The Squid's Ear
Writing about improvised, contemporary, experimental and unusual music,
following the activities of Squidco...
  •  •  •     Join Our Mailing List!



The Squid's Ear




Heard In

Reviews of artist releases:
cd's, books, magazines, &c.


  Slugfield 
  Slime Zone
  (PNL) 


  
   review by Massimo Ricci
  2012-06-11
Slugfield: Slime Zone (PNL)

Such great names, both the record and the trio (Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje on voice and electronics, Lasse Marhaug on turntables and electronics, Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and percussion). In a hypothetical blindfold test, this set � recorded in 2010 at Oslo's Cafe Mono � might lead a casual listener astray if superficially thought as the umpteenth collection of mere bedlam by dilettantes ready to be publicized as the next big thing. In reality, seductively noxious interactions occur between the renowned members, who disguise a deep knowledge of the inside secrets of instant cacophony under a mask of ironic violence and sardonic grimaces. But they're musicians with balls to spare.

Ratkje's beautifully wide-eyed gaze is inversely proportional to the ability of vomiting frightening utterances and humanoid Larsens. At times we fear for her vocal cords, but at the same time exult for the congenital discarding of trick-of-the-trade typicality. Through an array of deforming appliances she fights the fight with a carnivore instinct worthy of Mike Tyson's biting of Evander Holyfield's ear, shrieking and bellowing until she's not recognizable anymore amidst the general convulsion. Marhaug's splinters of manipulated vinyl constitute an important presence in the disc, nicely complementing Ratkje's deranged piano fragments and ripping electronic cut-ups during her migration towards the upper stages of disembodied glottolalia. Nilssen-Love offers an outstanding performance, applying an intelligent meticulousness in the choice of percussive tints and features while progressively increasing the state of tension. Slowly but surely he leads the threesome along crescendos compelling to the borders of implausibility. In this sense, the 21-minute marathon "Bring 'em on" is an extensive investigation of latent hostility, increasingly released by way of a majestic roar-cum-interference that leaves the mind buzzing and the ears crying mercy.







Comments and Feedback:



More Recent Reviews, Articles, and Interviews @ The Squid's Ear...


The Squid's Ear presents
reviews about releases
sold at Squidco.com
written by
independent writers.

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Doyeon Kim (
w/
Sorey/
Maneri/
Fraser):
Wellspring
(Tao Forms)



Jurg Frey/
Apartment House:
Clarinet Quintet
(Another Timbre)



Tom Challenger/
Evan Parker:
May Spring
Last a Lifetime
(False Walls)



Bobby Bradford/
Mark Dresser/
Hafez Modirzadeh:
Sonic House Reunion
(NoBusiness)



John Zorn (
w/ Julian Lage/
Gavin Riley):
Seven Sonnets
(Tzadik)



[ahmed] (
Thomas/
Grip/
Gerbal/
Wright):
Play Monk
[2 CDs]
(Otoroku)



Michael Formanek (
w/ Hawkins/
Halvorson/
Fujiwara/
O'Gallagher/
Doxas/
Almeida):
New Digs
(Intakt)



Sylvia Lim:
Flare
(Another Timbre)



Ava Mendoza:
Alive Alone,
Alive Together
(Burning Ambulance Music)



John Cage (
Wegmann/
Debacker):
Two2 (
1989) for 2 Pianos
(ezz-thetics by
Hat Hut Records
Ltd)



Myra Melford/
Satoko Fujii:
Katarahi
(RogueArt)



Matthias Muche
Bonecrusher:
Densities -
for 12 trombones
& percussion
(ezz-thetics by
Hat Hut Records
Ltd)



Columbia Icefield (
Wooley/
Alcorn/
Mendoza/
Sawyer):
A Silence Opens
(Out Of Your Head Records)



Marta Warelis (
w/ LaMar Gay/
Baars/
Ng/
Haker Flaten/
Rosaly):
Still Life
With Lemons
(Relative Pitch)



Klaus Lang/
Apartment House:
Geschrieben In Wasser
(Another Timbre)



Machinefabriek:
Samen
(Machinefabriek)



Ivo Perelman/
Damon Smith:
Duologue:
Core of Existence
(Squid Note Records)



Marty Ehrlich:
Cartographies of Flight:
Lines Set Afloat
Towards Hope
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)



Mike Westbrook Orchestra:
The Cortege
Live At The BBC
1980
[2CDs]
(Cadillac Records)



JOSILEMI (
featuring Joe Fonda/
Silke Eberhard/
Emil Gross):
Hear This
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))







Squidco
Click here to
advertise with
The Squid's Ear






The Squid's Ear pays its writers.
Interested in becoming a reviewer?




The Squid's Ear is the companion magazine to the online music shop Squidco !


  Copyright © Squidco. All rights reserved. Trademarks. (51344)