All
the reviews on one page.
From Staalplaat's weekly
email magazine. 'Vital
Weekly'
Review
of ngr-01 and ngr-02 review by Frans de Waard.
HL
- A449/19 (WORK IN PROGRESS) (3"CDR by No Ground)
PFM - PRE FM TRACKS (3"CDR by No Ground)
The No Ground label is a small label that works with economical means,
that is CDRs, both audio and DVD. The label-founder Dan Hopkins is
responsible for the first two releases. His own 'A449/19' is presented
as a work in progress. I am not sure how this should be seen. Is the
work still in progress and if so how will changes be made public then?
The twenty minute piece comes from nothing and slowly builds up. It
seems to me that field recordings, in particular wind sounds are the
basis of this recording. They are transformed by computer means until
a thick mass of sound occurs. A nice piece, although maybe a bit too
much in the realms of Francisco Lopez, but then more audible.
The second release is by one Myk Thomas, offering three pure ambient
tracks on his 'Pre FM Tracks'. Waving, meandering and shifting synthesizer
tones are his main ingredients, despite the vague piano tinkle in 'Prophet
Making'. Quite simple and effective ambient music, in the best Eno
tradition and for that matter stuff that could have been released on
Hypnos Records. It stands very much in a tradition, and that might
be the only real objection against it. (FdW)
In it's Original Context here
From Leonards
Lair Music reviews website
Review of ngr-02 by Jonathan Leonard.
PFM
Pre FM Tracks
The No Ground-r label is the home for three Welsh artists/musicians
who have released a number of 3" CD which lean towards the ambient
side of instrumental music. It's not difficult to see why the trio
have been involved in film and art projects if PFM's 'Pre Fm Tracks'
(the work of Myk Thomas) is anything to go by. 'The Beauty Of Repetition'
is near ten-minutes of lambent grace touching on classical music and
befitting the ambitions of the title. 'Prophet Making' embarks on a
more elegiac journey as piano keys cascade in time with the pitter-patter
of raindrops. Finally, 'My Favourite Memory' mixes a serene electronic
soundscape with what sounds like a faulty telephone exchange as noise
levels swell and relent in pleasing fashion. With nods to Eno and Kraftwerk,
this is worthwhile music ready-made for the cinema and small screen.
In
it's original context here
From Chain
D.L.K Gray area music website.
Review of ngr-01 by Eugenio Maggi
Artist:
HL
Title: A449/19 (Work in Progress)
Format: 3" MiniCD
Label: no ground-r
Rated:
hl is UK artist, and founding member of No Ground Processes label itself,
Dan Hopkins, here creating an interesting soundscape out of the A449/19,
which is "a road between Newport and Monmouth in South Wales.
This road lasts for 19 miles, during this road you cannot turn around
and go back to the place you have left. There is no access from one
side of the road to another". Must be a cool place to visit, eh!
Sound sources are not easy to detect at all, but there must be some
heavily manipulated field recording of cars passing. The 20'30" piece
is quite basic in its form, and maybe a bit more composition and layering
could have helped - but it does hit the right spots and keep you interested
until the end. Heavy on bass frequencies, the sound samples are looped
and filtered (in real time?) throughout, with a good control of minimal
variations, quiet parts and aggressive bursts. Quite nice for sure,
and if this is a work in progress I'd like to hear its next steps.
In
it's original context here
From Norman
Records Mail order record store and reviews.
Review of ngr-01 and ngr-02 by Brian?
God
there's nowt nicer than a dinky slab of minimalist nothingness to
begin yer reviews. A 3" CD on No Ground by HL, snappily entitled
'A449/19 (Work In Progress)' If I was checking this out at 4pm I'd
be dribbling over this keyboard in a pre-slumber near-coma. As it
happens, this is music for people who like nothing more arresting
than distant 3am in a deserted factory next to a motorway type noises
to remind them that the closest a field mouse gets to audio heaven
is post industrial bliss such as this. PFM provide the other installment
(Hey, what's with the uber minimal monikers too?) 'Pre FM Tracks'.
Reminiscent on the 10 minute opener of Harold Budd & Brian Eno,
a beatless Hermann & Kleine, William Orbit's neo classical synth
excursions, Vangelis & erm freakin' John Michelle Jar. track
2's a winner, soft twinkling keys & guitar samples over a relaxing
cyclic refrain overlaid with some alienated but soft synth. See Yellow
6 & July Skies. Even finer is final tune 'My Favourite Memory',
a gurgling space rock beauty, like Windy & Carl stuck in a malfunctioning
telephone receiver. Classy & well realised stuff!!!
