The Haxen Cloak: Hounfour (Temple)

For The Haxen Cloak, an ambient electronica artist, sonic imagery is everything. A response to the question of how the artist's name came about is testament to the value which is placed by the artist in this respect:

"I am sort of obsessed with pre-1900s imagery and text. I was heavily into reading about the Salem witch trials for a time. Haxan is an old German word for witch, which I always found sounded and looked intriguing and somehow beautiful."

 Contained within this interview are further biographical details regarding the artist, who notes an unconventional approach to composition which he fostered throughout a university degree in Sound Art. The artist also notes his extended experience, having composed for over 10 years.

The Haxen Cloak: 'Hounfour (Temple)' from 'ABX053'

Taken from the 2011 release 'ABX053,' 'Hounfour (Temple)' illustrates highly calculated ambient writing and some of the finest that can be found. Many fans of electronic music will be familiar with artists such as Brian Eno or Global Communication, the output from such artists constituting the most popular works within the field. The Haxen Cloak is clearly influenced by an alternative ambient scene, 'Hounfour (Temple)' for instance does not prescribe to the traditional timbral selections for ambient music, rather a Cagean aesthetic governs this track's sonic palette, which features several unexpected, but not to say inappropriate, timbres. This refreshingly alternative approach gives a notable joie de vivre to the track.

The track is in part informed by the creative practices of La Monte Young, expressed in the extended form which focuses on drone based composition. The powerful writing also features highly suggestive melodic components which do not constitute a complete melody, instead the listener forms an impression of a melody from the various resonances and textural elements which construct the track. This technique frequently eludes artists of electronic music, ambient composers to a lesser extent given the nature of their work, and so such an accomplished use is remarkable.

A superficial study of the piece's structure might brand it as a continuous ambient 'wash' of sound. More careful listening reveals clear sectional writing within the flow of sound and further analysis provokes a consideration of the purposeful and commendable construction of the musical layers within this piece. This track is a fine ambient work and it is a pleasure to feature on The Sonic Music Review.

More information can be found on the artist's website here.

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Kraftwerk: Computer Love (2009 Version)

Kraftwerk are undisputedly one of the most influential acts of contemporary music, having famously inspired a wealth of synthpop music and influenced OMD among others to take up synthpop. Having been in the business since the late 60's, the fact that they still perform today is almost as remarkable as their adept reinvention to always remain on the edge of new performance technology. This video, an excerpt of a live performance by the group in 2009 shows the band performing their classic 'Computer Love,' best known by some for the riff which featured in Coldplay's 'Talk' many years after its debut.

Perhaps one of the most interesting features of this video, captured by DigitalDosage (see here), is genuine interaction with the crowd from Ralf Hutter, while Kraftwerk's typical method of working a crowd rarely constitutes more than a cursory glance at the audience. The video begins with Hutter joking in typical Kraftwerkian fashion "Next time, we'll bring our bikes."

As the music opens, even on this lo-fi recording, the virtues of laptop performance are clear, with far improved sound quality and crucially vastly increased sampling and processing dexterity. The arrangement itself has been noticeably altered from the original, as has the instrumentation. The visual accompaniment is also highly refined to give a purposefully minimal, polished commentary on the music, as seen throughout the bands live album 'Minimum-Maximum,' reviewed here.

Musically, the highlights appear in the form of the extended introduction and in particular the vocoded "computer love" harmony which features briefly within the arrangement on occasion, to an audible reception from the audience. The pseudo-improvised instrumental bridge adds variety but this is undoubtedly a fine rendering of the Kraftwerk classic. One can only hope their longevity continues deservedly.

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The Human league: Credo

Just when everyone assumed that The Human League had called it quits in the studio with their waning relevance to popular music, 2011 marked the release of ‘Credo,’ their first studio album in ten years, following 2001’s ‘Secrets’ album. As a point of interest, this album comes an incredible three decades after their storming debut ‘Dare.’ This album presents further refinement to the band’s output, both compositionally and in terms of production.

