59.

Jan Jelinek
Tiereobachtungen
(Scape, 2006)

The ability of Jan Jelinek to take the elements of electronic drone and somehow warp those elements into someething that could be described as jazz is beyond me. The guy's got skills, or some sort of bizarre apparatus obtained from another planet in order to manipulate sounds on this planet. Whatever the explanation for these oddly lovely patches of sound, I'm a fan.

-Thistle

Groupshow - the Martyrdom of Groupshow

Groupshow
The Martyrdom of Groupshow
(2009, Scape)
RIYL = Matmos, Eric Copeland, Black Dice

Groupshow is something of a German electronic super group boasting membership of Jan Jelinek, Hanno Leichtmann and Andrew Pekler. Pekler and Leichtmann actually worked as a backing band for Jelinek on tour which is, I’m assuming, how the trio formed under the single creative entity. If you are familiar with any of their work individually, you’re probably not going to be surprised by the fact that Groupshow’s electronics are weird, but weird in the best possible way. The trio’s improvisations turn into slightly off kilter pop tracks that usually revolve around the 3 minute mark, not too long or too brief to fully flesh out their alien skin. And if you were ever to imagine what pop music is to aliens, I imagine Groupshow is a pretty good possibility. The Martyrdom of Groupshow is filled with piles and piles of various odd synthesizer tones, blips, hums and beats, all scattered around and yet scattered into some type of symmetry that assures to never feel random. There is a cohesive thread here that pulls the oddity through for human consumption. I haven’t heard any of Leichtmann’s solo work, but in comparison to Pekler’s and Jelinek’s, The Martyrdom of Groupshow isn’t quite to standard, but as a testament to how high those standards are, Groupshow’s debut is definitely up there as far as my favourite electronic albums of the year and seems to be getting better and better the more I listen to it. Certainly it is a worthy stopgap between the time we wait for something new from each artist as an individual and, assuming they continue to record together, The Martyrdom of Groupshow is a stunning display of talent and potential.

-Thistle

Groupshow on MySpace

Jan Jelinek - Tierbeobachtungen

Jan Jelinek
Tierbeobachtungen
(2006, ~Scape)
9.0/10.0

"Otherworldliness" is probably a good word to start with when describing Jan Jelinek's Tierbeobachtungen (try saying that three times fast…but only if you don’t speak German). Jelinek produces oddly satisfying soundscapes filled with an array of clicks, hums, buzzes and whirrs that hail from unidentifiable origins. The six loop based compositions on Tierbeobachtungen swell like the sounds of a crazed jungle from a distant planet, evoking strange creatures and plant life as each track pans in reversed slow motion across its landscape. The imagery fits well in relation to the album title which translates roughly as "Animal Observations." While being wholly unique, a strained comparison might bring to mind some of Animal Collective's more low key instrumental tracks or maybe Black Dice as filtered through William Basinski. I missed this album in 2006 for various reasons, despite knowing about it, or it would have doubtlessly made my top ten (something true of a few discoveries made this year). With that said, any fan of experimental music should mark this album as a required addition to their Itunes library. A textural and atmospheric masterpiece.

-Mr. Thistle

Jan Jelinek - Tierbeobachtungen (full stream)