In
it's orginal context here
From Touching
Extremes website
Review
by Massimo Ricci
Review
of ngr-01
HL
- A449/19 (Work in progress) (No Ground-R)
Almost all the sounds used for this interesting 3-inch CD were recorded
by Dan Hopkins on the road between Newport and Monmouth (South Wales),
hence the title. The A449/19, explains the author, is a 19-mile no
u-turn road; its sense of predefined destiny - no chance of returning
once entered - hovers all around the composition, mostly built upon
engine loops in their low-frequency detachment, related environmental
effects and what I believe is an organ (or a synth) which, about halfway
from the beginning, gently sustains the pleasant regularity of the
other noises, just for a little while. It's an excellent work, whose
crafty assemblage and emotional content are both the indication of
a thorough groundwork.
In
it's original context here
From Staalplaat's weekly
email magazine. 'Vital
Weekly'
Review
of ngr-03 and ngr-05 review by Frans de Waard.
STICKER
CLUB - SONG TIME TWO (3"CDR by No Ground Processes)
THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHANGE VS. DANIEL HOPKINS (3"DVD-R by No
Ground Processes)
The man behind Sticker Club is Rory Phillips, who is a DJ 'at a variety
of club nights worldwide', but mostly at a club called 'Trash' in London.
He is also a member of a band called Pups, who released a CD on Tomlab.
That makes the tunes on Sticker Club's 'Song Time Two' (perhaps his
second release?) better to understand, as the tunes could fit very
well that label, save may for the fact that the eight short sketch
like pieces are maybe a bit too simplistic in approach. Maybe he uses
a single groove box and a sound effect or two but that's it. That may
be a bit too easy in approach, but the tunes themselves are captivating
enough.
The other new release by No Ground Processes is a neat 3" DVD-R
by video artist Daniel Hopkins and music group The Development Of Change.
The latter are an instrumental two piece, guitar and drums, and firmly
stay in the areas of post-rock. On 'Clean Billy' they play their best
tune and Hopkins shows the world as seen outside a car. It's however
images that one saw before. 'Arch-e' is less structured, both music
and film, and follows more a random idea. Nice but not as good as 'Clean
Billy'. And that's all folks. Maybe a bit short, but one certainly
gets the idea. (FdW)
In
it's original context here
From textura website
August edition.
Review
of ngr-02, ngr-03, ngr-05 by Ron Schepper
PFM:
Pre FM Tracks
noground-r
Sticker Club: Song Time Two
noground-r
The Development of Shape vs. Daniel Hopkins:
Close to the Edge
noground-r
Established in 1999 and originally rooted in Newport, South Wales,
No Ground Processes is the name under which Dan Hopkins, Myk Thomas,
and Chris Eynon (plus various associates) present live music and visual
arts events. The collective's web site (www.noground.co.uk) and noground-r
label function as both an archive for past works and a showcase for
new projects. The label's range is captured in a representative trio
of 3-inch releases from PFM ('Poor Father Material' aka Myk Thomas
from Newport, South Wales), Sticker Club (Rory Phillips), and The Development
of Shape, here collaborating on a DVD film with Dan Hopkins.
Pre FM Tracks features three instrumental pieces Thomas created using
guitars, violins, and electronics. “The Beauty of Repetition,”
almost ten heavenly minutes of slowly unfurling streams of crystalline
tones, makes the strongest impression. With dramatic shifts in dynamics
and a stronger guitar presence, the considerably more intense and animated
“Prophet Making,” by comparison, hardly qualifies as ambient
at all while “My Favourite Memory” eschews ambient too
for plodding guitar-driven beats and whirring noises, though smothers
the listener with engulfing blur near its close.
Sticker Club seems to pack an album's worth of material into eighteen
minutes on Song Time Two, with eight songs ranging between punchy guitar
pop (“Happy Song (Demo)”), elegant guitar swing (“Somos
Nostros Hombres?”), and various synth-pop styles in between.
What Phillips gains in diversity, he loses in cohesiveness and, while
it doesn't all work so well (the arcade bop of “Laptop Song” makes
for a silly coda), it's impossible not to smile when the Go-Go's' “Vacation”
gets a Gameboy makeover. The melancholy electro-buzz of the opener “Poorly
Song” succeeds most of all though the clicking beats and delicate
melodies of “Fage” are memorable too.
