Top Bar
Musique Machine Logo Home ButtonReviews ButtonArticles ButtonBand Specials ButtonAbout Us Button
SearchGo Down
Search for  
With search mode in section(s)
And sort the results by
show articles written by  
 Review archive:  # a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Moljebka Pvlse/Seventeen Migs of Spring - Ravha/Electricity Garden [Topeth Prophet - 2007]

This split release between Sweden's Moljebka Pvlse and Israel's Seventeen Migs of spring seems to revolve around the concept that electricity is an enveloping part of our environment, in all but the most remote regions of our planet. The artists choose one unifying factor to make their point, which is field recordings, but overall the two use divergent means of expression.

Moljebka Pvlse, in this case are represented by a three piece band. Apart from mainstay Mathias Jacobson, Maria Nordin appears on violin. Karin Jacobson is credited with bells, thunder tube and walking in leaves on styrofoam. Their album-side length opener, Ravha, is without question the standout track here. Everything which follows appears relatively insignificant in comparison, not that the rest of the album is at all bad. The track at its inception is made up of all found sounds, collaged in such a way to make music of everyday sounds, whether it be public address systems or abstract electrical current hum.

What is especially intriguing is the fact that, though they are assembled for forward motion, the sounds don't sound fussed with or overly modified in the studio. The act of using environmental sounds in the Cage-ian spirit that music is natural and needn't be created by traditional instruments is certainly nothing new. But Moljebka Pvlse appoint these sounds with a refreshing lack of adornment, and a willingness to let the elements speak for themselves. They don't make an attempt to shape them for their own means. And that's just the first half of the piece. One would think that the addition of musical elements would be at odds with the tone of Ravha, but it works surprisingly well. The violin, in particular, melds nicely with the background sounds.

So, yes, the rest of the album pales in comparison to this towering achievement. Seventeen Migs of Spring offer five tracks here, and they seem more interested in the bluster of electricity. They attack these pieces, credited as Electricity Gardens, with fuzzy noise, and a more abstract focus. Their music is bold and arresting in the beginning, but after a few minutes, becomes a bit tiresome. This album is worth owning in the very least for its exceptional first half. Any joy that can be gleaned from the second half is merely a bonus.

Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5

Erwin Michelfelder
Latest Reviews

Moljebka Pvlse/Seventeen Migs of ...
This split release between Sweden's Moljebka Pvlse and Israel's Seventeen Migs of spring seems to revolve around the concept that electricity is an ...
201224   Apartment Wife: Affair in the...
201224   Mother Mortis - Mother Morti...
201224   Quadrant - Quadrant( DVD)
191224   Etant Donnes - Cinq Portes So...
191224   Asmus Tietchens/Alice Freshmo...
191224   Various - The Rita- Correlat...
191224   Tank Girl - Tank Girl( Blu Ray)
191224   Dans Les Arbres - L’album vert
181224   The Stone Tape - The Stone Ta...
181224   Snuff Queen - Snuff Queen( DVD)
Latest Articles

Splintered - Somewhere Between Lo...
2024 saw the return of Splintered - the British noise rock collective who have largely been AWOL for the last thirty years. In their initial run between 1992...
191224   Splintered - Somewhere Betwee...
031224   Shane Ryan-Reid - Coerced and...
221024   Whore’s Breath - life’s h...
011024   David Kerekes Interview - Int...
030924   Tim Ritter Interview - Shot O...
100724   Radiance Films Interview - Le...
300524   Interview With Renaldo M/ Bri...
140524   The Wall Noise Of Hana Haruna...
280324   The Music of Clay Ruby & Buri...
290224   Sutcliffe No More - Normal Ev...
Go Up
(c) Musique Machine 2001 -2023. Twenty two years of true independence!! Mail Us at questions=at=musiquemachine=dot=comBottom