Summary.
Sonic Boom (Peter Kember) began a stubborn quest for the mystical qualities of sound. His first success was with Soul Kiss (1991), the second, ultra-ethereal album by Spectrum (1).
Kember's second success came with Experimental Audio Research (2), or E.A.R., the experimental trio formed with God's Kevin Martin and My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields, who produced at least two innovative recordings: the four cosmic-ambient suites of Mesmerized (1994) and
the three futuristic concertos of Millennium Music (1998).
(Translation of my original Italian text by Maria Giusti)
Peter "Sonic Boom" Kember (Spacemen 3,
Spectrum) is also protagontist with saxophone player Kevin Martin (God),
guitarist Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine), and drummer Eddie Provost (AMM),
of E.A.R. (Experimental Audio Research).
Mesmerised (Sympathy, 1994) is a suggestive,
cosmic-ambient experiment within the arc of four long suites. "DMT
Symphony" is an electronic poem of drones and soundscapes in free movment
that, in its search for visionary and dramatic effects, reminds us of Klaus
Schulze's first affrescos. The 26 minutes of "Mesmerised 4901" (a
deconstructed melody within an almost mantric pulsation à la "Swastika
Girls" by Fripp and Eno), "Guitar Feedback Manipulation" (a
gloomy, vascillating drone à la Gordon Mumma, generated, of course, by
horrendous guitar mutations), and "California Nocturne" (a dense
"cluster" of chords tapered to the pitch of bagpipes) are simple
exercises in the analysis of sound, probably humbler than what the reviewer
reads to you. The supergroup's music is a music of loops, contructed in a
laboratory with clinical minutia, and then put in motion like gadget mechanics.
The follow-up Beyond the Pale (Big Cat, 1996),
recorded in 1992, achieves even smoother and more abstract results, and places
the group beside the more ingenious Macchiaioli of New Age music. The sinister
atmosphere of "Beyond the Pale" (a spectral raga rent asunder
by neurotic guitar riffs) and the sidereal winds of "In the Cold
Light" (that grow in intensity until it softly carresses a symphony for
sirens), two compositions each a quarter of an hour, will number among the most
spectacular results of Boom's career. The threatening suspense of
"Dusk" and the alien vortices of "The Circle Is Blue"
abandon the metaphysical/spiritual level and instead plumb the neurosis and
fears of homo industrialis. Kember has acquired a discreet ability in
manipulating electronic sounds, and consequently the sound tends more and more
towards a fusion of minimalism and kosmische muzik. On the other hand, the small
impressionist affrescos ("The Calm Before", "The Calm
Beyond") bear the mark of Shields.
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Peter "Sonic Boom" Kember (Spacemen 3,
Spectrum) e` anche protagonista con
il sassofonista Kevin Martin (God), il chitarrista Kevin
Shields (My Bloody Valentine) e il percussionista
Eddie Prevost (AMM),
degli E.A.R. (Experimental Audio Research).
Mesmerized (Sympathy, 1994) e`
un suggestivo esperimento cosmico-ambientale nell'arco di quattro lunghe suite.
DMT Symphony e` un poema elettronico di droni e fasce sonore in libero
movimento, che, nella sua ricerca di effetti visionari e drammatici, ricorda i
primi affreschi di Klaus Schulze.
I 26 minuti di
Mesmerized 4901 (una melodia decostruita dentro una pulsazione quasi
mantra, alla Swastika Girls di Fripp e Eno), la
Guitar Feedback Manipulation (un tetro drone vacillante alla Gordon
Mumma generato, appunto, da orrende mutazioni della chitarra)
e il California Nocturne (un denso "cluster" di accordi affusolato
nel timbro delle cornamuse) sono semplici esercizi di analisi del suono,
forse molto piu` umili di quanto la critica vi legga.
La musica del supergruppo e` una musica di loop, costruiti in laboratorio con
minuzia clinica e poi messi in moto come congegni meccanici.
