pureambient.com reviews and interviews
drone forest reviews
SPLENDIDZINE
December 17, 2003
Drone Forest
Our Ghost In Her Wood CD
I wasn't too sanguine about the possibilities of this disc, on which three separate individuals are credited for "noises". True to the billing, Our Ghost in Her Wood is nothing if not noisy. The album consists of nothing but ambient hums and random rumblings, sort of the outdoor-urban equivalent of a room tone.
Indeed, when I listened to this while I walked down 57th Street, I thought the batteries in my Walkman had died, so indistinguishable was the music from the street noise surrounding me. Suffice it to say that the music is well-suited to accompany your next dour art installation, or perhaps your next anxiety dream.
The city soundscapes were easier on the ears than the more organic-sounding experiments. The Drone Forest is clearly not a place you want to lose yourself in; their music is deliberately unsettling, particularly on "Seventy Eight", which sounds like a slowed-down recording of a cannibal feast, replete with distended gobbling sounds and the dull clattering of devouring teeth. This makes it perfect for party-clearing and neighbor alienation, but likely useless for legitimate entertainment purposes.
Rob Horning
SCABIES magazine
January 2004
Drone Forest
Drone Forest CD
Experimental soundscapes that are generated mainly from guitar work, treated
vocalizations and layered noise texturing. The opening track, "Minim" is a bit
different from the rest of the tracks and kinda helps mix up the feel of the
album. The rest of the tracks, for me were the meat and potatoes. Sounds flowing
in and out of each other which keep the feeling alive throughout Drone Forest,
never taking more that a couple of minutes, at most, to linger within one area
before slowly evolving into more, just as fluent drones. A recommended release
for those into light ambience and drones.
bindlestiff reviews
AUTOREVERSE magazine ISSUE EIGHT
Summer 1999
Bindlestiff
Quiet CD
Slow, placid instrumentals that sit close enough to the border between
ambience and new age that they can spit on either without getting up. The
shimmery synth sounds and programmed rhythms glisten with reverb, giving the two
guitarists with BINDLESTIFF an almost aquatic background over which to
improvise. "Improvise" is something of a dirty word here in AUTO
since the vast majority of improvised sound seems to fall under the heading of
"complete trash". But the BINDLES definetely do it right.
The second track is almost like dueling FRIPPERTRONICS, each subtle layer
building on the last, complementing the other. Throw this CD in the 25
disc changer between a whole fleet of FRIPPERTRONIC albums and you'd never know
the difference. "Simple Truth" is a touch too WINDHAM HILL
for my own liking, the music-box synth loop on the bottom especially.
"Pacific Gravity" is a vast, expansive space of sound. Highly
evocative of the night sky and, uh, things like that. Big open things.
This is an absolutely stunning album, especially when they stay away from the
WINDHAM HILL side of things. Like melodic ambience? Get it.
Studio Seventeen is becoming a real hotbed of intelligent ambient music...
Ian C. Stewart
4/99
AUTOREVERSE magazine ISSUE TEN
spring 2000
Bindlestiff
LOUD CD
Not exactly mimicking the title, this CD is really a collection
of positive ambient songs. Bubbly and energetic at times, it reminds me of
something playful Edward Ka-Spel would want to get his hands into. Other songs
gurgle their way between engaging beats, though never sounding cluttered. I
found this to be great background music to activities that are usually quite
boring, and not only did it help me get a lot of stuff done, but it also got me
hooked! My CD player wants to play this baby constantly!
Hyacinthe L. Raven-Douleur
4/00
AUTOREVERSE magazine ISSUE TEN
spring 2000
Bindlestiff
early CD
Uterine ambient plonky noises, not unpleasant at all, but
sounding like a zillion other blippy, trippy things we've all reviewed to death
during many years. Ambient-heads: enjoy. Normal, balanced people: use only to
accompany candlelit baths.
