EL ESLABON
PERDIDO DEL ROCK
RADICAL
VASCO
Alan
Courtis 27 diciembre 2005
Reviews:
Rock de Lux ( Barcelona, n. 239 abril 2006)
Billy Bao son de Bilbao y, pese al juego de palabras y al título
de su EP, el único rockabilly or rock n roll que hay aquí
es mutante- a lo Jon Spencer- e instrumental:
entrecortado, ruidoso y deconstruido hasta el glitch n roll de
"Evapogoration" y la minimal " El grado zero del pulso": golpe de caja
cada cinco segundos.
You never quite know what you're
in for when you pop a Mattin disc into the machine (though, admittedly,
if he's sharing the bill with Taku Unami or Radu Malfatti you can
probably have an educated guess), and that applies to quality as much
as content. Having found his Song Book singularly awful – and
I can't help wondering if he didn't intend it to be, though perhaps the
fact that I don't speak the language he's singing in means I'm missing
out on something dreadfully important – I'll admit I was a bit alarmed
at the prospect of a Mattin punk album called Rock'n'Roll
Granulator. That said, the last album with the word rock'n'roll in
the title, Norman D. Mayer and Hugo Roussel's Rock'n'Roll
Motherfucker on the Priscilia label (RIP?) was what it said it
was: a motherfucker. And so's this, even if it isn't really a punk
album. Or rather it's a post-punk album. No, not even that – Simon
Reynolds will write in and complain – erm, a post-post-punk album?
Whatever it is it's terrific stuff. Mattin is joined by Alan Courtis,
Xabier Erkizia, Alberto Lopez and Pablo Reche – and Billy Bao himself,
who appears to be a Nigerian refugee stranded in Bilbao. A likely
story, that – until presented with photographic evidence to the
contrary, I'm more inclined to think he's another creation of the ever
fertile mind of Mattin himself. Well maybe he'll write in and tell us
one day. Three of the four tracks start out pretty rocky (post-rocky?
aagh, don't start that again), all binary thrust and skronking clangy
guitars, but they don't stay that way for long. Well, "Dame Kritmo"
more or less does: it could just about be an Ex outtake (ca. Instants).
"Evapogoration" is trucking along just fine until Mattin's laptop
starts mashing it to shit at 0'38", the track literally splintering
apart into shards of vicious glitch before emerging phoenix-like by
1'17" only to fuck up again just before the end. "El grado zero del
pulso" (which my pidgin Spanish seems to indicate means "the degree
zero of pulse".. that figures) doesn't get anywhere near punk. Though
then again I suppose you could argue that it does, since it's
all about mindlessly regular rhythmic drumming. It lasts 18'41" and
consists of 193 repeated drum strokes roughly five seconds apart. After
a couple of minutes wisps of other sounds drift in. There's a little
guitar squeal at 4'45" and the texture thickens by the 12-minute mark,
but the drums thud inexorably on. I wonder if Mattin know's Mathias
Spahlinger's Ephémère, the central section of
which calls for a percussionist to play sixty-five slow rimshots "as
regularly as possible". The difference is that while Spahlinger's
attempts at sameness result in difference – the performer can try to
repeat exactly the same sound but s/he's doomed to fail, as the exposed
nature of the sound makes clear to the attentive listener – Mattin's
thuds sound maddeningly identical (sampled?), if very slightly
irregular in their spacing. It's an extraordinary listening experience.
So is the closing "Para ahuyentar ratas, humanos y ortos insectos",
which starts out chirpy enough but soon descends into a cavern of sub
bass rumble and never manages to climb out. It all certainly challenges
our notions of what "rock" is – or even "music" itself – is, and if
that isn't what punk's all about I don't know what is.–DW
WFMU (New York,
February 2006)
An appropriate name I
suppose for a guy who resides in Bilbao, Spain,
and between this new EP and the "Bilbo's Incinerator" 7" two years back
I am certain to gobble up any crust this Stooges-worshipping Nigerian
ex-pat throws down. Mattin offers up an Mp3 of the 7" on their home page
, and as a connoisseur of damaged, destructo-garbage psychedelic punk
this slab ranks up there with any hate-fueled insanity committed to wax
by the Brainbombs, Sightings, Liquorball, or Jim Steinman. You get
piles and piles of brutal, mindless guitar ripping layer after layer
into the proceedings, just getting worse as it goes along, but on the
new EP, the heavy-handedness instead gets replaced with total confusion
and deliberate mind-fuckery with your brain and speakers (note "Evaporogoration",
(real audio) which caused several listeners and the Station Manager to
call the studio when I played it, asking what was going on with the air
signal). As punk rock as it all sounds, the modus operandi of Mattin
seems very much to be computer music, and to some extent (my pal T.
