MISTY CIRCLES

AVANGUARDIA MUSICALE DAL 1984

 

MISTY CIRCLES

(Dead or Alive)

Misty Circles
An agressive nature does not make the weaker man a gladiator
Inside this misty circle

Well, here's looking at you
And all your schemes are undone
And you just cna't pul my ideas down
Well take a good look within
And this is no place for me,
Oh, I just can't pull my ideas down!

They won't come down...

Look at this mess we're in
Oh Lord, I do declare
I've got rusted guitar strings, man
They're wound around my hair
And lately these days
I'm in so many empty spaces
I'm transfixed I see these ugly faces
That pull me down...

Look at me, I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree
My heads in the clouds, yeah I get misty
Just holding your hand

What can you do when you don't seem to fit
You fall to bits inside all because of it
Blame it on some massive lack of confidence.

3 years from now, where will I be?
Who will behind me pulling me down?

Well I'm curious about how I got to be wrapped around
The lines on someone's hand.
Won't you tell me realistically
How long can I expect to be inside this misty circle?

Postato da: atrofact a 12:28 | link | commenti |

 

F.O.B.

"Tetra Summer"

Misty Circles / Nausea Recordings - 2005

CDr

 

Misty Circles is back once again with some new releases to brighten your boring summertime and enlighten your mind. First of them is the solo debut CD by Mario "F.O.B.", one of the minds behind long-running Roman experimental noise-makers Circus Joy. "Tetra Summer" comes in a nice-looking package with a strong do-it-yourself feeling: the cover is glued on the front of the jewel case, and the booklet is a fold out mini-poster with a crazy collage of images. The tracklist is just pen-written.

The music is not too distant from the mother band, but it's far more listenable, subtle, and sometimes even slightly melodic. Opening track "Micro Habitat", for example, has a pounding bass rhythm playing obsessively in the background, while guitar chords and feedbacks pile up one after the other. Following "Blood Pressure" could be compared to an acoustic version of D.A.F., with a carillon-like keyboard tuning up on top of a pressing guitar rhythm. A subtle drum machine and minimal synth theme introduce "Baby's Play Board", which evolves into a dissonant cut-up of distorted electronic frequencies and buzzings. It might get annoying after a while, but it does create a certain odd, melancholic atmosphere.

One of the best tracks of the CD is certainly "Mass Hypnotism", a long, fantastic, catchy, initially new-wavish song, assembled with electronic drumming, noisy guitar riffs, slowed down sounds and voices, as well as an irresistible synth melody that could have been stolen from a 1980s' synth pop anthem. Another great pieces is "Estate Tetra", the only song featuring vocals, with its intricate web of guitars and feedbacks. A well worth mention goes also to the crazy techno rhythm, the demented noises and the almost country riff of "Anti Fit (Shock Absorb)". Final "Sleep Off" is the less convincing track, getting too repetitive and indulging too much into dissonance if compared to the previous ones.

If Circus Joy's wall of noise and screams has frightened you so far and you are open-minded enough to appreciate indefinable odd music, give a try to F.O.B.'s first solo effort. Little by little his music might make its way into your synapses and never leave them anymore... "Quattro chitarre suonano all'unisono una melodia che definire straziante sarebbe una sottile carezza".

- Simon V.

 

Postato da: atrofact a 14:42 | link | commenti |

 

AIN SOPH

"GPIIBXVI"

Misty Circles - 2005

CDr
(free for the attendants of the concert at the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig)

 

Another limited edition CDr is added to the Ain Soph discography. Like the previous "Cuore Nero / Morte E Disonore", this exclusive piece was given away for free during a concert, this time at the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig. Chronicles report that one of the band's members directly threw some copies among the audience, causing disorder and mayhem.

"GPIIBXVI" features one long unreleased instrumental track, that surprisingly goes back to the original industrial roots of the Roman pioneers, at the time when they were releasing their famous experimental and ritual masterpieces. The music is a sort of sacral dark ambient, with deep gloomy drones, noise slashes and obsessive tolling bells.

There are no titles on the CDr, but limited info given by the artists themselves claims that this is a development of their "Theme II", and was recorded during the days of transition between two popes, Giovanni Paolo II and Benedetto XVI, whose initials are reported on the label, alongside the Vatican seal. Of course, the intent was definitely not to wish Cardinal Ratzinger a long and prosperous reign...