Paola
4/00
check out the
full-length interview (from AUTOreverse issue nine) with dave stafford
dave stafford reviews
GAJOOB MAGAZINE Vol. 62
October 15, 1997
Dave Stafford
Transitory
CD
Ambient music pieces that mostly develop slowly and naturally. Stafford uses what
sounds like guitar overtones and feedback, turning them into complex, string-like timbres
with volume and directional techniques. I hear what sounds like the music of India, along
with synthetic space drones that, perhaps oddly, live surprisingly well together. Stafford
allows the music to develop slowly, enjoying the resulting meditative atmosphere. [MEDIUM:
CD]
Bryan Baker, 7/27/97
SONAR MAP No. 3 Winter/Spring 1997
Dave Stafford
Transitory
CD
Dave Stafford Transitory cassette. This ambient space music, carries a dramatic
edge, a kind of edgy edge, that makes it not the kind of stuff you'd put on if you wanted
to sit, meditate, and envision your most blissful fantasies. Rather, it's sort of a
depressed post-apocalypse hum that sways in and out of states of mournful slumber and
extreme anxiety. If you can imagine, it's kind of a Hearts-of-Space-Gothcore.
Shawn Mediaclast, March 1997
AUTOREVERSE magazine ISSUE SEVEN
January 1999
Dave Stafford
1867
CD
My favorite Crafty Guitarist subtitled this disc a celebration of the acoustic
guitar and the joy of looping. There you have it, thank you and good night.
Beautifully recorded acoustic guitar action and mostly very strong compositions make this
CD a contender for late night listening. The only tracks I don't love are the ones
that sound more like Crafty fingering exercises than music. "The Nature Of
Light" features some lovely soloing. I also like "Your Timorous
Courage." ROBERT FRIPP looms as an influence: It's his new standard tuning
STAFFORD uses, and the classic FRIPP CRAFTY Ovation acoustic guitar sound is in effect as
well. It's conceptually interesting to take two of FRIPP's compostiional methods
(loops, and acoustic guitar constructions) and combine them, I'm not aware of anyone else
who has combined the peanut butter and chocolate like this. And it's great.
FRIPP fans have much here to enjoy, as do fans of acoustic guitar music and...hell, the
in-laws would love this. There is no higher praise for instrumental music than
"My mother in law would like it."
Ian C. Stewart, January 1999
AUTOREVERSE magazine ISSUE EIGHT
summer 1999
Dave Stafford
Pay Your Respects CD
Transitory CD
The influence of Robert Fripp is so painfully apparent, that to not
mention it in a review would be a total disservice, so I'm getting it out of the way
immediately. Mr. Stafford even gets most of the guitar tones &
effects used by ol' Bobby F. pretty much spot-on, although there is a notable difference
in the scales and modes preferred between the two, and Stafford appears to not care so
much for using the dissonant tone clumps that Frippy likes to try and abuse his audience
with. The Pay Your Respects CD has a nomadic structure, wandering
from one idea to another in a nearly random fashion, making for a rather fascinating
listen. A strong musical theme is stated, then. instead of evolving into a fully
realized piece, it disintegrates into music concrete and sound collage, interrupted by
brief, fiery guitar solos and sampled voices speaking in non-English languages. (1)
Later, sampled percussion joins with lo-fi, spidery, crafty guitar type sketches and then
more tonal ambient pieces. The track "Pseudo Silk Han-bok" sounds eerily
similar to Kirchenkampf. My personal favorite track is "Revolution No. 17"
which either samples outright the PBK / Asmus Tietchens collaboration CD, or, by strange
coincidence, sounds exactly like it sampled that CD - either way, pretty cool. The
juxtapositioning of nicely minimal, abstract sound collage, with the very showy guitar
grandstanding can be jarring, but the ambitious pacing of the CD is certainly to be
admired. The slightly annoying hidden track aside, I say thumbs up. The Transitory
CD starts with the most catchy tune on either of the CDs. It's titled
"Circa", and in it Dave does a latter-day Frippertronics over the top of a slow,
waltzing saxophone loop. I get this piece in my head all the time, although, I must
admit, it's the sampled saxophone part that sticks (no pun intended) in my head, and not
the guitar, no matter, it's still a lovely piece. The rest of the CD is similarly
themed, Jam Man (2) soundscapes playing along with long samples from various sources.
