|
|
Pica Disk
 I have had a small break from reviewing the Jazkamer monthly 2010, but this is not me quitting the promise of reviewing every monthly. No, I have been busy running a festival, and was planning on picking up where I left with submitting the August release. But what happens? During the festival I was, as the first person in the world, given by Lasse Marhaug himself this brand new Jazkamer release, and being taken by surprise by the title, I knew I couldn’t help myself doing this one first. So the rest would have to wait, but it will come of course. This release is due out November 2010.
When Metal Music Machine was released in 2006, Jazkamer was hailed over the world with this
Continue reading Jazkamer – Metal Music Machine 2 [...]
Pica Disk
 From the Pica Disk website:
“Cover by Hair Stylistics is the july edition of Jazkamer‘s ongoing 2010 monthly Compact Disc series. This month’s album finds Hegre and Marhaug joined by Iver Sandøy playing noisecore. Noisecore is a crossover between grindcore and noise music. One could call it improvised grindcore, as its emphasis is on short bursts of blastbeat drumming backed by screaming vocals and heavily distorted guitar. Often the music is improvised on the spot. (…) Cover by Hair Stylistics contains 129 songs in 20 minutes. Because of the Compact Disc-format’s limited index ability the songs are presented as one continious track. Jazkamer also prefers the album to be experienced as a whole, rather than prominence given
Continue reading Jazkamer – Cover by Hair Stylistics [...]
Pica Disk
 The June edition of the Jazkamer monthly series, We Want Epic Drama, is the first album with the full metal line-up since the highly acclaimed Metal Music Machine was released. Two drummers, electronics and three guitars promises quite an onslaught. However, that is often the case with Jazkamer, two or more members almost always manages to present an impressive wall of sound, no matter what.
As with the March edition, this album is a full-on production, with lots of drums apparent, though not in a metal doom kind of way you might expect from this line-up, but more free improv full speed ahead noise style. Divided into two tracks, this album is more than 70 minutes long. Both tracks
Continue reading Jazkamer – We Want Epic Drama [...]
Pica Disk
 The May edition of Jazkamer‘s monthly series starts with an almost twenty minute long drone track. It’s very deep dark and with mellow synth sounds to start with, moving about in my headphones, almost without recognising it, the track creeps upon me, moving more, being more intense and distorted. I hear adding layers, adding sounds, but almost not noticing it. I am feeling relaxed by this soothing, meditative track. Hypnotizing me to go to another place, until the end is bliss-full of wideranging distorted noise.
Then the album changes to a more experimental focus. Next up is six short tracks, spanning from just under thirty seconds up to almost four minutes, and one last track of almost fourteen minutes. Most of them are
Continue reading Jazkamer – Chestnut Thornback Tar [...]
Pica Disk
 The Monroe Doctrine is the March edition of Jazkamer‘s 2010 monthly abum series. This CD is a 30 minute track with full on noise rock free jazz improv beat hysteria. Performers are the regular four piece of Gross, Hegre, Marhaug and Drønen. Beautiful artwork by José De Diego.
To make it short, the album immediately struck me as something heavy but lovely, a full on wow-factor after just a few seconds, it knocked me way back in my seat, pushing enormous amounts of energy inside me. And it didn’t stop until the full half hour came to an end. Reviewing this CD without emotions is impossible, but I’ll try to describe some of what I heard.
It starts off with a massive wall of
Continue reading Jazkamer – The Monroe Doctrine [...]
Pica Disk
 Musica Non Grata is the second release in Jazkamer‘s 2010 monthly series, and the CD has three long tracks. To make it clear and save you wasting time reading further: this is a study in feedback! Those who are still reading might like to know that this full length CD from the trio again being Lasse Marhaug, John Hegre and Jean-Philippe Gross, is very much different from last month’s Solitary Nail. When the latter was one 30 minute track of cut and paste, Musica Non Grata is slowly moving, changing over long periods of time, making the change barely noticable.
The first track “Honda Sound Works” is more than 30 minutes of high pitch guitar, synth and electronic feedback. By insanely slowly altering the sounds, they make the
Continue reading Jazkamer – Musica Non Grata [...]
Pica Disk
 This release is the first in the Jazkamer 2010 Monthly Series. A card accompanying the CD states: “One new Jazkamer album on Pica Disk every month of 2010. One year of music and anti-music.”
Perfomed by the two founders and regular members Lasse Marhaug and John Hegre, plus Jean-Philippe Gross, who also edited and mixed this CD very interestingly, Solitary Nail is one 30 minute track, although it feels like many tracks. It is a cut and paste of multifrequent parts combined with more one-dimensional sounds. Recordings range from guitar feedback explorations and movement of gadgets wired up with contact-microphone and very low (also volume) bass frequencies to massive full on distortion and harsh noise. At around 13:30 though, the track turns around to explore a
Continue reading Jazkamer – Solitary Nail [...]
|
|