Il successivo Beyond The Pale (Big Cat, 1996), registrato nel 1992,
ottiene risultati ancor piu` levigati e astratti
e affianca il gruppo ai macchiaioli piu` ingegnosi della musica new age.
L'atmosfera sinistra di Beyond The Pale
(un raga spettrale squarciato da nevrotici riff di chitarra)
e i venti siderali di In The Cold Light (che crescono d'intensita`
fino a lambire un concerto per sirene),
due composizioni di un quarto d'ora ciascuna, si annoverano fra i risultati
piu` spettacolari della carriera di Boom.
La minacciosa suspense di Dusk e i vortici alieni di
The Circle Is Blue abbandonano il livello metafisico/spirituale e
scandagliano invece le nevrosi e le paure dell'homo industrialis.
Kember ha acquisito una discreta maestria nel manipolare suoni elettronici
e di conseguenza
il sound tende sempre piu` verso una fusione di minimalismo e musica cosmica.
I piccoli affreschi impressionisti (The Calm Before,
The Calm Beyond) portano invece il marchio di Shields.
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Kember and Martin replaced Shields with guitarists Scott Riley and Pete Bain,
added Eddie Prevost (bowed cymbal) and Tom Prentice (viola) and recorded an album,
Phenomena 256 (3rd Stone, 1996), that showed further evolution of the
E.A.R. sound towards kosmische muzik's black holes:
the ghostly bubbling breezes of Spacestation (nine minutes), from which elf-like voices emerge,
the fibrillating watercolors of As The Night Starts Closing In (ten minutes),
the pastoral calm of Delta 6, disturbed by the wailing and meowing of saxophone and guitar.
Phenomena 256 (14 minutes) achieves the most
powerful tension, thanks to a loud and dark beginning and to a
wavering pulsation.
Kember and Martin also toy with new techniques.
Sub Aqua - Tidal - Lunar (ten minutes) is three compositions in one:
a static drone in the left channel, a swirling in the center channel, a
fuzz-like distortion in the right channel.
The eerie textures of Space Themes are composed using the letters
of John Cage's last name (C, A, G, E) as the notes.
It is a courageous work, but it fails to create something that is truly
innovative or that truly pushes the envelope.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da xxx)
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(Translation of my original Italian text by Maria Giusti)
The Koner Experiment
(Revolver, 1997) likely constitutes the most radical result of Peter Kember,
Kevin Martin, and Eddie Provost's research. Not only does electronica reign
supreme, but it is the album that is more Thomas Kroner's (and of his
collaborator Andy Mellwig) than of the renowned depositaries of the brand
E.A.R. Kroner is a specialist in artificial rhythms, and this is music about
pulsations. "1" functions as a manifesto, demonstrating how to transform
industrial music into ambient music. The cadence of "2" is more
abrasive, that of "3" almost resembles human breathing, that of
"5" toys with the Doppler effect, "7" intones an improbable
disco music, "8" flows around New Age, and so on until
"10", which degerates into a wave of terrifying force. The method
always consists of putting on track a cadence and making it slowly change. Each
piece is caressed by subliminal massages of electronica. The album crowns
Kroner's progressive simplification of sound.
Millenium Music (Atavistic,
1998) contains three long suites around twenty minutes each that continue and
deepen the program of Mesmerised. Kember manages to meld the figure of
the avant-guard pedant and the psychedelic freak in the gothic-futurist vision
of "Delysid" (a collage of spectral sounds and cosmic frequency,
alien sounds and apocalyptic drones, robot wailing and dissonant violins).
Kember achieves credibility with a "creative" improvisation in
"Digitana", a surreal symphony of sounds and pauses: the
"concrete" composer Pierre Henry who plays with the Art Ensemble of
Chicago, the electronic composer Gordan Mumma who dialogues with jazz drummer
Don Moye, and with a finale of electronic raspberries and distortions that
seems like a duet between Morton Subotnik and Karlheinz Stockhausen. "The
Enigma Code" is a cosmo-psychedelic romp in free-jazz version, an amoeba
of of electronic squiggles that launch slowly towards
orbits of distorted hisses accompanied by soft drumming. For all the
pretensions of the awkward household experimenter, the album exhalts years of
research and finds a post shoe-gaze equilibrium.
