The Stooges | 1973 | Raw Power

Garage Rock | Proto-Punk
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Iggy Pop (vocals), James Williamson (guitar), Ron Asheton (bass, backing vocals), Scott Asheton (drums) y David Bowie (piano, percussion)

Fun House was the first album by The Stooges that I listened to, followed by the band's self-titled debut. The quartet's first two albums blowed my mind, each one from its particular flank. I had to listen to the legendary Raw Power, no doubt.
However, it was not what I expected. I did not understand it. I thought that I was listening to a flawed version. How was it possible that it sounded that bad? But I gave it more chances, in spite of the fact that I still was not able to understand it. Until it happened: I slowly began to remember the songs. And then I started to feel the need to listen to them again and again, until I suddently realized I had memorized the whole record. It did not bore me at all. I understood it.
Raw Power is, undoubtedly, the highest point in The Stooges's career, even within their original trilogy. The band's overflowing effervescence, their uncontrollable rush was already producing consequences: bassist Dave Alexander had been fired due to his alcoholism, Iggy Pop was immersed in a heroin addiction and the band's stability was in critical condition. In the middle of the turbulence of excesses, the quartet –which now consisted of Iggy Pop, James Williamson (who had just entered the band), and brothers Ron and Scott Asheton– managed to somehow focus on a creative process boosted by David Bowie acting as a producer. The result was Raw Power, a reliable reflection of that street indecency, that liberating muddle and reckless wildness in which the band was submerged.

The album has a rusty, grimy, crude, careless sound, and that is precisely what enabled The Stooges's peerless spirit (the sound that the band built like there was no tomorrow, as if it was a life or death matter) to be captured seamlessly. A plainly possessed Iggy Pop (it is easy not to recognize him at first listen) steps onto an instrumentation as solid as in previous albums, but in which the incorporation of guitarist Williamson and Ron Asheton's new role behind the bass stand out, shaping the band's sound towards a perhaps less psychedelic, yet not less powerful path, especially when Scott Asheton's drums are added to the recipe, adding outstanding intensity to Raw Power.

And when everything –blood, sweat and tears– is put onto the music and, in addition, there is as much unparalleled talent as the one the band had already showed in The Stooges and Fun House, the result cannot be other than a masterpiece. Raw Power has no low points and just grows with every listen. And it is, no doubt, a reflection of voluptuous and hasty creative energy, as well as of rabid eagerness and vehemence that, sadly, did not end up well in its frenzy. The Stooges split up, leaving behind three key pieces of rock history. —IMF
Note: This is the original, Bowie-mixed version of Raw Power.

Clara Engel | 2015 | Visitors Are Allowed One Kiss

Folk | Singer-songwriter

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Reviewing albums like Visitors Are Allowed One Kiss implies several challenges. For example, its condition of unclassifiable limits the possibility of making analogies or to even sketch a rough idea that truly reveals its content. Sure, it is folk, but it is not exactly that, and even though it has some drone elements and a blues-y melancholy, it is not drone nor blues, neither. In this sense, the difficulty of classifying it reflects, indeed, one of the most obvious charms of Clara Engel's work: its originality, an attribute that forces one to describe her music in an ad-hoc manner.
"Apocalyptic" is an adjective that is usually associated to Clara Engel's music, but how could such quality be attributed to something so beautiful? Even though the sound of Visitors Are Allowed One Kiss is melancholic and bleak, rather than Dantesque, it is introspective. And this beautiful formula is ideally supported by, on the one hand, its decidedly minimalist spirit in the instrumental work –presided by Clara's own guitar– and, on the other, the singer-songwriter's extraordinary voice, that gives the music a depth that leaves you speechless. Regarding this last point, the outstanding lyrics should also be highlighted, as this is another element that tinges the sound of the record with an intimate atmosphere.
It is very difficult to choose words that are up to the quality of an album like this and that do not look like dirty scribbles that break its delicacy and sensitivity. But in sum, Visitors Are Allowed One Kiss is a majestic album that, imperturbable, deepens itself into a reflective, cathartic journey, a sign of an untainted honesty and a composition effort that stands out. Unbelievable. —IMF