Hunger has accurately called it "rock concrete") Billy Bao falls under
that category. I dunno, then you get "El Grado Zero del Pulso" which is
a drum equivalent to Chinese Water Torture, you never know when the
minimalism and silent passages are going to erupt into a pure
shitstorm, and sometimes it does, sometimes it does not. Brian Turner
Autsaider
Magazine (Ukraine)
BILLY BAO
R’n’r Granulator
CD, w.m.o/r, 2005
Біллі Бао – нігерієць, який кілька років тому переселився з Лаґосу до
Більбао (Країна басків). Там він зібрав панк-гурт, до якого ввійшли
кілька аргентинських та іспанських музикантів. Зокрема на “R’n’r
Granulator” грали: Біллі Бао (гітара, вокал, комп’ютер), Анла Куртіс
(гітара, електроніка), Пабло Реше (електроніка), Хав’єр Еркізіа
(гітара, електроніка), Альберт Лопес (барабани) і відомий Маттін
(гітара, комп’ютер).
Назва альбому сама собою налаштовує на пошук у музиці цього самого
„гранулятора рок-н-ролу”, на вслуховування в намаганні розчути нотки
демонтажу рок-н-ролу, його викриття, розвінчування, подрібнення,
розпилення. Вже не підлітки віддають данину музиці свого отроцтва,
музиці, якою захоплюються, і щодо якої розуміють, яка вона до відрази
дурна. І перші дві композиції ніби відповідають очікуванням почути
„переоцінку цінностей”. В “Dame Kritmo” рок трансформовано в
загальмований ноу-вейв гітаристів-кубістів. Шумна,
безшабашно-невимушена музика потроху уповільнюється, щоб у
“Evapogoration” вибухнути драйвовим панком. В цьому треку справа й
доходить власне до гранулювання. Давши музиці трохи подригатись, її
ріжуть на маленькі шматочки, які, відокремлені один від одного паузами,
спочатку зависають як водяні кульки у невагомості, а потім жмакаються
як пластикові стаканчики. Звук проривається ніби через несправні
динаміки. Хрум-хрум.
Ось, здавалося б, все і стало з цією музикою зрозуміло.
Рок-н-рол – такий любий і такий ненависний – деконструйовано і
знешкоджено. З цирком дрібних підліткових пристрастей покінчено. Так.
Так і не так. Музиканти не дають слухачеві насолодитися цією швидкою
розгадкою, не полишають його в оточенні комфортних змістів. Після двох
заводних номерів гурт виштовхує слухача в порожнечу третього “El grado
zero del pulso”. Тобто в майже порожнечу: у повній тиші неспішний ритм
відбивається одним-єдиним барабаном. Бум. Пауза. Бум. Пауза. Бум.
Пауза. І нічого. Бум. І нічого. Нічого не відбувається. Аж згодом
розсіяна монотонним стуком увага переноситься на задній план, на якому
барабан віддається дивною луною. Ніби якась тінь мерехтить на
театральних декораціях. А десь вже взагалі за лаштунками луна утворює в
повітрі фідбек-фігуру. На якусь хвилину повертаються і знову зникають
гітари. Їх місце займає високочастотний писк. Потім знову на сцену
виходить гітара. Наче картину, музику повернуто до нас іншим боком. На
звороті залишились композиція, кольори, пропорції, перспектива, форма.
Перед нами чиста динаміка полотна. Ми вдивляємось і не бачимо нічого
суттєвого – це просто полотно. Нічого особливого. Фон. Але на ньому,
схоже, все і відбувається.