The mood of these pieces is strangely happy, even given the minor keys employed.
Another winning track is "Quartet" with its square-wheeled rhythm and
emulated violin. "Pulsar" gets all astral and stuff, with its oddly
phased, severly effected notes, definitely suggesting some unknown heavenly body.
"Arena" sounds like an E-bow version of someone playing a pipe organ. To
me, it's not exactly music to dream to, or to sleep to, as the CD liner notes tell
me...but it is good mood music for a lazy Saturday morning. Fuggit, Ian was right,
the shit does sound good.
C. Reider
2/99
[Editor's notes: 1) Korean 2) The primary looping device
used is the Oberheim Echoplex Digital Pro, not the Jam Man.]
AUTOREVERSE
magazine ISSUE TEN
spring 2000
Dave Stafford
Song With No End CD
Stafford is an official AUTOreverse Usual Suspect (reviews in AUTO7 &
8; an interview in # 9). This is my first exposure to his actual music; I like it
pretty well. It says in the liner notes "I am primarily an instrumental musician,
specializing in looped and ambient atmospheres," whereas this is
"a vocal pop album". A lucky break for me since I'm not all that ambient myself.
I'm guessing I'd like his some of his other work anyway, though --the instrumental track
"Prebendary" is far more interesting than the usual "hey, check out the
cool sound my synthesizer can make (over and over)". Reminds me of JS Bach.
Track 9, "Song With No End," is pretty soporific, on the other hand. As for the
vocals, his singing reminds me of John Lennon, as do some of the arrangements (check
out "Don't"). And, in fact, there's a song here ("John") dedicated to
the man himself. Stafford does it all. He plays one wicked
guitar, too, in a wide variety of styles. I hope to hear more from this prolific and
talented artist. One-and-a-half thumbs up.
Indy Ana Jones
4/00
[Editor's note: "Prebendary" was created with one Ovation 1867
acoustic guitar tuned to new standard tuning, and the individual parts were played live to
tape - it was neither a synthesizer or looped as suggested. The sound of
the new standard tuning and the purity of the 1867's tone - coupled with modern digital
effects, is often mistaken for a grand piano or synthesizer].
peter schaefer reviews
EUROCK magazine
Peter Schaefer
The Mynah, Ambient Wavescapes Vol. I
CD
Peter Schaefer returns after a sabbatical and THE MYNAH is a sonic revelation.
Subtitled "Ambient Wavescapes Vol. 1", he fuses a vast array of natural
samples gathered in his global travels with some of the most dark and surreal atmospheres
I've ever heard. In the realm of Propeller Island perhaps, but more organic, melodic and
listenable.
AUDION magazine
Peter Schaefer
The Mynah, Ambient Wavescapes Vol. I
CD
Strange, as to why Peter has released this as a strictly limited 300 copy edition. Why
strange? Well, as far as I know, the market for more inventive and unique styles of synth
music is much larger than that for more normal melodic synth/sequencer styles, whose
audience (although dedicated) is rather small. We know this, as all the best international
names that keep surprising their audience with new inventions are those that become
famous. Whereas those that keep hopping on the latest trend ultimately lose their
audience. So, I'd say that Peter is unwise to demean what is actually his most creative
album to date.
