Apparat Organ Quartet – “Romantika ” – [Duphonic Super 45S']

‘Machine rock and roll? from Reykjavik, Iceland from a drummer
(Arnar Geir Omarsson,ex-HAM) and four organists (Musikvatur,
collaborator with MUM; Horour Bragason, the church organist for
Iceland’s largest congregation & member of HR.ING.R; Ulfur Eldjarn,
member of KANADA and TRABANT; and Johann Johannsson, founding member
of ). Frigid, rhapsodic, austere, mechanical,
mysterious and utterly beautiful, this brief glimpse inside a trio of
remixes is the follow-up to 2002′s ‘Stereo Rock ‘n Roll? LP on <13 Amp>,
and offers the same highly customized electric music machinery, a raft of
cheap home organs, Farfisas and old Russian synthesizers in the service of
futuristika musika. Johannsson, who has produced MARC ALMOND, HAFLER TRIO,
PAN SONIC, etc.,keeps it all driving somehow with an assiduous sterility,
incorporating musical flourishes within set parameters of a musical Metropolis.
Heady and rock-based (as opposed to strictly technocratic), this ain’t no
disco,
man. Also recommended – the APPARAT ORGAN QUARTET’S pairing with visual
artist
Ingi Rafn (wherein a trio of shortwave radio geeks pit analog receivers, morse
code transmissions & other outdated communications technologies against the
QUARTET’S assembly line of sound) on ‘Motorlab 2?
Touches herein of Hermann Nitsch, Stockhausen, Reich, Mahler, etc.

MITCH January 2004