Artwork (Artwork)

ezust@cs.mcgill.ca

I think that in the 90s, a new genre of music was "invented". I would call
it "industrial folk", although I understand others call it "apocalyptic
folk", and the first examples of this sort of music that I've heard were by
Current-93, as exhibited in "Thunder Perfect Mind". While TPM has excellent
melodies and very interesting instrumentation, I hate to say it but David
Tibet can't sing for shit. His voice really starts to annoy me after a
short time. [Alan's note: Since writing this review, I've heard other
recordings by Current 93 where Tibet's voice doesn't bug me as much -
August 1998]

I know there are some people out there who hate the voice of Ka-Spel
because they find it "too annoying", and I find it incredible. I'm sure
I'll alienate just as many people with this comment... I hope nobody posts
this to a current-93 mailing list!

Anyway, Tibet's side-project, "Nature and Organization", is considerably
more listenable, because for the songs he does sing, he doesn't sound
quite as annoying, and the other vocalists featured actually *can* sing!!
This is another example of industrial folk, and I really recommend their
releases to cloud-zero subscribers who like this sort of thing.

But I am digressing. This is actually a review of an album called
"Artwork", a project started by Jochen Schoberth and Oswald Henke.

Artwork is a 55 minute CD that would be classified in the same way as
Thunder Perfect Mind (by C93) and Nature and Organization. Offhand, I can't
think of other bands which would also fit in this category [Alan's note:
since writing this I've discovered Death in June, and Mourning Cloak, and
others - August 1998]. Most of the songs prominently feature an acoustic
guitar playing counterpoint, adding a very folksy feel to each song,
frosted with occasional synthesized instruments.

Track 1, Bella Donna Requiem, features the pleasing and operatic voice
of Jan Kunold, singing in what sounds like Latin, a very requiem like song
backed by acoustic guitar and horns. He appears again on track 9 in a
similar role.

Track 2, Gyon, is a new-agey track which has some interesting acoustic
guitar work in the middle, but is rather dull overall.

Track 3 is the reason I bought the disc without hearing it. "Bring the
Rain" features Ka-Spel on vocals, Neils on Flute, and Ryan on Bass. It
could fit easily on Maria Dimension in terms of style. A very sad and
wistful ballad with Schoberth (as usual) on acoustic guitar.

Tracks 4,5, and 7 feature Oswald Henke on vocals, but he's not really
singing, just talking monotone in german. Some time I'd like to know what
he's saying. The synths and guitars blend very nicely on these songs.

Track 8 is the Goth song, very dark wave-ish, with Jochen Schoberth
singing like Andrew Eldritch on barbituates. The instrumentation is very
well done, with rhythms and patterns changing every 2 minutes or so to
keep you from being totally hypnotized. One might even call it an epic.

Track 9 has everyone singing, and it's often hard to figure out who is
singing what part, but most of it sounds like Ka-Spel or someone else
trying to sound like him. The music is a little repetitive but not
offensive.

This album has given me more listening enjoyment than MIMIR, Dream
Cell, or Scriptures CDs; it is well thought out, coherent, and "easy to
get into". A pleasant surprise when lately the collaborations have left me
feeling rather "cold" (Sheila liked the Rodeo figures prominently into
this impression).

Holly <arete@forest.net>

Hello,

> does anyone here own the *artwork* recording that has edward on it as a
> guest musician? i would like to know how much of the recording he appears
> on, and whether it's a recommended buy. we've got _zwei schritte_ and i am
> pretty hit & miss with it, though i mostly like it. thanks in advance!

It is a very recommended buy. Although Edward's contribution is
limited to a couple of tracks, the whole CD is rather interesting. The
lead singer for Goethe's Erben has several songs on the CD. As a result
I tracked down a CD of Goethe's Erben which I rather enjoy even though I
can't understand most of the lyrics.

I also thought it was cool that the Artwork has songs in three different
languages (English, German and Latin). If you see it, definitely
buy...if for no other reason then it is pretty rare now and I'm sure
there are people on this list who would be willing to take it off your
hands...:-)

Regards,
Holly
arete@forest.net