Close to the Edge, noground-r's first DVD release, developed out of
live shows where Dan Hopkins' visuals accompanied The Development of
Shape's music. In the eleven-minute piece, the Derby/UK-based instrumental
duo generates slow-motion drift in two connecting songs, “Clean
Billy”
and “Arch-e.” Opening with a woman's voice describing Billy
Martin (“one of the nicest boys in our town; he's one of the
cleanest boys too”) against a black screen, the voice gradually
fades, shifting the focus to a lulling guitar-drums episode accompanied
by night-time photography recorded from within a moving vehicle. Frame
sizes for the images mutate, abstract golden slivers bleeding into
full-screen footage of nocturnal streetscapes, as the voice briefly
re-appears. Blurred snatches of neon illuminations then flit across
the screen as the music becomes jagged, bluesy scars. Close to the
Edge reaches a peaceful close with panoramic vistas of open plains
suggesting that the trip is far from over.
As mentioned, the three releases inhabit such distinct musical zones,
the only thing they share (aside from an explorative artistic appetite)
is the 3-inch format.
August 2005
in
it's original context here
From Chain
D.L.K Gray area music website.
Review of ngr-02 by Andrea Ferraris
Artist:
PFM
Title: pre FM tracks
Format: 3" MiniCD
Label: No Ground [info@noground.co.uk]
Rated:
For all of the "prog/fusion lovers" out there: this is not
Premiata Forneria Marconi, the famous bestseller of italian fusion-prog
rock italian combo (together with Demetrio Stratos' Area) from the
seventies, PFM stands for Poor Father Material. The music is even more
different, Myk Thomas could be filed under "ambient music",
sometimes the keyboards reminded me of the best works recorded by mr.
Eno, but this' not another
"music for airport wonnabe". While the first track sounds
really
"old school" ambiet, "Prophet making" owns much
more to movie soundtracks and to minimalism while the keyboards at
times sounds like they've been stolen by some records came out on Warp
during the Eighties. But mr. Thomas probably loves being heterogeneous
and the final track is again different, this time his "calm and
rural" (?!?) soundtrack get fused with "shoegaze" music
and its like hearing Swerverdriver or Bark Psychosis diluted into an "empyreal-echo".
This tracks should be nothing but an extract from an album from 2000,
sincerely I can't imagine if in the economy of a long release it could
be boring, but on a 3" mcd it's really good (damn I'd like to
listen to the whole record). If ambient and shoegaze for you mean something
I think you will appreciate this 3"mcd.
In
it's original context here.
From Norman
Records Mail order record store and reviews.
Review
of ngr03 and ngr05 by Fat?
We
have 2 x 3" CD in on No Ground Records this week. The first
one is by Sticker Club which is poppy quirky electronica for want
of another way of putting it. It's a bit all over the place but it's
interesting stuff indeed and well worth checking out. The other CD
is in fact a 3"
DVD as my CD player got very confused and refused to play it. We don't
have a functioning DVD player so I couldn't say what it was like. We've
only just got our 8 track cartridge player fixed... It's an 11 minute
film by Daniel Hopkins and The Development Of Shape. It could be the
best thing ever. It could be utter shit. God knows as we can't
watch it here. Go and investigate!
In
it's original context here
from Cyclic
Defrost Australian Electronic Music magazine.
Review
of ngr-01 by Bob Baker Fish
Issue
#012 (September 2005)
HL - A449/19 (Work In Progress/No Ground-r)
The No Ground-r is a Welsh cdr and dvdr label renowned for some gorgeous
gentle ambient releases on 3-inch cdr. The title, A449/19 apparently
refers to a 19 mile stretch of road in South Wales and it appears that
the field recordings which comprise this work were gathered from this
very location. HL is the work of sound artist Daniel Hopkins who makes
use of the steady rumbling traffic to create deep bass drones, augmented
by the odd closer engine sound, which he appears to have looped, and
the occasional burst of wind. The sounds have also been computer manipulated
as a clearly treated transcendental drone appears midway through the
sixteen minute piece, a crisp warm clarity to the lo fi untreated recordings.
It’s at this point the piece alters dramatically, a respite from
the unpredictability of the field recordings. When the field recordings
return after a few minutes they are looped and treated with delay,
creating an almost lo fi repetitious rhythmic pulse which then oscillates
between various effects to quite mesmerizing effect.
Bob Baker Fish
In
it's orginal context here
from Cyclic
Defrost Australian Electronic Music magazine.