NEU! | 1975 | NEU! '75

Krautrock
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Michael Rother (guitar, piano, vocals, synthesizer, electronica), Klaus Dinger (guitar, piano, vocals, percussion, organ), Thomas Dinger (drums), Hans Lampe (drums)

In late 1974, Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger were not newbies anymore. NEU! had already released two essential records (Dinger had also played on Kraftwerk's self-titled debut), after which the duo undertook divergent paths for a few years.
Rother fled from the agitation of urban life in Düsseldorf and moved to an old rural house along with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius from Cluster. With them, he formed Harmonia, whose debut, Musik von Harmonia, was recorded in the second half of 1973. The new trio would be characterized by its pastoral, restful and dreamy sound, which owed a lot to Cluster's ambient, yet not leaving aside Rother's melodic vocation, which would in turn leave a mark on the Berliners.
On the other hand, Klaus Dinger founded Dingerland, a music label through which he released Lilac Angel's debut album, which he had also produced, in 1973. However, his endeavor would prove financially disastrous, so that shortly after –and in spite of Dinger's consternation– Dingerland was forced to close. Thereafter, the idea emerged of forming La Düsseldorf along with his brother Thomas and Hans Lampe, a sound technician in Conny Plank's legendary studios (Plank had produced NEU!'s first two albums).
This was the context in which Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger would reunite: whereas Rother was submerged in the peaceful and introspective rural life, Dinger was enraged against the music industry and the elussive success that was taking so long to arrive. NEU! '75 would be exactly the result of such dicotomy. The duo agreed to devote the first half of the album to Rother's vision, tinged with a more ethereal and spiritual sonic quest, and the second half to Dinger's vision, effervescent of an energy that was both creative and destructive, owing to the ups and downs that he had had to face. The result of this dynamics was one of the most classic krautrock albums ever, in which NEU! managed to reformulate their sound without leaving behind the lessons learned in NEU! and NEU! 2, but at the same time introducing the new languages for which Rother and Dinger were advocating, each one from a different standpoint.

"Isi" opens up the first half of the album with the same formula that "Hallogallo" and "Für Immer" had applied in the records that preceded NEU! 75: hypnotic and dynamic motorik, which this time, however, appears nuanced by Michael Rother's greater sonic delicacy. "Seeland" and "Leb' Wohl" then confirm the new spirit, being two of the most beautiful and fragile songs in NEU!'s discography, with an atmospheric, romantic character à la Caspar David Friedrich, not uncommon in Rother's solo works. Conversely, "Hero" bursts into the scene carelessly with an energic and, at this stage, legendary proto-punk, with the undeniable mark of an explosive-as-usual Klaus Dinger. "E-Musik" follows this path, albeit closer to NEU!'s usual sound, while "After Eight" closes the album with a new electrifying and liberating proto-punk burst. The perfect closer for an undeniable masterpiece, for an album that would close NEU!'s original trilogy on a high note and that would guarantee the duo's trascendence, its influence until our days and an indelible legend within music history. —IMF

Aidan Baker | 2015 | Ecliptic Plane

Drone | Ambient

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One of the disadvantages of discographies as extensive as Aidan Baker's, is that albums like Ecliptic Plane lose the impact that they rightly should have. It is not, certainly, a matter of quality regarding Baker's work; on the contrary, his releases have always been up to the talent that he has always shown since Element, his debut album, and they have a consistency that, beyond their eclecticism, displays a distinctive and unique sound. And yet, Ecliptic Plane stands out even within this rich scenario.
This new record comes back to the most beautiful sound of Baker's work, which is reflected on the return to his most minimalist and classic formula: electric guitar and effects. Thus, the album shows a return to ambient and meditative soundscapes, to subtle brushstrokes that almost imperceptibly build ethereal, dreamy walls of sound, and to that cathartic spirit that is one of Aidan Baker's distinctive marks.
Although there have been various salient releases in the meantime (I could mention, perhaps, Noise of Silence or Liminoid/Lifeforms, or his essential albums with Caudal, in addition to many records with Nadja), Ecliptic Plane is, undoubtedly, Baker's best album since 2006's The Sea Swells a Bit..., which is not little to say. Thus, with its naturalness, its ataraxia and its soul, it constitutes a record that arrived at the right time to celebrate the first decade of Aidan's excellent music journey. Another perfect album. —IMF

