BLACK TO COMM IS THE PSEUDONYM OF DEKORDER BOSS MARC RICHTER, AND LEAVE IT TO THE LABEL BOSS TO COME UP WITH THE FINEST RELEASE ON AN ALREADY RELIABLE IMPRINT. LYING SOMEWHERE IN-BETWEEN MACHINEFABRIEK AND DEATHPROD THIS IS HEAVY, DENSE DRONE IN THE BEST POSSIBLE SENSE; BUILDING, SEISMIC SLABS OF NOISE, BUT THE RECORD NEVER LOSES A SENSE OF RESTRAINT AND OF HARMONIC BALANCE. THIS ISN'T A NOISE RECORD AND, LIKE MACHINEFABRIEK, RICHTER KNOWS HOW TO STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN THE EMPHASIS OF CACOPHONOUS NOISE AND WHISPERING NEAR-SILENCE. FOR ME THERE AREN'T ENOUGH RECORDS LIKE THIS, AND THE FACT THAT IT'S ON VINYL (ACTUALLY IT'S ONLY ON VINYL.) MAKES IT EVEN MORE ATTRACTIVE, SEPARATING THE WORK INTO FOUR MOVEMENTS, GIVING THE LISTENER SOME KIND OF INTERACTIVITY AND CONNECTION WITH THE MUSIC ITSELF. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE GOT TO DO, IF YOU LIKE DRONING HEAVINESS THEN YOU CAN'T GO ANOTHER MINUTE WITHOUT OWNING THIS, EVEN IF IT HAS GOT A RATHER LONG GERMAN TITLE THAT I DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND. A BRILLIANT RECORD.

BOOMKAT

DEKORDER'S ONE OF THOSE LABELS THAT DOESN'T PUT OUT MUCH, BUT WHEN THEY DO (IN FACT THERE ARE 3 THINGS THIS WEEK ALONE!) IT'S ALWAYS WORTH CHECKING OUT. BLACK TO COMM DELIVER AN ALBUMS WORTH OF PURE DRONE SOUNDS THAT TAKE ELEMENTS OF LABELS LIKE KRANKY AND MORE, THEN STRIP THEM DOWN TO AN EVEN MORE HYPNOTIC AND STARK FLAVOUR. THIS IS UTTERLY COMPELLING AND THE TINGE OF DARKNESS THAT CUTS THROUGH IS INCREDIBLY APPEALING. DRONE FANS WILL WANT TO GET THEIR HANDS ON THIS PRETTY QUICKLY AS VINYL PRESSINGS OF THINGS LIKE THIS DON'T LAST LONG. ABSOLUTELY SUPERB.

SMALLFISH

WITH HIS NEW ALBUM „WIR KÖNNEN LEIDER NICHT ETWAS MEHR ZU TUN...", HAMBURG´S MARC RICHTER TURNS 90 DEGREES COMPARED TO HIS LAST ALBUM „RÜCKWARDS BACKWARDS". WHILE "RÜCKWÄRTS" WAS FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS WITHIN EACH OF ITS EIGHT TRACKS, NOISY OUTBURTS INTERCHANGING WITH QUIET PARTS, "WIR KÖNNEN" IS A SLOW MOVING TEXTURALLY DENSE DRONE MONSTER. AS BEFORE, RICHTER RELEASED THE ALBUM ON HIS OWN DEKORDER IMPRINT, BUT THIS TIME AS A VINYL-ONLY LIMITED EDITION DOUBLE ALBUM. THE ALBUM LOOKS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS WITH ITS GATEFOLD SLEEVE AND CLOSE-UP PHOTOS ON THE FRONT AND BACK, AND THE CONTENT FOLLOWS THAT GOOD EXAMPLE.

