_studio beige

selected Reviews:

PLAYING BY NUMBERS IS GOING TO BE ON NOV 16th 2007

REVIEWS ON "2CD":

Microview Review by TJ Norris
Foxy Digitalis Review
Stylus Magazine
Review Bagatellen
Sandzine Alfredo Rastelli (Italiano)
Fat Bankroll Norway (norsk)
Testcard Martin Büsser (deutsch
Skug (deutsch)
review Fabrice Allard (Français)

Microview Review by TJ Norris

Brand-new Viennese label Mosz unveils the first recording from the duo known as Kapital Band 1 (Martin Brandlmayr and Nicholas Bussman). As the inaugural release for the label (with four more to come in early '04) this is a new double disc with a twist. Disc one has eleven studio tracks, while disc two is simply a blank CDR upon which you can record whatever your hearts content. The move may be a big fat comment on where the music industry is and how its future may seem disposable - transferable through digital means - though the converse of a music community in solidarity, likened to the world of struggling visual artists (mail art, cassette culture, etc), might be a place where free idea sharing is learning. This minimalist array of short pieces are presented in a jazz context through an ambient/electronica filter. This is a static lovers delight. The packaging is high concept with the titles forming a sentence and the attention to design details as a printed and wry comment on the standards of the industry of recording sciences in general. The music is part erasure, part exclusion, and covered in a layer or two of white noise. Though the beat is on, its more a comment than a concert on the atonally challenged "Wait." Drenched in a platform of mystery Kapital Band 1's sound stems from their love of dissonant rhythm and it works so well throughout most of 2CD. Though on tracks like "The New Car" the phantoms that make for such a primordial ride get a bit clumsy as the whimsy hits the foreground like a sore thumb on this under 2 minute quickie. The promise is there, the use of drums and wires even, but the chutzpah is a bit wreckless and dawdling. It's the kind of record that will launch them on attitude and graphic appeal - though the contents, even though I hate the evil production empire, a slight fine tuning remix. These boys are running with wild abandon and without supervision, someone get the stick! That's the edge, so give me the finger if you must.

Foxy Digitalis Review on Kapital Band 1 2CD

I'm not sure what it means when a band gives you a blank CD-R with their newest album, but that's exactly what Berlin's Kapital Band has done. If they want you to make a copy of their album for a friend, it makes sense. This bizarre and eclectic mix of organic electronics and IDM-inspired minimalist beats sounds like the inside of an atom or the inner workings of the human body. Tiny particles smash into each other, making a wide variety of sounds, backed by the jazz-influenced drumming of Trapist's Martin Brandlmayr.
Blood racing through veins, constantly being diverted and forced in different directions is "This is What We Want." Its ultimate destination is, of course, the heart, but there are a number of obstacles in the way. As ethereal sounds of an organ are pumped over light breakbeats, noisy water droplets begin slowing rising out of the background. Once the blood reaches the heart, these aquatic particles take hold of the song. Maybe this is what it sounds like inside one of the four chambers of the heart, airy and wet.
I imagine "Survival Kit" to be what a juice bar inside an atom of uranium sounds like. A bunch of tiny neutrons and protons mingle together in all their glitchy glory. Metallic pings are like tiny glasses clinking together. This track is busy. There's a lot going on and yet it’s sparse. I love the way they add bass elements to their songs. There's not so much in the way of distinguishable bass notes as there are really deep bloops and swells that give the tracks a bottom end. On "Ticket to Ride," rough and deep airwaves provide the bass. A pulsing, low tone that sounds like an electronically manipulated set of bongos is the bass, while the highlight of "The New Car" is Brandlmayr's loose, tribal drumming. This is a common theme throughout "2CD."
Be sure to turn the bass on your stereo down for "Wait," or you'll probably blow your speakers. This is a simple song but is one of my favorites. More jazz-tinged drumming is the foundation, and a synthesizer turned down to the lowest possible octave makes this track crawling-through-the-mud dirty. I fucking love it. Progressing further, white noise creeps in and gets louder and louder. It's reminiscent of a wind tunnel. The song slowly builds up to its climax. High frequency, slightly distorted keys are added to the mix and the cymbal work also gains momentum. Once you emerge from the other side, you're not quite sure where you are. Looking around, you see the blinking LED lights on the tops of 100-foot metal towers as far as the eye can see. The sky is dark grey, and you can smell sulfur in the air. Welcome to "Length With Height Margin." All sorts of flogged and filtered electronics take you out of the 21st century and somewhere into the distant future. The earth is scorched and the moon is in shambles. Each electronic blip throughout the track sounds like a cattle prod. Even though I know they're recurrent, I'm caught off guard each time. Brandlmayr's percussion has a machine-like quality signifying the rise of factories and robotics. It's an absolutely desolate track.
I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was at how good Kapital Band 1 is. I've long been a fan of Trapist's first record (and their newest is even better), but I was unaware of the connection until after I'd heard "2CD." Electronic music continues mutating and advancing by leaps and bounds. In what was once a genre that seemed to be strictly reserved for dance clubs and raves, artists are now blurring the lines to make music that is interesting and aurally impressive on a deeper level. Kapital Band 1's use of organic textures, live drums, and computer-generated sounds is electronica for the 21st century. It'd be hard to dance to, but dancing is the least of my priorities. I still don't understand the point of the blank CD-R, but thanks. Not only do I get something free out of this (free is good), but this is a fantastic record by two extremely talented artists. - Brad Rose

