RHYS CHATHAM – A CRIMSON GRAIL FOR 400 ELECTRIC GUITARS
OK, let’s start off with just the facts. This is a live album, clocking in at under an hour, documenting highlights of a 12-hour performance of 400 electric guitars directed by the composer Rhys Chatham. Interested? You should be.
This is not a colossal sonic bombast, this is the sound of 400 guitars shimmering an incandescent symphony of sighs and shadows. The acoustics of the basilica of Sacré-Coeur in Paris really lend themselves to such subtle, delicate music. If you want crude comparisons, then the best I could do would be to suggest the guitar sound of post-rock at it’s most beautiful meeting modern composition.
I had heard bad things about the sound quality of this album. Some people had complained bitterly about hearing other sounds such as microphone bumps or clips but I found only a very vibrant live recording that captured the sound and atmosphere of what must have been quite an extraordinary event.
CAN – FLOW MOTION / SAW DELIGHT / CAN / RITE TIME
Well, here we enter a controversial part of the Can history. Controversial, because popular opinion generally states that these albums weren’t very good. So, what does hindsight and remastering do for the embarrassing end of the Can catalogue? Well, firstly, they’ve rubbed “Out Of Reach” off the discography. It’s not listed on their site nor is it getting a remaster. So they’ve owned up to “Out Of Reach” being crap, but they’ve also represented 3 other albums of that era in this last blast of remasters.
It all starts with 1976’s “Flow Motion” which saw them getting on Top Of The Pop’s with the opening track “I Want More”. Obviously, this is their most commercial sounding album, and is actually a whole lot of fun. There’s still some very fine freak out moments, like on “Smoke (E.F.S. No.59) and the title track, as well as little delves into disco and reggae. Not their peak, but still a damn fine album and perfect for Summer days.
1977’s “Saw Delight” saw a major line-up alteration. Holger Czukay moved over from the bass to using a wave receiver to bring radio broadcasts into the music. Replacing him was former Traffic member Roscko Gee on bass, alongside another Traffic escapee, Reebop Kwaku Baah on percussion. Curiously, despite the dramatic change, this album still manages to work. Opening up with the classic Can groove as used on “Moonshake” from the early album “Future Days”, it delves heavily into world music and yet still has that Can feel. When I first came across this album I considered it a dreary, middle of the road disappointment. Listening to it again, I find myself enjoying. It could be the wonderful job done in remastering it or it could just be blind hero worship. I’m not sure.
The band have declined to remaster, reissue or acknowledge the next album “Out Of Reach”, so it’s straight onto 1978’s “Can”. Here, even I loose patience. “Can” is crap. Boring, dreary, flat and annoying. It features a ridiculous version of the “Can Can” and becomes so irksome, as to make it a test of patience and endurance to get all the way through it. Holger Czukay had left at this point and was brought in to edit the record together. I can’t imagine what he thought when he heard it but to me this album is definitely not a patch on any of his classic solo albums.
However, things pick up now as the next Can album took a step back in time to their 1968 recordings, which Holger edited together into an album. Rawer and wilder than the songs from their debut album “Monster Movie”, this introduced the world to classic, lost tracks with original vocalist Malcolm Mooney such as “Butterfly” and the song Radiohead covered during their classic 1997 Glastonbury set, “Thief”. What’s even more impressive is the way the remastering has done such a good job of replicating the sound of the original vinyl version.
It all ends with the surprise 1986 reunion of the original line-up, complete with Holger and Malcolm. Strangely enough, they never got round to mixing it until 1988. The reception given at the time was rather luke-warm, but with the benefit of hindsight, “Rite Time” is actually a really good album. Nothing like any of their other albums, as it should be. Bursting with warmth, humour and personality, it’s influence could be heard on some of the most spectacular new bands to emerge after it’s release, particularly Happy Mondays and The Sugarcubes.
I know not everyone will agree with me. Many of you will think I am being too lenient on “Flow Motion” and “Saw Delight”, others will think I was too harsh on “Can” but I can honestly say that the above opinions are my own honest reactions. You, dear reader, will have to decide what you think and what you want to buy.
Tony Conrad with Faust – Outside the Dream Syndicate Alive
It’s a bit like you are listening to an instrumental part of The Velvet Underground’s “Black Angel’s Death Song” when someone sneaks up behind you and shoots you in the back of the head. As the bullet tears through your brain, there is a sudden moment when your perception of time is destroyed and those last few moments of your life are somehow spun out into a bewildering hour. This is how the last moment of music would sound.
This is a live album. This is a live album wherein minimalist violinist Tony Conrad revisits his 1972 collaboration with Faust some 23 years later in London. What makes it all the more remarkable is this was only his third meeting with the band (the second being for another mid 90s concert). It’s just Conrad with Jean-Hervé and Zappi of Faust along with premier leftfieldist Jim O’Rourke.