А чи може фон вийти на передній план? Чи може фон подолати
передній план, перетворитися на нього, зайняти його місце? В останньому
треку, “Para ahuyentar ratas, humanos y otros insectos”, міститься
натяк на відповідь на це питання. В ньому фон – це взагалі все, що в
ньому є. Він не має переднього краю – тільки фон. Шумовий фон. Тобто
передній план – у вигляді гаражного бенду – грає тільки на початку.
Грає приблизно хвилину й зникає назавжди. А за ним вступає фон. З його
тихого високочастотного писку, ще тихішого поскрипування, відлуння
народженого у фідбеку звуку, що нагадує акордеон, завивання,
приглушених пострілів народжується щільне відлуння вибуху, якого не
було. Музика не вибухнула. Вона так і не наважилася нав’язати себе
слухачеві, не зробила крок назустріч. Тим не менше все відбулося. Ми
думали, що головне відбувалося перед нашим носом. Воно залазило нам у
вуха, і ми охоче його туди впускали. А головне-то виявилося зовсім не
там! Слід було не дозволяти передньому плану захопити себе, а навести
фокус на задній план. Вся драма відбувалась там. На фоні.
BILLY BAO
R’n’r Granulator
CD, w.m.o/r, 2005
Billy Bao is a Nigerian who moved from Lagos to Bilbao (the Basque
country)
some years ago. It was there that he gathered a punk group which
comprised
of Argentinean and Spanish musicians. The line-up for “R’n’r
Granulator”
included Billy Bao (guitar, vocals, computer), Anla Courtis (guitar,
electronics), Pablo Reche (electronics), Xabier Erkizia (guitar,
electronics, harmonium), Alberto Lopez (drums), and Mattin (guitar,
computer).
The album title somehow makes one look for the mentioned “rock’n’roll
granulator” in music, to deep-listen to music in a attempt to catch the
notes of rock’n’roll deconstruction, denunciation, dethronement,
disintegration, atomization. Here the artists, who are no longer
teenagers,
pay homage to the music of their adolescence, which, and they
understand it
now, is distastefully stupid. And the first two tracks seem to meet
one’s
expectations of hearing a sort of “reappraisal of values.” In “Dame
Kritmo”
rock music is transformed into off-speed no wave played by cubist
guitarists. This noisy, daft and easy music gradually slows down to
explode
with neck-breaking punk rock of “Evapogoration.” The music, allowed to
shake
a bit, is subsequently cut into small pieces, which, separated by
pauses,
first hang like water bubbles in weightlessness and then are crushed
like
plastic cups. Everything sounds as if it was coming from defective
dynamics.
Crunchy.
So, it seems as though everything is clear in this music. Rock’n’roll,
so
adored and so hated, has been deconstructed and destroyed. The circus
of
teen kicks is done away with. Right. Right, and not quite right. The
musicians do not allow the listener to enjoy this early answer, do not
let
him rest in a comfortable environment of clear meanings. After two
cheerful
numbers, the listener is pushed into the emptiness of the third one,
“El
grado zero del pulso.” To be more exact, the emptiness is not absolute:
there is still one drum that produces a simple beat in complete
silence.
Bounce. Pause. Bounce. Pause. Bounce. Pause. Nothing. Bounce. Nothing.
Nothing happens. The listener’s attention is unfocused by the
monotonous
drum and it takes some him time to recognize an echo caused by the
drum,
flying on the background. It looks like a shadow flickering in
theatrical
scenery. The echo makes a feedback figure somewhere beyond the
curtains. The
guitars come for a moment and go. They are replaced by a high-frequency
peek. Then the guitars hit the stage again. As if it was a painting,
the
music is turned to show us its reverse. The front-side is where
composition,
colours, proportions, perspective, form stay. We’re facing the pure
dynamics
of an unpainted canvas. We peer into it and we can’t see anything
material:
it’s only canvas. Nothing special. But apparently it’s where
everything’s
happening.
Can the background come to the forefront? Can the background overcome
the
forefront, turn into it, edge it out? The album closer, “Para ahuyentar
ratas, humanos y otros insectos,” offers a half-answer to this
question. The
background is all it has. There’s no forefront in it. There’s only hum.
