Released
1998
Label
Drone Records
Reviewed by
Michael C. Lund
Contact
Stefan Knappe
Drone Records
Gneisenaustrasse 56
28201 Bremen
Germany
Kallabris
Enzyklopädische Forschungsstelle des Archivs für
reine und angewandte Kallabristik
Im Eichenwald 8
58093 Hagen
Germany
Last Edit/Update
06 september, 1998
Kallabris
81° n.B., 178° ö.L. 7"EP
(first edition: 250 copies)
Track Listing
Side A
81° n.B.
Side B
178° ö.L.
To listen to this 7" by the mysterious German project Kallabris is
to literally be taken into a submarine, and voyage beneath the Northern ice cap. Every
sound on this record resounds with dull hermetic echoes: the piercing periodical signals
of the sonar, voices distorted as if transmitted over a radio, the ticking of Morse code
at one point, and the constant impressions of things subtlely shifting and sliding around
within the vessel. Other more impressionistic sounds further heighten the sensation as of
being encapsulated within a small space surrounded by surfaces of thick iron: strange
ringing tonalities consistently pass through the soundpicture and end in brassy thumps,
brief segments of an accordion theme emerge at the opening and closing of one of the
pieces, and swarms of shrill electronic minutiae flicker inside the hollow hull of these
sound structures. The acoustics alone are worth picking up this single for, especially for
anyone who has shelved their turntable and vinyl collections in favor of the CD medium.
The two compositions on the single
are complemented by an accompanying essay, which in many details describe the
alleged first voyage beneath the Northern ice cap -- one that is not depicted in the
history books. The single -- which has been released by Drone Records --
is presented in handmade sleeves of heavy brown paper, adorned with black stamps
pertaining to the theme of submarines. The vinyl for this single is golden, and, as per
usual, the first edition is limited to 250 copies.