Kapital Band 1 – 2CD Stylus Magazine Review

ustrian percussionist Martin Brandlmayr has been virtually unavoidable lately: whether it’s as the rhythmic base behind the post-rock-friendly improvising ensembles Trapist and Radian, or as a multi-talented foil to fellow Viennese guitarist Martin Siewert on their gorgeous Erstwhile release Too Beautiful to Burn, Brandlmayr has been just one of the most visible presences coming out of this active scene. And with all these projects, as well as his newest output in collaboration with electronics whiz Nicholas Bussman in Kapital Band 1, Brandlmayr has been at the vanguard of the Vienna improvisers’ interesting progression into relatively accessible pop-influenced improv.

Not that Kapital Band 1, which some would have you believe is a full-on funk outfit, is all that distant from the more esoteric but similarly minded music mined in the past by Vienna compatriots like Polwechsel or Fennesz. The title aside, 2CD consists of one CD of music, and a second blank CD-R to burn anything—although the inclusion of two booklets joined together with an instruction to “cut here” suggests duplication as one possibility.

The concept is cute, but it’s the music on the first CD that’s truly intriguing. The album shuffles along in a haze of glistening electronics and Brandlmayr’s broad palette of beats and beat-avoiding percussion touches. “Yes” and “This Is What We Want” are similarly strong examples of the duo’s stripped-down aesthetic. At times, they could be the able rhythm section for a rock n’ roll band, while Bussman’s electronics can also jostle the music out of its groove into subtly darker waters. Occasionally, the music is tempered by an earthy hum or a passage of gritty, textured electronics that keep the music grounded and—in contrast to the sleek surface of Trapist’s recent Ballroom—prevent the album from sliding by unnoticed. Still, this is the most blatantly accessible and song-oriented effort Brandlmayr’s been involved in yet. In his previous improv work, he’s been adept at suggesting and insinuating a pulse rather than actually playing a beat, but here Brandlmayr sticks mainly in the background, keeping a steady (and often simple) beat as a backdrop to Bussman’s combination of melodic and meandering electronic noise.

Occasionally, this limitation makes for some rather unexceptional music, especially when Bussman’s not doing much in the foreground. “Length Width Height Margin” starts promisingly, with sinewy scraps of muted static buzzing back and forth atop Brandlmayr’s tinkling drums and cymbals; it sounds like it’s building to something, but it never does, instead settling into a mid-tempo stream of rather tame, a-melodic noise that never goes anywhere. Elsewhere, though, the new accessible direction works definitively in the band’s favor. The all-too-brief “The New Car” features a jazzy, increasingly energetic workout from Brandlmayr on a rather hollow-sounding kit, as Bussman unleashes a swarm of static and buzzing noises. It’s the funkiest the duo gets on here, but it’s so enjoyable because they play around the funk, suggesting it instead of just stomping away at it. The following track, “Moonlight Bay,” also under two minutes long, is similarly strong, revisiting the same ideas in a more understated way.