WHILE RICHTER´S FIRST 10" CONSISTED OF DAMAGED COMPUTER SOUNDS AND "RÜCKWÄRTS" WAS PUT TOGETHER LARGELY FROM VINYL LOOPS AND FIELD RECORDINGS, "WIR KÖNNEN" WAS MOSTLY PLAYED WITH REAL INSTRUMENTS, ESPECIALLY A HARMOPHONE AND ORGAN. MOST OF THE SIX LENGTHY TRACKS ARE BASED ON A CONTINUOUS LOW HUM AND SEVERAL ADDITIONAL ONE CHORD LAYERS ON TOP OF IT. THE ALBUM STARTS WITH ITS BEST TRACK, ENTITLED "HARMOPHONIE III", WHICH SOUNDS LIKE THE LOGICAL PROGRESSION OF TANGERINE DREAM´S "FLY AND COLLISION OF COMAS SOLA" FROM 1971´S "ALPHA CENTAURI" ALBUM. SPACEY SOUNDS, BELLS AND WORDLESS VOCALS ADD TO THE MIGHTY HARMOPHONE DRONE WHICH RISES AND FALLS LIKE A SOUFFLÉ IN THE OVEN. SIDE B IS MORE MONOTONOUS. "THE NORTH TOWER" BEGINS WITH A GLACIAL DARK DRONE BEFORE TURNING INTO A GHOSTLY ORGAN PASSAGE, WHICH ENDS THE TRACK. "HAPPY BROWN LEGO STAR" HAS A DECIDEDLY WARMER FEEL TO IT. THE TRACK IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE STRENGTH OF THE ALBUM CONSISTING OF THREE OR FOUR LAYERS OF SOUND THAT PRACTICALLY DON´T MOVE. RICHTER ONLY ADJUSTS VERY FINE PARTS OF IT, SO THAT THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE DRONE COME FORWARD, GO BACK IN LINE TO MAKE ROOM FOR OTHER PARTS, ETC. THE TRACK ENDS WITH A NICE GUITAR AND TRUMPET SECTION WHERE RICHTER GETS HELP FROM GREGORY BÜTTNER AND RENATE NIKOLAUS.

SIDE C STARTS WITH THE WEAKEST TUNE OF THE LP. "PILL DROP GEISHA" HAS LITTLE HIGHS AND LOWS. "THE MALE GARDEN" BRINGS THE ALBUM BACK TO LIFE. IT´S A SHIMMERING PIECE OF AMBIANCE THAT REMINDS OF THE BEST DAYS OF AMBIENT KRAUTROCK. THE ALBUM IS CONCLUDED WITH THE LONG PIECE "WEISS WHITE", WHICH MIGHT BE A REFERENCE TO THE VELVET UNDERGROUND´S "WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT" OR TO WHITE NOISE OR MIGHT NOT REFERENCE ANYTHING AT ALL. ANYHOW, "WEISS WHITE" IS THE MOST NOISY AND ABRASIVE TUNE ON THE ALBUM AND QUITE A MIND-EXPANDING AFFAIR. THE CHANGES IN THE TEXTURE OF THE TRACK ARE SO SUBTLE THAT NOTIONS SUCH AS TIME BECOME IRRELEVANT. EVEN THOUGH RICHTER´S APPROACH THAT HE TOOK ON "RÜCKWÄRTS BACKWARDS" WAS MAYBE MORE VARYING, "WIR KÖNNEN" IS AN EQUALLY FASCINATING, YET DIFFERENT AFFAIR. IT´LL BE INTERESTING TO HEAR WHERE HE WILL TAKE THINGS FROM HERE.

STEPHAN BAUER | FOXY DIGITALIS

THIS PROJECT'S MONIKER COULD  APPEAR VERY PECULIAR, BUT NOT FOR THOSE WHO KNOW THE SAGA OF ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT AND ANTI-HIPPIE ROCK 'N ROLL. IT'S CHALLENGING THOUGH, TO FIND OTHER RELATIONS TO DETROIT'S PROTO-PUNKS MC5. THIS TEUTONIC ONE-MAN-UNIT IS FROM TOP TO BOTTOM UNCOOPERATIVE ON PLANET RIFF.

CERTAIN COMPOSERS REFUSE TO ACCEPT THAT MUSIC IS DIVIDED FROM THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH IT IS CREATED. WE ASSUME THAT MARC RICHTER, MANAGER FROM THE SMALL DEKORDER LABEL AND MAN BEHIND THIS VIGOROUS PROJECT, COULD BE ONE OF THEM. IT  MAY BE THE REASON WHY HE'S USING OF FIELD RECORDINGS. INSPIRED AND ENTHUSED BY THE BLACK FOREST, SOMEWHERE AT THE PERIPHERY OF GERMANY, THESE FIELD RECORDINGS MAKE GRATIFYING DELIGHTS AND DERISIVE STRATEGIES, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE NOT SURE WHETHER IT IS DIGITAL OR ORGANIC INPUT WE HEAR. VERY FEW HAS BEEN LEFT COMPLETELY UNPROCESSED, WE GUESS.

FASHIONED TO GET FIRED UP AND TO BE STIMULATED IN HIS CREATIVITY, RICHTER INVITED GREGORY BÜTTNER, WHOSE BREATHTAKING, MOVING TRUMPET GLITTERS ON HAPPY BROWN LEGO STAR. RENATE NIKOLOUS INSERTS THIS ATTRACTIVENESS WITH ACOUSTIC AND ELECTRIC GUITARS AND MAKES THIS HYMN HEADING TOWARDS GLOOMY ANIMAL COLLECTIVE (ONLY LINK WITH THIS BAND, FULL STOP).

