Category Archives: Ether

Ether column, June 2008

Posted on by
Reply

In my February column, I wrote about the visit to Vienna of the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young. There aren’t many other living rock stars truly deserving of the term legendary, but Bob Dylan is certainly one of them, and this month he too touches down in Vienna. Since 1988 Dylan has been engaged on the Never Ending Tour, a ceaseless parade around the theatres, arenas and stadiums of the world. At these gigs, he regularly intersperses Dylan classics with total obscurities from his massive back catalogue and traditional American folk songs that you suspect no-one but he has ever even heard.

After almost fifty years as a performer, Dylan has absolutely nothing left to prove. For all the talk of his supposedly shifting, protean qualities (brought to the fore in the recent biopic I’m Not There, in which he was played by six different actors), he is essentially a man who writes songs, sings and plays guitar – no more, and no less. Musically, he’s broken no new ground since he carried out the small matter of inventing rock music in 1965-6 with the trilogy of albums Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. His renunciation of the glib certainties of protest folk, and his creation of multi-layered and dreamlike texts to accompany what he called the “thin wild mercury sound” of those records, were – and this is no exaggeration – a turning point in Western civilisation. With a few notable exceptions (Blood on the Tracks, Oh Mercy, Time Out Of Mind), none of his later albums have approached the epic quality of his mid-60s work. His singing voice, meanwhile – never an easy thing to love – has gradually descended into a cracked and wheezing approximation of its former self. And yet a Dylan concert is still undoubtedly an event, due in large part to no-one knowing quite what the old buzzard will play next, nor what approach he will take to the performance of songs he has played literally thousands of times. Dylan may be in the autumn of his life, but he continues to demonstrate an unswerving commitment to live performance and a stubborn refusal to allow his career and reputation to stagnate. For that, as for so much else, he is deserving of the greatest admiration and respect.

Just space to mention Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, otherwise known as Will Oldham, who drops in this month for the first time since his excellent set at last year’s Donaufestival. A literate and piercingly honest singer and songwriter, Oldham’s songs inhabit a strange place somewhere between old-time American folk, country and confessional poetry. His quavery voice and spare musical aesthetic lend his work a distinctive sense of the uneasy, effortlessly binding together the earthly and the sublime.

Ether column, May 2008

Posted on by
Reply

The main event this month is a series of concerts to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Vienna’s leading venue for experimental electronic music. Herbie Molin and Christof Kurzmann founded the Rhiz club in 1998, at a time when Viennese electronic musicians were in the midst of a tumultuous burst of creativity and were bringing worldwide attention to the city. The Rhiz was, and remains, central to the more cerebral end of this activity, exemplified by the challenging laptop improv put out by the Mego label. It’s fitting, therefore, that the proprietor of Mego (now known as Editions Mego), Peter Rehberg, should be appearing at the Rhiz this month as part of the anniversary celebrations. As well as making solo records under the name Pita, Rehberg has worked with many of the world’s top names in avant-garde and improvised music. At the Rhiz this month he showcases his latest project KTL, a collaboration with Stephen O’Malley of drone metal group Sunn O))). The gig is likely to be rib-crushingly loud, especially in the tight confines of the Rhiz, all of which should make for a pleasantly disorientating live experience.

Such a warning/recommendation could equally well apply to the following night’s appearance by the legendary English electronic noise pioneers Whitehouse. The Rhiz is hugely fortunate to be hosting one of the last ever concerts by Whitehouse, who have been a constant and nagging presence in underground music for a staggering 28 years. Having weathered numerous line-up changes over this time, the core duo of William Bennett and Philip Best are disbanding the group to concentrate on solo projects, leaving behind a legacy of fearsome, hostile and aggressive music. The early Whitehouse records were bleak, harrowing affairs, consisting of a barrage of high-pitched frequencies and juddering low-end drones over which Bennett would scream the occasional lyric laced with goading obscenities. The group’s disturbing iconography, replete with imagery of serial killers and sexual sadism, won them few friends in the supposedly tolerant music scene, but they developed an international following and inspired a generation of lesser noise musicians. Their concerts, which they described as “live actions”, were intensely confrontational events that occasionally erupted into physical violence.

