AUBE
"Substructural Penetraion"
(UNKNOWN REVIEW)
Aube 1is Japanese noise artist Akifumi Nakajuma
and Substructural Penetration is a collection of his
work between 1991 and 1995 - seemingly comprising
compilation and unreleased tracks. Over the course
of the 2 CDs we are offered 20 tracks, three of
which are unreleased. While I have been interested in
the peripherals of noise, and no doubt to some happily
listen to noise, I am not hardcore by any means -
always wary of monotony and more significantly
promised damage. I had heard the name Aube as
being part of the "Japanoise" scene, along with
the prominent Merzbow. The little Merzbow I had
heard did not bode well for my interest, but
hearing Aube on the Ant-Hology Compilation I
found more of interest, though i still was
not sure. I was surprised to find this collection locally,
though it turns out to be a UK label, so decided it was
a valid exploratory risk. On my first listen I determine
that I am indeed open to noise - in other words, I am
able to this album in its entirety, which is I guess a
good sign. But the question remains as to whether
being able to listen extends to being able to enjoy
the work of Aube. With each successive listen I
am able to discern the depths of this unique art
form. As one becomes aware of the methods of
construction then you become aware that this is
indeed an art form - sonic sculptures all
conceptually carved.
Aube1 has a reputation for
being extremely minimal and particular in the source
of his sounds. Sampling body functions - hearts or
lungs - or elements like water or fire - then
manipulating the sounds to provide the desired
results. And as the title of this collection indicates
the results can be brutal - misuse leading to
severe structural damage, no doubt.
At this stage I would highlight Torpedo, Undercurrent
I/II, Luminous 1 Minute, and On The Blink from
the first disc. Followed by Ionosphere II,
Stiffer, and Ionosphere Live V from the second
disc. The first of those is Torpedo which is based
on the sounds of water, is 1.59 long and was recorded
in January of 91, for release on come Again. The
track is full of noises swirling harshly, while
you are hit by a continual thudding. Again based
on water, but from 93 we have Undercurrent I/II,
which was released on Tape A Break.
Initially it is very quiet - a droning sound which is
mounting by the smallest of increments. At this level,
the track is more ambient than noise - but by about
the four minute mark the drone has mounted. There
is a steady, though gentle, flow of water, though
regardless of how gentle it is, the atmosphere is
mountingly dark for another minute. Then your
speakers explode - letting you settle in the torrent
the sound turns - forming rhythms and patterns
for the listener to delve into. Much of Aube's 1
longer pieces like this 22 minute epic rely on
contrasts - the incremental shifts in each sound
each second slightly different to the last.
Building over an extended period of time -
becoming hypnotic regardless of how harsh it
may seem on first listen. At the other end of the
spectrum of shifts, many of the tracks change
suddenly and brutally after a long period of incremental
shifts - forcing the listener to refocus their attention.
Luminous 1 Minute is unsurprisingly 1 minute long,
and the sound source is flourescent and glow
lamps - this track was recorded in 94 and released
on Mail Music. It features what sounds like
jangling little bells - though there is the definite
sense of something mechanical. Pumping fluids
around with that mechanical response -
very short, but very effective. Using similar source
sounds, On The Blink is also from 94 and was on
No Machine Is Silent. Full of what we think as
"industrial" noises - barage of blistering
mechanica and uncontaminated purity - creating a
complex weave of sounds. In some ways this
is lacking in redeeming qualities - unrelentingly
harsh and guaranteed to decrease your popularity
in whatever structure you reside. But in other ways it
is incredibly engaging and possessed of strange
beauty. Moving on to the second disc we have the tick
tick tick of electronics marking the central sound
Ionosphere II with tearing blades of sound flashing
across the strip of light back to the darkness. This
mounts suddenly just short of 2 minutes then erupts -
the darkness is lifted and the horror of the mechanics
is revealed. This is not a wall of blank noise - rather
wheels and pistons - the steady patterns of factory
sounds - okay, perhaps all factory sounds ever....