OTHER SONGS ARE FAINT AND SLY TONE-SILHOUETTES, OPERATING IN THE DIMNESS AND PHANTOM SPIRIT OF MINIMAL OVERTONES, SLIGHTLY MOVING FROM DUST TO DUST. LIKE THE UNSURPASSED ORATOR IS PERFECTLY PRONOUNCING AND PLACING HIS WORDS, RICHTER IS BUILDING A SONIC UNIVERSE ON THE WIDE SCALE OF INSTRUMENTS FROM HARMOPHONE AND ORGAN TO KITCHEN GAMELAN AND VINYL LOOPS. AND UNLESS WE THINK THAT THE FIRST TWO INSTRUMENTS HAVE DONE THEIR WORK SUPREME, WE'RE STILL UNSURE ABOUT THE SOUNDS' ORIGINS.

THE MUSIC OF RICHTER BECOMES VISIBLE VIA A NOSTALGIC AND MAYBE SLIGHTLY NAÏVE PATH, BUT IT DOES SO SEEMINGLY PURPOSED AND WITH A CONFIDENT STANCE. IT GAVE US AN INCENTIVE TO WANDER, A TRIP TO CONSOLE AND A CODEX TO BENEFICENCE. THE MUSIC IS STIFLING, DECELERATING AND SUFFOCATING, BUT IN A POLITE WAY. MUST!

WHITE HEAT

AS WE ALL KNOW, THE REKKID INDUSTRY IS "IN CRISIS".. SALES ARE SLUMPING ON AVERAGE MORE THAN 10% EACH YEAR, AND IF YOU EXCLUDED THE MONEY GENERATED FROM SALES OF MOBILE PHONE RINGTONES (QUELLE HORREUR), THE PICTURE WOULD PROBABLY BE BLEAKER THAN THAT. NOT THAT I'M SHEDDING MANY TEARS FOR THE SO-CALLED "MAJORS", WHO DON'T GIVE A MONKEY'S ABOUT MUSIC AS SUCH UNLESS IT RAKES IN ENOUGH DOUGH TO KEEP THE SHAREHOLDERS HAPPY, BUT IT'S NOT A ROSY SITUATION FOR THE KIND OF SMALL INDEPENDENT LABELS THAT READERS OF THESE PAGES KNOW AND LOVE. EVEN IN THE SMALL WORLD OF ADVENTUROUS NEW MUSIC, THE SHIFT TOWARDS MP3 FORMAT IS JUST AS NOTICEABLE - AND NOT SOMETHING TO BE SNIFFED AT, EITHER: BRAVO OUTFITS LIKE 7HINGS.COM FOR THEIR ADVENTUROUS DOWNLOAD RELEASE PROGRAMME - IT SEEMS THAT IN A FEW YEARS WE'LL ALL BE LISTENING TO MUSIC ON SHINY LITTLE THINGS ABOUT THE SIZE OF A DACHSHUND'S PENIS, DOWNLOADING THIS AND THAT TO MAKE OUR OWN MIX'N'MATCH COMPILATIONS ("MAKE YOUR OWN BRÖTZMANN'S GREATEST HITS MIXTAPE! A-AND DON'T FORGET TO DOWNLOAD THAT FUCK DE BOERE RINGTONE, KIDS!"), STEPPING IN DOGSHIT, FALLING DOWN OPEN MANHOLE COVERS AND GETTING RUN OVER AS WE TROT GAILY ALONG THE CITY STREETS EYES GLUED TO A SCREEN THE SIZE OF A PACKET OF SMOKES TRYING TO WATCH SOME HIP NOISE BAND ON YOUTUBE. ONE DAY I SUPPOSE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO LISTEN TO, WATCH, SEND FANMAIL AND EVEN TALK DIRECTLY TO YOUR FAVOURITE ALT.MUSIC STAR ALL AT THE SAME TIME ON AN IPHONE. SUPPOSE I'M GETTING TOO OLD, BUT I JUST DON'T GET MUCH OF A KICK OUT OF THE IDEA. NOT THAT I'VE GOT ANYTHING AGAINST DOWNLOADING, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE ALBUM CONCERNED IS WAY OUT OF PRINT AND WAY OUT OF MY PRICE BRACKET ON EBAY - YOU SHOULD SEE ALL THE SHIT I'VE GOT FROM CHURCH NUMBER NINE RECENTLY - BUT EVEN IF I PRINT OUT THE "ORIGINAL ALBUM COVER", CONVERT THE MP3 FILES TO .WAV AND BURN THE WHOLE SHEBANG ON A BRAND NEW CDR, IT'S NOT THE SAME THING AS A "REAL" DISC, IS IT NOW? THE FOLKS OUT THERE WHO INVEST THEIR TIME AND MONEY IN RUNNING A LABEL FOR THIS KIND OF MUSIC ARE CERTAINLY HEROES IN MY BOOK, EVEN IF IT'S A BURN-TO-ORDER-IN-YER-BEDROOM OPERATION. BUT GOING TO THE TROUBLE OF PUTTING OUT A VINYL LP IN 2007, COMPLETE WITH ARTWORK, NOTES, AND ALL ROUND BEAUTIFUL DESIGN IS A REAL LABOUR OF LOVE. AND, IF YOU CARE FOR THE MUSIC THEY'RE PUTTING OUT, ONE THAT DESERVES YOUR SUPPORT.

