From: rickk@emu.com (Rick Kleffel)
Subject: Carl Stone, Holger Czukay & Front 242
Followup-To: rec.music.industrial
Organization: E-Mu Systems
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 14:33:40 GMT

The spending will have to stop soon, but in the meantime, I've just finished
listening to a couple of new CD's that might be of interest to the denizens
of this group.  

Carl Stone's "Mom's", recently reviewed by Greg Taylor as one of his ten
best in r.m.misc is very likely deserving of that honor.  It's certainly one 
for the ambient/industrial fans in this group.  Carl Stone, according to the
liner notes is noted for his experienced sampling techniques, and these were
mentioned extensively in Greg's and the Keyboard Magazine reviews.  I'd like
to offer a different perspective on him, however.

When I read all about sampling this fragment and that sound in both reviews,
I expected something less musical, more concrete -- a pleasing assembly of
noises, like The Halfer Trio's Intooutof, or the Zoviet France CD I briefly
owned but returned.  There are elements of that in Carl Stone, particularly
the song contructed from repeated, shifting samples of a Schubert Lieder
sung by a Japanese popsinger.  But more often than not on this record, Stone
manipulates his samples into warm, sliding analog synth-like tones that melt
together in the time honored tradition of Schulze and Tangerine Dream.  THese
are overlaid with crunching, churning mechanical sounds that function as rhythm
on one cut and more background on others.

Of course, there's always the title cut, where you can throw the above
description away, and replace it with sounds of sampled guitar riffs,
cunningly arranged to create rhythms that shouldn't exist and overlaid with
sampled stereo horn sounds.  There's even a piece that harkens to Steve Reich's
glock-fests.  In any event, this is certainly a CD that will entertain the
average noise industrial fan, and it's available from New Albion as a 
fairly priced domestic CD. Do remember however, that you may be getting
more *music* than you expect from the average sampler-crazy CD. 

Then, once again journeying back into the good old days, when Skinny Puppy
was shopping around those demos that you're all so hot about, we can find
a re-release of the Czukay/Wobble/Liebzeit collaboration of 1981, "Full 
Circle".  This too is a reasonably priced domestic release, available from
Caroline records, though you may have to request that your local CD
emporium order the damn thing.  It's certainly worth it.  

While Skinny Puppy et all emphasize the droning, mechanical beat behind their
industrial music, Czukay and company back their curious sound effects and 
filtered vocals with a jazzier, shuffling beat that wraps Czukay's Les
Paul guitar stylings around Wobble's throbbing basslines. Wobble also sings
on some cuts, his filtered voice sometimes effective and sometimes annoying.
But Czukay is the real star here, with his peculiar combination of French horn,
sampled sounds and atmospheric background treatments.  Things really reach
a memorable frenzy in Trench Warfare and Full Circle RPS.  Four of the cuts
were originally released on a 12" single dedicated to that dead Joy Division
guy, and the two RPS (Radio Picture Series) cuts were added in a Japanese LP
released shortly afterwards.

What this release also means is that Virgin is digging further back into its
vaults of Czukay material, and if they back up one more we'll get the brilliant
"on the Way to the Peak of Normal" and one more after that to "Movies".  THere
are a few of us out here, I hope that would see this as a good thing.  I've
already left a message with Caroline records asking When.

And finally, here's my 2 cents worth on Front 242..."No, sir, don't like
'em.  Don't like 'em at all."  I have the CD with "Quite Unusual" on it,
and find each and every instance of Bill Leeb's singing makes me wish he would
just shut up.  Otherwise, the music is OK, but nothing to write home about.
I had also bought the "Tyranny For You" single which was so bad it went right
back to the shop where it strayed from.  Their musicians are occasionally
OK, but never inspired, and Bill Leeb seems to annihilate whatever appeal they
might have for me.  But...

How does FLA sound in comparison?  Does Leeb sing and destroy for them as well?
And furthermore, how could Leeb restrain himself on the one Cyberaktif single
I have, Temper?  That single is one of my most favored indu types, and I 
beseech the net.gods to answer my question, lo, if I like temper, will I like
their other work?  Given Leeb's involvement, I'm hesitant to sink any more 
dollars until I can get a grip on some solid POV's.  

So the score for today: get Stone and Czukay.  You'll probably have to order
them, but you'll be glad you did.

One a different note, has anyone else seen "Boing Boing", and cyberpunk zine
that did a dead-on Mondod 2000 parody and had a wonderful article on "Home
Surgery for Your Pets"?  Might be worth looking into.  If you read that is.

If you read.


-- 
Rick Kleffel*System Administrator*E-Mu Systems, Scotts Valley, Ca*rickk@emu.com*