Seattle-based duo of Paul Rucker (cello/bass) and Hans Teuber (alto saxophone) chose the path of improvised music for their new collaborative effort entitled "Oil" and featuring 9 reverb-dipped compositions made of calm atmospheres, canonical playing and freely performed melodies, various noises generated with the cello's strings, neck and body or the percussive sounds made with the sax's keys. Stockholm-based NY-er double-bass player Jair-Rom Parker Wells has some similar material out, while the brass reminds me of some of Gregorio Bardini's or Parts' experiments with breath instruments. For lack of a better category I had to file this under experimental/avantgarde but it is really an album of free-jazz, maybe with a touch of ambient philosophy, for the type of relaxed soundscapes that it generates. A healthy dose of experimentation is to be found either way though, thanks to the two's continuous pushing the envelope with their instrument and because of the fact the the whole thing allegedly hasn't been rehearsed, so even more so interesting and deserving.

Composer and bass player Paul Rucker's "History of an Apology" is a free-jazz avantgarde classical musical project featuring some really fine musicians from the experimental, jazz and fusion scene of the Northwest (including Bill Frisell, Julian Priester, Michael White, Hans Teuber, Jay Roulston, Jeff Busch, Jovino Santos Neto, Bill Horist, Amy Denio, Elizabeth Pupo-Walker, Jeff Hay, Neil Gitkind, Erik Anderson, Isaac Marshall, Jacques Willis, Farko Dosumov, Flora Mcgill, Josephine Howell).
The Tuskegee Experiment is that infamous and scandalous experiment conducted on 600 black men between 1932 and 1972 by the US Public Health Service to "study" syphilis. The poor men were never told what they were suffering from nor treated to be cured, instead they were left to die so that data could be collected about their disease. A movie was made about this too. This CD has a ROM track that will give you all the info (facts, photos, audio and more) about these horrendous facts.
Mostly horn-oriented, the atmospheres are chilled and almost claustrophobic, oscillating like a lullaby with Paul's hypnotizing bass lines and dense melodic parts by the horns and a swingy drum set that provides for fluidity across the spectrum. People who loved Moe! Staiano's work but need some degree of "normailty", so to speak, mind find this appealing.

Wow, it's since the second Earth's album that I wasn't listening to something such intense and grinding at the same time (if you don't know who Earth were, just make a search on www.allmusic.com). SKIN TURNS TO GLASS is the third release of this project leaded by Aidan Baker. The three long suites of the CD combine guitar metal drones, drum machine and unlimited agony. It's like they're painting a desolated canvas which is more desperate respect Earth's approach to music (they were more "chemical" if you know what I mean...). The only note I can do is that sometimes drum is out of sync but this doesn't affect the effect of the music which is always intense. " Your skin turns to glass at my touch / cold & rimed with ice & my skin / freezes to yours & I must tear it off".

Ignore the absolutely anonymous moniker and layout, because this is by far one of the best demo cdr's that I've listened to in the last few months, often better than official releases. Tiziano Milani is an architect and radio dj, here presenting some of his sonic experiments (7 tracks, ca. 70'). Track 1 is a brilliant mix of electroacoustics, microsounds, distant pulses, silences and plagiaristic cut-ups. Think of some Illusion of Safety, early Jim O'Rourke (circa "Tamper"). It is REALLY good, yes. The concrete fragments go on for more than 9 minutes, then a calm drone rises on the wreckages, disturbed by digital shivers. Then it fades into mechanical pulses, vaguely à la Autechre, which close the composition at 24' – very well managed to say the least, would be an excellent 3" ep. Track 3 is more electroacoustic plagiarism, but hey, isn't that Claudio Rocchetti? Sounds like a remix from "A work called Kitano". More samples crawl in (strings etc.) but I'm almost sure it's mostly Rocchetti – so I have mixed feelings judging this track, though it's great in itself. Track 2, 4, 6 and 7 are good mixes of dark dub and heavy rhythmic electronica... Scorn (circa "Evanescence"), Aphex Twin and Muslimgauze come to mind. Track 5 is an obsessive industrial soundscape assembling panicking vocal samples, pulses, feedback screeches... close to power electronics at times. The cdr is varied but surprisingly mature and interesting from start to end, also considering it's a debut. I'd personally choose to separate the different "sections" for listening coherence, but the promo actually works well as it is, mainly due to a dark, gloomy atmosphere which I appreciate a lot. I do hope that Milani manages to spread these tracks as he shows lots of ideas and good taste, something often sadly lacking in experimental musicians.

Hmmm... horror psych-folk from this Sheffield, UK duo. Bizarre folk songs which I'd probably compare, for lack of better examples, to Syd Barrett, but bear in mind that other reviewers have cited Pere Ubu, David Bowie, the Red Crayola and the Incredible String Band. I think somebody also mentioned H. P. Lovecraft (the writer), but I'd say that late Hammer films are a best comparison... less cosmic and more down to earth. Hey, this is pretty rural, actually. Silt Fish have a very peculiar sound, like it could have been recorded 30 years ago - also quite rich, considering it's only voice, guitar strumming, keyboards/synths and some programming here and there. But no modern lo-fi influences, as somehow everything sounds "seriously" and "properly" recorded in spite of its twisted nature. This seems to be lost in some sort of time-mist. The singing has a theatrical, cartoon-creepy and possibly sarcastic intonation which definitely marks the work, though it gets on my nerves at times. Crooked ballads, wicked nursery rhymes, the psychedelic folk version of a Tim Burton movie.