This is in fact surprising in many ways. I did know Peter had the talent to do
something different, as although there was always a little something radical lurking in
his music, it was always subdued. Here, with caution thrown to the wind, the zest for
adventure is to the fore, a little like Rudiger Lorenz's more ambitious cross-culture
works, but with even less reference to melody or rhythm than that. With just five lengthy
tracks (varying from 10 to 21 minutes) we are submerged in a strange brew of samples,
soundscaping, and complex textural webs of sound, ambient in a way, but sometimes almost
scary and unnerving. It's that undefined and very new genre of "Deep music" that
Peter's moving into, as populated occasionally by the likes of Steve Roach, Robert Rich,
Michael Streans, or more radically by Lightwave. Peter Schaefer's avenue is different to
these, though it may be appreciated by the same audience. In fact, if Peter goes a little
deeper (and avoids the unnecessary fade-outs) he could be inventing a new genre of his own
beyond his contemporaries Rudiger Lorenz, Rudiger Gleisberg or Nik Tyndall.
Alan Freeman
TIMEBASE magazine
Peter Schaefer
The Mynah, Ambient Wavescapes Vol. I
CD
The Mynah - Ambient Wavescapes Vol. 1 [Farn-Germany] limited edition! 300 copies
only! CD. Peter Schafer, der im Bereich kein Undekannter ist, hat sich mit dieser,
nach eigener Einschatzung untypischen Schaefer CD, in unsere Herzen gespielt. Sein
remixtes, im letzten Jahr nur als Cassette lieferbares Werk. The Mynah, vereint gekonnt
warmen, abstrakten a la Brian Eno's "On Land". Naturaufnahmen aus seinen Reisen
nach Malaysia bzw. Australien und surreal-geheimnisvolle Soundlandschaften zu einem
interassanten Mix. Man hort abstrakte, bis zur Unkenntlichkeit verfremdete Natursamples,
elektronisch generierte Klangwolken und Effektklange, merkwurdige Regenwaldaufnahmen,
subterrane Klangereignisse wie bei Lightwave, Werkbund's "Haithabu", Five
Thousand Spirits, Ora, Alio Die oder auch Michael Steam's experimentelleren Werken.
Harmonische Melodiebogen teffen auf minimale, exotische, Klangwolken, die aus femen,
unbekannten Welten zu kommen scheinen. Weil entfemte Naturgerausche weben sich organisch
in die wundervoll atmospharich nebulose Musik ein. Ein Ohrenschmaus fur Freunde von
stiller, meditativer, auraler Schonheit und experimenteller Musik. Ein 67 minutiges
Abtauchen in unerforschte, interstellare Gebiete. Alles lingt sehr geheimnisvoil
fremdartig, meditaaativ und magicsch. Sensible Klanglandschaften von beeindruckender
Intensitat. Die CD beinhaltet gegenuber der MC ein 12 minutiges Bonusstuck! Zu unsere
Freude ist Vol. II schon angekundigt...
AUDION magazine #39
Peter Schaefer
Liquid Spaces
CD
For someone that likes the strange, esoteric and surreal, I'm finding that lately with
each release Peter Schaefer is moving more and more into my taste bracket. Not that I only
like synth music that's weird mind you, as much of my favourite music is rock, it's just
that so very few synth musicians know how to do rock music well. With LIQUID SPACES Peter
is finding his way into a new field of expression, that of sound manipulation, vivid aural
painting, what we could call "the art of illusion with sonic vibration". Aptly,
a good deal of the sound imagery is made from aquatic sounds, though there are also spooky
Mellotron effects and analogue synthesizers in there as well. With all this, it's a music
that steps on from the genre explored by Edgar Froese with his AQUA and EPSILON IN
MALASIAN PALE, sans the sequencers or melodic context, instead a little of that patent
Steve Roach-style percussion sequencing is used instead when apt. Although Peter has done
fine albums in the past, I never thought that he would really surprise me, but this time
he has!
Alan Freeman, December 1997
tiktok reviews
AUSTIN CHRONICLE
November 6, 1997
TikTok
Cracked Earth CD
Reviewing New Age albums is a real bear, and you just know that the artist
hates being called "New Age". But what else are you gonna call extended
instrumental pieces dominated by keyboards? "Cracked Earth", though, rates high
among the sea of ambience that's being peddled these days, and includes tunes with actual
melodies! And when you realize that Travis Hartnett (who 'is' Tiktok) recorded the whole
shmeer off the cuff with no overdubs, you really have to be impressed.