Data Rape (Spaceage, 1998)
contains eight compositions for "circuit bending" created using some
audio toys from the '70's. Like the preceding one, it seems more like anything
an idea thrown out there that, for the generosity of the record label, found a
place on an album.
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The Koner Experiment (Revolver, 1997) costituisce forse il risultato piu`
radicale delle ricerche di Peter Kember, Kevin Martin ed Eddie Prevost.
Non solo l'elettronica regna sovrana, ma il disco e` forse piu` di
Thomas Koner
(e del suo collaboratore Andy Mellwig) che degli illustri depositari del
marchio E.A.R. Koner e` uno specialista di ritmi artificiali e questa e`
musica di pulsazioni. 1 funge da manifesto, dimostrando come si possa
trasformare musica industriale in musica ambientale. La cadenza di 2 e`
piu` abrasiva, quella di 3 sembra quasi un respiro umano, quella di
5 gioca con l'effetto Doppler, 7 intona una improbabile disco music, 8
lambisce la new age, e cosi` via fino a 10, che degenera in un'onda
di spaventosa potenza. Il metodo consiste sempre nel mettere in pista una
cadenza e farla mutare lentamente. Ciascun pezzo e` accarezzato da
massaggi subliminali di elettronica.
Il disco corona la progressiva semplificazione del sound di Kember.
Millennium Music (Atavistic, 1998) contiene tre lunghe suite di
circa venti minuti ciascuna che
continuano e approfondiscono il programma di Mesmerized.
Kember riesce a fondere la figura del pedante dell'avanguardia e quella
del freak psichedelico nella visione gotico-futurista
di Delysid (un collage di rumori spettrali e frequenze cosmiche,
versi alieni e droni apocalittici, vagiti di robot e violini dissonanti).
Kember si conquista una credibilita` con l'improvvisazione "creativa" di
Digitana, un surreale concerto di rumori e pause: il compositore
"concreto" Pierre Henry che giochi con l'Art Ensemble of Chicago, il
compositore elettronico Gordon Mumma che dialoghi con il
batterista jazz Don Moye, e con un finale di pernacchie elettroniche e
di distorsioni elettroniche che sembra un duetto fra
Morton Subotnick e Karlheinza Stockhausen.
The Enigma Coda e` una cavalcata cosmico-psichedelica in versione
free-jazz, un'ameba di ghirigori elettronici che decolla lentamente
verso orbite di sibili distorti accompagnata da un drumming sfumato.
Pur con tutta la velleita` un po' goffa dello sperimentatore casalingo,
il disco sublima anni di ricerche e trova un equilibrio post-shoegaze.
Data Rape (Spaceage, 1998) contiene otto composizioni per
"circuit bending" create usando alcuni giocattoli audio degli anni '70.
Come il precedente, sembra piu` che altro un'idea buttata li` che, per
magnanimita` di una casa discografica, ha trovato posto su un disco.
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Pestrepeller (Ochre, 1999) is titled to the band whose album Sonic
Boom "borrowed" for his manic exercise of post-processing.
Living Sound (Histrionic, 1999) is a 40-minute improvised jam with
the band Jessamine.
Live At The Dream Palace (2000) contains two live performances:
the 40-minute Modulo 2 and
the 20-minute Song For A Seraphim.
Continuining Sonic Boom's progression towards musique concrete,
the EP Vibrations (Rocket Girl, 2000) is possibly his most ambitious
experiment of sound manipulation.
The progression culminates with Continuum (Space Age, 2002), a
monolith of zen-like sonic structures.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da xxx)
Se sei interessato a tradurre questo testo, contattami
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