Released
1999

Label
Hushush Records

Reviewed by
Ben Didier

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Last Edit/Update
Saturday, July 31, 1999

Various Artists

Track Listing

1. Aube- Clarity Bounce
2. Lilith- Tributorium
3. P.A.L.- When You Thought Your
Hard Disk Was Going To Die
4. Propeller- Mouths Like Bailing Twine

          The mission statement of the new Hushush Records is simple. They plan to focus on releasing albums that are out of the mainstream, and that they feel no other label would touch. This first release, a tribute to the Hafler Trio, is a realization of this goal.
          Four Ways of Saying H30 is a simple and effective tribute. With four diverse artists contributing, and each from a different country, this disk is evidence that the Hafler Trio's influence has reached across the world.
          Japan's Aube is no stranger to noise, and "Clarity Bounce" is an interesting track that uses only glass as source material. Various scraping and scratching sounds are sampled and manipulated, and gradually blended into slow moving rhythms and ringing melodies. It's distinct and familiar; like nails down a chalk board, minus the obvious agitation.
          America's Lilith [Scott Gibbons] embodies their Hafler respect with the aptly titled "Tributorium". Rooted in experimental electronics, this track is a step up in complexity from Aube's refined simplicity. Fading loops and sounds riddled with reverb weave their way in and out of a textured soundscape. This is an interesting collage of sounds that's constantly changing direction throughout it's 15 minute duration.
          Ant-Zen is at the forefront of Germany's technoid noise assault. Perhaps lesser known for their unsettling ambient output, P.A.L. represents the label's more subtle side with "When You Thought Your Hard Disk Was Going To Die". The titles of P.A.L.'s music always seem to evoke vivid imagery, and this is a great example. This track is a mishmash of voices and sounds entirely sampled from a pair of Hafler Trio songs. The effects and manipulations are to be expected, it's the quality of song that this band can create from such a small source that's surprising. There's almost no layering, just a string of sounds that stretches through the entire track.
          Dead Voices On Air mastermind Mark Spybey has the last quarter of the disk. This is a soothing ambient track from his side project, Propeller, and it's much welcomed after the abrasive abstract elements of the first three songs. "Mouths Like Bailing Twine" is gentle, slow moving, and rich in mood and melody. It's easy to associate with Propeller's first two releases, Oro and Rame, since it's in the same subtle vein of ambience.
          This is an all-encompassing tribute that demands attention from the Hafler Trio familiar and neophyte alike. Hushush has gained a lot of respect with this debut, and they can only continue to mature. They are definitely a label to watch.