IT'S NO SURPRISE THAT WIR KÖNNEN LEIDER NICHT ETWAS MEHR ZU TUN, THE LATEST DOUBLE LP OF BLACK TO COMM IS ON THE HAMBURG-BASED DEKORDER LABEL, BECAUSE BTC IS THE PET PROJECT OF DEKORDER HEAD HONCHO MARC RICHTER, WHO IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING VOCALS PLAYS "HARMOPHON, ORGAN, TAPE LOOPS, MICROPHONES, BELLS, FEEDBACK, KITCHEN GAMELAN, VINYL LOOPS AND COMPUTER." HE'S JOINED ON A COUPLE OF TRACKS BY RENATE NIKOLAUS (VOCALS, GUITARS) AND GREGORY BÜTTNER ADDS A TOUCH OF TRUMPET ON "HAPPY BROWN LEGO STAR". THESE SIX SPACIOUS TRACKS - THE WORD "DRONE" SINGULARLY FAILS TO DO JUSTICE TO THE WEALTH OF DETAIL RICHTER CREATES WITH HIS LOOPS, PATCHES, POTS AND PANS - COULD PROBABLY ALL FIT ON ONE CD, BUT THEY WOULDN'T SOUND HALF AS GOOD. NOT THAT I DIDN'T ENJOY BTC'S RÜCKWÄRTS BACKWARDS CD, BUT THE WARMTH OF VINYL SEEMS MORE APPROPRIATE FOR THE MUSIC RICHTER MAKES (HERE WE GO, HE'S SOUNDING LIKE ONE OF THOSE TEDIOUS FUCKIN VINYL SNOBS.. YAWN GIMME A BREAK, PASS THE WOLF EYES CDR DUDE). AND THE GREAT THING IS IT LOOKS, FEELS AND SMELLS AS GOOD AS IT SOUNDS.

DAN WARBURTON | PARIS TRANSATLANTIC

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MONOTONY, AT LEAST NOT IN MUSIC. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, GET AN ALBUM BY TONY CONRAD. OR EVEN BETTER, CATCH THE NEW ALBUM BY BLACK TO COMM, THE SECOND FULL LENGTH FINISHED BY MARC RICHTER, WHO ALSO RUNS DEKORDER. IT IS FOUR VINYL SIDES AND SIX TRACKS OF GLISTENING, DENSE YET ENCOMPASSING AND MASSIVE DRONES THAT STAND TALL AND WIDE AS A BUILDING MADE OF BRICKS. BUT IF YOU TAKE A CLOSER LOOK, OR RATHER A CLOSER LISTEN, THEN YOU'LL FIND A LOT OF THINGS WARBLING AND SWAYING WITHIN THESE SOUNDS. OR IS IT YOUR PERCEPTION? AS YOU KNOW, THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN TRUST YOUR SENSES. THEY LIE TO YOU EVERY MINUTE. AND YOUR BRAINS ON TOP, WHICH ARE ALWAYS HIDING, IGNORING OR RE-INTERPRETING THINGS. DID YOU KNOW THAT EVERYTIME YOU REMEMBER SOMETHING IT IS NOT AT ALL LIKE GETTING SOMETHING OLD FROM A CUPBOARD, BUT THE BRAIN IS SAVING THE MEMORY NEW EACH TIME, AND EACH TIME IT ADDS OR SUBSTRACTS A LITTLE, DEPENDING ON HOW YOU CONNOTATED THE MEMORY THIS TIME AROUND. IF YOU GET OLD ENOUGH YOU'LL EXPERIENCE MORE AND MORE THE STRANGE SITUATION WHERE TWO CLOSE FRIENDS HAVE VASTLY DIFFERING MEMORIES OF AN EXPERIENCE THEY HAD TOGETHER AND THEY WILL SWEAR BY THEIR MOTHER'S GRAVES THAT THEY ARE RIGHT. BOTH OF THEM. BUT I AM DIGRESSING. THE MAIN POINT IS THE MULTI-LAYERED AND EVER CHANGING HORIZON OF SOUNDS WITHIN THE STATIC AND MASSIVE DRONES OF BLACK TO COMM.