Let’s not mince words: the original album had a startling power but is now pretty much rendered obsolete by the sheer blistering intensity of this harsh, live version. It has much more zest, more aggression, more impact. It somehow burns itself into your mind and leaves behind such an imprint, that you can still hear it playing once the CD has ended, much like the way a bright light leaves it’s mark on your eyes after it’s switched off.
To sum it up in 2 words: shit hot
Music of Today: Embryo
There’s no doubting that the sheer scale of Embryo-related work is enormous. Hailing from Munich and featuring input from more musicians than I could mention, the band’s back catalogue is stupendous. The embryonic Embryo began life through former Jazz organist Christian Burchard in 1970, and the group was swift to fuse jazz with space rock , Krautrock and African vibes – quickly forming an ever-evolving sound that somehow remained consistently their own. Today, more than 35 years on, Embryo are still going strong.
Here’s the story of how I discovered Embryo:
I first encountered Embryo nearly four years ago, while sifting though a bunch of dusty uninspiring German LPs. At that stage I was really digging anything on the Ohr label, so when I noticed Embryo’s first LP I was all too quick to snap it up, paying through the nose for it (and without the all-important balloon attached to the cover). Despite the silly price, it was just what I wanted. Long, fuzzed out, scorching screaming guitars similar in style to Krautrockers 9 Karat Gold, mixed with echoes of Doldingers Motherhood.
Despite this early Embryo enthusiasm, I then bizarrely forgot all about them until about a year ago. When looking through the Krautrock section in a reputable London record store I stumbled across “German Rock Scene Vol 2” at a snip. Once home I played the Embryo cut “Music of Today” (taken from Surfin LP). I was blown away with how much the sound had evolved. The underlying Krautrock tones were still present and correct, but this track had a groove, and a really tough one at that.
With bass, two guitars playing off each other and a thumping beat, this really was something special. I needed more. Hot on the trail I purchased “We Keep On”, and again I was blown away. Another really strong rhythm section, at times slightly reminiscent of vintage Can (particularly “Mother Sky” from “Soundtracks”), long bass, guitar and heavy drum freakouts – the way it should be!
Hot on the heels of this purchase I then picked up what many consider to be Embryo’s ‘tour de force’, “Steig Aus”. From the enigmatic and legendary Green Brain label, this is considered by many to be Embryo’s best LP and is a largely instrumental effort consisting of a few intricate suites. This is not Embryo’s most accessible LP, but it’s a great listen. The amazing musicianship between the players is awesome.
After Steig Aus I obtained a copy of “Rocksession” – Embryo’s second and final Green Brain LP and by far the best and most whacked out psychedelic kraut jazz monster I’ve ever heard. It’s even got the Legendary Sigfreid Scwhab on there, again amazing drums and bass workouts. This is the best Embryo LP (IMHO) and certainly the one which I would recommend to any new Embryo-ites. I have yet to obtain a copy of Embryo’s “Rache” but it’s reputedly very good.
There you have it – a concise introduction to a band many believe are the only Krautrockers to rival the mighty Can.
Lee Brady November 2005
FAUST + Ectogram – Newcastle Academy 2, UK, 8th November 2005
So, my first encounter with the group Ectogram. Two dueling psychedelic guitars underpinned by a powerful drummer and complimented by the vocals of one of those guitarists, Ann. It’s always tricky to judge a support group, particularly when you haven’t heard them before and are all hyped up for the main act, but still Ectogram managed to impress. I am going to have to track down some of their stuff.
As for Faust, well, I never! Where to begin? I go to gigs every week. Hell, this week I’ve got 4 gigs written into my diary. I have been a regular gig goer for around 15 years now. The point I’m trying to make, basically, is that I have seen a thing or two in my time. I’m not wet behind the ears or easily impressed [2022 note – think I was insecure about being new to krautrock].
I state all this because at this gig, I was more than a bit impressed. A bit bloody gob-smacked would probably be the right turn of phrase here. I’d seen the first rehearsals from this line-up of Faust on the “Connections” DVD. I’d heard them on the “Collectif Met(z)” box set. I’d read all about how good the tour was from the e-mails on the Faust List. I even knew the set lists for every previous night of the tour. I’d even heard about what went on in the stage show.
Somehow, though, even though I knew all about it, Faust still managed to completely surprise me. Maybe it’s the way they lulled me into a false sense of serenity by opening up with a lush, soothing rendition of “Listen To The Fish”. They followed that up with “It’s A Bit Of A Pain” and suddenly, Zappi’s no longer holding back and neither is Jean-Hervé. The new members Olivier and Amaury fuse naturally into the sound, adding a distinct edge of their own.
