San Francisco-based Tomo is the minimalist architect of an almost completely electronic soundscape, with more than enough sequencing, pitchbends, clicks, pops, LFO quaverings, flatulent time-stretch retardations and bouncing-pinball sounds to do Aphex Twin proud. On For Many Birthdays, his sophomore release for Daft Alliance, he crawls way up inside his headspace, leaving little room for the body, yet he emerges with a purely pointillist masterpiece that's all very rhythmic and not at all chaotic -- in other words, there is song structure that makes sense in every track. Maybe too abstract for some, but if you're the type who can sit staring out the window of a subway train and become flat-out mesmerized simply by watching varying brick patterns, wall textures, warehouse windows, pipes and odd pieces of garbage whir by, you can definitely roll with this recording. The title of the first track, "Time Is Me and It's Moving," certainly suggests as much. Others, like number nine, "Let Me (See) Think? See?" are just plain goofy and fun, with wacky vintage synth. The music doesn't remind me of (m)any particular influences, and I find that refreshing. As far as Birthdays is concerned, Tomo, here's to many happy returns.

This combined effort opens a new chapter in the discography of Paul Bradley and Eugenio Maggi a.k.a. Cria Cuervos, but you'd better look for more infos on their personal sites. The lay out is great and the "scorn-godflesh-early-Earache" microscopic view on the front cover is the perfect image for this work. The sound quality is definitely top notch, Bradlay kicked ass behind the mixing desk and Cria Cuervos with the last two release finally gets the "hi-profile" trademark required from his works. The music is surprisingly melodic and it's embodied by some minimal droned melodies, soft noises and electronic/ambiental high frequency sounds are the canvas (I'd say that's Maggi's own touch). This cd is based on a long and elaborated track, I think it could have been separated into different movements but at last crescendos and diminuendos highlight the passage to each different atmosphere. While for the first twenty nine minutes you got a sad, depressed (ambiental?) mood, with the second part of "moraines" the Stendhal syndrome takes over and the canvas (a.k.a. the soft white noise -sort of-), the initial image starts fading in the mist and it shows the testament of the early isolationist has found some heirs?. The final descent of the song reminds me of that wicked works Popol Vuh wrote expressly for Herzog's work of art "Aguirre". In my book the second half of the cd is that typical exhibit of "music where nothing is happening" that is satisfactory for every listener about to sinck, nay the whole listening is nothing but a pleasant and gradual dipping.

"the once and future world" is a brilliant title for an absolutely engaging instrumental release. The music is just as pondering, dark and beautiful as the title of the CD would suggest. Lush textures and melodies accompanied by faint and distance rhythms. The average track length is just long enough to put you into a comfortable trance-like state without over staying it's welcome. The CD packaging is more utilitarian than anything, offering little more than extremely minimalistic (though appropriate) art, a track list, credits and absolutely no information on "mingo" himself. Produced extremely well and an absolute joy to listen to. Stand out track: "time turned new".

Agf.3 and Sue.C are two girls, the first one coming from Germany and the latter from USA: AGF aka Antye Greie calls herself e-poetess or powerful poemproducer. She works mainly as a vocalist, musician, producer. Since 1996 permanently based in Berlin she was born and raised in East Germany. She developed an early interest for music and poetry and philosophy and recently she is been exploring speech and spoken word into electronic music. Sue Costabile is a video artist/photographer and she works mainly in live improvisational settings. In the past she collaborated with Joshua Kit Clayton, Wobbly, Sutekh, Luc Ferrari, Morton Subotnick, Vladislav Delay, Naut Humon and many other people. MINI MOVIES is their latest project that is divided in two parts: visual (with the release of a DVD) and audio (with the release of the CD I'm reviewing). The DVD contains a collection of shorts, alternate soundtracks, subtitles, an interview and making of. Filmed in New York, Long Island, Berlin, London, San Francisco and elsewhere, it is a travel diary that explore connections, within humans and within facts. The CD contains nineteen electro poems which represent a little story of two people. Each track is a little moment that describe the feelings of the characters. See for example an excerpt of the writing that tells their story: "he continues traveling and departing and the optimistic dreaming of white marzipan and then as soon as he steps off the train starts to feel suddenly unconfident (disaster) expecting the worst and scary things to happen (presentiment) and when he arrives in geneva and his girl friend doesn't hang out with him and is real mean...". The tracks linked to the writing excerpt are "Everybody is a disaster" and the following, "Presentiment". Musically the duo take inspiration from ambient, jazz and experimental minimal electronic. In this way the nineteen tracks sound like little personal moments where the ambience sound take form and tell a story. It's like the walls of a room would be capable of talking about everything they saw: about all the human desperation and about all the human weaknesses. The recitative vocals duet with complex sound structures song shaped, creating sound sculptures that sometimes need a visual counterpart to be fully appreciated.

Tobias Fischer (that's the man behind the moniker Feu Follet) put out a two suite cd that should be interesting for all those who love projects out on Taalem or Mystery Sea. "Toi et le son" makes me think to musician like Amon, Cria Cuervos and above all Asmus Tietchens even if Feu Follet is more melodic and...can i say "new age"? (and above all less dark than the the musician I've mentioned), but that's the picture. the front cover describes perfectly what you're gonna experience during the half an hour listening of this: sit down, relax your muscles and close your eyes. The music of Tobias Fisher is really crepuscolar but not yet dark, it evokes icy landscape beaten by the weak light of the northern sun. I imagine that many of you will be complaining about the "new age" definition, but it's mainly referred to the biological evolution of the sounds and to the fact it's a relaxing listning but don't take it too litterally. Feu Follet is a good cd that probably sticks to tight to the sound you would expect from a record like that, but after all that's the problem of many artist of the genre. I've listened to this record while working and while reding and the effect is damn relazing, everything becomes slow and you sink in it turns into an amniotic bath. Softest Nurse With Wund are behind the door.