As with Ionosphere II, Stiffer was recorded in 95 and
both are based on the sounds produced by a voltage
controlled oscillator. Stiffer starts slowly and
deceptively - a light movement. Then a
howling sound starts like a fleet of ambulances or a
warning of something extremely dire - back and forth -
wee wo wee wo wee wo - repetitive and central. Around
this builds structures of chaos - tearing metallic
sounds, and a bass strum of steel guy ropes
set to move against their rigidity. The last of my key
selections is Ionophere V which is a live recording
and once again based on a voltage controlled
oscilator. Unlike the previous two tracks though
this is previously unreleased. Initially it has a
deep bass drone - the depth of its oscillation
setting off something nearby, a contrasting
higher pitched vibration as contrast, until it
becomes more prominent. The mix and variations
go on for 6 minutes forming an admirable "drone"
track. After that point it becomes more detailed - a
warm electronic flow bubbling - underpinned by
bass and crackling on the edge (or is that
my speakers?). This becomes increasingly
noisy - with layers going up with the s.q.m.
(squeals per minute) rate. At 19 minutes it
does seem to go on a little at times - but retains
its layering noise without becoming "just noise".
There are other tracks which are decent - but
the ones I have described are for me the stand
outs and the descriptions of them should give
the curious reader a sufficient idea of what this
album and hence what Aube is about.
|
|
Aube
"Substructural Penetration"
(SONIC BOOM ONLINE REVIEWS)
Breaking the
tradition of a single sound source
Irislight Records brings us this double CD collection of
Aube material taken from unreleased live
performances, deleted cassettes and vinyl releases,
and rare one shot compilation appearances. As a
result, this collection of twenty tracks crosses a
half decade of noise composition and six source
elements including water, glow lamps, lungs,
oscillators, steel wire, and magnetic resonance
spectroscopy. Ultimately this means for a widely
varied collection of structured noise, even if
the tracks are grouped together by sound source.
Water elements are just as likely to create a
roaring torrent of feedback as they are to drift
along aimlessly like a stream. Tracks like
'Undercurrent I/II' even suddenly switchback and
forth between ambient and black noise at
the flip of the switch, such is the nature of Aube.
Yet, if you are a Japanoise freak, then you won't
be able to live without this Aube collection.
Aube is: Akifumi Nakajima
Aube Flush & Flare
(STAINED REVIEW)
When discussing Japanese experimental noise music,
it's not often that the word "subtle" finds a place in the
conversation. But proving that there's an exception to
every rule, "subtle" is a perfect word to describe the
work of Akifumi Nakajima a.k.a. Aube. Well, some
of his work, anyway. Rather than pummeling the
listener/victim
with a pile of screeching feedback from
the get-go, Aube's compositions often start with near
silence, building layer upon layer of sound
in such a way that the ferocious intensity of his
work almost creeps up on you. They're made even
more intriguing by the fact that every release is
constructed using a single sound source. Flush,
for example, consists of material from an early
cassette release, an out of print 7" and an
unreleased live performance, all using only water to
generate the audio, while its companion release Flare
is a similar anthology of tracks built using lamps
as a source of sound. So if you're looking to explore
the world of Japnoise but find Merzbow and
Masonna a little overwhelming, ease yourself in with
some Aube.
AUBE "Substructural Penetration"
(LAST SIGH)
Iris Light has just announced that they will be
re-releasing on CD, Aube's two tapes -- Flush and Flare.
The two CDs will be available exclusively through mail
order, and limited to 500 copies each; they will
tentatively appear in September of this year. Meanwhile,
uninitiated listeners, as well as dedicated fans, can
catch up with Aube on Iris Light's recent double-CD
Substructural Penetration 1991-1995, which brings
together seventeen tracks that originally appeared on
compilations, along with three previously unreleased
recordings. Let it be said at the outset for those
unfamiliar with Aube, that this Japanese artist
(Akifumi Nakajima) is amongst the most
extreme and uncompromising composers presently
active. His music can be intensely uncomfortable to
listen to; one must listen with commitment and
concentration, or not at all. The rewards are: First,
a powerful purely musical experience, for Aube's
dense, and often noisy single source soundscapes,
are both rhythmic and melodic in a very unique sense;
secondly, Aube offers an almost profound
glimpse of the world, for by using sound(s) of
single objects to create his compositions, he
reveals characteristics and dimensions of these
objects that we would never otherwise be exposed to.
Everyone has an idea of what a fluorescent lamp,
water and steel-wire looks like, and what "sounds" these
objects are capable of producing. Aube's multi-layered
compositions, using numerous different recordings -- the
frequencies, timbres and pitches of which have been
manipulated -- leave just enough aural information for the
listener to identify the source of the sounds, but
simultaneously "show" the listener through sound,
facets of these sources that could not have been
experienced in any other way. After having listened to
Substructural Penetration, it is quite possible to never
again look at the sea, or a light bulb, or a wire again
in the same way. The first six tracks on Disc 1 are all
based upon the sound of water, and ranging in
length from 2 to 22 minutes -- from the all-out
chaotic to the beautifully harmonic -- these compositions
in themselves paint a vivid portrait of Akifumi
Nakajima's versatile musical sensibility. "Torpedo" is a
thundering centrifuge of dense, pulsating noise.
