clear as glass

Last month's west coast tour brought a couple a good surprises, mainly a sweet time in LA. Outside of walking the avenue of stars and relaxing in La Brea Tar Pits our show was at the amazing and overly welcoming Il Corral, a multi-room warehouse/art venue in the Hollywood area that seems to present a non-stop wallop of ace performances. The place is run by Bob Bellerue, who I wasn't familiar with until setting up the show. After we played and were heading out he passed on his Threat Level Charlie CD to me, which is "music for glass, metal, space(s), programming, electronics, body and power."
Waverly and wasp-like, Bellerue's bowing of the elements is ambient as two-eyes full of sand yet holds an utterly elegant gaze during the four pieces, all recorded in Barcelona + California, 2002. Using a contact mic and microphones slipped inside PVC pipes, the waves shift from bassy, echo laden rumble to quivering sinewaves. Like the best Keith Rowe injections, Bellerue also plunges into the airwaves. As he explains: "Radio is tapped as a chthonic noise source, and as processing stage and path for feedback via transmitter. Broadband noise is generated from public and private ambient recordings, and speeches by George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden are shredded together."
A bunch of Bob's past work is detailed with streaming MP3s at his site: some recent power noise/feedback (OROBOROS) and mind-heavy n' amped gong works (Gong Listrik). Enough to keep you listening all weekend.

Threat Level Charlie - Part 1