ATWAR185REGLER - Regel
#9 (Blues) LP
http://www.atwarwithfalsenoise.com
Released: Jun '17
The latest release from this power duo (I've just made up some music
terminology there) is their best yet, and one I felt had to be on vinyl!
On their previous two records on At War, Regler have tackled harsh noise and
heavy metal. Now I'm a big fan of both of these genres, and something I love
equally is the blues. Regler doing the blues? What the fuck is that gonna
sound like? Well, it doesn't sound like Howlin' Wolf, that's for sure! But
then, Anders and Mattin are less about representing a sound and more about
getting to the bottom of a genre, usually by taking it apart, or getting to
the fulcrum of the style....or in this case, aggressively smashing the shit
out of it until it surrenders.
On one long track over two sides of an LP, Regler haven't produced a
deconstruction of the blues; rather a horrid bastardisation of the blues:
playing an open riff and caveman drum beat over and over.....and
over........and over.......and over again, post-produced with samples
representing the multitude of fucked up things going on in the world in the
past year. It's nearly an hour of unrelentingly bleak vibes. Is that not
what the blues, in essence, is all about? The blues is - at root - reality,
and this is what's shown bare here. Is it more horrible to hear a seemingly
endless, turgid cacophony of guitar and drums with little variation or
finesse, or to hear the death, pain and suffering that we're casually
subject to at six o'clock every night with our egg and chips? Well, this
record unsubtly asks that question!
The sound of the record is MASSIVE, and has been mastered beautifully to
vinyl. Utterly heavy and taking no prisoners, it's like the first track on
FETO by Napalm Death just kept going for the whole album. This isn't for the
casual listener, but I guess if you're a casual listener of anything you a)
won't be reading about a new REGLER record and b) won't be on this website.
Unjoy! (anti-copyright)
250 copies, pro sleeve, shrinkwrapped.
Radio plays:
http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/73611
WFMU Light Airplay, October 2017
WILLIAM PARKER QUARTETS - Meditation / Resurrection (AUM Fidelity)
ANTON BARBEAU - Heaven Is In Your Mind (Fruits de Mer)
PSYCHIC MAPS - 1st (Second) Lo-Fi Record (Powertool)
SNOW NERDS - Gup Life (Orenda)
PROCESS OF ELIMINATION - Won't Comply (Neck Chop)
SICK THOUGHTS - Songs About People You Hate (Neck Chop)
GARDEN MEDIUM - Garden Medium (Chiastic Society)
HIGH-FUNCTIONING FLESH - Culture Cut (Dais)
MY CAT IS AN ALIEN & JOëLLE VINCIARELLI - Eternal Beyond (Opax)
LES BAMA LAMAS AVEC GABRIELLE SUTTON - Security b/w It's Too Late (Le Fez)
THE STRANGER - The Stranger 7 (Lumpy)
JAMES BURGER & ROB FRIED - Resonating Twilight: A Sound Portrait (Xylostyle)
BARDSPEC - Hydrogen (Membran)
HYENA - Demo 2017 (Scavenger Of Death)
SAMANTHA GLASS - Introducing the Confession (No Rent)
JOZEF VAN WISSEM - Beyond Prop, New Lute Music For Film (Incunabulum)
DAVID S. WARE TRIO - Live in New York, 2010 (AUM Fidelity)
SAM AMIDON - The Following Mountain (Nonesuch)
VARIOUS - Presents Funk You (HDM)
KING JAMES & THE SPECIAL MEN - Act Like You Know (Special Man Industries)
PIN PARK - Kraut Park (Instant Classic)
FRANCISCO LOPEZ & AERNOUDT JACOBS - Lith (Sub Rosa)
ERIK NERVOUS - Ice Cream (Total Punk)
PHILIPPE HALLAIS - An American Hero (Modern Love)
M.E.S.H. - Piteous Gate (Pan)
OJERUM - Skygge (Round Bale)
W-2 - Fanatics (Astral Spirits)
REESE MCHENRY & SPIDER BAGS - Bad Girl (Sophomore Lounge)
ARCHIVIST - Chutes And Ladders (Medical Records)
RADIATION RISKS - Goodbye Money (Lumpy)
RUZ - Ruz 7 (Lumpy)
SHABAZZ PALACES - Quazerz vs. The Jealous Machines (Sub Pop)
VICTORIA WILLIAMS & THE LOOSE BAND - Town Hall 1995 (Fire)
DARKSMITH - Time To Die (Mom Costume)
KATE MOHANTY - The Double Image (GP Stripes)
1-877-KARS 4 KIDS BAND - Live at WFMU (No Label)
ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER FEATURING IGGY POP - The Pure and the Damned (Warp)
BREN'T LEWIIS ENSEMBLE - Dreamhouse Prison of the Pastel Mafia (BUFMS)