But the best track, which these two interludes were clearly building towards, is unquestionably “Survival Kit.” Here, Brandlmayr finally grabs center stage away from his collaborator, thrusting his array of innovative moves out in front of Bussman’s buzzes and peeps. The drumming here is an engaging combination of avant-garde and accessible, Brandlmayr starting with scrapes and brushed swishes before introducing a nimble beat, then integrating the two into a complex web of improvisation and time-keeping. Bussman matches his partner’s pace with a fast-moving stream of blips and melodic fragments. It’s the first time on the album that the duo truly seems to be engaged in an improvisational conversation; perhaps the heavy amount of post-production favored by the Viennese scene of late cleansed that element from the rest of 2CD.

As a whole, Kapital Band 1’s debut is another absorbing, if not entirely successful, posting from Vienna. The production leaves something to be desired, as with few exceptions it mostly relegates Brandlmayr’s usually stellar percussive work to a dull throb in the background, and the integration of pop with improv can hardly be considered complete when so much of this disc leans so far in one direction. Still, there’s plenty of good, pleasant music here, and the duo straddles the fence between genres ambiguously enough to keep everyone guessing.
Reviewed by: Ed Howard
Reviewed on: 2004-04-09
Comments (1)

KAPITAL BAND Review Bagatellen
Kapital Band 1 – 2CD

Over the last few years, the young generations of Austrian (specifically Viennese) and German improvisers interested in post-AMM electronics have been getting some attention. Erstwhile Records has certainly brought a lot of players like Burkhard Stangl steady exposure, but so too has the decision of “indie” labels like Thrill Jockey to sponsor new recordings by both Radian and Trapist, two exciting trios emerging from this heady musical environment. And while there has been some recent debate on this board as to the merits of Trapist’s latest release – specifically concerning whether or not they have become too “smooth,” too “accessible,” even too “pop” – there’s little denying that bands like this have struck a particularly resonant chord with a lot of listeners.
The common denominator may be drummer Martin Brandlmayr, who brings a trunk of funk to both units. Along with Berlin-based electronics whiz Nicholas Bussman (of Beige Oscillator and Ich Schwitze Nie), Brandlmayr makes up Kapital Band, and his wickedly tight drumming drives these eleven slices of what the duo unapologetically (but not without complicated feelings) call “pop music.” While there are no hooks, no catchy melodies, no ringing choruses or anything of the sort we typically associate with pop, Kapital Band music is saturated with the groove, knee-deep in directness, and stripped down for maximum effect.
What distinguishes it is the fact that it incorporates improvisation and that it’s steeped in a new electroacoustic aesthetic. The music captures your attention from the start, but it nonetheless – for all that it is compelling and direct – eludes reduction in meaning, via its ever shifting nuance and texture. Don’t think necessarily of the swirling, tonal clouds of Fennesz; think, rather, of the glitch-pop of Oval mixed with the crisp precision of Kraftwerk and the general sensibilities of seasoned AMM listeners. Keyboard sounds ping and pong back and forth between speakers; crackling feedback flames lick at Brandlmayr’s shuffle and pop; subtle, near-references to genre (including the occasional sample of a “hot” guitar lick) flicker at the music’s edges. The pieces often develop courtesy of Brandlmayr’s subtle fluctuations of the pulse in concert with Bussman’s minute orchestrations (from processing noises in the air, generating drones, providing click tracks or quasi-basslines of his own, or conjuring rushes of sonic wind). Each track ebbs and flows, cycles through assemblage and deconstruction. The process might sound familiar, but the materials used are uncommon for this idiom: the stripped and weather-beaten bones of genre, shorn of their context and reframed. Whether in slight whispers of a tune or in pieces that bubble over with noise and energy, Kapital Band’s music should be heard. It’s one of the few recordings I’ve heard recently that can stimulate your brain and move your ass.
~Jason Bivins

