Review: 3 from Boring Machines
It's not very often that I'll review 3 from one label but in this case I really cannot choose which to feature and which to leave out so 'sod it' I thought, I'll do the lot. Boring Machines is easily one of my favourite labels and one whose releases are always nothing short of majestic. It is through the label that I have found bands which have now become perennial favourites (Heroin In Tahiti, Squadra Omega, Father Murphy to name but 3) and for that I thank them. This latest batch of releases are particularly good..each and every one is a well polished gem glittering brightly in this humdrum existence. All the releases below can be purchased via the Boring Machines Bandcamp page here.
The Star Pillow - Symphony for an Intergalactic Brotherhood
The Star Pillow is the drone-ambient project of Italian guitarist Paolo Monti. Since 2007 Monti has created musical soundscapes with "the aim of researching expressions and relations between sound, space and human emotions." Over the span of several albums and years of playing live he has pretty much honed his art...and so we come to 'Symphony for an Intergalactic Brotherhood'; 3 totally improvised tracks that takes guitar drone to the next level...and beyond. The first, and longest, is 'My Dear Elohim', a nineteen minute opus in which layers and layers of gorgeous drone combine to create something truly beautiful...something as celestial and spiritual as the title suggests. There is something deeply evocative about the track...an ability to bring forth emotions in the listener. It is simply beautiful. 'An Interstellar Handshake' has a richer, deeper timbre about it and possibly based more in musique concrete and electroacoustic experimentation...a tad more strident but no less effective. The last track, 'From Dust To Stars' is probably my favourite (although it seems churlish to pick a favourite from such a glorious selection)...lush drones sit cheek by jowl with each other to create something that is quietly epic....understated grandeur that positively shimmers. 'Symphony for an Intergalactic Brotherhood' is a truly majestic piece of work....enchanting and spellbinding. Released at the end of the month on vinyl / digital but pre-orders are live now.
Maurizio Abate - Standing Waters
Maurizio Abate is an experimental musician and guitarist in his own right but has also been part of many influential groups (Arbre Du Ténéré, Eternal Zio, Jooklo Stellar Tribe, Neokarma Jooklo Sextet). His solo work is based on plucking rather than the drone of Monti which, in itself, imbues it with a whole different vibe which is equally as lush. He has released via Boring Machines before as well as Black Sweat Records (who are releasing the vinyl version of this with BM doing the CD version). 'Standing Waters' is 5 tracks of sublime acoustic guitar that sends shivers down the spine. Opener 'Odonata' is a folky/bluegrass number that transports you to the foothills of the Appalachians - the vaguely discerned harmonica in the background giving it a homespun blues vibe but over its course it loses some of its earthiness to become something more meditative and tranquil. 'Shaping The Mud' is a masterclass in guitar....not the shredding, electric guitar of 'rock gods' but an introspective, almost classical, exercise. It is mesmerising stuff. 'Nymphs Dance' is a sparser affair with silences accentuating Abate's guitar. Over its ten minute length various other elements are fleetingly apparent....occasional drones flirt with the guitar and by the end you are left slackjawed in admiration...a stunning piece of music. 'Pond Mood' is another bucolic piece, partly based in folk and partly in a more experimental aspect while closing track 'Standing_Crumbling' is the magnum opus of the album....more sublime acoustic guitar that captivates for nigh of 14 minutes until the album is seen out with a cacophony of disjointed and dissonent noise. This is a stunning album that showcases Abate's skills to fine effect. The very fact that two albums, both with guitar as the central instrument can sound so very different but both beautiful is exactly why I love Boring Machines so much...the emphasis is on quality rather than 'genre'. The CD can be pre-ordered via Boring Machines and a visit to Black Sweat here can get you the vinyl
Jochen Arbeit/Paolo Spaccamonti - CLN
