Various Artists : “Run Over By An Elevator” (BS017 - 2012)

a whole host of other impish talent from the electronica divides with which to playfully mess with you head space are to be found shoehorned upon the enclosed 16 tracks. The ethereal dream drift of Haq whose sighing bittersweet ’bees in my feet’ provides probably one of the sets stand out moments by far will melt hearts on first listen and sounds it has to be said not unlike a divinely ghost like and wounded broadcast in some romantic tryst with komeda.
God Is In The TV]

The fearlessly inventive and always exciting Bearsuit label returns with a collection of experimental  electronic works spotlighting the best and brightest of the (predominantly) Scottish and Japanese electronics scene. …So if your tastes run towards experimental electronic soundscapes with the occasional glitchy veneer wrapped around the odd haunting melody delivered with disembodied voices, try this on for size.
[Terrascope]

"Descending" by emlp, one of the tracks I liked most of this collection - partially recalls Icelandic Mum as well as "Bees In My Feet" by Haq, collaborative project between Japanese n-qia and Scot, Harold Nono could remind some moments of Slowdive's "Catch The Breeze") and a geographical connection with Scotland and Northern England, one of the most active musical workshops who gave listeners a lot of mindblowing sonic stuff.
[Chain D.L.K]

Não é de todo um disco para qualquer ocasião obviamente, ou não estivéssemos a falar de ambiências experimentais em que ruídos alienígenas preenchem muitas vezes os espaços do tempo. Mas a energia em si chega a ser luminosa, vibrante, inspiradora.
[Projecto Cellophane]

Kao što sve odiše uobicajenom zvucnom kulisom specificnom za Bearsuit Records, iza svih ovih slojevitih paravana s obiljem prijatnih eksperimenata stoji vrlo mirna ekscentricnost. Nimalo naporna, a još manje dosadna ili monotona, ova kompilacija je ponovno jako dobar pokazatelj suvremenog elektro-akusticnog 'homemade' undergrounda koji nastaje na vrlo bliskim stilsko-žanrovskim odrednicama diljem citave planete od Japana sve do Amerike i Europe.
[Terapija]

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Various Artists : “Run Over By An Elevator” (BS017 - 2012)

The fearlessly inventive and always exciting Bearsuit label returns with a collection of experimental  electronic works spotlighting the best and brightest of the (predominantly) Scottish and Japanese electronics scene. Welsh composer/musician Nick Auskeur starts things off with a creepy instro (‘Open Ground’) that successfully welds Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho-styled minimalist terrors with a creepy, skincrawling backdrop, while fans of the distorted, angular pop of Terrastock veterans Pop-Off Tuesday will be right at home with the glitch, fractured soundscapes raging through Japanese duoN-Qia’s ‘Managemente’. The members of international trioAnata Wa Sukkari Tsukarete Shimai hail from England, Scotland, and Japan and hide behind intriguing pseudonyms (“_”, “Gnomefoam”, and “Bunny”, the latter of whom appears later in the set in his Bunny & The Electric Horsemen guise, which effectively marries sweet vocals to cinematic backgrounds on ‘Chikyu Wa Mawaru'.) But here, the trio deliver ‘Lost in the Forest of Blank Sportswear’, which is as alluringly enigmatic as the folks behind the hypnotic sounds.

Japanese electronics whiz Ememe offers a hard-driving, shambolic collection of beats, blips, and catchy electro bursts that perfectly encapsulate its title: ‘Mosquito Bites’. Annoying insects, thankfully, are not at the center of Japanese/Scottish comboHaq’s sensually, sinewy ‘Bees In My Feet,’ which grafts eerie violin strokes and ominous piano notes onto a haunting vocal somewhat reminiscent of ‘Rosemary’s Lullabye’ from the soundtrack to Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby. Whizz Kid are another international duo (Belgium/Scotland) and their meandering ‘Trapeze’ will have you swaying in the breeze under its hypnotic spell and ‘Descending’ is an intriguing mix of pop and classical sounds from Emlp (aka, Electronic Music Learning Projects), masterminded by Mark Rossi, who’s currently completing his PhD in Sonic Arts at Queens University in Belfast.