DEWAR / CENTAZZO / LEBARON - Encantamientos (pfMentum)
THE PENETRATORS - Legacy (Fred)
OIXOI - America (Megaxoi)
BRAIN FEVER - Brain Fever (Tsuguri / Vage)
ABSTRUCTUM - Abstructum (Nihilist)
MIDNIGHT MINES - We Are the Primitives of the New Era (Loki)
ANAL BABES / TITMEN - Split Cassette (Loki)
REGLER - Regel #9 Blues for Western Civilization (for Audience and Tape) (At War With False Noise)
PITRELEH - Pitreleh (Important)
THE RIPPERS - A Gut Feeling (Slovenly)
PHIL HEWITT JAZZ ENSEMBLE - Since Washington (Now Again)
KAWABATA MAKOTO - Hegemony Series - Twighlight Pussy Zone - Kawabata Makoto's Space Mix Vol. 1 (No Label)
IIVII - Invasion (IIVII)
BLIND SPRING - 7 (Manatus Musicus)
RYAN JEWELL & DAVID REED - Crosscurrents (Lost Treasures of the Underworld)
SEAN MCGUINNESS - Ready to Be Rich (No Label)
JIM LAUDERDALE - London Southern (Sky Crunch)
ALAN SONDHEIM / AZURE CARTER / LUKE DAMROSCH - Limit (Public Eyesore)
HIRAM-MAXIM - Ghosts (Aqualamb)
CRAIG BROWN BAND - The Lucky Ones Forget (Third Man)
YOUNG PIONEERS - High Again (K)
MATTE BLACK - Dust of This Planet (MBP)
ABRONIA - Obsidian Visions / Shadowed Lands (Water Wing)
THE CAVEMEN - Dog on a Chain (Slovenly)
SATANICPORNOCULTSHOP - AtoZ3, Around the World in a Day (Nunulaxnulan)
PIERRE BOULEZ & MYUNG-WHUN CHUNG - Messiaen: Orchestral Works (Deutsche Grammophon)
CHICAGO / LONDON UNDERGROUND - A Night Walking Through Mirrors (Cuneiform)
CREWDSON - Toys (Slowfoot)
SLIM FORSYTHE - This is Slim Forsythe (Get Hip)
CHARLES LLOYD NEW QUARTET - Passin' Thru (Blue Note)
NOERTKER'S MOXIE - Druidh Penumbra (Edgetone)
ZOFFY - Live (Acid Mothers Temple)
GUTTERS - Skullscapes (Zone Out)
Reviews:
brainwashed
(USA, October 2017)
The latest installment in this duo’s quest to pervert well known forms of
music may be its most difficult album yet. On the surface it seems
the most conventional: a live performance of Anders Bryngelsson on
drums and Mattin on guitar with the assistance of some backing tapes, but
the way in which these two interpret the blues is anything
but. It is one of those records that is rather unpleasant to
listen to, and that is exactly the point of it.
At War With
False Noise
First of all, Regler's interpretation of the blues is a very loose one,
but is still faithful to the basic nature of the style. Latching on
to the genre’s cyclic repetition, the main musical portion of the album is
a plodding, repetitious blast of distorted guitars, primitive rhythms, and
the occasional guttural growl. The resemblance to Swans’ earliest
recordings is undeniable, and fitting, given that Michael Gira himself has
discussed numerous times the influence of Howlin’ Wolf and the like had on
his band.
The second blues connection is, however, more thematic. This record
was captured live just over a year ago (September 23, 2016, in Berlin),
foreshadowing the political turmoil that was soon to plague Western
Civilization as we know it(hence the title). Accompanying the music
are multiple recordings from the news, European and American, and even
when the language may not be familiar to these ears, the anger and
frustration conveyed is universal.
Over the doomy throb the two create with their instruments, the
aftermaths of terrorist attacks, police shootings in the United States,
and pre-Brexit, pre-Trump protests are all captured here. Besides
just chanting, yelling, and speaking, there is more than a few instances
of emergency sirens, police radios, and gunfire to really ramp up the
tension and hammer home the unsettling nature of the music. At times
(and surely intentionally), the tapes are distinctly louder than the music
being played, making the intent painfully apparent.
All the while, Bryngelsson and Mattin pound away, a dull throb that
shifts and evolves as the performance goes on, but never loses
focus. On the second half the rhythm shifts up a bit, and the guitar
alternates from low end sludge to shrill, metallic and
feedback-laden. Towards the end of the performance, the playing gets
even more unhinged, fitting the tension that builds to a head, before
collapsing on loops of sirens and an abrupt conclusion.
