Faux Pas, Wouter Jaspers (NL), Monster War (US), Altaar @ Revolver
Oslo, Norway, 6th November 2009
Photo by Tonje B. Andersson
When an Oslo noise mayor celebrates his birthday, it’s not a light affair. This weekend Revolver put on a one-night festival in Sten Ove Toft’s name. Let us hope it is the birth of a noise fest tradition.
There are six acts on the bill tonight, which is a lot of noise for 50 NOK, but arriving a little late I miss the first act Stabwound Empire and instead am greeted by Faux Pax, a collaboration between Lasse Marhaug and the birthday boy Mr Toft himself.
Noise music is somewhat of an acquired taste and the seemingly innocent looking collection of pedals along with a lone Mac on the stage do nothing to prepare you for the sheer intensity of what is about to come. There’s no polite introduction here, the sound simply erupts out of the speakers and challenges you to absorb it all in. If you’re new to noise then at first it can be hard to distinguish anything, but as your ears adapt to the multitude of tones and you focus on the actions of the performers the textures begin to reveal themselves to you.
During the 20 minute continuous set both Marhaug and Toft seem intensely connected to their tools of the trade, expertly sculpting the output of the pedals and turning something as innocent as a guitar cable into a twisted Theremin lashing the audience with slabs of feedback. Then, in an instant, it’s all over.
Replacing the empty void left by the departure of Faux Pas, Dutch noise maker Wouter Jaspers is taking the stage. This time it’s a solo offering and again the stage is awash with a collection of pedals, the obligatory Mac and a strange looking homemade contraption that seems to consist of an electrical circuit. Fortunately the approach here is more subtle in its build up, and after carefully positioning of what looks like three green salt shakers on the table, subtle atmospherics begin to drift out of the speakers, slowly building a glimmering texture that lures you in.
At times recognisable sounds compete to stand out from the rest but never quite make it through, instead just contributing to the overall sonic wall. The arrival of a fourth “salt shaker” on the scene delivers a less subtle growl of feedback and all of a sudden you get the feeling that this mellow sound may not be all it seems. Occasional blasts of indistinguishable noise interupt the peaceful harmony of the buildup, and the dynamic of the performance changes as Wouter becomes more animated in his performance, using a mic of some sort to force feedback from the screen of the Mac - from a distance it almost looks like he’s painting the sounds on the screen. The set ends in a disjointed and chaotic melody offx and feedback before Wouter carefully removes the mysterious green items (which, it turns out, are miniature fans) from the table and the relevant calm of the DJ returns.
Photo by Tonje B. Andersson
Unfortunately the next band, the American Monster War, didn’t quite live up to the standards that had been set by Faux Pas and Wouter Jaspers. Maybe they were having a bad day, or perhaps my noise threshold had been reached for the evening, but somehow the performance just didn’t shine in the same way and there seemed to be no mastery of the noise that was being created.
When I return back to the basement for the arrival of Altaar, the previous band is instantly forgotten and there’s a sense of excitement in the crowd.
Photo by Roger Johnsen
The candlelit stage gives way to Andreas Tylden and Sten Ove Toft who craft a much deeper and darker sound. This time round it’s guitars that dominate the mix, and the drones and textures on display here seem immediately more accomplished and refined as the sculpted layers intertwine perfectly above a distant rumble that seems to be trying to erupt from under the basement floor.
Though at times the music lures you into a false sense of security, you are ever aware of the sinister undertones in the sound, heightened further by a guitar that mutates so much it almost sounds like a church organ, and vocal samples that make your spine tingle, echoing versions of Gregorian Monks up to no good in dimly lit catacombs. As the performance reaches its conclusion the duo are on their knees worshipping the pedal boards beneath them. Slowly a hypnotic gong emerges through the noise, as Tylden extinguishes all the candles leaving the crowd in darkness, alone with the solitary Gong and the sound of a crackling fire.
Altaar prove that noise music is more than just that. They manage to evoke imagery in your mind as well as teasing your ears with a finely honed selection of aural pleasures, before leaving you feeling abandoned, alone and yearning for more.
The night is far from over, as Epikurs Euforie have yet to perform and Sten Ove Toft will be back on the decks to see us through till the early hours, but for me it’s the perfect way to end the show and a showcase of just how varied noise as a genre can be.
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