Over the years, Whitehouse’s art has matured into an acute and invasive form of psychological inquiry, with Bennett and Best pouring forth dense clusters of unsettling personal questions and blasts of haranguing profanity. Musically, they have abandoned the dual high/low frequency assault in favour of a livid, complex and dangerous sound, characterised by monstrous synth noises and deranged, clattering percussion. (Much of this shift can be traced to Bennett’s recent interest in African rhythms, which will form the core of his forthcoming Afro Noise project.) Live, Whitehouse are great fun, revelling in rock star poses and laying down a compelling and highly original form of electronic harshness. One of the most important and original groups ever to come from the UK, they will be sorely missed.

Ether column, April 2008

Posted on by
Reply

It was always going to be difficult for this year’s Donaufestival in Krems, Lower Austria, to follow the exceptional line-up of last year’s event. However, there are still plenty of worthwhile performances on the schedule at this most stimulating of festivals. The pick of these has to be the visit of American group Tortoise, who will grace the stage with their slinky and graceful instrumental music. Tortoise are often described as ‘post-rock’, a label which, like many such categorisations, has a kernel of truth at its core. In the early 90s, a time when rock music was in thral to Britpop and grunge, Tortoise emerged playing a music that seemed determined not only to sidestep but to supersede those essentially retrospective approaches. Incorporating elements of jazz, easy listening and dub reggae, Tortoise music achieves the rare feat of appealing to the listener’s head and feet at the same time.

Two evenings later, Connecticut’s Magik Markers drop by in support of their recently released album Boss. The Markers are an unruly noise-pop duo consisting of drummer Pete Nolan and singer/guitarist Elisa Ambrogio, who doubles as the life and music partner of Six Organs of Admittance’s Ben Chasny. Joining Chasny on stage for a short, incendiary set at last year’s Donaufestival, Ambrogio demonstrated a glorious ability to shred the hell out of her electric guitar with blasts of intelligent, well crafted noise, mirroring much of the Markers’ previous output (which consisted of one ‘proper’ studio album and a long series of self-released CD-Rs). Boss, however, sees a strong redefinition of the Markers’ approach. It’s a remarkably diverse set of songs, with Ambrogio’s seductive voice reaching out over Nolan’s fiery percussion and occasional contributions from producer (and Sonic Youth veteran) Lee Ranaldo on guitar and glockenspiel.

Back in Vienna, German experimental rock pioneers Einstürzende Neubauten return as part of an extensive European tour. It’s incredible to think that Neubauten have been active now for almost 30 years, without in all that time losing any of their freewheeling and churning creativity. Having weathered numerous line-up and label changes over the years, the Neubauten of 2008 are a lean and reflective proposition. They have long ago abandoned the more challenging extremes of their early incarnations, in which hollow-cheeked frontman Blixa Bargeld would howl dementedly over an eviscerating percussive attack fashioned from scrap metal and building tools. The unconventional instrumentation remains, but Bargeld has matured into a songwriter of rare acuity, his texts (in both German and English) replete with tumbling wordplay and caustic imagery. Musically, Neubauten combine elements of central European folk and out-there rock, powered by the spidery progressions of Bargeld’s guitar and by NU Unruh’s self-constructed rhythmic arsenal. Their life’s work is to capture the essence of the untranslatable German word Sehnsucht, fusing tenderness, longing, regret and destruction.