Regler #9 is admittedly a very unpleasant record.
Throughout I was definitely feeling the tension that was constructed as
the performance went on, both from the tapes played and the music
itself. At this point though I feel as if performance has an even
stronger impact, since those worst-case scenarios that are channeled via
the protests and television news broadcasts have largely come to
pass. It is rhythmic, repetitive, and depressing as all hell, and I
cannot think of a more fitting interpretation of the blues on such a macro
scale.
samples:
yellowgreenred
(Philadelphia September 2017)
My heart sank as I opened the box that this Regler LP came in the
moment I saw the Regler name at the top. The last Regler release that came
through here was one of my least-favorite Mattin projects, a big empty 12″
with the lingering sense of disappointment, but I did my duty and dropped
Regel #9 (Blues) on my turntable anyway, maintaining my impressive
dedication to properly informing my readership. And wouldn’t you know, it
turns out that this newest “Regel” is pretty intense and discomfiting and
raw, a concept that really delivers. The music consists of bass-guitar and
drums, maintaining a monotonous two-note dirge beat (across both sides of
the LP) while Mattin layers various recordings of social and political
discontent: street riots, protest violence, loud arguing, people screaming
over each other. These samples are slowly dispersed throughout, occasionally
coming together in a deluge that truly recreates the panicked, fearful state
of the first world, one guided by anger and resentment and hopelessness.
Certain samples really stress me out, probably because this isn’t some sort
of dystopian fantasy but all too real, and being reminded of it via Regler’s
oppressive repetition can be a bit too much. I get the impression that “a
bit too much” is exactly what Mattin was going for with this iteration of
his Regler project, though. It’s the sort of audio document that stings
right now but will be a valuable document for future generations to unearth
and evaluate.
Quemada
Records (New York, July 2017)
With Regel 9, Mattin (Billy Bao, etc) and Anders Bryngelsson from
(Brainbombs, etc) present their take on the Blues. And it’s as heavy and
brooding a take on the Blues as you’re going to hear. It’s also their most,
ummm, engaging offering to date. You’ll catch yourself bobbing your head
through most of it, even if you have a snarl on your face and your fists are
clenched. It lurches with menacing lethargy across two sides of slow burn
tension. The record provides an nice soundtrack to that moment when time
slows to halt at the moment before catastrophe. A clarifying moment when
it’s clear it was going to happen and you should have known.... That’s the
blues.
collective-zine
(August 2017)
My first brush with Regler, and on the basis of this I'm pretty sure it
won't be my last. Things are painful. Incredibly painful. A slow, monotonous
drum beat keeps pace while a primitive riff is repeated ad nauseam. This is
the basis for the entire record, which clocks in at just under 30 minutes.
It goes and it goes and it goes, seemingly because there is nothing much
else for it to do. Variation is kept to a bare minimum, and while Swans and
Legion Of Andromeda are ready touchpoints, I could also see this being 12
sax-free seconds of a God recorded looped until the ashes of the world
slowly cool. Just in case the torpid churn of it all wasn't disheartening
and enervating enough, things have been overlaid with soundbites and samples
that remind you – as if you actually needed reminding – just what a
truly awful species we truly are. Thanks, guys – thanks a lot.
Vital
Weekly (August 2017)
With Regler exploring per release a whole musical genre, such as free jazz
(see Vital Weekly 957),
dub (see Vital Weekly 966), harsh noise wall (see Vital Weekly 983),
classical music (see Vital
Weekly 1015), Metal (see Vital Weekly 1034) it is now time for blues. I am
not sure if Regler do
what I do if I don't know the answer, which asking the oracle, also known as
Wikipedia; "Blues as
a genre is also characterized by its lyrics, bass lines, and
instrumentation. Early traditional blues
verses consisted of a single line repeated four times. It was only in the
first decades of the 20th
century that the most common current structure became standard: the AAB
pattern, consisting
of a line sung over the four first bars, its repetition over the next four,
and then a longer
concluding line over the last bars. Early blues frequently took the form of
a loose narrative, often
relating the troubles experienced in African-American society." On September
23, 2016 the duo
of Mattin (on guitar) and Anders Bryngelsson (on drums) played at Urban
Spree in Berlin, and
perhaps this is AAB pattern; how I do know, not being musical at all in that
respect, with some
taped spoken word, audience interference and brutal approach to drums and
guitar. I am not sure,
but to me it hardly seems like conventional blues music, which of course is
totally fine. I do like the
rough and punky approach of these players very much though; there is a fine
sense of urgency in
this concert, whether one calls this blues or not. I wonder which genre they
will examine next. (FdW)