Ken Lieck, 11/06/97
AUSTIN CHRONICLE 11/20/98
TikTok
Chillin', KOOP Studios, November 9, 1998
(Live Performance)
In 1983, brothers Roger and Brian Eno, along with Daniel Lanois, were commissioned to
create the music for a film of the Apollo missions. The result, "Apollo: Atmospheres
& Soundtracks", is a stellar accompaniment to Al Reinert's brilliant film. The
soundtrack's lack of a structured and obvious beat evokes the weightlessness experienced
by Apollo's cosmic sailors. On a recent, silvery-gray Monday installment of KOOP's
Chillin', one of the community radio station's flagship programs, a laid-back, free-form
hour that eases you into that morning coffee buzz, Travis Hartnett created a similar
weightless aural aura. Under the moniker Tiktok, Austin's one-man ambient band played
guitar, but his high-slung, gloss-black Strat was transported through a series of
processors and foot pedals, creating sparse soundscapes that wafted through the air like
so much incense smoke. While similar to Lanois and the Eno brothers' work, in a few
respects Tiktok's accomplishments were more impressive. Lanois and the Enos were inspired
by Reinert's work (a stirring film culled from over 6,000,000 feet of cellulois shot
during the space missions). Hartnett's inspiration, his creative muse, his mood at the
time, was more abstract. And the local musician didn't even have the luxury of studio
recording (where he spends the majority of his playing time, as opposed to the live
arena); the two unique compositions were simultaneously composed, performed, and sent out
across the frequency modulated radio waves. This temporal musical event was made possible
by Hartnett's masterful manipulating, coaxing, and massaging the controlling parameters of
his equipment, tools called "Vortex", "Echoplex", and "Whammy
II". If it all sounded kinda trippy over the radio, it was completely fascinating to
view in person. As Carter York, the man behind Chillin', said on-air between the
spontaneous pieces, "It's mesmerizing to sit here and watch this music performed in
the studio-just a man, his guitar, and a big rack of toys." Given the resultant
patina, it's doubtful that even the intensely mild-mannered Hartnett was aware of the many
impressive interactions and integrations occurring in the loft radio control room. But
damned if he didn't know how to create them.
David Lynch, Austin Chronicle, 11/20/98
AUTOREVERSE magazine ISSUE NINE
Winter 1999
TikTok
A Single Glass Of Water... CD
tiktok@sprintmail.com
Now this is what the fuck I'm talking about: ambient guitar
action! Yeah baby. Fitty-two-thrity-three of liquid tones and soothing drones.
FRIPPertronic, sure, and all the better for it. A SINGLE GLASS OF WATER...
(subtitled "...could light the world," I don't get it either) is split into two
halves: "Trust" and "Brunel". Is that like ISAMBARD KINGDOM
BRUNEL, father of Swindon town? The tones loop and fade and loop and fade and are
added to and altered slightly before dissapating. It's fucking beautiful.
TIKTOK is TRAVIS HARTNETT. My man knows what time it is.
Ian C. Stewart
futura reviews
INsite Magazine
January 2000
Futura
Futura Live 3.11.99 CD
Where on earth has this band been hiding? Right here in Austin, of course. Futura's live
album is a beautifully seamless compilation of "un-edited,
improvised music." That's right. This band whose sound lies in that difficult to
define area of techno-electronica-ambient-trance-blah-blah-blah
has composed nearly an hour of song divided into four seperate tracks without any
additional recording manipulation or treatment. You wouldn't
know it, though, just by listening. If these three men can create a sound so immaculately
inventive without advance formulation and excessive
rearrangement, it may be impossible to imagine what magic they could create given the
opportunity to tweak and polish their smallest imperfections. Sure, live electronic music sounds a bit like an oxymoron, but with Craig Chin on bass,
Travis Hartnett on guitar, and Monte McCarter providing the
core Futura's sound with a turntable, loops, samples and god knows what else, I promise
you this album is nothing but live excellence.
