John Wiese - Magical Crystal Blah
(Helicopter)
John Wiese & Daniel Menche - Behold the Scathing Light 3" CD
(Helicopter)
Hollywood noisemaker and label head John Wiese recorded the tracks that make up Magical Crystal Blah on his west coast tour in 2003. Wiese has been involved in numerous projects, like Bastard Noise, Sissy Spacek, LHD, and played with many other musicians, but this is only his second full-length solo release, the first being 2003's Bubble Pulse. Magical Crystal Blah takes a more physical approach than its predecessor, which seemed to have been constructed with an almost meticulous hand. This music is more brutal, and relies more on sheer density of sound and dynamics, most likely a product of the difference between Wiese's live and studio work. Clouds of static are some of Wiese's most effective weapons, whether chopped into bits or vomited in one large chunk. Smaller, more subdued happenings, sometimes built around pulsing rhythms or guitar strangulation become the focus of some of Wiese's improvisations, only to be obliterated by the sudden appearance of short, distorted flurries of more bombastic activity. The frequent use of guitar and more infrequent percussion passages are an interesting respite from the electronic noises. As part of Wiese's customary cut 'n paste constructions, they offer a welcome change of pace, even if they're still only small parts of the larger stew. Magic Crystal Blah is an unpredictable album, and the only thing the listener can know for sure is that the music won't be in one place for long.
This 3" CD by Wiese and Daniel Menche is comprised of a single track, "Behold the Scathing Light," that's more easily linked to Weise's recent work with Bastard Noise than his solo output. Menche is an artist who concentrates on creating music which fills the beautiful end of the usually ugly noise spectrum, though without a compromise of the music's urgency or intensity. His collaboration with Wiese results in ambient music that moves in masses of swirling sound or dense bands of tone that enter and exit the musical canvas effortlessly, and without commotion. Minor sonic happenings take place, and fade into the background as a new drone or hum rises into its space. A more constant wave of sound may have provided a more streamlined listening experience, but Menche and Wiese opt instead for a rise-and-fall aesthetic that places equal focus on transition as it does on the ambience of the music itself. The music's surprisingly straightforward in some respects, though not without the usual nuances of its noisy, neo-minimalist kin.
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