Sandzine Alfredo Rastelli

"2CD" (si, è proprio questo il titolo del disco), è la prima uscita di Kapital Band 1, nuovo progetto messo in piedi da Martin Brandlmayr, membro dei Radian e Trapist, e Nicholas Bussmann, già attivo in numerosi progetti ma che io voglio ricordare soprattutto per i suoi lavori, grazie ai quali l’ho conosciuto, con i grandi e tedeschi Inch Schwitze Nie. "2CD" è anche la prima uscita della neonata etichetta viennese Mosz, ed è un esordio prodotto in casa considerando il fatto che a gestire questa Label è un altro Radian, Stephan Nemeth, coadiuvato da Michaela Schwentner. La prima uscita dell’etichetta, si sa, è sempre qualcosa di speciale e i due 'boss' sembra abbiano voluto dotarla anche di una certa carica programmatica. La confezione, infatti, è quanto meno insolita e originale: si tratta di un doppio cd, di cui il primo è audio mentre il secondo nient’altro che un cd-r vuoto che non aspetta che di essere utilizzato. Tutto questo (ma c’è dell’altro) lascia pensare ad una presa di posizione molto chiara riguardo la diffusione della musica. Se è vero che a memoria ricordo solo un'altra operazione del genere, è anche vero che questa volta c’è una differenza non da poco: infatti la confezione è fornita di tutto il necessario per riprodurre una copia esatta del cd: non solo il cd-r è indistinguibile dal cd 'buono', ma con un semplice taglio di forbice si arriva facilmente a ricavare due libretti identici e precisi. Non possiamo che approvare, approfittarne e passare oltre. Alla musica, appunto. A giudicare dai nomi coinvolti, l’impressione che l’etichetta sia sbilanciata verso sonorità elettroniche sperimentali (e chiaramente ne seguiremo gli sviluppi) è confermata anche da questo primo lavoro. Siamo infatti chiaramente dalle parti degli Radian dell’ultimo disco. Non è poco ed è sicuro; la batteria di Brandlmayer è un marchio di qualità ormai riconoscibile e non ci si può che rallegrare per questo. E’ veramente un’occasione da non perdere quella di ascoltare ancora una volta i suoi tocchi così personali, capaci di fregiare la musica, anche quella più fredda, di calda 'umanità', soprattutto di rendere il suono un qualcosa di vivo e dinamico. A differenza dei Radian, la parte elettronica concede qualcosa in più all’ascolto e anche se non vorrei spendere la parola 'pop', specialmente se intesa nel senso comune, è innegabile che le tracks scorrano via che è un piacere, che siano ricche di suoni pur rimanendo semplici e armoniose e senza essere tuttavia mai glitch (possiamo finalmente dire che sia una novità?). Capita così che vengano abbozzati andamenti funk e soul, inseriti di volta in volta frammenti rock (una brevissima schitarrata nel terzo pezzo), minimali ritmi tribali o atmosfere cupe e industriali e non risultare mai banale. Sicuramente un contributo decisivo in questo senso arriva da Bussmann, portatore di un carico di ironia e leggerezza non indifferente (e mi viene da pensare ai suoi impegni con Inch Schwitze Nie) e che libera il lavoro dalla una qualsivoglia pesantezza o da certa spocchia avanguardistica. Un lavoro bello e interessante.

Fat Bankroll Norway

KAPITAL BAND 1
2CD
CD - Mosz, 2004

Kapital Band 1 är ett relativt nystartat projekt som i dagarna har släppt sin debutskiva. Den är lite kul. Ett exempel på det är att skivans första spår refererar till sig själv i titeln, då den heter "Is this the first track of this album?". Spår 2 heter "Yes". Lite kul. Ett annat exempel på skoj är att skivan är ett dubbelalbum, som titeln antyder, men att skiva 2 är en tom CD-R-skiva som man kan göra vad man vill med. Lite kul.

Humor i musiksammanhang är vanskligt; det är lätt hänt att tjuriga recencenter inte alls befinner sig på samma våglängd och uppfattar det "roliga" som fjantigt. Så är faktiskt inte alls fallet denna gång. Jag tycker att Kapital Band 1 balanserar sina lustigheter på ett väldigt smakfullt vis. Precis lagom mycket glimten i ögat. (Det är förresten också roligt att skivan klockar in på exakt 40:00.)