If the previous two albums are majestic then that makes 'CLN' almost godlike! Jochen Arbeit is a member of Einsturzende Neubauten, amongst many other accomplishments, while Spaccamonti is a guitarist and 'Research Composer' (and I urge you all to check out work by both guys). The album is named after a square in Turin - it was in a bar there that the two met - and is a work of genius...easily one of my favourite albums of the year thus far. Comprised of seven tracks, labelled 'I' to 'VII', it has a cinematic feel about it that is just crying out for a film...it has a splendour that is deep set, not just a veneer over the top....thoughtful, lush and just fucking magnificent! 'I' opens with mournful, melancholic guitar sitting over a baleful drone and with just these two elements they manage to conjure imaginary landscapes. The reverie is broken by the sharp, industrial blasts of 'II', like foghorns in the mist that are joined by squealing guitars and dense electronica and things become incredibly dystopian...it is partly dread laden and partly euphoric. An artificial heartbeat heralds the entrance of 'III'...pulsing rhythmically alongside oscillating electronica. The guitar, when it arrives, adds a distinctly human touch to proceedings...something organic amidst the industrial psy-fi. It still retains a dystopian edge but the drones, becoming evermore strident, also give things a 'horror' feel and thus extending the cinematic vibe of the album (it is no coincidence that in an apartment overlooking CLN place, the first homicide is committed in the horror movie 'Profondo Rosso' by Dario Argento.) 'IV' opens with some shimmering guitar and a throbbing bassline that sets the scene for another sublime piece of composing...almost ambient in aspect but that metronomic rhythm adding a backbone of steel..this is what music is all about..the juxtaposition of ideas and approaches to create something special....magnificent! 'V' comes as a shock at first..some slow blues guitar, like a lonely cowboy out on the range, but underscored with more lush drones and the interplay between them results in a track that has an inherent sadness but tinged with glimmers of sunshine....this album just gets better and better!. 'VI' opens like a lost cut from the Bladerunner soundtrack but soon the now familiar mournful guitar and glistening drones transform it into something deeply immersive and incredibly hypnagogic that seems to hold you in a trance. The closer, 'VII', is introduced with some megalithic blocks of feedback that seem to feed upon themselves, growing and multiplying until the whole track becomes one huge wall of sound...like a Spector track in negative....but even under this there are flickers of lightness and the hum of more delicate drones. It reminded me a great deal of Ben Chasney's Six Organs Of Admittance albeit a heavier version. I absolutely love this album...on every listen it has yielded more and more and is now firmly embedded in my head...magnificent stuff! It is released on March 9th and pre-orders are up on the Boring machines Bandcamp page.
The Star Pillow - Symphony for an Intergalactic Brotherhood
The Star Pillow is the drone-ambient project of Italian guitarist Paolo Monti. Since 2007 Monti has created musical soundscapes with "the aim of researching expressions and relations between sound, space and human emotions." Over the span of several albums and years of playing live he has pretty much honed his art...and so we come to 'Symphony for an Intergalactic Brotherhood'; 3 totally improvised tracks that takes guitar drone to the next level...and beyond. The first, and longest, is 'My Dear Elohim', a nineteen minute opus in which layers and layers of gorgeous drone combine to create something truly beautiful...something as celestial and spiritual as the title suggests. There is something deeply evocative about the track...an ability to bring forth emotions in the listener. It is simply beautiful. 'An Interstellar Handshake' has a richer, deeper timbre about it and possibly based more in musique concrete and electroacoustic experimentation...a tad more strident but no less effective. The last track, 'From Dust To Stars' is probably my favourite (although it seems churlish to pick a favourite from such a glorious selection)...lush drones sit cheek by jowl with each other to create something that is quietly epic....understated grandeur that positively shimmers. 'Symphony for an Intergalactic Brotherhood' is a truly majestic piece of work....enchanting and spellbinding. Released at the end of the month on vinyl / digital but pre-orders are live now.
