co.caspar.osp - labcopilation 2 [pnp06 . cd . 2003 . ltd.500 with miniposter]

tracklist : 1. anatomy of melancholy 2. bed-ridden chair 3. bed-ridden chair (a) 4. lumbago country lore 5. lumbago country lore (b) 6. litany (a) 7. pink machinery 8. litany (b) 9. east end

necrophonie #1 (excerpt) : ...a wisdom that can't be silenced still finding its way through the dazing relentlessness of existence.(...) the man could easily stand secured among the networks of contemporary musicians, galleries goers, official culture (...) if there's someone deserving respect in this crowd of "post-industrial" whatsoever people, it must be co.caspar. anything to add ? cd is a must have. adverse effect : ‘Labcopilation #1’, incidentally, being a private CD-r compilation from a few years ago, which featured several tracks that make it here as well. This one, likewise, is a compilation, but it includes only C.O.Caspar’s collaborative work with poets, and collects a further five pieces not on ‘…#1’. Most of the poems are those of Shaun Caton, but two pieces from Charles Baudelaire – the only previously unreleased tracks – are put in too. Caton also reads his own work in many cases, but elsewhere, the voice treatments, sometimes sticky, sometimes robotic, often leave the poems themselves entirely un-understandable – as if they were delivered in slow motion from the bottom of a swimming pool. On the other hand, even where the words aren’t completely obscured by processing, the poems can be unfathomable enough. But, in fairness, that’s all part of the fun, really, and besides, it’s not always easy to decide whether the voices function as mere flesh for the music, or whether the sounds are there as a stage for the words. A bit of both, I suppose, with the emphasis shifting from track to track. However, since the backdrops – incorporating, amongst other things, nervy chanting, chattering, husky exhalations, and windy sound swipes – aren’t overly elaborate, the vocal effects usually get a fair crack of the whip. My own favourites are the two reinterpretations of the previously recorded ‘Bed-ridden Chair’ and ‘Lumbago Country Lore’. The former is a rookery of treated stabs, chimes, rips, rhythm, and voice, while the latter’s (incomprehensible) intonations, dragged between strong, juddering flashes of sound, and a vat of thick, slowly stirred gloop, somehow manage to remind me of Cabaret Voltaire’s ‘Photophobia’. And that, on its own, really ought to be all the recommendation that’s needed for this. the wire #254 : german performance and sound artist CO.CASPAR.OSP (aka COC.OSP) uses metal, light and poetry to create his impressive and unsettling theatrical noise constructions. by digitally processing concrete tones, metallic sounds (made on his own 'clang tools') and spoken word, COC uses primitive and technological means to create hellish soundscapes that sear the imagination like a white hot brand. like COIL at their peak, COC has the power to prise open magickal doors of perception and let his audience peek through into other worlds. the OSP part of his name stands for OptoSonicProjects which adds a visual element to his sound installations. although the cd cover only hints at what these might be, this compilation of various works from 1998 to 2003 provides ample inspiration to set the cortex reeling. (edwin pouncey) auf abwegen #34 : ....labcopilation#2 offenbart die bandbreite des caspar'schen sounds - vom psychoakustischen grummelvocal-ambient bis hin zu bruitistischen klang-arbeiten, in denen der handwerker durchbricht. die neun tracks umspannen die jahre 98 - 03 und zeigen CO.CASPAR in seiner ganzen eigentümlichkeit und kraft. die tracks mögen krude anmuten, mit dem manchmal unentschlossenen einblenden von stimme oder klöppelndem geräusch, aber sie haben zumindest ihren ganz eigenen charakter und charme.....(yves) zinnober #7 : hier was feines vom berliner industrialpionier und heidegger-liebhaber CO.CASPAR. zunächst eine kompilation nicht mehr erhältlicher stücke, die auf verschiedenen vinyl-singles erschienen und die nun durch das hoffnungsvolle neue kölner label paranoise wieder auf cd zugänglich gemacht werden. generell wurden hier stücke ausgewählt, auf denen CO.CASPAR zwischen 1998 und 2003 gedichte in französisch, deutsch und englisch mit seinem typischen sound unterlegte. mit dabei und vielleicht für sammler besonders interessant auch die legendäre "helix of exist" single auf WKN, sowie zwei bisher unveröffentlichte stücke, die für mich das bisher beste co.caspar material darstellen (ich kenne jedoch längst nicht alles), nämlich "litany", eine vertonung der lobpreisung satans von BAUDELAIRE. ansonsten "thus long lights light", "aura borealis" und "east end".... (dominik tischleder) equinoxe #24 : ....wird eine atmosphäre geschaffen, die den hörer einerseits fesselt, andererseits auch ein gefühl der angst hervorruft - faszinierend. (...) mit dieser veröffentlichung unterstreicht CO.CASPAR wieder einmal sein enormes potenzial an kreativität und schaffenskraft. (daniela lobstedt) back co.caspar homepage