After breathing fresh new life into that old classic, Jean-Hervé begins to shout at us that “this is not music” and suddenly, he hops off the stage and unveils an ironing board at the front. He switches on the iron and persuades an audience member to take off their shirt for ironing. Suddenly, Zappi comes marching to the front of the stage with a load of metal bars and begins to hurl them off the stage onto the metal plate at the front of the crowd. A plate I’d been standing on until I stood back to give Jean-Hervé room to hop off the stage. Luckily, they’re fairly light pipes or I’m too enraptured by the whole thing to feel any pain when they bounced off and into me.
I’m feeling all cool and laid-back, when suddenly “oh fuck!” he’s wielding a bloody big lead pipe above his head and I start to leg it into the crowd when I realise he’s just banging it above his head and isn’t going to lob it at me. That sense of calm and safety is soon shattered when he begins using an angle grinder and fires sparks into the crowd. The security guard’s faces are a complete picture – horror, fear and helplessness as they shout into their headsets and walkie-talkies. One of them later on tells me not to dance near to the iron. Come on! They’re an avante-garde rock ‘n’ roll band! They may throw pipes off stage and shower us in sparks but they’re not going to leave the iron plugged in! They’re not barbarians!
By now, a big smile is stretched across the faces of nearly all the crowd (if not the venue staff) and then they only go and play “The Sad Skinhead”. After that, Zappi conducts a small group of beautiful young ladies [2022 note – single, much?] for a rendition of “I’ve Got My Car And My TV” and dancing like mad seems the only sensible option.
Then, Jean-Hervé begins the discussion: “Rund Ist Schön” when suddenly the local firemen’s marching band ambush us from behind and come to the front to jam with Faust. After this, you begin to wonder what next? An alien choir? What comes next is a fantastic selection of songs, mainly new which meld Zappi’s heavy but oh-so-danceable drumming with some head-banging guitar thrash-outs and heavy wildness. We get a blazing version of “Mamie Is Blue”, another marching band jam and some big smiles.
Of course, the crowd wouldn’t let them get away without an encore and very loud applause dragged them out to finish us all off with “It’s A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl”. How could you sum this night up? It wasn’t a gig, it was a happening, a special event and something that will stay with me for a very long time [2022 note – it certainly has and not just because it came out on DVD in the ‘Faust in Autumn’ set]. Blimey!
Huge thanks to Peter Kidd, David Enzor and to Emma @ AMG.
TUSSLE – KLING KLANG
TUSSLE – “KLING KLANG” (Smalltown Supersound)
What if……..
What if Danny Krivit did a disco re-edit of Neu!
What if Can’s disco experiments had really worked? A fusion of the Can sound with the finest disco rhythms?
What if the classic early P.I.L. line-up had been on E instead of speed?
What if? What if?
Here is the answer – “Kling Klang” an album by San Francisco act Tussle. These boys raise the kind of joyous noise you would associate with the likes of Can, Faust and Neu! and set it to a live but very deep, disco rhythm. Sometimes, the results veer close to the classic Public Image Ltd sound. The bass gets funky, percussion gets a good smack-down while the guitar and electronics get into the kosmische territories. Despite the association with two musical movements of the 70’s, Tussle manage to sound fresh, mainly thanks to the overwhelmingly live sound. In fact, for all their obvious orgins, Tussle manage to sound thorougly modern. The nearest likeness would have to be !!! (pronounced chk-chk-chk).
The version of the album that I have is the European one which comes with some great bonus tracks and remixes. Perfect for alternative dancefloors, krauty-parties, half-converts, dancefloor weirdos, bass-lovers, percussion-heads, Jah Wobble fans, hypeactive Kosmische fans and punk-funk lovers.
Faust in a box
It’s taken me a while to get round to reviewing this box set, as it takes a lot of getting your head around. The first disc is more rehearsals from the new Faust [JHP, Zappi, Olivier & Amaury]. The second disc is a live album they recorded in Paris in 1996 with the same line-up under the name Collectif Met(z). Disc 3 features solo material from Jean-Hervé Peron and Zappi. The fourth disc is an 8 minute VCD of footage from after the 1996 concert.
Let’s begin in the present with disc one – the modern Faust. Sometimes heavy drone-rock, sometimes lighter and more song-based. These are not studio recordings but more recordings of the new Faust in rehearsal (like the excellent Connections DVD). Someone once described acoustic performances as being “a band naked” but in many ways, these raw, primal sessions are the closest music gets to naked. Just a band playing and something in the corner recording. Not that for a minute you should associate such abrasive sound for anything substandard. It takes a certain confidence in your art to release your music in such an unrefined format, a confidence which recently led to the band Arctic Monkeys selling out large venues in the UK before they’d even released a single thanks to their demos being all over the internet. We’ve all heard great songs with massive production, now the public’s thirst for something new craves great songs without any studio trickery. That’s disc one for you.