Ether column, March 2008

Posted on by
Reply

The last time Mark Eitzel played in Vienna, it was to 30-odd people at the Chelsea on a wet Sunday night. Those lucky few witnessed a typically quixotic solo performance from Eitzel, delivering his intense songs in a seemingly casual but, in fact, incredibly crafted and passionate way. This month Eitzel is back in town with his group American Music Club, on the back of a new album, The Golden Age. While he probably doesn’t care all that much, I certainly hope for a larger audience this time. Eitzel is a knotty and intractable performer, self-deprecating to the point of embarrassment. For the most part, his songs lack identifiable choruses and hooks. But his voice is an instrument capable of truly wrenching displays of heartfelt emotion, and cuts through you with deadly precision. His group’s blank, neutral name speaks as eloquently of their music as The Band’s did of theirs; AMC inhabit the wide open spaces of American rock, with the guitar and rhythm section framing Eitzel’s searingly honest, confessionally driven lyrics.

Great double-header at B72 this month, with Japan’s Up-Tight and Vienna’s own Primordial Undermind presenting an evening of out-there psychedelic rock. Up-Tight lay down thick layers of guitar-heavy drones, their squalling mantras of noise building into a blissful cacophony that evokes prime-era Velvet Underground or Spacemen 3. And like the Velvets, Up-Tight are also partial to the odd eerily melancholic ballad, providing the listener with occasional respite from the sonic onslaught. Primordial Undermind are an equally bracing proposition, with long, spacey jams navigating the listener into the kind of inner headspace explored by pre-Dark Side Floyd. After 15-odd years of existence in America, leader and guitarist Eric Arn relocated the group to Vienna in 2005. Since then, they have released their sixth album Loss of Affect and continued to mine a richly creative seam of trippy, clangorous music.

Finally, gifted American folk singer Marissa Nadler makes her Vienna début early next month. “Folk” is a barely adequate term for what Nadler does, however. Her recently released third album, Songs III: Bird on the Water, pulsates with a haunted Gothic spirituality, its songs resonating with a deeply unsettling power and grace. Nadler plays acoustic guitar with all the glowing richness of Leonard Cohen or Bert Jansch, while the rapturous imagery of her lyrics chimes perfectly with the angelically pure beauty of her voice. “Oh what a day to dance with you,” she sings, “oh what a day to die”, summing up her songs’ swooning and radiant conflation of love, sex and death.

Ether column, February 2008

Posted on by
Reply

Regular readers of this column will know that I hardly ever recommend upcoming concerts by big name artists, on the grounds that they get quite enough publicity as it is without me adding to it. I’m happy to make an exception, however, in the case of Neil Young, who comes to Vienna this month as part of a very rare European tour. Young is a brave, stubborn and dauntingly creative individual who has been making music for over 40 years. Although he is Canadian by birth, his songs build into a mythic form of Americana, tapping effortlessly into both acoustic folk and electric rock forms. There are few more exciting sounds in rock than Young’s incendiary electric guitar playing, while as an acoustic guitarist and singer he catches a perfect note of desolate yearning. On this tour, Young promises to play two full sets, one acoustic and one electric, a combination which will showcase both sides of his awesome talent.

Two further concerts this month bring contrasting aspects of contemporary American rock to Vienna. Earth are a doomy guitar outfit led by Dylan Carlson, who was a close friend of Kurt Cobain and bought the shotgun with which the Nirvana singer killed himself. Their signature sound is best described as a slowed-down, drone-based form of Metal, although on their 2005 album Hex Carlson’s guitar style became markedly lighter and more countrified. Earth were last seen in Vienna in 2006, when they found themselves in the strange position of playing support to a band who were formed in tribute to them (the even more droney and Metallic Sunn O)))). This time, they deservedly take the stage as headliners, and their own support act is well worth catching – experimental guitarist and former member of Sun City Girls, Richard Bishop.