To
be more precise, the forefront takes a shape of a garage band and plays
at
the very beginning. It plays for about one minute and fades away to
never
come back. It is followed by the background. Its high-frequency peep,
hardly-heard scraping, echoing sound that is produced by feedback and
resembles an accordion, fluttering, half-silenced shots give birth to a
dense after-sound of an explosion that never took place. The music
didn’t
explode. It was too shy to foist itself on the listener, it never
stepped
up. Nonetheless, everything did take place. We thought the main thing
was in
front of us. It was crawling into our ears, and we happily let it in.
But
the main thing turned out to be in a different place! We shouldn’t have
allowed the forefront captivate us and should have concentrated on the
background instead. The main drama was taking place there, on the
background.
Roman Pishchalov
Diskunion
(Japan)
おなじみ、WHITEHOUSE（ホワイトハウス）とRADU
MALFATTI（ラドゥ・マルファッティ）の遺伝子を持つスペインのコンピューター・フィードバック奏者MATTIN（マッティン）による、腐敗したパ
ンク・バンドBILLY BAO（ビリー・バオ）が、アルゼンチンの白痴的サイケデリック・ノイズ・バンドREYNOLS（レイノルズ）のALAN
COURTISとコラボレーションした驚愕のファーストCD作品。まったく投げやりな楽曲と、LO-FI極まりないエディットでパンクとノイズ、物音、轟
音サイケデリック・インプロヴィゼーションをこねくり回した、意味不明感タップリの一枚。
Touching Extremes (Rome, February 2006)
Billy Bao's noisy
supergroup comprises Xabier Erkizia, Alberto Lopez, Pablo Reche, Mattin
and Alan Courtis. Four truly sick tracks find the comrades playing
ultra-distorted, angular guitar lines which get annihilated and/or
chomped and spit out by various kinds of computer treatment, while the
longest piece "El grado zero del pulso" is an extremely minimal
percussive beat, echoed by modified ghosts of frequency as the time
goes by. The record ends with a wonderful low rumble that extends its
duration for long minutes, like a never ending thunder capable to lull
us to sleep instead of scarying us. As usual with everything coming
from Mattin's label, there is no compromise to any aesthetic law: the
music is harshly sincere and direct to the bone; take it or leave it,
this is as essential and brutally honest as you can get. Massimo Ricci
The
Wire (London, February 2006)
Billy
Bao, a bludgeoning free rock combo which at times recalls the thrashier
moments of Reynols (whose Anla Courtis guest here). Both
"Evapogoration" and "Para ahuyyentar Ratas, Humanos y Otros Insectos"
gradually distil the noise and instrument feeedback, into laptop static
and then out again, while "El Grado Zero Del Pulso" is an 18 minute
kick drum mantra subtly coloured by processing. It's one of the most
entertaining albums Mattin has been involved in. Keith Moliné
The Zap Gun Outside
&
underground. (USA October 2006)
Billy Bao R'n'R
Granulator CD
Nigerian
musician Billy Bao moved to the San Francisco which is in Spain,
discovered punk rock and a guy named Mattin, and turned out a
punishing 7" entitled Bilbo's Incinerator. BI is a Brainbombsesque gut
fuck which melts the piffle that is cookie cutter punk. So it shouldn't
be a surprise that this 30+ minute four song CD isn't going to play by
the rules or even expectations that Billy Bao is gonna do more
of the same. If punk rock means making up your own rules and
challenging assumptions than Billy Bao is on to something. Here he
explores primitive punk chordage, silence, noise, monotony, minimalism,
mumbling, space, and patience. Taken song by song this thing makes
absolutely no sense, but listen to it as a whole and something starts
to gel. Just what that something is I am still trying to figure out. If
I like it or not, I still don't know. But I am sure that I just
listened to something which made me think about what I heard. This
would not be out of place on Load. -SS
Mondo Sonoro (Barcelona,
enero 2006)
Me gusta su
punk-rock ruidista (tope agresivo y con toques muy experimentales). Son
Mattin y Alberto Lopez (ex Atom Rhumba entre otros grupos), aunque en
este disco han colaborado también Xabier Erkizia y los
argentinos Alan Courtis y Pablo Reche. Son especiales y tienen una
actitud especial. Creo que es perfecta la conjunción porque son
muy diferentes entre sí y aportan cada uno algo muy personal,
con su experiecia particular, a la música que hacen. Me gusta
especialmente la canción "Para ahuyentar ratas, humanos y otros
insectos" con su largo parón. Son atrevidos y no les importa lo
que piense la gente... porque creen en lo que hacen. Sus directos no te
dejan indiferente, son sorprendentes - aunque confieso que siempre voy
a
sus conciertos con tapones para los oídos pues creo que me
quedaría sorda si me atreviera a ir sin ellos. Pilar Baizan
KFJC (San Francisco,
January 2006)
Perhaps another
form of “rock concrete” (see also Starfuckers
aka Sinestri out of
Italy). “Evapogoration” is the standout
here, featuring a
driving rock und roll slinger that gets
strained through a choke
filter, it basically dies but is
revived like a cracklin’
Lazarus. Love the geiger heart
monitor and the three
seconds of silence before tick-tick
and it’s back. The lead
off track never dies on us, but does
sputter and lurch
towards its finale. It is rock, but only
just. “El Grado Zero del
Pulso” could be a slow motion
performance art drum
solo. Every five or so seconds you get
one drum beat, think
taiko for dummies, but as slow as
a stoned snail, other
sounds crawl in after 6 or so minutes.