Since Ain Soph recently split up, this "GPIIBXVI" is to be considered their very last release, which makes it particularly special, both because it was given away during their last concert ever, and because it returns to their musical origins, ideally closing the circle.

This time no hints are given neither about how many copies were printed, nor if it is already sold out. Do you desperately want a copy? Hassle Misty Circles, there might be one left, lying somewhere under a table.

- Simon V.

Postato da: atrofact a 21:24 | link | commenti |

 

CIRCUS JOY

"...Le Ore Più Belle"

Misty Circles / Nausea Recordings - 2005

CDr

 

Circus Joy is a long-running indefinable experimental entity from Rome, Italy. Active since the early 1980s, they've always been a sort of twin band to Ain Soph, playing however a completely different kind on music, or more appropriately in this case, non-music. "...Le Ore Più Belle" is a "private collection" of 15 tracks, covering the whole career of these elusive sound terrorists, and is released as a collaboration between their personal label Nausea Recordings and the well-known Misty Circles.

What you have to expect from this CDr is a very hard time listening, as the music is sharp, unpolished and uncompromising. Two short intros lead to the opening piece, "Dentro Di Te", a ghostly echoed and reverberated voice screaming and getting delirious on top of syncopate drumming and monstrous guitar feedbacks. "Zona Nervosa" is an instrumental track with a jazzy rhythm and assorted 6-strings improvisation, quite enjoyable if compared to the following "Morire Per Il Gusto Di Morire", a frightening minimalist nightmare, mixing obsessive bass pounding, skeletal guitar chords and sick, desperate vocals. Its intensity gets almost unbearable, preparing the listener for the next noise horrors.

Circus Joy like to indulge into dissonance, to play all their instruments like they were drum kits, in order to grasp ideas and feelings from total chaos and try to give them some meaning. The angry and obsessive chant of "Uomo Strano!" and the senseless, spastic vocals of "Jazzzzz?" express a deep sense of disturbance and anxiety, whereas the disfigured screams suddenly exploding in the middle of "Letti Colmi (Rabbia, Call Me)" break with sadism the superficial harmony evoked by the music. The most extreme experience is probably "Chiuso Schiacciato Scatola (Live)", a terrifying wall of noise built with guitar feedbacks, dissonant saxophones and hammering drumming. Something between Borbetomagus and Naked City, which you're not likely to put in the CD player while having breakfast.

A personal favourite is "Sapore Amaro", a barbaric symphony of devastation where casual piano chords pile up on top of a thick feedback soundscape, which probably wouldn't have disappointed John Cage.

If you have strong and well-trained ears, and you like creative noise-makers such as early Sonic Youth and Swans, or the above mentioned Borbetomagus and Naked City, this Circus Joy retrospective is a good purchase to get introduced into the world of this cult music terrorists. Headphones are suggested for total audio torture.

- Simon V.

Postato da: atrofact a 21:20 | link | commenti |

DER BEKANNTE POST INDUSTRIELLE TROMPETER

DBPIT and Misty Circles proudly announce
the oncoming release of:

S.U.T.U.B.

a totally UNPLUGGED industrial album

s.u.t.u.b. is a sound;
a primordial, guttural sound that
originates from within the depths of humankind
and reaches far into outer space,
unchanged by time or distance…
s.u.t.u.b. is a defiant, natural presence
that travels beyond the borders of the conscious,
and lets the monsters of the "Id" loose…
s.u.t.u.b. is the background noise
of our aimlessly, constantly functioning brains …
s.u.t.u.b. is a modern quest for a lost paradise,
distress turned into music …
and s.u.t.u.b. is a challenge:
to make an industrial record
with no electronics and no effects whatsoever -
all sounds are natural and none have been processed,
reverberated, chorused, detuned or delayed…(even vocals on tr.2 are SUNG, NOT SENT backwards...)
only overlaying, editing and the creative craziness
of the participating artists are the tools and the ingredients
which have shaped this totally new, unplugged adventure!

s.u.t.u.b. is:
Special Unplugged Transonic Urban Bondage

www.derbekannte.com

Postato da: atrofact a 21:10 | link | commenti |