Grade: A-
AUTOREVERSE magazine ISSUE NINE
Winter 1999
Futura
Futura Live 3.11.99 CD
Sexy ambient loops and grooves and scratching thrown down improv-like in
a live setting! TRAVIS HARTNETT does the top layer of hazy guitar while CRAIG CHIN pins
down the bass and MONTE MCCARTER mixes up the rhythms via turntables, loops and samples.
The three ninjas let loose on 4 epic cuts here, sustaining the sexy rhythmic grooves for
over an hour. It's a great idea, wonderfully executed. "Boot" is the shorty of
the bunch, clocking in at just under 10 minutes. The beat is steady mobbin' and the
scratching is pure ghetto funk too. The noodly bass lines and the
ambient guitar action prevent it from being mere hiphop regurgitation though. Who here
remembers the SYLVIAN/FRIPP track "Darshan"? Okay. That's the starting point. "Torch" is the epic at 17 minutes, again a funky
groove pulled in several directions. "Valve" is a slow, spacey pimp jam that is
atmospheric as feck. Almost worth driving to Texas to check out! Or a live video would
suffice. Hint.
Ian C Stewart
1/00
antifade reviews
AUSTIN CHRONICLE
July 1999
Antifade
Black Panel Mix CD (featuring Travis
Hartnett of "TikTok" and "Futura")
(Dank Disc - 1999)
Antifade is the modern industrial progeny of the progressive school, namely the British
triumvirate of Fripp, Eno, and Gabriel. On Black Panel Mix, the Austin duo's 38-minute
debut of percussion sounds and guitar hues, Fripp is interpreted by
guitarist Travis Hartnett. Eno and Gabriel's sonic sculpting comes via the loops, drones,
and treatments by technical manipulator and timekeeper Jon Coats. Hartnett, guitar
behind the experimental, improvisational local trio Futura and the one-man ambient
band Tik Tok, goes on tape with his characteristic volume swells, loops, and other
tonal palettes, such as the swirling Frippertronic patches of sound on the opening salvo
"Waav." Like Eno's Nerve Net rhythmic experimentations, Jon Coats
percolates a funky somber drum mix on "Ambush." Together, the duo's "Oil
Drum" conjures the spirit of Gabriel's atmospheric soundtrack to the 1984 film Birdy.
The basic structure of guitar and electronics creates a deceivingly simple sonic mix; like
black and white photos, the focus is on the gestalt, not the constituent parts. Mood is
the key here. If the eight tracks of Black Panel Mix were not the duo's first product,
some of these electronic explorations might come across as meandering, but as a debut,
Black Panel Mix signals engaging things ahead.
3 stars -- David Lynch, Austin Chronicle, 07/99
AMBIENTRANCE
August 1999
Antifade
ANTIFADE: Black Panel Mix CD (featuring Travis
Hartnett of "TikTok" and "Futura")
(Dank Disc - 1999) (8.4)
Loops, drones and percussion are the soundsources for antifade, and through artful
arrangement, a rough-hewn, electronics-powered beauty is achieved. The
screechy/grinding opening moments of waav smooth out into a slightly raw, but nonetheless
gorgeous, expanse of shimmering loops and drones backed by not-too-intrusive beats. While
its title implies an attack, it does not come; instead, the ambient guitarwaves of ambush
meet with jazzily wandering sax-like riffs and beats which are persistent without being
pushy. oil drum is beatier and more exploratory, spreading into the
celestial realms of space.