Or you may hallucinate
your own additions before that. Call
it an ode to instant
gratification? Call it a test? Heck I
found myself wondering
if the drum was being hit by a mic
at times, since we’d get
little feed squeals on the much
anticipated drum strike.
About 14 minutes in, we move into
a nanodub space of
sorts. You want isolationism, you got it!
If you’re looking for a
theme song to your radio show, look
no further then this 18+
minute national anthem? Lastly
“Para Ahuyentar ratas,
humanos y otros insectos” tips off
the nihilistas, with
squelched rock for 1.5 minutes then
someone sets off the
galactic tinkle alarm. Don’t pretend
you saw it coming, from
then on out your on limited guitar
life-support with a
monolith of a drone at the edge of
this sonic universe. Not
for everybody, but not for nobody
either…must locate an
earlier 7″ from these folks that
I heard once in an
internet dream. Info on band members
withheld until they show
up to do a live set and prove that
they’re not really the
kids from Fame or soemthing. -Hunger
ESCULPIENDO MILAGROS
(Argentina)
Billy Bao: R’n’R Granulator. Bilbo Rock- 2005 (CD)
Una colaboración fugaz entre argentinos y españoles
grabada en una
peculiar reunión el 25 de Octubre de 2005. Participan Xabier
Erkizia,
Alberto López, Pablo Reche, Mattin y Alan Courtis.
Disco de ideas heterodoxas, arropadas en dosis considerables de
sentido del humor. Una guitarra eléctrica desestructurada sobre
una
base rítmica agonizante da la pauta de la placa. Le sigue un
punk breve
y frenético que desaparece en una maraña de ruidos
digitales, posible
atención de Pablo Reche, Xabi Erkizia o Mattin o todos a la vez.
“El
grado zero (sic) del pulso” consiste en un golpe de bombo (drum bass)
que se repite cada cinco segundos y se sostiene durante 18 minutos, al
que se le intercalan muy gradualmente otros sonidos en una suerte de
contrapunto que nunca llega a plasmarse como tal. Un hilarante
manifiesto sobre la materialidad misma de la música. El punk
primitivo
regresa en el cuarto y último tema para derivar
rápidamente en un
delgadísimo noise de laptop que, acto seguido, se mimetiza con
los
sonidos que produce la guitarra de Courtis, síntesis acabada del
cruce
entre electrónica y electricidad, entre experimentación
digital y
rock’n’roll que caracteriza a este álbum.
NORBERTO CAMBIASSO
The Broken Face
Billy Bao is a free rock combo consisting of Xabier
Erkizia, Alberto Lopez, Pablo Reche, Mattin and Alan Courtis. The
latter is known from his work with Reynols and those digging the raw
rhythmic collisions, the cluttering percussion and heavy distortion of
that group won’t be disappointed with how Rock 'n'Roll Granulator
(w.m.o/r)
kicks off. That sort of clangy guitars and outsider punk rock vibe
dominates the two opening tracks while “El Grado Zero Del Pulso”
besides a little bit of processing and laptop hiss is just about
nothing but regular drum sounds; seemingly endless repeated drum
strokes a few seconds apart. Call it avantgarde if you will, or maybe
rock concrete, and if you urge for comparisons think of a marriage
between Reynols and Italian Starfuckers/Sinistri and you’re in the
right ballpark. Mats
Brutus Zine (Bilbo Dec.
