[blunderbuss]

Norman Records review (of Senso, not Avenue Q):

Some downtown NYC free improv-racket fun from White Out with Jim O'Rourke and Thurston Moore is available on Ecstatic Peace. 'Senso' is a 2CD Set that was recorded at the Tonic Club New York back in 2004. It's totally all over the place clattering drums and oddball guitar and other unidentifiable sounds,effects. They sound like they're having a blast. It's quite out there with even a free jazz edge to the percussion. At various points it sounds totally deranged which is always good.


Get it from play.com HERE for £9 if you're in the UK or HERE for 12 euros if you're in Europe (free postage in both cases).

[blunderbuss]

Foxy Digitalis review:

White Out with Jim O'Rourke and Thurston Moore "Senso"

Ecstatic Peace

Long running NYC experimental duo White Out bring these two up and comers Jim O’Rourke and Thurston Moore onto the stage at the Tonic and bash out two sets of long free playing. White Out sticks to the bare bones of drums, synth and autoharp while O’Rourke grabs hold of a synth and if I have to tell you what Moore is playing, you’ve got larger problems than a website can solve.

First disc “Fear Of Fear (Of Fear)” does not assault in the way you think it might. It’s a certain kind of layered chaos that does not rely on feedback’d violence to relay it’s message. With the warm tones of the two synths, the excellent manipulation of sounds that go from R2D2 squalls to soft reeds, the disc starts off sounding like the Arkestra on a particularly bent night. After about twelve minutes, Moore’s guitar really starts to dominate but his playing is still spare.

Second disc “The Eyes The Mouth” has more of a woozy feel to it. The sway of interactions, the low frequencies started to make me feel a little bow legged. The set turns to something a little jazzy after a minimal beginning and then diverge entirely into another Moore dominated leading, this time sounding more akin to his Sonic Youth work.

The only complaint I have is that the sets tend to sound kind of similar in their approach. I don’t think it was structured this way, but they wind up coming off like mirrors of each other. Maybe that is less obvious if you give some space to when you listen to the two discs instead of back to back like I did, but overall this is a pretty exciting and enjoyable listen. 7/10 --

[Moshe]

http://mog.com/badseed57/blog/1596655

Interview with NYC Experimental duo White Out

Posted about 12 hours ago

• Artist:
  White Out
• Album:
  Senso

This one's been a work in progress between my lack of time with the new baby and the busy schedule of a band, I'm just glad Tom Surgal and Lin Culbertson were able to give me a few minutes for this quick interview.
Sonic Dissonance: I wanted to thank you guys for taking the time to talk with me about your new album, Senso. This type of experimental/improvisational music isn't for the masses, instead of the cookie-cutter studio sound, you've managed to put two 45 minute songs on this album. What's the recording process like? I imagine there aren't many more than 1 take to get it on record.
LIN: This was a live performance at the club Tonic, recorded by the very talented Kari Erikson, so yes, there was only one take, the performance itself. That's how we accomplish all our recordings. We are improvisors and do not preconceive anything before we start playing.

TOM: Well of course Senso is a live album recorded in front of an audience at the now defunct Tonic club, so there's no starting over. We played two long sets and chose the best pieces from each show.TOM: I immersed myself in the works of the great improvising masters at the age of 13, and I've devoted much of my subsequent life to collecting their recorded output and observing them play live. That's my musical education. I'm not a trained musician, it is only natural that I play the music that I grew up listening to.
SD: Living in Omaha most of my life, I've never had a chance to see someone perform something like this live, at least not beyond the 5-10 minute improv jam you might see from Nels Cline, Thurston Moore or somebody like that. What can somebody expect from a White Out show?
Read the rest @ SonicDissonance.com

[magnetmag]

I like Senso.

[sergisonic]

i got it!! really great!!