Review
of ngr-02 by Bob Baker Fish
Issue
#012 (September 2005)
PFM - Pre FM Tracks (No Ground-r)
It’s impossible not to be seduced by the rich warm, almost classically
ambient sounds on Wales artist Myk Thomas’ beautiful 3-inch cdr
on the label he co founded. Whilst the first track offers a drifting
tranquil sense of floating space in the best Eno, new age traditions,
the second with a gentle bassline, piano and acoustic guitar offers
a similar drifting graceful feel, with a little more traditional musical
progression. Whilst the third piece with it’s warm washes of
synth, meandering bassline and shuffling beat is quintessential ambient
rock. Warm, with incredibly lush and pure production, it’s a
soothing work that comes across like evolution, i.e the first track
plus the second equals the third, which structurally at least draws
upon elements of the first two, though arranges them in a much more
restrained though challenging way.
Bob baker Fish
In
it's original context here
From Sound
Nation, Welsh music magazine.
Reviews
of ngr-02 and ngr-03 by James W Roberts
Newport's
Dan Hopkins and a collection of sonic terrorists unleash a couple
of gems on mini CD format on the noground-r label.
PMF's
Pre FM Tracks is three tracks of drawn out, gloom-tinged electro
orchestral grace. The Beauty of Repetition outlinea the almost claustrophobic
template but fast forward some nine minutes, and the triumphant,
melodic glitches of My Favourite Memory provide release from the
sonic oppression. Next up: Sticker Club. Offering
a more straight up eight songs, opening with the glitchy, Moog-driven
Poorly Song that recalls electro types The Knife and the slw-burning
Pooty II which is a lovely class in post-rock meddling. With the
choppy melodies of Fage, Sticker Club pulls off the art of making
cerebral electronic electronic music you don't need a Masters in
Engineering to appreciate, Wonderful. The DVD by Dan Hopkins vs The
Development of Shape is also available from noground-r. JWR
From Staalplaat's weekly
email magazine. 'Vital
Weekly'
Review
of ngr-04 review by Frans de Waard.
FICKLE/HL
- DISTRACTION (3"CDR by No Ground Processes)
It's been about two years ago that I reviewed a CDR release by Fickle
on Consume (see Vital Weekly 489). Fickle comes from Stoke On Trent,
which is about the only thing known. Here he teams up with HL, who
plays laptop and guitar here on this recording which is a concert they
did together in support of Mountain Men Anomymous and Epic 45. A short,
ten minute, audio track on this 3"CDR, but a second portion has
the whole concert as MP3. Vaguely obscure rhythms and glitchy ambient
passages is the most apt description of this, me thinks. The music
leaves not a very impression on the listener. It's sort of alright,
but nothing else. (FdW)
In
it's original context here
Review of ngr-03
Artist: STICKER CLUB
Title: song time two
Format: 3" MiniCD
Label: No ground-r [ info {at} noground {dot} co {dot} uk ]
Rated:
No Ground is back with a new episode of their 3" cdr series. Rory
Philips aka Sticker Club and his laptop are tuned on the frequencies
of Warp records when it was still an electronic label (nay..."THE" electronic
label). At the same time, being Rory from England, melancholy is flowing
into his veins and in the vascular system of many other musician coming
from the country of John Lennon. The electronic tracks reminded me
of the funniest episodes of Plone or Plaid: it means this could get
along pretty well with a videogame. "Song time two" features
also some sad guitar driven tracks, honestly I still can't understand
if he could have used different songs for different projects, but the
whole 3" is good so who cares then?!. While the production of
the electronic tracks is good, the sound of the guitar can be improved
a lot, it doesn't imply that the whole recording is so and so. This
3" release is quite relaxed and well produced for a debut, I'm
sure if you're into electronic music with rhythm and irony you will
like this guy from England. Sticker Club has some good qualities even
if that could be considered a beginning, let's see what happens with
his future releases.
Review by: Andrea Ferraris
In
it's original context here
Review of ngr-03
From Leonards
Lair Music reviews website
Sticker Club
Song Time Two
Better known as a London DJ, Rory Phillips' recorded output as Sticker
Club is removed from the dancefloor but should please pop and indie
fans alike. 'Song Time Two' covers eight tracks in a quickfire eighteen
minutes. No mean feat when you consider he makes time for Notwist-style
melancholic guitar ('Fage', 'Somos Nostros Hombres') and bleeping,
strangely bouyant electronic music. One of the most endearing tracks
is 'Pooty 2' which resembles the wheezing and clicking of a rusty old
machine and has charm in abundance. By keeping each track short and
sweet, Phillips uses his DJ experience to maintain the listener's interest
throughout.
