[atari 2600]

Originally Posted by scott v

I think i might have to agree, i just heard it and boy its a dandy!

It'd have to be a "dandy" if I like it. (haha) I'm very picky concerning what is good "free jazz."

I wrote that it was "the most intense aural assualt since Coltrane started shooting junk" or somesuch after first hearing it as a bootleg awhile back.

Originally Posted by scott v

Alot more "rockin" than i would expect for an free/improv noise album, some great moments of intensity where all players are on the same page but each adding unique sound and their style.

That's a very good and expressive description.

[scott v]

Originally Posted by atari 2600

It'd have to be a "dandy" if I like it. (haha) I'm very picky concerning what is good "free jazz."

I wrote that it was "the most intense aural assualt since Coltrane started shooting junk" or somesuch after first hearing it as a bootleg awhile back.



That's a very good and expressive description.

hey you have a fine quote there: "the most intense aural assualt since Coltrane started shooting junk"

I'm really amazed at the sound quality and how well the drums sound its super propulsive not too unlike Gustafsson's The Thing, speaking of which he's definitly been tinkering with more electronics and not just reeds and the such... that i find also interesting.

 

 

 

 

I wonder what this sounded like Gustafsson's The Thing w/ Thurston...

[scott v]

Originally Posted by nicfit

yes, pick them all up!
a little sip of one of their records (just the 3 of them, with no collaborations).

http://www.badongo.com/file/2674312

Oh man thanks!!!

oh also it may be worth to mention that SmalltownSuperJazz is also just releasing "Words on The Floor" the collaboration of Mats Gustafsson and Yoshimi P-Wee...

 

[nicfit]

Originally Posted by scott v

Oh man thanks!!!

it's just a single track, don't get too excited !

[Inhuman]

Ugh, another to add to the 2007 pile. I'm going to be broke all year round.

[Moshe]

http://www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2007032211384030410162

The first original silence
22/03/2007
In 2005 Norwegian superdrummer Paal Nilssen-Love joined up with a selection of cognoscenti di clamour for a piece of aural reality they aptly called Original Silence. A one-time phenomenon the only concert they did took place in Italy in 2005. Now the recorded gig has been released as a live album on Norwegian cred label Smalltown Superjazz. It is entitled The First Original Silence, which one could hope is indication of future re-groupings under the same idea.

 

Listen to and download Smalltown Superjazz releases here
As one Norwegian reviewer put it, “the word silence is always indicative of noise”. And when the silence in question is not only original –as in primordial perhaps,(or just novel?) - but the first original silence, then the level, density and multiplicity of the noise is likely to be proportionate. And yes, it is noisy stuff, a feat of endurance; two tunes make up the album: a catchy pop song of fourteen minutes, and a more difficult piece, forty-five minutes long.

Now, this does not perhaps sound like something you would indulge in on an eve of musical relaxation, and no, it is not relaxing. But the line-up should open the eyes, and ears, of those interested in noisy art and the more unorthodox species of jazz and rock. Sonic Youth’s guitarist Thurston More is joined by Scandinavians Nilssen-Love on drums and Mats Gustavsson on sax, and members of avant rockers The Ex and Zu contribute electronic blitz and cacophony. All in all it is a melange of every reference and style, played simultaneously. “It is like playing several angry records at the same time in your living room”, as one critic put it, but he continued by recommending the experiment.

Nilssen-Love gives the turmoil its spine and groove –he is like the demolition machine that holds steady while the edifice collapses around him in a cacophonic whirl. And this is The First Original Silence… An alluring title, no doubt, especially for those who share the jazz-noise conception of silence that prevails these days –Supersilent is another Norwegian band to go grand in the genre of meta-silence. If these notions of silence have some deeper philosophical, or perhaps cosmological content (as First Original should suggest) is unbeknown to us, we hope not. If in the beginning, God was playing all his records at the same time, paradise has lost some allure.

The First Original Silence is out on Smalltown Superjazz from March 20th.

[Moshe]

Here.

[Pires]

I'm amazed with OS, one of my favoutites this year so far...

[sonicl]

You missed this one, Moshe...

Original Silence - The first original silence
Rory Carroll takes a listen to The Original Silence and finds it tricky to find worth in an hour's worth of self indulgent 'noise'...
Released 30th April 07 on Smalltown Superjazz

Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore has teamed up with members of The Ex and The Thing to release an album that seeks to blend all their influences into one sound. Unfortunately, the result of this little experiment is a cacophony of discordant, self indulgent nonsense punctuated by the occasional change in tempo and squeal of a slide saxophone.

There are two tracks on this album, one lasting 15 minutes and the other lasting around 46 minutes. That’s 2 tracks amounting to somewhere near a full hour of what may only be described as ‘noise.’

This isn’t noise in the same way that say, one of Slayer’s songs is noise. This album is what would happen if a band recorded themselves tuning up for an hour… in different rooms… with no knowledge of what the other was doing…

Some 20 minutes into In the name of the law – the album’s 46 minute second track – the listener is allowed a brief respite. The wall of noise stops, giving you enough time to realise that this is what despair would sound like if it was put to music. However, after a solid 10 minutes of someone scraping a pick up and down the fretboard it becomes clear that this is no respite – it’s actually the bands 10 minute version of a middle 8. Tempers fray, the red mist descends and you begin to wonder; what exactly is this band trying to achieve?