The truly international affair continues with ‘Matamorphosis, pt. 1’ from Poland’s Pleq (Bartosz Dziadosz). He combines slowly dissolving drones with creepy glitch effects – it reminds me of Roger Waters’ contribution to Ummagumma about those furry animals gathered in a cave grooving with a pict! In fact, quite a few of these selections seem inspired by Waters’ experimental offering – who knew he was 40 years ahead of his time?!?

We’ve enjoyed previous efforts from Harold Nono and his return with several projects: Taub, with Germany’s Me Raabenstein (‘Foot-5 on the Flipside’), the aforementioned Haq with Japanese duo N-Qia, and Hidekazu Wakabayashi (‘Family’) is a welcome treat. All three are amongst the more accessible offerings, with tender pianos, soft, winding guitars, and quite lovely ruminations bubbling under the not-always-cozy surface.The Frozen Vaults is another international collaboration (US/Poland/Japan) that is co-produced by Pleq’s Bartosz Dziadosz (whom we heard from earlier). Their ‘First Moments’ combines piano, cello, and violin to hauntingly eerie effect – the ensuing cinematic soundscape is as soothingly absorbing as it is thousand-yard-stare reflective. Like the equally gorgeous and meandering music box tune ‘Comp. No. 209’ from Canada’s Antonio De Braga, it is a personal highlight on a set of many.

So if your tastes run towards experimental electronic soundscapes with the occasional glitchy veneer wrapped around the odd haunting melody delivered with disembodied voices, try this on for size.
Jeff Penczak
[Terrascope] (8/12)

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A editora escocesa Bearsuit Records volta à carga com uma nova compilação de teor experimental que nos traz alguns nomes familiares, mas também algumas novidades. A presença do artista de culto polaco, Pleq, é uma das que mais impregnou os meus ouvidos.

Ao longo da hora que dura o disco, somos brindados com sons estranhos, com referências a insectos, com uma realidade diferente do habitual. Transportados para este planeta, há um período de habituação inicial em que não sabemos bem o que sentir após a purificação sentida com as duas primeiras faixas. É um começo tremendo e nota-se um cuidado na organização dos temas. Por alturas da música de haq, conseguimos voltar a sentir os pés no chão mesmo que a música nos eleve para céus de mármore. Pelo meio, os violinos são danças de caos.

Com um título tão sugestivo, seria normal vir-nos à cabeça pensamentos menos positivos, mas na verdade esta compilação convida a bebermos silêncios e a períodos de reflexão, até a sentirmos alguma paz nos barulhinhos dos sintetizadores que espreitam a cada canto. Não é de todo um disco para qualquer ocasião obviamente, ou não estivéssemos a falar de ambiências experimentais em que ruídos alienígenas preenchem muitas vezes os espaços do tempo. Mas a energia em si chega a ser luminosa, vibrante, inspiradora.

'Run Over by an Elevator' está prevista sair a 10 de Agosto e podem ouvir já algumas faixas na página soundcloud da editora.
[Projecto Cellophane] (7/12)

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Various Artists : “Run Over By An Elevator” (BS017 - 2012)

Found straying off our somewhat unguarded and seemingly unsighted radar of late is the much loved bearsuit imprint. Purveyors of the weird, the wired, the wayward and quite frankly wonky, this collective prides itself on scouring the global airwaves for strange sonic communications and offering safe haven to those aural alchemists operating on the distant outer post markers of pops cosmos – or Japan as the case proves. Of course this lot should be no strangers to long time observers of these musings such similar compilations as this one have brought to our attention such gem like oddities as Whizz kid, Harold Nono and Taub all of whom I’m happy to announce feature amid the fracturing grooves of ‘run over by an elevator‘ – alas no Kirameki, Pdnc or Moomlooo this time but in their absence a whole host of other impish talent from the electronica divides with which to playfully mess with you head space are to be found shoehorned upon the enclosed 16 tracks.

An absolute cornucopia of curios for here you’ll encounter the opening ambit and suitably bombastic greeting of Auskeur’s ’open ground’ as it looms with chilling potent with its elephantine fanfares much rooted in the sonic psyche of Jerry Goldsmith.

The ethereal dream drift of Haq whose sighing bittersweet ’bees in my feet’ provides probably one of the sets stand out moments by far will melt hearts on first listen and sounds it has to be said not unlike a divinely ghost like and wounded broadcast in some romantic tryst with komeda and should equally arrest those who took heed of our recommendations a few years back and plugged into the smouldering seduction of musetta.