Finally, there’s an intriguing event at the Arena this month, the Maximum Black Festival. The story of how it came about is a good one. The Wiener Stadtwerke (the parent company of Wien Energie and Wiener Linien) wanted to use a piece of music by Canadian singer and violinist Owen Pallett, who records and performs under the name Final Fantasy, in an advertisement. When Pallett refused, the company went ahead and used an unauthorised cover version anyway. Naturally, Pallett was fuming, but he was placated by a remarkable offer from the WS – they would finance a day-long festival curated by him. And here it is – not only Pallett, but also juddering trio Deerhoof, idiosyncratic alt-rockers Frog Eyes, lo-fi noiseniks Dirty Projectors and, best of all, the pulsating guitar-driven mandalas of Six Organs of Admittance. Think about it – where else in the world would you find a public works company sponsoring a line-up like that?

Ether column, January 2008

Posted on by
Reply

Who can resist a band with a name like Fuckhead? Not me, that’s for sure. And the fact that they are Austrian makes the prospect of an evening with them all the more appealing. Active since 1988, Fuckhead are a fusion of Industrial metal, intelligent dance music and Viennese Actionist performance art. The four-piece from Linz are notable for their confrontational live shows, which for a while earned them the distinction of being banned by the Austrian authorities. More often than not, a Fuckhead concert consists of the heavily tattooed (and all-male, sadly) group writhing on stage clad only in their underwear, or naked but for some strategically placed gaffer tape, eating sausages and simulating sex acts, with the entire spectacle soundtracked by punishing Metal textures. If that sounds like the sort of thing you would enjoy – and I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be – then be sure to be at the Chelsea on 31 January.

For those wishing for a more considered start to their 2008 gig-going, there’s always Iron & Wine. Lurking behind the group alias is US singer-songwriter Sam Beam, who has released three albums of folky, countrified alt-rock and is currently on tour promoting the most recent of these, The Shepherd’s Dog. Beam is a quietly inspired musician whose craftsmanlike approach to songcraft has drawn comparisons with stellar names such as Nick Drake, Paul Simon and Neil Young. Moving away from the scratchy, lo-fi sound of his earliest recordings, the new album sees Beam surrounding himself with a large cast of supporting musicians and building up an arsenal of lush instrumentation as a result. But the songs retain an air of melancholy and southern Gothic atmospheres that makes them utterly beguiling.

Meanwhile, Porgy & Bess starts 2008 as it no doubt means to go on with a series of intriguing jazz and world music concerts. The pick of these could well be the visit of the Czech singer and violinist Iva Bittova, performing as a duo with American bassist and saxophonist George Mraz. Bittova is a virtuoso performer whose work blends elements of Anglo-American rock and eastern European folk. Frequently confounding audience expectations, she plays the violin with various found objects and deploys a variety of vocal utterances ranging from straight ahead singing to childlike babbling and full-throated ululations. In Bittova’s practised hands, however, this range of approaches never descends into mere gimmickry. Instead, it seems like a natural outgrowth of the melodies and rhythms inherent in her self-composed music.

Ether column, December 2007

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve never recommended a concert at B72 before in this column, so let’s rectify that oversight now. This place is one of my favourite spots on the Gürtel, with a friendly vibe, a cool spinning wheel of spirit bottles behind the bar and a split-level interior that affords a fine view of the stage from upstairs. This month it plays host to Caribou, alias Canadian electronic musician Dan Snaith. Active since 2000, Snaith released two albums as Manitoba until a lawsuit from American proto-punk singer Richard Manitoba forced a change of name. His work is notable for infusing the often dry and cerebral genre of electronica with a lush, dreamy warmth. On his most recent record, Andorra, Snaith effortlessly evokes that brief period in the mid-60s when pop was frying at the edges and transforming into psychedelia.