Men nu har vi ännu inte berört det väsentliga med albumet: musiken. Det här är nämligen en fantastisk bunt kompositioner. Genomgående ligger Martin Brandlmayrs (även medlem i Radian) aukustiska och mycket vackra trumspel någonstans i mitten av ljudbilden och runt detta surrar diverse elektroniska ljud framförda av Kaptital Band 1:s andre medlem, Nicholas Bussmann. Det där kanske lät som en något klyschig beskrivning av en experimentell elektronikskiva från den här sidan år 2000, men klyschor håller man sig verkligen långt borta ifrån. Soundet doftar uppfriskande punkigt, och får en att associera till ett Mouse on Mars med trasiga instrument eller kanske Jan Jelinek på en snefylla.

Det är en väldig spännvidd vad det gäller dynamiken i låtarna också. Emellanåt är det ett jäkla halli-hallå, men lika ofta är ljudet så sprött att det går att somna till. Och hela tiden är det bra. Jättebra.

/ Martin

Martin Büsser Testcard 07/2004

Nicholas Bussmann ( Beige Oscillator, Ich Schwitze Nie ) und Martin Brandlmayr (Radian, Trapist) bezeichnen ihre Duo-Arbeit als Kapital Band 1 mal als Funk und mal als Pop, was in Zeiten, wo Pop gemeinhin fast ausschliesslich mit Britney Spears und >>Superstars<<
assoziiert wird , einer Provokation gleichkommt. Für diese höchst abstrakte, aus Elektronik, Drum-Pattern und Dub-Anklängen zusammengesetzte Musik gibt es allerdings keine Begriffe,
sie findet nach wie vor in einem rezeptionsgeschichtlichen Niemansland statt. Aufgrund der Reststrukturen von Beat, der schwer malmenden Basslinien und dem oft federnden Groove, kommt die Musik eindeutig aus einer Pop-, genauer gesagt Dancefloor-Tradition, ist hier allerdings
demassen zerfasert, über Schichtungen und Nachbearbeitungen stilistisch entkörperlicht worden, dass beim Hören keinerlei Pop-Rezeption mehr greifen will. Hierzu schwitzt man nicht (siehe:
Ich Schwitze Nie), hierzu lässt sich kaum noch mit dem Becken wackeln, hier ist auch kein emphatisches Eintauchen mehr möglich - vergleichbar mit den Klangverfremdungen früher This Heat ( auf deren Debüt über weite strecken schon zutraf, womit das Info nun auch die
Kapital Band 1 charakterisiert: >>...which often makes it impossible to say who plays what<<) werden hier lediglich Verfahren von Rock, Pop und Dub zitiert, während das musikalische Ergenbis zugleich einen Abstraktionsgrad besitzt, der nötigt, ihm wie Neuer Musik zu begegnen,
also konzentriert, analytisch geradezu. In Sachen Vielschichtigkeit gehen diese Aufnahmen weit über das hinaus, was man in der regel an Musik aus dem Graubereich an Electronics und Improvisation bekommt - doch weil es eine falsch gedachte Form der Aufwertung wäre, dies als Neue Musik zu bezeichnen, ist die Pop-Einschätzung ein ganz guter trotziger Weg, diesen an sich verlorenen Begriff neu abzustecken. Bei der zweiten CD handelt es sich übrigens um eine leere CD-R, die genutzt werden kann um sich Stücke von www.kapitalband1.com aufzunehmen

SKUG Rezension

Brandlmayr / Busmann
Kapital Band 1
MOSZ
skug #58 | Text: Noël Akchoté / Übersetzung: Friederike Kulcsar | Mon 24. May. 2004