Equally frazzling the ear candy sensations is N-qia‘s ‘managemente‘ a sumptuous and frankly schizoid jitterbugging demented doodle trading on low end bass pulsars and a sense of apocryphal collapse over which a siren-esque cortege sweetly drapes the imploding friction in weeping detachment.

The aforementioned Whizz Kid – to clever by half and adored around these here parts set to task with a little tomfoolery in the kitchen sink, all chiming pots and pans wheezing and creaking upon a crooked child like key motif which soon blossoms into an extraordinary and dare I say desirable sweetheart that’s spectrally trimmed to a shy eyed graceful waltz like Francophile musical box poise that had us here imagining some magical meeting of l’augmentation and pram minds. Similarly traced in sophisticated romance is the mellowing tease of Harold Nono and Hidekazu Wakabayeshi’s ’Family’ which glides along to a sublime purr that much recalled landshipping of old…

Its quite clear to us that ememe spend restless nights getting high on a frazzled cocktail of herbie hancock era ‘rock it’, art of noise and tiger beat platters for what else could explain the mutant funk glitch-tronica zoid intonations bleeding erratically from the skittish buzz burping beauty of the skewed ’Mosquito Bites’. 

Now maybe its just me but Bunny and the Horsemen’s ‘Chikyu Wa Mawaru’ really does like a prime slice of pop struggling to loosen itself from its wiring restraints, a dizzying array of mindsets seemingly playing from different pages of the same song book and forever going off message – still get past the chuckling samples the crooked time signatures and general discordance and something quite beautifully untamed and enchanting ghosts into view – we could I suspect grow to adore these fried souls.

Suppa Micro Pamchopp are I suspect gold card carrying Cornelius fans or more pertinently sonic disciples of his wife Takako Minekawa for ‘people today started runrun’ is kookily framed in a cutely cosy tide of disconnected Dadaist accents and wig flipped hiccupping motifs all served into a frantic slice of subterranean funk.

Memories of the early works of both maps and diagrams and minotaur shock come flooding through with the appearance of emlp’s delightfully sparsely dinked lo-fi snow globe that is ‘descending’ – a loveable lunar lullaby that lilts genteelly to a underpin of shuffling trip hop rhythms and a woozily becalming stillness whose occasionally key twinkling noir passages tweaked our inch time radar.

Like some spectral and lovelorn distress call teleported from the far reaches of the voids the twinkling chime cortege of Pleq’s ’metamorphosis part 1’ truly is a thing of demurring ice sculptured loveliness all opining sighs and glitch gulps.

Somewhere else there’s the mournful and tender like aural apparition that is the excellently titled ‘lost in the forest of blank sportswear’ from anata wa sukkari tsukareta shimai which shyly stumbles amid a fuzz frosted longing landscape that admirers of early Tex La Homa grooves may well swoon to. Those fancying their aural delights tempted with bowed chimes and twinkle some trims lush in the celestial hushed reverence of a prayer garden and dream dipped in celestial swathes will do well to tune into Antonio de Braga’s simply arresting ’comp no.208’ not least because it stirs almost sleepy eyed amid a disarming though subtly haunting Komeda like artistry.

And lest we forget to mention our fondness for Taub’s ’5-foot on the flipside’ – slow to burn, this darkly rain drizzled elegant darling assumes depth and dimension with the trickery of a magician’s hand, delicately dimpled in a souring down tempo timbre and channelled to a noir like spy themed persona there’s the feint though audible essence of Budd stalking its shadowy walkways. Emerging from the fog like some passing ghost ship are the frozen vaults whose ’first moments’ is coded in a twilight like aura and opines with the kind of head bowed majesty of set fire to flames.

‘moth’ by Doug Seidel is the collections sore thumb, that’s not to say the worst tracks I hasten to add – rather more the strangest – a kind of looned out archaic folk fanfare heralding some would town visit of a freak circus as were cobbled together by the freakishly zany mindset grouping of the Goons and Vivien Stanshall doing extra curricula sounds capes for those weird and wired eastern European animations of the early 70‘s.

Its left to the aging children to close proceedings with ’the kennel club’ – a wonderfully sleepy headed murmuring lullaby that should leave eyelids a heaving and had us here subdued in a misty eyed remembrance of 70’s children’s TV notably ’bagpuss’ et al. more of the same and quick about it.
[Tales from the Attic - God Is In The TV] (10/12)