MY MOST IMPRESSIVE EXPERIENCE WITH A DRONE WAS FLYING ON A JET PLANE FOR TEN HOURS AFTER SLEEPING TOO LITTLE BECAUSE I WAS ON A FESTIVAL FOR ELECTRONIC MUSIC. WITH THE SOUNDS OF SOME OF THE MOST PROGRESSIVE AND WEIRD ELECTRONIC ARTISTS STILL RINGING IN MY HEAD AND THE CONSTANT, MUFFLED THUNDERING OF THE MIGHTY MACHINE I WAS SITTING IN, I FELT AS IF I WAS ABLE TO HEAR THE HUMMING OF THE SMALLES PART OF THE MACHINE OR MY BODY. BEFORE FALLING ASLEEP I WASN'T EVEN SURE ANYMORE I'D BE ABLE TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO. THE TRACKS ON HERE OFFER THE SAME QUALITY OF DENSITY, DEPTH AND VARIETY. ONE NOTE, SEPERATED INTO SEVERAL PARTS AND BLOWN UP INTO ENORMOUS PROPORTIONS, ADDED WITH LAYERS AND LAYERS OF OTHER SOUNDS IN THE SAME NOTE, WITH SOME BREAKS AND CHANGES, A CHORD HERE OR A LITTLE LINE OF NOTES OR SOUNDS ON OTHER PLACES. IF YOU TURN AROUND AND AROUND ON THE SAME SPOT LIKE A WHIRLWIND, WHO IS ABLE TO TELL WHERE YOU'RE GONNA END UP IN?

THE NEW THING ABOUT THIS ALBUM BY BLACK TO COMM IS THAT THESE DRONES ARE MADE FROM "REAL" INSTRUMENTS, WHICH IS INTERESTING BECAUSE ON HIS FIRST RELEASES BLACK TO COMM WAS ABOUT QUESTIONING THE NOTION OF THE REAL INSTRUMENT, BY USING FILTERS FOR GRAFIC SOFTWARE TO PRODUCE SOUNDS OR BY USING OLD RECORDINGS AND SHELLACS. THE RANGE OF IDEAS IS RATHER LIMITED IN CONSEQUENCE IN COMPARISON TO "RÜCKWÄRTS BACKWARDS", AND BY ALL MEANS "WIR KÖNNEN LEIDER NICHT …" IS A BASIC DRONE ALBUM. AND FOR A DRONE ALBUM ITS SCOPE IS IMMENSE. FROM A SUBMARINE TO AN ULTRALIGHT GLIDER, FROM DOUBLE GRAVITATION TO WEIGHTLESSNESS, FROM WALLS PRESSING ONTO YOUR MIND TO UPLIFITING SOUNDS OF FREEDOM AND LIBERTY. FROM SPOOKY AND EERIE DARKNESS TO THE LIGHT AND SHINE OF A DAY AT THE BEACH. DESTINATIONS CHOSEN BY YOUR BRAIN.
ONE EXCEPTION, THOUGH, THE THIRD TRACK (#2 ON SIDE 2) FIRST BUILDS INTO IMPRESSIVE NOISE WITH A LOT OF LAYERS AND SUBTLE CHANGES AND THEN SUDDENLY FALLS INTO A WONDERFUL SET OF FINGERPICKED ACOUSTIC GUITAR AND INTERFERENCES FROM THE ELECTRIC GUITAR DONE BY RENATE NIKOLAUS AND AN IMPRESSIVE, YET RESTRAINED MUTED TRUMPET PLAYED BY GREGORY BÜTTNER. EVEN SOME BARELY AUDIBLE VOCAL AAHS BEFORE FADING OUT AFTER SOME MINUTES. A HEARTWARMING AND JOYOUS SURPRISE AND PROBABLY A HINT AS TO WHERE THE TRAVEL IS GOING TO. FOR, AS WITH ANY INTERESTING ARTIST, LIVE IS A TRAVEL FILLED WITH EXPERIENCES.

GEORG GARTLGRUBER | CRACKED