a r t i s t : Mattin & Tim Barnes
t i t l e : Achbal Al Atlas
d a t e : 2006
l a b e l : Little Enjoyer LE07
g e n r e : Avantgarde
r l s. d a t e : Dec/2006
t r a c k s : 03
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 57,5 MB
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All music by MattinBarnes
Additional music on track ___ by the Fucked Syndicate!
Recorded in Stereo from our touring Mono SoundSystem
Baltimore-Pittsburgh-Columbus-
Chicago-Detroit-Buffalo(w/Tony Conrad)-NewYork
Tim Barnes-prepared drum & effect pedals, analog feedback,
gong
Mattin-GNU/linux computer feedback
Art by NYC
"Hard to figure out exactly what we have here, though who
cares? Apparently cobbled together during a 2005 tour of seven
US cities - there are only three tracks, hence one aspect of
the confusion - we find Mssrs. Mattin and Barnes hollowing out
the ears of their audience, applying a sonic cleanser with
which to rub one's auricular canals 'til they're squeaky
clean.
The first cut opens with a steady, dull beat from Barnes, a
homing call that attracts some skittering percussion, is
suspended, then returns swathed in electric noise. The general
atmosphere is not all that dissimilar to the same duo's
performance at this year's ErstQuake festival (albeit without
the, erm, lyrical content) that I enjoyed a great deal and I
likewise find this track to be a lot of fun. There's a clear
pause about four minutes in; the sound quality when it
re-enters is different enough that I assume we're in another
place/time, though still in extreme noise territory. Good
stuff. From here on, though, my attention wavered somewhat.
Track two begins in like climes then (another venue switch?)
abruptly subsides into washes of cymbals over a discreet hum
that eventually becomes the sole element, distorting somewhat,
shifting high. The final cut has some nice interweaving of
altissimo static whine and metal - Tony Conrad is purportedly
in here somewhere, perhaps around this section - until another
ellipsis sends us once again, I guess, to an alternate site
where the noise-making strikes me as less inspired.
'Achbal al Atlas' (googling reveals a school in Temera,
Morocco, where some pedophilia charges were lodged) is a mixed
bag, fine at its best, a little too unfocussed otherwise. I
believe they're issued in lovely, hand-painted covers. The
image above is the closest to my copy." (Brian Olewnick,
Bagatellen)
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01-Achbal Al Atlas part 1 [08:59]
02-Achbal Al Atlas part 2 [13:50]
03-Achbal Al Atlas part 3 [13:14]
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36:03 min