Un Festín Sagital & Armchair Migraine Journey | 2015 | Habitando la Fisura

Avant-Folk | Drone Doom

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Michel Leroy (guitars, piano, effect, vocals), Alisa Slimani (guitar, vocals) and Armchair Migraine Journey (synthesizer, theremin)

After the amazing Kosmodynamos, Un Festín Sagital's neverending evolution does not stop. Habitando la Fisura, the result of a collaboration with Armchair Migraine Journey, shows a sonic progression that although preserves the avant-folk character of Kosmodynamos, adds new elements to the band's sound, some of them for the first time in their discography.
"Habitando la Fisura / Urgencia Pediátrica III", the first half of the album, summons Michel Leroy's work in Médula, combining the aforementioned avant-folk component with noise and drone. However, it distances from that album as it has a greater monumentality and a theatrical intensity that is obvious from the beginning (Médula is, undoubtedly, a more introspective LP). Without leaving UFS' own spirit behind, the second section of this song approaches drone doom decidedly, evoking Nadja's sound, but it is gradually deconstructed, giving shape to a more dismal, oppresive atmosphere.
On the other hand, "Eros III (A Nuestros Padres y Amig@s)" builds a more explorative piece, that develops a soundscape through more subtle, delicate brushstrokes. Accordingly, the band relies on a language closer to ambient, in which Leroy's piano work stands out (especially towards the end of the song) in its contrast with AMJ's more ethereal and abstract synthesized basis.
Even though it is a record with just two tracks, Habitando la Fisura is an album with a striking and captivating eclecticism. Un Festín Sagital's sonic journeys seem to always hit the mark, and this release is not an exception. —IMF

Thanatoloop | 2014 | Médula

Noise | Drone | Avant-Folk

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Michel Leroy (guitar, effects, tapes and feedbacks)

Médula is, undoubtedly, one of the best noise records that I've listened to. Michel Leroy's formula is far from being an amorphous noise experiment without nuances, which seems to be the rule in a genre that, like all of them, has been hackneyed by imitation. On the contrary: although there is time for noisy sonic meanderings, these only serve to the purpose of building passages that, while not oppressive, reach a deep density that subtly gives shape to an indescribably beautiful album, perfectly provided of short guitar sections that give Médula an avant-folk spirit that nourishes its sound with something that most noise albums lack: soul. Each one of the tracks of this record is full of humanness and depth, without giving in to wanton noise or, even worse, to experimental bragging. Conversely, Médula is an honest album, whose sonic language is the reflection of a quest for, precisely, that honesty that is so necessary for a genuine existential expression. Wonderful album. —IMF

Un Festín Sagital | 2014 | Etna

Space | Experimental Rock

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Michel Leroy (guitar, organ, waves, theremin, drums), Constanza Lagos (flute, organ), Fernando Pinto (bass) and Diego Pinto (drums, guitar)

Etna could be considered, without doubt, the easiest point of entry to Un Festín Sagital's discography. On the one hand, its sound, without leaving the band's experimental vocation behind, ventures without fear into the exploration of psychedelic, lethargic landscapes; a trip that puts the album among UFS' most digestible works.
But what's interesting about the album is not only its accessibility. On the other hand, the combination of this space facet with Un Festín Sagital's more habitual avant-prog makes Etna an entertaining, well-conceived album, with a compositional quality at the level of the other releases of the band and a stronger performance than ever. Although eclectic, it has its own spirit and each track fits perfectly in its place, contributing from a particular flank to the developing of an hypnotic, captivating atmosphere. The album wanders without difficulty between lysergic pieces such as "Árboles Negros" (a song that had been recorded before) or "Anubis: Sueño y Muerte", the kraut of "Lakonn" and the intense "Etna", and the more experimental passages of "Acéfalo" or the cryptic "Asesino del Sol III", closer to Festín's distinctive avant-prog.
Etna perfectly summarizes the fact that Un Festín Sagital can explore anywhere they want without stumbling, always reaching outstanding results. Their discography as a whole is a living proof of that, and Etna constitutes one of the key pieces within that exceptional binnacle. Another must-hear Un Festín Sagital album. —IMF