The problem with this album is that by bragging that ‘this is everything we love, all mixed together,’ it seems that Moore et al. forgot to separate all their different influences and structure them into some kind of song. Sure, there’s the free-jazz element to this album, but even jazz has its basic structures.

If this album were Frankenstein’s monster, you’d happily hand the disgruntled villagers all the pitchforks and torches they required, then sit back with a beer and watch as the windmill burned before your eyes.

Original Silence sounds so bad that listening to 60 minutes of actual silence would have been much more preferable.


Artrocker rating: 1

artrocker.com


I don't think he liked it.

[whorefrost]

Art Rocker is a fucking two-bit rag.

[sonicl]

Its title says all there is to be said about it, doesn't it? Well, it would if it wasn't quite so far wide of the mark. "Indie" Rocker would be more accurate.

[scott v]

Originally Posted by sonicl

You missed this one, Moshe...

Original Silence - The first original silence
Rory Carroll takes a listen to The Original Silence and finds it tricky to find worth in an hour's worth of self indulgent 'noise'...
Released 30th April 07 on Smalltown Superjazz

Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore has teamed up with members of The Ex and The Thing to release an album that seeks to blend all their influences into one sound. Unfortunately, the result of this little experiment is a cacophony of discordant, self indulgent nonsense punctuated by the occasional change in tempo and squeal of a slide saxophone.

There are two tracks on this album, one lasting 15 minutes and the other lasting around 46 minutes. That’s 2 tracks amounting to somewhere near a full hour of what may only be described as ‘noise.’

This isn’t noise in the same way that say, one of Slayer’s songs is noise. This album is what would happen if a band recorded themselves tuning up for an hour… in different rooms… with no knowledge of what the other was doing…

Some 20 minutes into In the name of the law – the album’s 46 minute second track – the listener is allowed a brief respite. The wall of noise stops, giving you enough time to realise that this is what despair would sound like if it was put to music. However, after a solid 10 minutes of someone scraping a pick up and down the fretboard it becomes clear that this is no respite – it’s actually the bands 10 minute version of a middle 8. Tempers fray, the red mist descends and you begin to wonder; what exactly is this band trying to achieve?

The problem with this album is that by bragging that ‘this is everything we love, all mixed together,’ it seems that Moore et al. forgot to separate all their different influences and structure them into some kind of song. Sure, there’s the free-jazz element to this album, but even jazz has its basic structures.

If this album were Frankenstein’s monster, you’d happily hand the disgruntled villagers all the pitchforks and torches they required, then sit back with a beer and watch as the windmill burned before your eyes.

Original Silence sounds so bad that listening to 60 minutes of actual silence would have been much more preferable.


Artrocker rating: 1

artrocker.com


I don't think he liked it.

that is a piece of shit review written by an amatuer that probably should just write for folks like Pitchfork. this statement is just stupid: "...seek to blend all their influences into one sound..." that is a broad statement to make and a false interpretation of what exists within improv groups that consist of members of other well known groups whether it be "free jazz" or "rock" and actually this is not really as noisey as alot of things i've heard at all, i mean what the fuck is a slide saxophone??? this idiot really has no clue. and what is with the comparison to Slayer? Slayer isn't noise??? wow to believe that this was written as a legitmate review on anything other than someone's personal blog is a shame.

[Savage Clone]

Slide saxophone:

 

 

[scott v]

Originally Posted by Savage Clone

Slide saxophone:

 

 

uh oh so much for what i know!!!

however i doubt Gustafsson was using one in that recording though i could be wrong. and i haven't seen the liner notes/credits, maybe its listed...

[Moshe]

Pitchfork:

Original Silence
The First Original Silence
[Smalltown Superjazz; 2007]
Rating: 8.0


Those inclined toward improvised music can usually find something worthwhile in all forms of it. But even the most blindly faithful recognize when a session shoots so high that it sounds more like a rocket than a record. The First Original Silence is that kind of instant attention-grabber. Original Silence use the same tools as many improv groups: rolling percussion, squawking horns, guitar feedback, and scraggly electronic noise. But these six sound-crushers have added some sort of performance-enhancing drug, injecting their sound with energy rare to any music, improvised or otherwise.

That shouldn't be a surprise given the pedigree of the participants. High-level improv is routine for sax player Mats Gustafsson and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love (both from free jazz dynamo the Thing), guitarist Terre Ex of the Ex, bassist Massimo Pupillo of Zu, and guitarist Thurston Moore and Jim O'Rourke (on electronics here) of whatever it is they do. But improv history is littered with mediocre records made by well-heeled musicians unable to get out of each other's way.

Original Silence avoid such pitfalls by committing to improv-rock, the kind that actually sounds like experimental rock music rather than just rock musicians noodling. This is due mostly to the heavy gravitational force of Nilssen-Love and Pupillo, whose metallic rhythms swing between structure and freedom. The closest parallel to their bombastic stomp is the hammering lurch of Norwegian trio Noxagt; in fact, much of The First Original Silence sounds like Noxagt gone free-jazz, an enticing prospect to be sure.