Static in dub features minimalistic-electronic-reggae, with lonesomely resonating guitar
notes. Short, sweet l.c.r. closes the disc with warmly orchestral overtones. An impressive
39-minute introduction to antifade is enough to prime these ears for more. For more info
about these dark, though generally smooth and well-planned, soundshapes, e-mail Jon Coats,
who's working on more as we speak.
AmbiEntrance: http://www.spiderbytes.com/ambientrance
David J Opdyke: dopdyke@spiderbytes.com
706 Illinois, Waterloo, IL 62298 U
AUTOREVERSE magazine ISSUE NINE
Winter 1999
Antifade
ANTIFADE: Black Panel Mix CD (featuring Travis
Hartnett of "TikTok" and "Futura")
(Dank Disc - 1999)
The first thought that enters my mind upon listening to this disc is that
it sounds a lot like a FRIPP-ENO project. The second thought that
enters my mind upon listening to this disc is that it sounds a lot like a FRIPP-ENO
project (with beats). Ambient floaty guitars and sweeping,
loopy synthy things comprise this disc. Lots of subtleties help keep it interesting and
there are also some more abrasive grating textures
thrown in here and there, lest we get too comfortable. This Austin, Texas duo (JON COATS
on loops, drones and treatments and TRAVIS HARTNETT on guitar) has created an excellent
vehicle for sitting back and creating scenarios.
The opening track "Waav" paints
a picture in my head of a desert landscape. Subtle patches of feedback and odd reverbs
suggest a confused man wandering across a barren wasteland, his head
spinning in a desperate search for water. Track two, "Ambush", reminds me of
KING CRIMSON's "The Sheltering Sky" (There's a bassy thing going on that sounds
like a TONY LEVIN bass or stick line). I'm on the third track now and I'm still making
movies to go along with this music. Now
I'm hearing the gentle sounds of water and birds, (at least I think I am, this is subtle
and vague). The protagonist in my little movie seems
to be alone on a small raft, lost at sea. Damn, not to be redundant, but I think these
guys have heard a few ENO records. If it seems like I'm
beating the "ENO" horse to death, it's because ANTIFADE share with B.E. that EG
Records aesthetic; subtle, with lots of unidentifiable sounds
that morph and mutate as they resonate. This stuff is curious and mysterious.
The latter
part of the disc is rather techno-ambient. (Look everyone, there's ENNIO MORRICONE hanging
out with APHEX TWIN!) There are some nearly danceable things here, but it's a thinking
man's cerebral dancing. You probably won't hear this at the club, but maybe in a hip
coffee shop. This is a fine disc for creating your own mental movies or just having on
when you're doing housework. Simultaneously non-intrusive and engaging.
mikadams
1/00
ken mistove reviews
AUTOREVERSE magazine ISSUE NINE
Winter 1999
Ken Mistove
Procrastination CD
kenzak@kenzak.com
Whatcha got here is an hour of sexy. crystalline ambience rendered
on gweetar with much processing and loopage happening. So much so that it often
resemble nothing even remotely guitarlike. And that's a good thing. The disc
is divided into Past, Present and Future sections, with Past getting the lion's share of
tracks. "C-Scape" is sixish minutes of subtle crescendos all sort of
reverbed out to the point of aahhhhhhhh. Many of the the other tracks explore
similar sonic themes.
The Present is represented with a 17-minute freeform jam via
the Koan music software program. Half of the fun of Koan is watching the little
icons bump into each other, and I must confess that this track is the weak link.
Maybe I've messed around with Koan too much on my own but listening to a random bagpipe
solo for a quarter of an hour with a random (though tasteful) backing ambience of synth
strings has the effect of listening to the end of a soap commercial...for a really long
time. I keep waiting for the guy to come on and say "...Dial. Now
available in Dewberry."
The Future is more damn fine melodic ambience.
Layers of swishy tones. Again I say "very nice." MISTOVE developed
the software he used for the Past tracks, which in itself is a good thing. But he's
also taken the loops themselves to a very sexy plane. Aw yeah.
Ian C. Stewart
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