In it's original
context here
Review of ngr-06
From Staalplaat's weekly
email magazine. 'Vital
Weekly'
HURRA CAINE LANDCRASH - MOVING (CDR by No Ground Processes)
HL - BROKEN EP (3"CDR by First Person)
Dan Hopkins, the man behind HL (which may or may not stand for Hurra
caine Landcrash, according to the cover), is also the owner of the
No Ground Processes label, which so far, if I do recall this, only
released 3"CDR releases. Here as Hurra caine Landcrash he releases
a full 5"CDR, and it 'was recorded during 2002 and 2004, and deals
with moving on in life and death and also moving in equipment used
for the making of my music'. The latter is a bit cryptical, but maybe
it's the use of guitars here that has become a bigger feature in his
music. He plays his guitar by strumming notes and tones, feeding them
to the delay and reverb maggots and let's the sound stay there for
the time a track lasts. Occasionally there is the use of electronics,
again in the same minimal approach. It's throughout alright, but way
too lengthy at times. Many of the pieces could have been cut in half
and still be interesting. That's a pity.
On a different label, First Person, HL has a 3"CDR under the banner
of 'The Broken EP' and here he returns to 'making vocal led work',
along with his guitar playing. There is indeed some sort vocal stuff
going on, but not much, and by no means real singing. Otherwise this
is still the guitar (main part) and electronic (more reduced) than
the full length, but here the songs seem lesser worked out than on
the full length. Maybe it serves as a good intro... (FdW)
Address: http://www.noground.co.uk
Address: <frstprsn@yahoo.co.uk
In
it's original context here
Review of ngr-01
From The Electronic
Dessert, Swedish Webzine.
hl | A449/19 | No Ground-R – NG-R01 | CD | 2003 |
“A449/19” is the title of the very first No Ground-R release
an independent label activated in Great Britain. Releasing music and
visuals on their main format of choice 3" discs. "A449/19" features
ambient and slightly menacing soundscapes drowned in low frequency
assemblies playing the leading role of structure. According to the
background information the 20 min long track is based on the experiences
and surroundings of the A449. A road between Newport and Monmouth in
South Wales and it lasts for 19 miles (30,5km), during this distance
it is not possible to turn around and go back to the place of origin.
This is excellent ambient music with rich bass textures and very subtle
rhythm. And you just got to love the 3” disc format and the level
of ambition of the entire No Ground undertaking of which No Ground-R
is an integral part.
Bell 03
In its original context here
Review of ngr-02
From The Electronic
Dessert, Swedish Webzine.
PFM | Pre FM Tracks | No Ground-R – NG-R02 | CD | 2005 |
Pre FM Tracks is the title of recording artist PFM’s three track
3” No Ground-R release. Exceedingly beautiful and very cinematic
in its qualities, layers of strings and crystalline-like structure,
without being cold sounding, the first track does its title full justice “The
Beauty of Repetition”. The second song on the three-song long
EP “Prophet Making” features gently treated piano and guitars,
a superb build-up and washes of synthetic sounds added to an increasingly
complex sonic picture, all to great effect. It’s a great track
revealing the talent behind the composition. “My favourite Memory” is
ending the EP, which has a steady no-frills acoustic sounding beat
and straight forward melody, until the end that is when the song is
completely deconstructed. The shorter story: “Pre FM Tracks” is
an excellent second release by No Ground-R.
Bell 03
In
its original context here
Review of ngr-03
From The Electronic
Dessert, Swedish Webzine.
Sticker Club | Song Time Two | No Ground-R – NG-R03 | CD | 2005
|
“Song Time Two” is the third No Ground-R release and it
followed the lovely “Pre FM Tracks” by PFM. On the eight-track “Song
Time Two” Sticker Club has chosen a somewhat different path compared
to the two previous No Ground-R releases. It’s a dirtier lo-fi
sounding and less rich sonic texture being presented. “Poorly
Song” features nursery rhyme like melodies with grit. Not bad
at all.” And then follow “Vacation (Go Go’s cover)” with
arcade game music influences, “Pooty II” featuring acoustic
guitar and dry almost invisible beats and it’s essentially an
electronically infused singer songer ballad without vocals for the
21st century. “Mall of Sound” has quirky beats and quirky
sounds making a quirky song. “Fage” features more minimal
beats, acoustic and electric guitars and a very subtle bassline. It’s
song writing ability demonstrated. The lo-fi setting, understated beats
and strong melodies could very well be said to be Sticker Club’s
insignia, quite unique sounding and that is always a good thing in
my opinion. The third release from No Ground-R has some surprises in
store.
