Articles
Andy Vaz Interview and Set
Mark O'Leary's Grønland

Albums
Acre
Arborea
Ólafur Arnalds
Kush Arora
Asura
bbcb
Steve Brand
Nick Chacona
Robert Curgenven
Cuushe
Daniell and McCombs
Delicate Noise
d'incise
Ecovillage
Danton Eeprom
Seren Ffordd
Paul Fiocco
El Fog
Koutaro Fukui
Corey Fuller
The Go Find
Ernest Gonzales
Koss
Francisco López
Ingram Marshall
Craig McElhinney
Minamo
My Majestic Star
Mystified
Nest
Nommo Ogo
Olive Oil
O'Leary - Passborg - Riis
Oy
[Post-foetus]
RPM Orchestra
Ryonkt
Richard Skelton
Slow Six
Sone Institute
Sousa & Correia
Stanislav Vdovin
Viridian Sun
Christian Zanési

Compilations / Mixes
Erased Tapes Collection II
Hammann & Janson
Leaves of Life
Music Grows On Trees
Phasen
Quit Having Fun
Scuba
Thesis Vol. 1

EPs
Aubrey
Be Maledetto Now!
DK7
Herzog
Hrdvsion
Mr Cloudy
Damon McU
Morning Factory
Neve
M. Ostermeier
R&J emp
Stanislav Vdovin

VA: Quit Having Fun
Boring Machines

Almost two-and-a-half hours of electro-acoustic experimentalism, Quit Having Fun includes new and unreleased tracks by an impressive roster of innovators, among them Telekaster, Gultskra Artikler, Philippe Petit, Sparkle In Grey, and Annelies Monserè—a mere tip of the iceberg, however. Restlessly churning, industrial-tinged electro-acoustic explorations dominate, though guitar-based post-rock and vocal songs appear too. Different pieces will stand out for different listeners, but ones that make the strongest impression on me include the following: Arbdesastr's “Other Floors” (a powerful five minutes of intense soundsculpting and, enriched by glistening electronics, strings, and piano, emotive vocal balladry by Paolo Campagnola), Sparkle In Grey's “The Last Cloud” (supported by guitars and laptop effects, Franz Krostopovic's electric violin soars over a stately marching rhythm in a Graz live performance captured on June 10, 2007), Rom:U's “Better Than A Stick In The I Against I” (cloudy ambient setting of Crimson-esque guitar and phased guitar treatments), Arterial Red's “Out of the Picture” (melancholy space ambient and synth gleam), Gultskra Artikler's “Mlini” (a dreamy, classically-tinged, acoustic-based instrumental that evokes Mlini, a small place near the sea in Croatia), and Die Stadt Der Romantische Punks' “Guitar Act 2” (a ten-minute guitar ambient-drone setting by Giardini di Mirò member Jukka Reverberi that builds from a quiet beginnings into a fireball before retreating).

Which is not to suggest that the remainder isn't worthy of your attention. Annelies Monsere's somber vocal-and-piano-based ballad “New Home” is memorable, as is Iris Garrelfs' boldly experimental quasi-choral setting “Beachball.” There are multiple field recordings-enhanced settings (Le Reve Reveille's “L'avenir,” Andrea Marutti's “A Depressing Study in Wandering Wonders,” Kluge's “Inner Voice”), guitar-driven variations on spectral ambient and post-rock (Wizards Tell Lies' “The Correlator,” Coma Stereo's “Ghostly”), plus a vinyl-based workout (Philippe Petit's “Needle in Pain”) and analog synth mini-epic (Unknown Celebrities' “Starship”). Near project's end, Telekaster (Matthias Grübel) dives into a sea of granular noise and voice samples filled with tiny pockets of melodica, strings, and piano (“A Shift in Shapes (Praeludium)”). The collection features no shortage of experimental material worth exploring, in other words.

February 2010