Maurizio Abate - Standing Waters
Maurizio Abate is an experimental musician and guitarist in his own right but has also been part of many influential groups (Arbre Du Ténéré, Eternal Zio, Jooklo Stellar Tribe, Neokarma Jooklo Sextet). His solo work is based on plucking rather than the drone of Monti which, in itself, imbues it with a whole different vibe which is equally as lush. He has released via Boring Machines before as well as Black Sweat Records (who are releasing the vinyl version of this with BM doing the CD version). 'Standing Waters' is 5 tracks of sublime acoustic guitar that sends shivers down the spine. Opener 'Odonata' is a folky/bluegrass number that transports you to the foothills of the Appalachians - the vaguely discerned harmonica in the background giving it a homespun blues vibe but over its course it loses some of its earthiness to become something more meditative and tranquil. 'Shaping The Mud' is a masterclass in guitar....not the shredding, electric guitar of 'rock gods' but an introspective, almost classical, exercise. It is mesmerising stuff. 'Nymphs Dance' is a sparser affair with silences accentuating Abate's guitar. Over its ten minute length various other elements are fleetingly apparent....occasional drones flirt with the guitar and by the end you are left slackjawed in admiration...a stunning piece of music. 'Pond Mood' is another bucolic piece, partly based in folk and partly in a more experimental aspect while closing track 'Standing_Crumbling' is the magnum opus of the album....more sublime acoustic guitar that captivates for nigh of 14 minutes until the album is seen out with a cacophony of disjointed and dissonent noise. This is a stunning album that showcases Abate's skills to fine effect. The very fact that two albums, both with guitar as the central instrument can sound so very different but both beautiful is exactly why I love Boring Machines so much...the emphasis is on quality rather than 'genre'. The CD can be pre-ordered via Boring Machines and a visit to Black Sweat here can get you the vinyl
Jochen Arbeit/Paolo Spaccamonti - CLN
If the previous two albums are majestic then that makes 'CLN' almost godlike! Jochen Arbeit is a member of Einsturzende Neubauten, amongst many other accomplishments, while Spaccamonti is a guitarist and 'Research Composer' (and I urge you all to check out work by both guys). The album is named after a square in Turin - it was in a bar there that the two met - and is a work of genius...easily one of my favourite albums of the year thus far. Comprised of seven tracks, labelled 'I' to 'VII', it has a cinematic feel about it that is just crying out for a film...it has a splendour that is deep set, not just a veneer over the top....thoughtful, lush and just fucking magnificent! 'I' opens with mournful, melancholic guitar sitting over a baleful drone and with just these two elements they manage to conjure imaginary landscapes. The reverie is broken by the sharp, industrial blasts of 'II', like foghorns in the mist that are joined by squealing guitars and dense electronica and things become incredibly dystopian...it is partly dread laden and partly euphoric. An artificial heartbeat heralds the entrance of 'III'...pulsing rhythmically alongside oscillating electronica. The guitar, when it arrives, adds a distinctly human touch to proceedings...something organic amidst the industrial psy-fi. It still retains a dystopian edge but the drones, becoming evermore strident, also give things a 'horror' feel and thus extending the cinematic vibe of the album (it is no coincidence that in an apartment overlooking CLN place, the first homicide is committed in the horror movie 'Profondo Rosso' by Dario Argento.) 'IV' opens with some shimmering guitar and a throbbing bassline that sets the scene for another sublime piece of composing...almost ambient in aspect but that metronomic rhythm adding a backbone of steel..this is what music is all about..the juxtaposition of ideas and approaches to create something special....magnificent! 'V' comes as a shock at first..some slow blues guitar, like a lonely cowboy out on the range, but underscored with more lush drones and the interplay between them results in a track that has an inherent sadness but tinged with glimmers of sunshine....this album just gets better and better!. 'VI' opens like a lost cut from the Bladerunner soundtrack but soon the now familiar mournful guitar and glistening drones transform it into something deeply immersive and incredibly hypnagogic that seems to hold you in a trance. The closer, 'VII', is introduced with some megalithic blocks of feedback that seem to feed upon themselves, growing and multiplying until the whole track becomes one huge wall of sound...like a Spector track in negative....but even under this there are flickers of lightness and the hum of more delicate drones. It reminded me a great deal of Ben Chasney's Six Organs Of Admittance albeit a heavier version. I absolutely love this album...on every listen it has yielded more and more and is now firmly embedded in my head...magnificent stuff! It is released on March 9th and pre-orders are up on the Boring machines Bandcamp page.
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