Bell 03
In
its original context here
Review of ngr-04
From Chain
D.L.K Gray area music website.
Artist: FICKLE & HL
Title: Distraction
Format: 3" MiniCD
Label: No Ground-r
Rated:
This audio/data 3" cdr has been out for a while, but I get to
talk about it only now due to a seriously messed up review schedule.
HL is No Ground Processes main agitator Dan Hopkins, whose very interesting
debut "A449/19 (Work in Progress)" was reviewed a while ago;
here he teams up with a Stoke-on-Trent-based artist known as Fickle,
who has another cdr out on Consume. The audio track is an edit from
a concert that the duo played in February 2004, featured in its full
length as an mp3 in the data part. I have no clue about who played
what, but the kind of fragmented processing of the edit is quite similar
to the above mentioned "A449/19 (Work in Progress)", only
that this time there are apparently no environmental recordings, just "real" instruments.
The piece begins with a throbbing hum to which different sounds and
layers are added throughout: scratching loops, vaguely melodic tones,
a steady pulse towards the end... Quite interesting for what it is,
but a bit unrefined, and for my personal taste not as captivating,
in the choice of sound sources, as HL's previous 3"s.
Review by: Eugenio Maggi [ criacuervos-at-libero {dot} it {at} ]
In
its original context here
Review of ngr-04
From Touching
Extremes website
HL / FICKLE - Distraction (No Ground-R)
Another nice oddity from this interesting multimedia label. "Distraction" is
a 3-inch CD whose audio section is an edited version of a longer concert
from 2004, which is available as MP3 in the data segment of the mini
disc; the music is a satisfying blend of atmospherical darkness and
post-industrial pulse, appreciable by fans of Zoviet France and surroundings
but also by lovers of esoterica labels such as Cold Meat Industry,
as most sounds gravitate around the low-frequency area with some minor
interference, the result being quite good if played at consistent volume.
Like in every No Ground release, the cover picture is also very beautiful,
contributing quite lovely to an unique collection.
In its
original context here
Review of ngr-06
From Touching
Extremes website
HURRA CAINE LANDCRASH - Moving (No Ground-R)
Dan Hopkins, aka HL, aka Hurra caine Landcrash, achieves with "Moving" some
of his best results meshing low-budget electronics and treatments of
very simple guitar phrases and chords (often held for a long time with
the help of signal processors) whose beauty is best represented by
a masterpiece called "March", a drone so intense that had
me thinking about inner spiritual resonance more than music, something
that can also be experienced in the work of people like Peter Wright.
Expressing his feelings about a particular moment where many things
changed in his life, the author hesitates a little bit at first, the
sounds almost shy to manifest their significance while remaining scarcely
decipherable and even irksome; but as the music flows, it all starts
to look like a terse sky after a storm has passed, with the shimmering
lights of the strings and the currents of vibrating liquids slowly
taking possession of the ambience around us. Elusive yet powerful reflections
by a profound artist.
In its original context here
Review of ngr-05
From Chain DLK Website
Artist: THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHAPE VS DANIEL HOPKINS
Title: Close to the edge
Format: DVD
Label: noground
Rated:
As announced right from its start, noground offers here its first video
release, a 3" dvd-r with an 11-minute video track by label-runner
Dan Hopkins and music from the UK duo The Delelopment of Shape, aka
Steve Little (guitar) and Elvis Beetham-Wallace (drums). The artists
have had an ongoing collaboration for live sets, and eventually decided
to try and make it available as a "studio" release. Visuals
and sound merge in a very effective and fascinating way indeed: the
duo's desertic slow-motion instrumentals (somewhere between Dirty Three
and post-Slintian rock) are an effective sountrack for Hopkins' stills
of flashing lights, blurred landscapes and urban spleen - watching
the outside world from a car window. Both intimistic and mysteryous,
this short is quite an engaging experience.
Review by: Eugenio Maggi [ criacuervos-at-libero {dot} it {at} ]
In it's original context here
Thanks
to everyone who has put the time and effort into review are music,
you really are appreciated.
|