Recorded during a 2005 tour of Italy, the album gets off to a ferocious start, grafting Minutemen-like bounce to Gustafsson's guttural horn playing. "If Light Has No Age, Time Has No Shadow" continues to hurtle forward from there, remaining insistent and vigorous through 15 minutes of tonal changes. Most impressive is how the musicians never step on each other; their fluid exchange of sonic positions almost feels conducted. When Pupillo backs down, Moore or Ex fills in with cutting string-work, only to slip underneath O'Rourke's squiggly slashes, which in turn make way for Gustafsson's full-body bellows.

The 45-minute closer "In the Name of the Law" is understandably not as high-speed. It does have stretches of mass hysteria, especially a crazed section starting around eight minutes in, where a nearly-4/4 beat, wailing guitar noise, and Gustafsson's Albert Ayler-esque squalls evoke the Stooges' "L.A. Blues". But even the most placid moments crackle. Stretches of electronic whirr, minimal guitar clang (reminiscent of Evol-era Sonic Youth), and thick atmosphere all emit an electric charge. Even the final 15 minutes, a nearly rhythm-less denouement, has enough plot points to keep you turning the sonic pages.

Long improv tracks have become such a cliché that they often seem doomed to fail. But Original Silence attacks these two epics like sprints instead of marathons, and The First Original Silence proves you don't have to stop playing to catch your breath.

-Marc Masters, May 02, 2007

[whorefrost]

ooh, that review has wetted my appetite more than ever.. when is this shit being released?

[sonicl]

You win, Moshe. I've ordered it. (Out on 30 April, according to HMV)

[sonicl]

Hmmm... I'm not sure whether it actually is out yet. I ordered the Original Silence CD plus one other from HMV and have had an email from them saying that the other one has been despatched, but no word about the Original Silence one. And it's not available from the Smalltown Supersound store yet.

EDIT - My wrong, it is available from the Smalltown shop. I couldn't find it yesterday though.

[Moshe]

http://www.musiquemachine.com/review...te.php?id=1226

The Orignal Silence is an improvised rock, cum jazz, cum noise, cum what ever they fancy collective that brings together the talents of Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth),Terrie Ex (The Ex), Jim O`Rourke,Mats Gustafsson (The Thing), Paal Nilssen-Love (The Thing, Atomic) and Massimo Pupillo (Zu).
The thing that makes these two live tracks so rewarding is though there improvised- mostly it keeps locking back into a chugging punk, often aggressive funk groove, to freaked-out jazzy spacey metallic rhythmic patterns or slow baying dead tide slide in & out electro ambiences. It never just disintegrates into noise or aimless playing off against each other, which I’m sure is rewarding to the players but can be a little tiring for the poor listener after time. There’s also plenty of change tone and instrumental pallet going on from letting the sax squeal and rip away, to eerier guitar hazes, to bubbling electronics. The sound picture never becomes too crowded for its own good, there clearly playing to a make great pieces of sound/ atmosphere and not to how much noise or how clever they can play.
The first track comes in at near on fifteen minute mark and is entitled If Light has no Age,time has no Shadow. It basically stays fairly with-in the constants of it’s jazz cum punk/funk groove structure, with electronics, guitars and sax’s flying all over the place, really building up one hell of a groove. Where as the second track In the name of the law, which slips in just under the fifty minute mark. Goes from gurgling spacey plains of electronics and guitar, to groove locked thrashings. All the way to unnerving expanses of dead grey lit ambient that slow slides and saws along with electronics and layers of hazy guitar repetition's. Jagged with picking and plucking,and sax playing that brings to mind someone weeping and whaling for mercy.
A really very fine slice of perfectly honed musicianship that goes from slam dancing with the dead, to atmosphere and eerier expanses of richly painted sound craft and every were in-between.

4/5

[pao-lino]

I was at that show in reggio emilia.
the theatre is fantastic, i was with a friend of mine in a palco.
There was keiji Haino opening, and that was amazing.
then when all the guys from OS came on stage the panic started.
I remember thurtston being all the time still, surrounded by his pedals. He looked like a shy 14 yrs old boy. he never stood his head up and never made a step.
Massimo Pupillo was cool... he used some mini-cymbals fell off from drumsset and put those on the pickups and started knocking them. Terrie ex did something like a vacuumcleaner dragging the cymbal on the ground with the guitarhead.
Mats gustaffson... well, he didn't only play saxophone... he also played an arabic instrument... there was a thin stick and by moving it by blowing the sound changed... I saw that instrument in turkey, dont know the name though.
all the rest of the staff was great. It was cool how sometimes there were these fragments of rock'nroll song then suddenly destroyed. "the riffs" I remember where all made by thurston. but don't think in reggio emilia thurston did that much or acted like the star of the ensemble. that night terrie ex and massimo zu kicked ass.
I heard in rome was different, heard the bootleg (it was here) and thurston was crazy-it was a squat, not a 17th century operatheatre.