eventually settles into a roundtable discussion between
security beavers, tuba rehearsals in a mausoleum, government-inflicted
pigment removal from the bills of live toucans, and bowling
ball races in a lighthouse. As debates go, this one rages.
Bananafish, USA 1997 |
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WHEN FREEZING AIR STINGS LIKE ICE I SHALL BREATHE AGAIN CD,
Streamline 1994 (SL 1008) |
RLW´s music now eschews almost all recognisably
instrumental sounds, and instead utilises found sound and computer
generated noises to compose pieces that challenge pretty much
any accepted notions of what „music“ might be. RLW uses the
digital editing of computer sound processing to construct austere
and otherworldly soundscapes, where much of the action occurs
at the very edge of audibility, conceived both in terms of volume
and frequency. The sequence of sounds (and non-sounds) is clearly
the product of a rigorous, if not always comprehensible, rationale,
and in any given piece the range might run from quiet hums,
through shatteringly loud machine-clangs, to delicate gamelan-like
percus-sive phases. This CD is quieter than most, and requires
regular checking to ascertain whether or not it is in fact running.
Carefully listening to the disc on its own terms will eventually
open up new worlds of sound, in a way that few more conventional
musical efforts can hope to do. RLW really does let sounds „be
what they are“, and he deserves our admiration for doing so.
Opprobrium, New Zealand 1996 |
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| ... is a very quiet record often bordering
on the imperceptible with silence as structural consideration.
Imperceptibility goes hand in hand with intangibility with the
sounds having very few referential an-gles. Then there´s a whole
lot of mistery here. A half-light, a veil over a doorway to
another world. Absolutely beautiful. Resonance, UK 1996 |
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RLW works in a very clinical and precise style,
offering up six slices of heavily clipped, doctored sound. A
fair portion of this CD is made up of silence occasionally punctuated
by tiny, near inaudible sounds, yet when listened to as a whole
it soon becomes clear that the silences are as important as
the sounds which they surround. This is never more evident than
on the final track“Waving Goodbye To Friendly Conceptualists“
which completely breaks the micro-tonal balance of sounds with
an all-mighty blast of concrete noise, never failing to make
me spill my coffee all over my lap - a thrill indeed. Yet despite
its very studious approach to sound organisation RLW does have
a certain warmth and humour which gives this CD extra playability
value as demonstrated in such titles as „Strictly Untitled“
and „Even Stockhausen Knows If It´s Not Cage“.
Hayfever, Germany 1996 |
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14 CD, Selektion 1993 (SCD 014) |
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This compiles 14 remixed pieces from 1980-1993,
which vary greatly from foggy drones to musique concrete/cut-up
pieces - all with an excellent ear for atmosphere and effect.
RLW provides fascinating electro-acoustic/experimental music,
combining synthesized sound with natural recordings and processing.
A music full of wonderment and life. Highly recommended.
Godsend, USA 1994 |
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The package is very nice, with the CD in a
slim case packaged in a cardboard folder with a card of artwork
for each track. As might be expected from the Selektion label,
these are very experimental sounds, eschewing typical song structure
and instrumentation entirely. Describing these sounds is nearly
pointless as 14 years of recording span the whole spectrum -
ominous electronic noises, collaged voices, minimalist compositions.
Suffice it to say that this is both an interesting historical
document and a challenging listening experience that´s well
worth the effort.
You Could Do Worse, USA 1995 |
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Another prime recording, this, from a fine
label specialising in experimental and concrete musics. The
immaculate monochrome packaging contains 14 arty postcards,
which beautifully correspond to the 14 tracks contained therein.
Quality of recording is one of the benchmarks of the Selektion
label, and I was fortunate enough to listen to this on a state-of-the-art
hi-fi. These are sonic „paintings“ of a very high standard,
utilising samples, drones, and conventional instrumentation
to produce fractured, disjointed, but highly compelling listening.
EST, UK 1995 |
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ACHT CD, Selektion 1992 (SCD 008) |
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.Engaging compositions to a fever-dream. Sparse
and intermittent electronic sounds which are accented with sounds
of strings, metal and other acoustic sources. Sounds surge and
retreat and then perhaps a little interlude of a child-like
tune pops out.
ND Magazine, USA 1993 |
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RLW entschlackt seine Abstraktionen zu poetisch-melodischen
Etudes Fantastiques. Bei jedem Hören verwandelt sich die Reibungsenergie
der „eisernen“ Klänge in „Farbmuster“, „Wärme“ und Schönheit.
RLW verwebt tieftönende Lautkürzel zu löchrigen Geräuschlinien,
aber die Patterns ordnen sich nicht seriell-geometrisch wie
die Rasterquadrate des Booklets, sondern so harmonisch wie das
Lichtpunktechaos des Sternenatlas. Heiseres Schaben und brummendes
Schnarren wie von einem Stahlsaiten-Kontrabass, das chromatische
Changieren der metallenen Sonorität schaffen ein kammermusikalisches
Mikroklima mit einem ganz intimen, zartbitteren Reiz...
Bad Alchemy, Germany 1993 |
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