Plastik Lieb / Hoffnung
(Meeuw Muzak - MM031) 7-inch $7.00 (Out-of-stock)
A studio piece and a live track by the human beatbox from Berlin, who does his thing with voice, tape loops and effects. Through the years he has worked with Trainingslager, Fischmob, Hofoku Soshi, Funkstoerung, Patric Catani, Felix Kubin, and Khan. Raw and tight beats, pure intensity, and combative notoriety.
Einschlagskrater
(Meeuw Muzak - MM036) 7-inch $6.35
Another cryptic affair from this perennial Dutch label. For this mail collaboration, Norbert Möslang (Voice Crack) and Ralf Wehowsky (RLW) craft cracked everyday electronics and computer-manipulate deviations of same. One continuous piece sets falling sounds against a dark, drone-like backdrop; the other is more, ahem, musical, with more sounds of things falling and lots of processed variations. Sorta atmospheric, sorta noisy.
Pitchshifters
(Meeuw Muzak - MM033) 7-inch $6.00
Two tracks from The Pitchshifters’ second CDR, Improvise*Dessert. Beautifully constructed pop impulses stuffed into an improv framework.
Where Were You On Christmas
(Meeuw Muzak - MM032) 7-inch $6.75
A yuletide single from long-running Los Angeles avant-garde pioneer Tom Recchion. Limited edition pressing, Dutch import.
STEFANIE RESSIN / ASMUS TIETCHENS
3 Wishes
(Meeuw Muzak - MM037) 7-inch $8.00 (Out-of-stock)
Ms. Ressin was one of several speakers on "Lipostudio... And So On," a "revoltingly beautiful" track by Matmos. Here she covers Klaus Nomi with appropriately pathetic operatic singing and electro-inspired rhythm from a sequencer. For the remix treatment on the flip, Mr. Tietchens reverses the vocals and feeds the rhythm through a gated reverb in the finest style of one-hit-wonder superfluous B-sides. Quite believable as an obscure 80s synth-pop record.
I Wanna Be Your Dog b/w Schneller
(Meeuw Muzak - MM035) 7-inch $8.75
The four members of Titmachine met in prison (each was convicted of crimes she did not commit). Unable to find gainful employment upon their discharge from stoney lonesome, the ex-inmates formed a band, naturally, the ideal vehicle for the unemployable. The lucrative alternative Dutch music scene rewards them handsomely in exchange for the quartet's release of pent-up rage fueled by continuing injustice. Since October 2006, Titmachine's raw and loose sound has remained unhampered by the constraints of talent, and answers questions anyone has yet to ask. Kinda like the Dutch Shaggs meets the female Monks and Flipper with a conscience.
DITTERICH VON EULER-DONNERSPERG
O Du Froliche
(Meeuw Muzak - MM034) 7-inch $6.75
One small bit of light during the dark days of Xmas: Meeuw Muzak releases another fine seven-inch. Von Euler-Donnersperg has released some crazy-ass music on his own Walter Ulbricht label and Die Stadt, a mix of texts and electronic music. Here two soft electronic pieces are like snowflakes; almost kitschy and New Age as only super cheesy keyboard with all the wrong presets can achieve.