Wien hat ein neues Label. Freundlicherweise von M.dos vertrieben, wird diese sehr stringent »zwei CD« betitelte Doppel-CD zu Mosz, dem Label, zunächst einmal als »null null eins« in Beziehung gesetzt. Wenn ich schon eingeladen werde, einem »einzigen Zug« (»un trait unaire«, wie Lacan sagt) zu folgen, dann muss ich mich den Zeichen über ihre signifikante Agitation oder Desintegration hinaus nähern. Ich nehme an, dass Nicholas Bussmann für die Wellen und die Electronics verantwortlich ist, denn ich weiß ja, dass Martin Brandlmayr vor allem Schlagzeug spielt. Den Identitätsstiftenden Wegen unserer Signifikantenlogik folgend, entdecke ich zu meiner Überraschung, dass die erste CD Musik und die zweite leer - oder ROM - ist. Track eins bis drei sind gewissermaßen gleiche Stücke, ein durchgehender Beat und Soundvariationen. Brandlmayr spielt sein Schlagzeug sehr präzise, ich wüsste nicht, wo ich ihn einordnen sollte, müsste ich das tun. Kommt er aus der Zukunft, ist er das Kommende, ist er der Beginn? Ich habe mit dieser Musik ein gewisses Problem und weiß eigentlich nicht, was ich darüber sagen soll, weil sie in vieler Hinsicht nahezu perfekt ist, und Perfektion verhindert, dass sich mir viele andere Dinge erschließen. Ich glaube, dass eine Produktion dieser Qualität und ein so exzellent gestaltetes Objekt wie dieses Doppelalbum mich vor zehn Jahren eher wachgerüttelt und fasziniert hätten. Damals, als Günter Müller und Jim O´Rourke mit ihren Duoaufnahmen begannen, als Supersilent und »Brise-Glace« auf der Bildfläche erschienen, oder etwas später, als ich das erste Mal Radian in Paris hörte. Kapital Band 1 sind einerseits zweifellos ein Erfolg, ein Ziel, ein Gesamtkunstwerk, andererseits erscheinen sie mir aber kalt und unsexy. Die Schönheit von Marmor ist noch keine Garantie dafür, dass man darauf auch sitzen kann! Auf beeindruckende Weise voll leerem Perfektionismus? Leider!

Fabrice Allard le 20/04/2004

Voilà une sortie qui va intéresser à plus d’un titre les fans de Radian. Tout d’abord le groupe, Kapital Band 1, est un duo formé par Martin Brandlmayr, batteur de Radian, et Nicholas Bussmann que l’on ne connaissait pas mais qui est tout aussi productif notamment au sein de The Beige Oscillator & DJ Attaché (chez Charizma). Le label ensuite est lui aussi nouveau, et fondé par Stefan Nemeth, également membre de Radian se produisant aux machines. Tout commence donc par une affaire de famille et le son qui est découle hérite naturellement de cette lignée viennoise.

Continuons les présentations avec maintenant l’album intitulé 2CD. Comme pour un double CD, la tranche indique en effet que le boîtier comporte deux CD ce qui nous surprend un peu pour un premier album. Provocation ou concept, le deuxième CD est en fait un CD-R vierge sur lequel le groupe invite l’auditeur à graver de la musique, en précisant que si l’on ne sait que graver, on peut toujours aller sur le site du groupe pour en télécharger... (au moment ou nous écrivons ces lignes la page qui devrait contenir cette musique ne fonctionne pas...).
Concentrons nous donc sur le premier CD relativement court mais la musique de Kapital Band 1 ne se prête peut-être pas à un long format. Il s’agit en effet d’un album essentiellement rythmique, où Martin Brandlmayr tient un rôle important en exposant ses rythmes abstraits d’une finesse et d’une précision absolue, du genre de celles que l’on trouve chez Radian. La dessus, Nicholas Bussmann essaye d’y coller d’autres éléments sonores, avec plus ou moins de réussite forcément, mais le challenge est de taille quand on connaît la teneur des expérimentations du batteur de Radian. On retrouve ce qui fonctionne bien avec le trio autrichien, à savoir des vrombissements de basses assez brutes sur Is This The First Track Of This Album ? et Yes, second titre de l’album parsemé de crépitements qui sert de réponse à la question précédemment posée. On appréciera particulièrement l’intro de This Is What We Want ou encore Length Width Height Margin avec leurs nappes glacées qui lissent un peu les percussions en dent de scie de Brandlmayr.
Pour le reste, beaucoup de basses en tout genre (grésillantes, sous forme de bleeps, frétillantes), des nuages de grésillements, et une guitare rock sur un titre. Le batteur quant à lui utilise son instrument de toutes les manières possibles, frottant les peaux de ses fûts mais aussi leur montant avec toujours cette même précision d’horloger.

Du coup la musique de Kapital Band 1 reste très froide, voire même austère même si les rythmiques du duo peuvent faire hocher la tête. Des grooves hors normes, vivement recommandés aux fans de Radian et autres amateurs de musiques précises.

Fabrice Allard
le 20/04/2004