There is no great tradition of guitar-based alternative rock in Austria, although fans of the genre in Vienna have always been well served by the many British and American bands who include the city in their touring schedules. And the regularity with which these artists pack out venues like the Szene and the Flex is testament to the popularity of guitar rock here. The few established Austrian names in the field, such as Naked Lunch and Garish, have recently been joined by the excellent A Life, A Song, A Cigarette, who drop in at the Szene this month as part of an extensive Austrian and German tour. ALASAC’s début album, Fresh Kills Landfill, is one of those rare first records that announces its creators as not merely promising, but in possession of an already fully formed talent. It’s a beautifully autumnal folk-rock record, with the lyrical vocals of singer Stephen Stanzel (who also plays guitar and mandolin) curling around the chiming instrumentation of the other five band members, which includes cello and accordion. By turns sober and exuberant, ALASAC are clearly influenced by alt-rock bands such as Wilco, but have their own distinctive and lovely sound. And they sing in English, too.

And finally, a necessary antidote to all this upbeat songcraft. Jesu are a British band fronted by Justin Broadrick, best known as the leader of the now defunct, groundbreaking Industrial outfit Godflesh. Between 1988 and 2002, Godflesh carved out a niche for themselves as pioneers of slow, grinding music, building on the innovations of Swans and adding slowed down Metal textures. After disbanding Godflesh Broadrick launched Jesu, supposedly as a vehicle for lighter, more melodic impulses – although Jesu share much of Godflesh’s approach, including their monolithic sound structures and general air of lowering doom. And if that doesn’t bring home the fact that winter is here, nothing will.

Ether column, November 2007

Posted on by
Reply

Fans of American alt-rock are faced with a difficult choice this month, as two of the more literate exponents of the genre play in Vienna on the same evening – a scheduling anomaly likely to halve the audience for both concerts. First up, Texas’ Okkervil River, who hit the Szene as part of an extensive European tour. Named after a river in St. Petersburg, Okkervil River have since forming in 1998 racked up four increasingly confident and powerful albums. Their current release, The Stage Names, is an exhilarating train ride of emotions hinging on the words and vocals of singer and lyricist Will Sheff. Sheff delivers his texts in a passionate, utterly persuasive style, switching from an outraged howl to a desolate and unearthly croon. Musically, Okkervil River present a feast of lush instrumentation, with cornet and lap steel guitar augmenting the band’s standard rock line-up and bringing Sheff’s precise and evocative lyrics sparklingly to life.

Across town at the Flex, New York’s Fiery Furnaces have their own album, Widow City, to promote. The brother and sister duo of guitarist Matthew and singer Eleanor Friedberger are a more challenging proposition than Okkervil River, with jarring changes of pace and blasts of concrète noise among the treats on offer. The Furnaces are songwriters at heart, however, and it’s never too long before their music returns to solid ground. With the core duo joined for live work by other musicians, the band specialise in lengthy medleys incorporating elements from a number of their songs.

Meanwhile, Porgy & Bess continues its ongoing mission to bring the finest free jazz musicians in the world to Vienna with a concert by the tenor saxophonist David S. Ware and his Quartet. Ware has an impeccable pedigree; he was taught circular breathing by the veteran saxman Sonny Rollins, and in the 70s played in pianist Cecil Taylor’s band. He didn’t set out with his own group until the late 80s, but he has more than made up for lost time with a relentless schedule of gigging and recording. With his febrile, provocative style, Ware is arguably the foremost living exponent of the Fire Music espoused by 60s greats like Ayler and Coltrane.

Finally, a quick mention of an appearance by someone even more out there than Ware: the German saxophonist Peter Brötzmann. I raved at length about Brötzmann in my June column, so this time I’ll simply note that he’s playing a special concert, starting at midnight, with the Japanese guitarist Keiji Haino. I can think of no better pair of musicians to keep the audience from falling into a small-hours slumber.

