Reviews
[ambientrance.org] [Dead Angel] [Grooves]
[History of Rock Music] [Improvijazzation Nation]
[Outburn] [Splendid E-Zine] [The
Wire]
- Grooves
Magazine - Issue #9
The subtitle to this 10 - year overview from Seattle experimenter/cellist
Kevin Goldsmith is "rumbles, roars, explosions, crashes, splashes and
booms." Since Goldsmith adopted his moniker from Italian Futurist Luigi
Russolo's early 20th century noise machines, which were to reproduce industrial
sounds, it seems fair to assume that the moniker and subtitle would act as
an effect summary of Goldsmith's sonic investigations. But that would be a
simplistic assessment, to say the least.
Certainly, there is a fair bit of banging, clanging, and dark rumblings, but
these pieces are less restricted to a rythmic cul de sac and more improvised
and open. Not to mention more dynamic. Indeed, these collages range from monolithic
pits of dark noise to more modulated, sculpted ambience to bold cinematic
soundscapes to solemn piano requiems. But Goldsmith is no labcoat asthete
and possesses a sly sense of humor, such as when he drowns a sample of Public
Image Limited's "What You Want" in rush of running water. Goldsmith
has a flair for juxtaposition and editing that makes his moniker seem a little
bit like false advertising. - Richard Moule - The
Wire - July 2002
- [joint review of Material and Intonarumori] Noise
machinery unpacked in Seattle via the absolutist past of futurist klang (Intonarumori
= 'noise intoners' = 'machines built to mimic industrial sounds') through
the flexible fingers of Kevin Goldsmith, whose suitably alchemisty name proves
to be no disappointment. The 'industrial'/futurist clue is a dead hearing,
because this is far richer work, ghostlier, more freeform. (Echoes of Nurse
With Wound in the light touch, and low key humour and pert use of sampled
vox.) Goldsmith is primarily a cellist (manipulator of cells?), but his variegated
scapes straddle old-skool Improv and nu-school electronica, modest except
in inventiveness, somehow very likeable and surprisingly touching: a real
pleasure. - Ian Penman
- Outburn
#19
- DRAMATIC SOUND EXPLORATIONS: The intriguing experimental soundscapes
and creative noise laced with vocal samples form a distinct sound and vision
of this complex body of work. The 14 compositions on Material: 10 Years
of Sound are compiled from unreleased tracks or rare songs previously
only available on compilations and cassettes or as soundtracks for theater
and film productions. This second CD release from Intonarumori contains both
chaotic collages and soothing ambience held together by the subtle tones,
instruments (such as cello, bass, electronics), and vision of Seattle based
composer Kevin Goldsmith, who also runs Unit Circle Rekkids. The striking
opening piece, "Uniform Random Variables" sets the mood with a multi-layered
mix of dynamic noise and melodies with vocal samples welcoming the listener
to the computer age as well chronicling a brief history of India and its music.
The second track, "Layer Parallelism," forges through immersive
drones, composite vocal samples, dissonant rumblings, chugging undertones,
and scraping blips. The remaining tracks of the album provide just as diverse
a palette of sounds including soothing waves, frenetic squiggling electronics,
forboding darkness, political samples, plucking strings, and creaking warblings.
Overall, Material: 10 Years of Sound is an inventive and entertaining
audio journey. - Octavia
- ambientrance.org
Difficult listening, though not without rewards, the 13-track disc is subtitled
"10 Years of Sound; Rumbles Roars Explosions Crashes Splashes Booms" and that
only scratches the already-torn-into surface... Uniform Random Variables (8:11)
spews forth layers of mediaspeak in assorted languages and topics (though
leaning toward computers and technology), slow metallic clangs, irradiated
glares, crazy piano activities, rock music, sirens, traffic, sing-song murmurs,
and more, melting into weird grumblies. Less-littered with sample-debris,
brooding a/tonal chaos grows in Layer Parallelism... then the floodgates of
muted conversation opens, pouring wordstrata into the churning turmoil, with
occasional shouts punctuating the dense vortex.
