[releases] afe091lcd
cordell klier: measure here and be now

Track List:

1.  Measure Here  16:06

2.  Be Now  12:02

3.  Aware  7:22

4.  Live  5:28

Description:

Cordell Klier is an avantgarde sound artist, graphic designer and label owner from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Since the beginning of his career in music Cordell has continued to carve his own trails and musical nitches with his sincere abilities to bridge the widest of gaps between many of the divided music cultures and sub-cultures. Sometimes to the dismay, and sometimes to the rejoicing of critics and fans alike.

Through the years he has worked within many genres of sound. Everything from Noise to Metal, to Punk, Pop and Hip Hop, but currently recognising silence, drone, and glitch as his main mediums of output.

Starting out in 1987 with his first Metal band Shadow, Cordell has since moved on to form numerous other acts such as Vedisni, Dream Eternal, Climb to Zalem, No Human Day, Monstrare, Under Crushing Wings and more.

His music was successfully released by many labels worldwide including Ad Noiseam, Dragon Flight Recordings, Angle Records, Mystery Sea and many more.

"Measure Here and Be Now" was recorded between September 2005 and January 2006, it features four tracks of minimal ambient and lowercase explorations.

The disc opens with "Measure Here": with its sixteen minutes this is the longest piece on the album. The track starts with a very long ascending curve and is basically a droning number built on different frequencies intensively shifting up and down the audio spectrum.

"Be Now" is another long track touching both the low and high extremes. With its piercing high frequencies buzzes and its low-end assorted rumbles it will surely overfeed your tweeters and woofers. This is a very carefully constructed composition that will severely try your loudspeakers' diaphragms... and ears, obviously.

"Aware" is a more quiet and sober ambient affair: its simple structure and drones will soothe you into an heavenly bliss after the ordeal, leaving you in the arms of "Live", a static ending focused on the creative use of electric hum and assorted glitches / noises.


Reviews:

"Measure Here and Be Now" - a concise, rational album that nevertheless causes our speakers to diffuse vapours of hypnotizing aural substances - comprises four tracks feeding our desire of being wrapped by a protective cocoon of timbral indefinition, all the while making sure that the external world is still part of our transitory union with concrete beatitude, those rare serendipitous moments in which we believe to be invincible only to be knocked down, feet back on the ground, by the inevitable contact with daily cheapness."
Touching Extremes [more]

"Measure Here and Be Now", by the multi-talented American experimental artist Cordell Klier, is very minimal ambient. Almost nothing happens, as shown by the above list of events. Luckily, what little does happen is generally pleasing to the trained ear and the tracks move and develop as slowly as the hour hand on a clock... So here we have a generally well made and skilfully executed example of a genre that understandably alienates most listeners, but can be very effective when approached in the right way. The 41-minute CD-R is limited to a hundred copies and comes in an attractive card sleeve decorated with a suitably minimal artwork of lines of various colours. If you love the sound of almost nothing, then do seek it out."
Connexion Bizarre [more]

"This four song forty one minute long album is built upon vast, smooth drones. In effect, it almost is an album of nothingness. Even the artwork on the sleeve it comes in is minimal. However, every sound, every glitch, every minute of noise on this album is carefully calculated and is exactly where it should be. "Measure Here" is the album opener, and at 16 minutes, the longest piece on the album. Throughout its entirety, a very calm, droning note is heard, while other sounds slowly (and I do mean slowly) fade into and out of hearing. It is amazing how trance-like this track is, and it could almost put you to sleep... The seven minute long "Aware" is my favorite track on the album. For me at least, it gives the feeling of being deep within the ocean, surrounded by vast amounts of water and nothingness. Every once in a while, little fish-like blips of sound tear through, gone as fast as they came. This is definitely the most soothing track on the album as well..."
Lunar Hypnosis [more]

"So far every release that I've reviewed on the Afe Records label has been intriguing, original and intelligent. It's quite an accomplishment, considering their extensive release schedule. Each one of their CD-Rs are released in tiny editions, and are presented in a suitably simple, classy package adorned with beautifully printed art or photography. Perhaps their biggest achievement, though, is that there is no common "label sound" associated with the recordings. They skirt fashion for substance and present quality music without concern for hip genre exercises.This release by Cordell Klier is a case in point; it doesn't fit squarely into any category. There are parts of the recordings which are quiet, nearly silent, and subtle, which one might be tempted to describe as "lower case" music. There's also some electronic drone elements to "Measure Here and Be Now", but these elements are only part of the large canvas on which this music is played..."
Musique Machine [more]