Ether column, October 2007

Posted on by
Reply

Having played host to some fine shows at the Donaufestival in April, the Minoritenkirche in Krems returns to active service this month with a series of concerts under the banner Kontraste. The highlight of these is the visit of American singer Diamanda Galas, performing Guilty Guilty Guilty, a suite of tragic and homicidal songs about love and death. If that doesn’t sound like a barrel of laughs to you, well, you’re right. Galas’ dramatic style, dark subject matter and astonishing vocal range mark her out as a truly unique and mesmerising performer. Born in California, and raised in the Greek Orthodox church, Galas has tackled weighty subjects such as the AIDS epidemic (Plague Mass) and the victims of Turkish genocide (Defixiones: Will & Testament) in her work. Showing a lighter side, she collaborated with Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones on an album of rock songs, The Sporting Life. Whether performing her own songs or those of others, Galas’ work reaches deep into the realms of the mythical and psychological, evoking Old Testament notions of wrath and revenge. Her great gift is to wrench these shades from the past and to reimagine them, through her remarkable voice and spectral presence, as symptoms of a wholly contemporary sickness.

Back in Vienna, Klangforum Wien mark the opening of the 2007 Wien Modern festival with a special concert at the Konzerthaus. Wien Modern is one of those events that Vienna does so well, radically undermining the city’s cosy Mozart-and-Strauss image with a programme of challenging modern classical music. Running since 1988, the annual festival acts as a showcase for innovation where the major works of the Second Viennese School and beyond rub shoulders with ear-splitting experimental electronic composition. A 24-member ensemble of soloists for contemporary music, Klangforum have an international reputation and are regulars at the festival. Since their formation in 1985 they have been performing in Vienna and around the world, their repertoire ranging from key works of the 20th century to young present-day composers, free jazz and improvisation. Their show at the Konzerthaus promises a mouth-watering selection of pieces by legendary figures of the classical avant-garde such as Schönberg, Cage, Xenakis and Stockhausen. The music will be accompanied by screenings of short films by experimental film-makers such as Stan Brakhage and Man Ray.

Ether column, July-August 2007

Posted on by
Reply

The live music scene in Vienna, like that of any major city, tends to quieten down during the summer months, as the city empties and the outdoor festival circuit takes over. Thankfully, however, there are still a few interesting events taking place in July and August. First up, and buried deep among the shockingly conservative line-up of the Vienna Jazz Festival, is a concert by the veteran American free jazz musician Archie Shepp. Shepp has a long and distinguished history as a saxophonist; he played in Cecil Taylor’s band in the late 50s, before joining John Coltrane’s group in time to appear on Coltrane’s seminal 1965 album Ascension. Stepping into the limelight under his own name in the late 60s, Shepp’s music began to embrace a passionate Afrocentricity on sides such as Fire Music and The Magic of Ju-Ju. At the same time, like many black American musicians of the period, he felt the pull of Europe, where free jazz was – and remains – far more appreciated than at home. He recorded no fewer than five albums for the important French label BYG Actuel, and has in fact made France his adopted home. Shepp’s frenetic avant-garde sax lines, coupled with the rhythms and ideologies of Africa, make his music an exciting proposition. Demonstrating a continued willingness to experiment, he will be accompanied in this performance by two rappers and electronic beats.

The other big summer highlight is the visit of veteran New York avant-garde songsmiths Sonic Youth, playing an open air concert in the relatively intimate surroundings of the courtyard at the Arena. Sonic Youth have seemingly been around forever, constantly varying and refining their avant-edged brand of alternative rock. Emerging in the early 80s from the New York post-punk and No Wave scene, the band have never entirely abandoned their roots in experiment and confrontation. The signature Sonic Youth sound is a maelstrom of squally, guitar-driven noise, tempered with a clever, hookwise pop sensibility. Having enjoyed a degree of commercial success since the release of their 1988 album Daydream Nation, they are now in the rare position of being major label artists who have retained wide critical respect and the freedom to experiment more or less as they please. Daydream Nation itself has now almost achieved ‘classic album’ status, with the result that the band have recently taken to playing it in its entirety at concerts. This development may surprise those who never expected Sonic Youth to yield to the current fad for complete album performances; but, given their rich history of making boundary-breaking rock music, you can hardly blame them for exercising their rights to a little nostalgia. Besides, it’s a dead cert that they will continue to confound their audience’s expectations for a good while yet.