2005)
"Cedé" de únicamente 4
canciones de menos de 40
minutos en total que constituye el debut en "largo" oficial de este
trío bilbaíno formado por Mattín (guitarra y voz),
Xabier Erkizia
(bajo, guitarra y sintetizadores) y Alberto Martín
(batería) hace sólo
un par de años. Grabado en la mañana del 25
de Octubre del año pasado
en los estudios MIK de Bera (Guipuzkoa) por Maikel y
producido por el propio grupo. 4 cortes ("Dame Kritmo",
"Evapogoration", "El Grado Zero del Pulso" y "Para Auyentar Ratas,
Humanos y Otros Insectos". Estos 2 últimos de generoso
minutaje) experimentales, crudos y sin lugar al acomodo y a la
escucha
asequible, y en los que han contado con la
colaboración de los músicos
argentinos Pablo Reche y Alan Courtis.
1000+1tilt
(Athens)
4 songs by x. ekizia, billy bao, mattin, a.lopez, pablo
reche and alan courtis.1st song is a r'n'r mayhem, where
everything is going faster and nastiest. 2nd is along the same line
only that at points the whole sound is heavily granulated sounding liek
your cd has problems. these were the two shortest tracks, mind you.
third one starts with a sole bass kick which is repeated every 2-3
seconds and gradually sounds are filling the space in between.
frequencies, mic sounds, feedbacks and the build up comes abruptly
again in the form of fast garage, rock and roll. which dies after one
minute leaving behind a nice frequency drone which is actually the 4th
track. more sounds come, a guitar is tormented, mechanical sounds come
and go, resulting in a nice and rich music environment. sure, a strange
mix but i feel it will start growing on me. besides, uneasy sounds are
always good
Vital Weekly (Netherlands,
Decemeber 2005)
The first release by Billy Bao, a 7" on
Mattin's w.m.o/r
label (see Vital Weekly 466) didn't do much for me. Apparently
this Billy Bao moved from Lagos to Bilbao, and recorded the 7"
with Mattin on guitar and Alberto Lopez on drums. Here, on a new
CD with four tracks, the line up is extended with Xabier Erkizia,
Pablo Reche and Alan Courtis, so a six piece altogether, although
the cover doesn't make clear what they are playing. I assume laptops
and guitars. Three of the four tracks are a bit punk like of guitars
dueling, pounding drums but also with the static hiss of the laptops.
In the opening 'Dame Kritmo' the playing is rather free and improvised.
The third piece, 'El Grado Zero Del Pulso' is something entirely
different: a slow, repeating drum sound, with a far away hiss
sound coming the speakers and laptop hum. Probably it wants to
be menacing, but it takes way too much time. The best piece however
is the lengthy 'Para Ahuyentar Ratas, Humanos Y Otros Insectos',
which combines the punk attitude with drones played on guitars
and laptops. A bit of postrock for the postpunk and the postdrones.
As a whole much better than the previous 7", except for that
third piece, which didn't grab me very much. FdW
Frecuencia
Rock (Puerto Rico)
Billy Bao
“R ‘n R Granulator”
w.m.o/r
Por: Jorge Castro
Billy Bao es un de los aliases del músico vasco Mattin, quien
también
ha creado una extensa obra de experimentación sonora bajo su
propio
nombre. En “R ‘n R Granulator” se une a los argentinos Pablo Reche y
Alan Courtis y sus amigos vascos Xabi Erkizia y Alberto López
para
crear un disco con la energía del punk rock procesado a
través de su
computadora. Algunos temas desaparecen completamente dentro de una nube
de síntesis granular y ruido digital. Recomendado si buscas
escuchar
algo completamente nuevo.
Just Groove It
(Argentina)
BILLY BAO // Rock´n´Roll Granulator (2005)
El EP de 4 tracks de esta banda hispano-argentina denota una
incuestionable falta de ideas. Las pistas se basan en experimentaciones
e improvisaciones sin contenido artístico ni aporte de ninguna
clase.