Disc two is 6 solo tracks from Zappi and 3 from Jean-Hervé. All the tracks on here are playful and quite laid back. As you can imagine, Zappi’s pieces are heavy on rhythm, while Jean-Hervé’s are more song based. JHP’s epic “Rund ist Schoen” is a 15-minute
meditation from somewhere outdoors in London. His other 2 tracks “Melancholy on Three Strings” and “Decisions” are acoustic, laments sung in his mother tongue (French). Zappi comes up with some great songs and some equally great song titles: “Mufflet” and “Stumpling” both being delicious words that I have never heard before.
The third disc is the 1996 concert. This is a heavier, more firey kind of a beast. In fact, it’s fair to say this is a sonic assault. Brutal, provocative and, of course, utterly enjoyable. Here Faust (or Collectif Met(z) as they were known at the time) go full-on. Things unknown roar and rumble, while JHP takes to the microphone like he was summoning demons. The rhythms are heavy, driving, skull-crushing and immense. The noise is hypnotic.The sound is intense. This is a chugging beast of a concert. No old songs are played, although JHP does sing “Mamie Is Blue” at one point, but the music is so different it seems more like a nod to the original than a reworking. It sounds like the audience don’t know what to make of it – the crowd noise could be rapture or could be rage. It’s probably both.
The 4th and final disc is simply an 8 minute video filmed as the live set on disc 3 ended. One of the tracks from the set plays while over the top we hear the audience’s joy and confusion. As the camera darts around the smoke-filled venue and then does close-ups on people talking a language that I don’t speak, the effect is a disorientating as being hit repeatedly in the face with an invisible brick.
It’s a cracking little box, full of magic and indispensable for the Faust fan.
Remembering John Peel
I have just finished this book and I am left feeling very emotional by it. How can I begin to explain how important John Peel was to me? As a lover of music, his show educated me so much and he opened my eyes to so many styles of music throughout my life. As a broadcaster, you knew he was being his own self. As a person, he seemed to me incredibly endearing, humble and witty.
I still remember where I was when I heard the news. I was in a car with Boo, who I work with in my day job at Alive magazine, delivering our rather fine gig guide to Saltaire, near Bradford (little did I know at the time that this was where his wife Sheila was from). My Ryan Adams tape had just ended, so I pressed eject and caught the last few moments of a song before Colin Murray announced that they had some very sad news. I was surprised at just how much it upset me. I’d always been a bit disdainful of the public displays of grief over the death of Princess Diana, but there I was utterly shocked and upset over the death of a man I never knew.
So, this is the book John was working on when he died. What can I say? John’s part of the book is pure John. You can hear his voice in your head as he tells you his life story. It is everything you would want it to be – moving, engrossing, unpretentious and very funny. His widow Sheila and their children all got together to research the rest of his life and then Sheila finished the book off. My heart goes out to his family for this and I must express my strong gratitude for what must have been a very difficult labour of love.
No-one else could have finished this book other than Sheila and John’s dry sense of humour and skill with an anecdote appear to have rubbed off on her very well. In fact, this approach benefits the book, as John managed to cover most of his life before Sheila and getting a different point of view for the second half somehow adds to the books feeling of authenticity.
Never does the book get boring at any point. It is touching, sad, very funny and full of wonderful anecdotes. Anything other than a wonderful book would, quite frankly, have been unacceptable but between them, John & Sheila have managed to deliver the book that had to be written and that we needed to read. Now all we need is that young buck John always feared would suddenly turn up and take his place to finally materialise [2020 note – still waiting].
Faust “Connections” DVD
A new Faust has been born, fusing Zappi & JHP from the original line-up with Ulan Bator members Amaury Cambuzat and Olivier Manchion. This DVD allows you to witness the birth of this new line-up. We begin with the plane containing Amaury & Olivier landing and then you get their first session. Unrehearsed, spontaneous music with no overdubs.
It’s a brave move for a band to release a DVD of their all-new line-ups first ever session but, let’s face it, they all know how to play and the results are nothing short of exciting. 6 new, spontaneous songs that let you know a brand new Faust is coming.
As you would expect, the visuals are as disorientating and entertaining as the music. Sometimes words scroll across the top of screen. At times they seem to be translations of the lyrics, at others times they appear like invocations on the themes of the lyrics.
Zappi really is a hell of a drummer and Jean-Hervé the perfect foil to his power. These 2 have a musical bond built up over years, so it’s incredible to hear the new members finding their place in the music immediately.
As fun as it is fascinating, “Connections” is a very well produced DVD and definitely one that I’ll be watching again and again.