A much quieter intro leads into DLY where light drifts and rhythmic plucks
coalesce into something actually quite sedate and lovely. Home Base Variation
2 (1:12) softly spirals on relatively straight (though a little spooky) piano
interludes. I won't give away all the other surprises, but be assured they're
there in the guise of synths, beats, polititalk, ominous chords, rainy cityscenes,
sci-fi squigglies, timpani, echoey guitar strings and much, much more... With
spurts of feedback and what sounds like electric guitar strings being randomly
fingered with gloves on (then actually strummed), Live at the Mercury closes
the disc (well, not counting the 14th track of a 13-second silence...). Challenging
stuff; some of the juxtapositions are inscrutable and it takes a certain degree
of audio-masochism to go deep (I recommend headphones for utter immersion)...
thus recommended to the heartiest of the adventurous. - Dead Angel - Issue
#52
- This CD, the second by this "band" that is mainly one permanent member (Kevin
Goldsmith) plus others who come and go, is pretty much what the name implies:
a collection of ten years of scattered tracks originally appearing on various
cassettes and compilations between 1991 and 2000. The thirteen tracks here
aren't presented in strictly chronological order, but there is a definite
progression of ideas and obsessions. The first track, "Uniform Random Variables"
(from 1994), is a complex sound collage of music and found sound (noises,
tapes, samples) with enough ideas and structure to remind you that the entire
tape-noise culture originally descended from people in academia who actually
knew what the hell they were doing. Goldsmith knows what time it is. "Layer
Parallelism" (1996) is a considerably more drone-oriented affair, with everything
-- instruments, tapes, voices -- fed through cascading layers of drone-o-tronic
reverb. Notes dying away sound like avalanches in the hills, everything sounds
like it's coming from far away through layers of smoke as machinery pulsates....
"DLY" (2001) is, as its name implies, the sound of experiments in delay. Delayed
notes reverberate, growing in intensity, until a minimalist keyboard drone
enters, suspending the track somewhere between ambient and experimental music.
"Focus & Decay" (1995) is also squarely in the ghostlike ambient camp, with
overly reverbed drones and strange wails and shuddering percussion in the
background. "Home Base Variation 2" (1996) is nothing but a brief (but nice)
piano melody soaked in reverb. The brooding drone-o-tron returns (actually,
it never really goes away for long on this album) in full force on "OS2,"
flanked by all sorts of near-random noises happening from time to time in
the background. It's interesting to hear "Live at the Mercury" (2000), recorded
in Seattle, WA, where everything has to be done in real time -- the results
are a bit more minimal at times, but certainly no more predictable. Strange,
alien sounds so thematically and organically linked that you'd never guess
the tracks were recorded years apart. A good place to start for the seeker
of sounds.
- Improvijazzation Nation - Issue #57
- We have enjoyed this group since the late '80's (hard to believe it's been
that long), but this album of 13 compositions is th' densest & richest yet!
Lots of vocals layered in (sneaky little things) that will have you scratching
yer' noggin for daze! Definitely avant-garde, with industrial overtones...
what makes it stand out for these ears are the symphonic shadings Goldsmith
is able to achieve; that is particularly true on track 9, "Home Base Variation
2", and 10, "Constant Bit Select of A Vector Net". You should listen to this
with headphones, to get maximum effect... & don't even think about putting
this on as background... it deserves your full attention. This is "Unit Circle
Rekkids'" first release for 2002, & ALL listeners who thrive on the new and
unique will want to have this one - it gets a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED from
us (the weak-kneed need not apply).
- History
of Rock Music
- Material (Unit Circle Rekkids, 2002) collects rare and unreleased material,
some of it dating from 1991 and provides a good overview of Goldsmith's chaotic
collage technique. Several pieces are layered organisms that emanate a sense
of horror and/or extra-terrestrial.
- Splendid E-Zine
- The found-sound collages that populate Material can be sneaky little bastards.
Just when you've had it playing in the background for a while and your mind's
drifted off, they threaten to become songs when you're not looking, with ominous
little synth lines converging into almost-melodies... And then, just as you return
your full attention to the record, they back off, collapsing into the free-floating
soundscapes they'd been before. That's probably the most honestly creepy part
of this record, which often goes out of its way to be so, yet never quite succeeds
except in that (perhaps unintended) respect. At times, with the heavy use of sampled
dialogue and speech excerpts, the record feels like the soundtrack to fitful,
unpleasant dreams with the TV on in the background, or a shortwave radio constantly
being tuned and re-tuned. It's not pleasant. A generous adjective might be "interesting".
But when emergent keyboard lines tap you on the back and run away as they do here,
you can bet you'll be looking over your shoulder for a good long while. --
Mandy Shekleton
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