The Human League: Credo

This album reconciles a refined take on 80’s synthpop in terms of soundworld with a partially reinvented style which on the surface would appear to combine Kraftwerk with latter day Pet Shop Boys aesthetics. That said, the album remains quintessentially Human League by nature through the minimal yet accomplished synth writing accompanied by Philip Oakey’s unsubtle yet smooth vocals leading several tracks but frequently employing the vocal talents of Susan Ann and Joanne Catherall who complete the trio’s lineup.

The album opens with ‘Never Let Me Go,’ decadent in references to the band’s early days in terms of timbres chosen but further adorned with contemporary techniques such as auto-tuning. ‘Never Let Me Go’ is the second single to be released from the album and is quickly followed by the premiere single ‘Night People,’ released several months prior to the album, largely as a call to fans that “The Human League lives!” The 5:30 runtime of ‘Night People’ draws attention to the way in which the band have accomplished an extended form to the majority of the tracks on this release while maintaining heightened anticipation by the listener, avoiding the typical boring cliche of 8 bar loops rising and falling.

Some tracks, such as ‘Egomaniac’ are particularly notable for their ability to evoke new moods alongside the generally [purposefully] disjointed quality of several pieces, for which the band first found fame. In this track for example the key vocal harmony is interspersed between dark synthetic writing and urgent electronic percussion. The chorus of this song also proves to be particularly effective, enforcing the maintained dark theme.

While much of the album veers toward the heavily sequenced, mechanical musical style pioneered by Kraftwerk many years previous, brief instances exist such as ‘Breaking The Chains’ which exhibit a greater reliance on strong grooves, a mainstay of earlier Human League output. In this particular track, the brief uses of stuttering and other common modern day effects add to the listeners interest. This album certainly marks a welcome return to the studio for the band.


View Tracklisting

Tracklisting:

1. Never Let Me Go
2. Night People
3. Sky
4. Into The Night
5. Egomaniac
6. Single Minded
7. Electric Shock
8. Get Together
9. Privilege
10. Breaking The Chains
12. When The Stars Start To Shine

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AustraLYSIS: Nuraghic Echoes

AustraLYSIS are a little known Australian musical project, specialising in laptop composition and processing of typically spoken word by poet Hazel Smith. This reviewer first encountered the band following a workshop given by the trio in 2011 and subsequent performance where a recording of 'Nuraghic Echoes' was purchased. This particular release tells the story of the Nuraghe, constructions by the Nuraghic civilisation during the bronze age.

AustraLYSIS: Nurachic Echoes

Firstly, it is important to note that the music reviewed here is of a style that may be unfamiliar to some readers of The Sonic Music Review, consisting of processing of live spoken word, accompanied by various elements of Acousmatic composition. In this regard, this release is perhaps comparable to the better known collaborative works between Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto, such as 'Summvs,' reviewed here.
In this setting however, the use of spoken word introduces deeper meaning to the music. Interestingly Smith's creative exploration of vocal timbre to produce unusual constructions, such as percussive and comic elements as first explored performers such as Cathy Berberian's 'Stripsody.'

The release itself consists of two tracks, dominated by the first, the title track 'Nuraghic Echoes.' Throughout this track, the performers explore various surrounding the Nuraghi and their origins, the early emigration to Australia and life thereafter. This is accompanied by sparse electronic elements, produced from synthesis, sound processing of Smith's performance and processing of additional sound samples. As the piece develops, a wide variety of processing is evident on Smith's performance, becoming increasingly processed using varying techniques which highlight a remarkable use of technology which by today's standards would be considered highly limited.

Moving onto 'The Riting Of The Runda,' the style moves to a more experimental form of spoken word, with a lessened emphasis on digital processing, at least at first. This again proves to be a highly engaging work, in no small part due to the brooding and disturbing setting of poetry. Considering the release as a whole, this is a highly interesting work, building upon the strong Australian tradition of sound poetry in a highly innovative and original way.

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