"Spread Heat" begins like a distant, shimmering
vapor haze, and ends with a tsunami of rushing sound.
"Torrent" is just that -- a nine minute flood of deeply
saturated gushing sound, the texture of which is in a
constant flux. "Spill" opens with the soothing sound
of water dripping, and then explodes into a storm of
distortion, in which the liquid sound quality is all but
completely drowned. The monumental "Undercurrent I/II"
combines it all: An opening sequence of subtle,
humming like the pressure of the deep sea pressing
against the eardrums of a scuba diver; subtle echoes,
bubbling and drippings; and then, suddenly, after a
brief break of silence, Aube once more unleashes
all the latent fury of the ocean. The remainder of the
track is a richly textured, rhythmic stream of fluid noise.
"Refrigeration," which is unique to this collection,
opens with gyrating, gurgling sounds, and a distant
wall of crashing noise that gradually closes, eventually
washing over the more minute details, like nothing
so much as a tidal wave. "Luminous 1 Minute,"
"Compressed Radiant" and "On The Blink" utilize '
fluorescent' and 'glow lamp' as the sources, and the
contrast in sound quality, when compared to the
water-based tracks is immense.
The tinny and metallic feel of the tinklings, rattlings and
buzzing of "Luminous 1 Minute" could not be further
removed from the organic, 'soft,' round sounds of the
first half of the CD. Much of "Compressed Radiant"
sounds like tappings of sheet metal, and electronic
wind chimes. The sound picture is very busy, and seems
to explore the rhythmic nature of light. "On The Blink"
is the noisiest of the three 'lamp' source recordings,
and although the piece is extremely rich and
continuously evolves, also seems the least
structured. Many of the sounds have a flickering
quality, and the associations here is of radio
tunings with heavy interference. The final selection
is the most disconcerting. Wheezing, soughing,
fibrous layers of pulsating sounds that originate in
recordings of lungs gradually build in intensity
until they achieve a racing, stormy quality. Again,
the quality of sound here is vastly different from
that of any of the other compositions. On the majority
of the tracks on Disc 2, Aube has taken a
voltage-controlled-oscillator as his point of
departure, and the resulting compositions are
decidedly more synthetic and electric than
those on Disc 1. Many of the screaming and
distorted sounds are here reminiscent of guitar
feed-back, and this half of Substructural Penetration
is without question the more noisy and extreme.
The first four selections occasionally develop rhythmic
or periodic patterns, but in general these tracks
are more concerned with manipulations of frequency
and pitch. "Isomeric Wall" is on the brink of being
torturous, as the screaming, grinding sounds of the
oscillator gradually are shaped into the solid "wall" of
sound that the title refers to. The final two selections --
also using the oscillator as source -- are again original
to this collection. Both are epic in length (13:30 and
19:18 minutes), and were recorded live on two separate
occasions in July, 1994 and December, 1995. The
latter track seems to be a better recording, but both
develop into very intense and insistent noise-scapes,
and must be considered primarily of interest to
the confirmed Aube fans. Included on Disc 2 are also
two 'steel wire' recordings, and one using a magnetic
resonance spectroscopy as source sound. "Strand"
begins with layers of vibrating, grating sounds over a
background of droning presence. However, soon the
movement of sound comes to an abrupt halt, and, like
"Undercurrent I/II" on the first disc, a storm of splintering
noise is unleashed. The brief "Crossing Line,"
which follows, skips the subtleties, and opens right into
a pulsating inferno of grinding and distorted sonic
frenzy. Aside from the opening of "Strand," these two
recordings are probably those revealing the nature of
their sources the least. The last track "Phase Encording"
is perhaps the most compelling and accessibly on
Disc 2, with pulsating streams of atmospheres coursing
through the entire piece, and the snapping sound as of riffles
being armed in the foreground. In all respects, Substructural
Penetration 1991-1995 is a well-rounded and kaleidoscopic
presentation of the work of this fascinating artist. And, for
Aube completionists, this collection will eradicate the need
to chase down the many obscure compilations from which
this material stems.
|