Aspec(t)

Waspnest - 12" LP - 2010

Released by Toxo Records in co-production with Viande and Fratto9

12" LP in black bag, with external matt cover, inner page and download code

Price: 12 €

 

REVIEWS

 

 

THE WIRE #325 - March 2011

 

ASPEC(T) - WASPNEST (LP by Toxo/Viande/Fratto9)

No Wave demolition is in order from this Italian duo, whose acrobatic brutality comes through an aktionist use of sax, electronics, voice and drums. Mimmo Napolitano (aka SEC_) and Mario Gabola quickly accelerate their shredding noises with reckless velocity of Mike Patton-esque glossolalia, splattered sax and guttural amplifier distortion. As quickly as Aspec(t) achieve turbo speed, the burn-out is equally as abrupt. The two slump into extended passages of dampened activity as if catching their collective breath through the comparatively restrained concoctions of free form drum kit skitter, porcine grunts and smeared feedback. Once recovered, the two blast off once again towards another nitrous-fuelled car crash.
Jim Haynes

 

VITAL WEEKLY #762

ASPEC(T) - WASPNEST (LP by Toxo Records)
The world of radical improvisation is represented here with the music of Aspec(t), an Italian duo of SEC_ on laptop, processed tapes, analog synth and radio and Mario Gabola on feedback and acoustic sax, resonant/feed drums. They both have an extensive career with such bands as Asp/SEC_, Weltraum, Endorgan, A Spirale and Strongly Imploded. All of these, as far as I heard them, are to be found in a similar area of improvisation meeting noise. Themselves they refer to Pateras/Brown/Baxter, John Butcher, Jim Denley, Rudolf Eb.er, Dave Phillips, Sudden Infant, Lionel Marchetti and Jerome Noetinger. This is shown in their music. Partly analogue, sometimes massive noise based, but also with a strong love for small sounds and odd textures. The cover lists eleven tracks, but I found it hard to detect eleven different tracks. It could have been one per side, or thirty, as far as I could tell. Not that it really matters of course, what counts is what's pressed in these grooves. And that's something I like very much. I am known as someone who doesn't love noise being over the top, but when noise is presented as something that comes in a bigger context, either free improvisation, totally controlled or something in between, then you have my blessing. Aspec(t) does exactly that: their loudness fits well with the softer moments, the free jazz of the saxophone, the banging of a drum, and the controlled textures of the electronics. Controlled mayhem as such, but excellent in its disorderly fashion. A very fine record, would be great to see them perform live. (FdW)
Address: http://www.toxorecords.com

 

 

ASPEC(T) - Waspnest (LP, Toxo Records, 2010)

Aspec(t), the duo of SEC_ and Marion Gabola, have created an album of great intensity.Through a combination of laptop, processed tapes, analog synth, radio, feedback and acoustic sax, and resonant/free-drums, the duo are able to conjure a form of music that bridges two traditions I never imagined being linked in any manner, and yet after hearing this album the connection makes perfect sense.  Essentially Aspec(t) merge old school European improvisation (think of Evan Parker, John Butcher) with the visceral “aktion” noise of Schimpfluch-Gruppe and those who travel in their orbit (Rudolf Eb.er, Dave Philips, Joke Lanz). The album as a whole is so full of pregnant pauses, clank, clatter, unholy vocals/growling, and noise explosions that, at first, it seems impenetrable.  The tracks are relatively short, and with no obvious beginning or end, they tend to bleed together, adding to the exhilaration of the listening experience.  Once the album settles in, though, it becomes utterly engaging.  And what shines through on repeated listens is a clear love of texture, and this is especially evident in the digital manipulation of the Mario Gabola’s saxophone.  This sound, which lies at he heart of the album, adds much depth, and the two push the instrument into such unfamiliar realms that it is nearly unrecognizable.  This is an album which wonderfully defies casual listening.

8/10

Kevin Harrison

http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/?p=10745

 

 

ASPEC(T) PAGE