Los integrantes argentinos son Pablo Reche y Alan Courtis (ex Reynols)
y los españoles Xabier Erkizia y Alberto Lopez.
Es un disco que recomendamos pasar por alto.
Frog
2000 (Spain)
Según la leyenda y la promoción del grupo, el
músico nigeriano Billy Bao se trasladó de Lagos a Bilbao,
quedándose prendado de la escena punk que inundaba la ciudad.
Su propósito desde entonces será el de combatir un
sistema que se nos traga a todos.
Este subterfugio es la excusa perfecta para que el músico
experimentado en mil batallas ruidosas Mattin, junto a Alberto
López (Yogur, Atom Rhumba, La Secta) formen un combo
incómodo, Billy Bao.
Radicales desde su concepción (definidos no sin sorna como post
Rock Radical Vasco por críticos de amplio recorrido) el primer
single que se sacan de la manga es un artefacto que entretiene y
apasiona. La cortante sopa de melaza que formulan no es nada nuevo para
el coleccionista bregado, pero no hay que quitar mérito a
propuestas como las realizadas, ya que se producen con cuenta gotas.
Oscuro y ruidoso punk de castigo grabado en los estudios Chocablock
(que es lo mismo que decir calidad) es lo que encierran las canciones
de “Bilbo´s incinerator”. Como ellos mismos dicen en una de sus
letras aullada en inglés “this is a fucking pop song, give them
virus”.
Su segunda referencia busca ese más difícil
todavía que muchos grupos intentan en cada nueva referencia.
Billy Bao lo consiguen. Innovador es una pobre palabra para definir lo
que ha logrado parir la nueva formación del grupo: el
omnipresente Mattin, Xabier Erkizia y Alan Courtis y Pablo Reche (estos
dos últimos forman dos tercios de los aberrantes Reynols, grupo
argentino que ejemplifica por sí mismo lo que el underground
nunca debió perder, la diversión).
En el nuevo trabajo la electrónica forma parte importante de
cada tema, mientras las escasas guitarras sirven para apuntalar unas
canciones reducidas a la misérrima expresión. Aquí
se practica un demencial juego con el oyente, no por desconocido menos
inquietante: sacarlo de quicio, incomodarlo. ¿Tomadura de pelo?.
Sin duda alguna, pero (otro tópico) la sarna con gusto no pica.
Quiero más.
Piero Scaroffi
Mattin's main project was the Spanish combo Billy Bao, fictionally credited to Nigerian vocalist Billy Bao and featuring guitarist Xabier Erkizia. Their R'n'R Granulator (WMO/R, 2005), that also features guitarist Anla Courtis, keyboardist Pablo Reche and drummer Alberto Lopez, harked back to the era of Pere Ubu and Throbbing Gristle. After the pure guitar-driven chaos and noise of Dame Kritmo and the brief epileptic attack of Evapogoration, the 14-minute Para Ahuyentar Ratas, Humanos Y Atros Insectos begins as a dissonant garage rave-up but soon decays into a shapeless drone that further decays into a distant rumble. The 19-minute El Grado Zero Del Pulso is a concerto of very slow drumming simulating heartbeats with some discreet electronic noise emerging at the end.
Il progetto più importante di Mattin è il combo spagnolo Billy Bao, fittiziamente accreditato al cantante nigeriano Billy Bao e che vede la partecipazione del chitarrista Xabier Erkizia. Il loro R'n'R Granulator (WMO/R, 2005), in cui suonano anche il chitarrista Anla Courtis, il tastierista Pablo Reche e il batterista Alberto Lopez, riporta indietro all’era dei Pere Ubu e dei Throbbing Gristle.
Dopo il puro caos chitarristico e il rumore di Dame Kritmo e il breve attacco epilettico di Evapogoration, Para Ahuyentar Ratas, Humanos Y Atros Insectos, di 14 minuti, inizia come un dissonante rave up di garage-rock, ma presto collassa in un drone senza forma, che decade ulteriormente in un rombo informe. El Grado Zero Del Pulso, di 19 minuti, è un concerto di percussioni molto lente che simulano il battito cardiaco, con qualche rumore elettronico discreto che emerge sul finire.
discography
w.m.o/record label
desetxea net label
www.mattin.org
