/////////////////RECENT PRESS.........::Accolades for BRG003 Geoff Mullen/ Armory Radio 2XLP:: ////The Wire : needs no introduction..... : Geoff Mullen With a few delicate touches of banjo
and acoustic guitar, Geoff Mullen traced hints of Americana upon
the guitar-drone abstraction of his debut album Thrtysxtrllnmnfstns.
For Armory Radio his principle influence is not John Fahey but
Keith Rowe, manipulating the strings and pickups with transistor
radios in sporadic working condition. -jim haynes - from Outer Limits Page 76 The Wire Dec (286) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////Textura : Fantastic Canadian web-zine. They've given Barge much love and continue : NY-based Barge Recordings has established itself as an experimental label of note after only three recordings: the 2006 Innature compilation, The Fun Years' Life-Sized Psychoses, and now Geoff Mullen's double-album set Armory Radio. The Providence, Rhode Island guitarist and sound sculptor presents an uncompromising vision on the limited-edition release (it's an extended reworking of an original CDR version, with each of the new 500 vinyl copies hand-screened, hand-stamped, and hand-numbered) which was generated from electric guitar as well as scavenged bits of broken and obsolete equipment (boombox, radios, cassette players, speakers). Named after an old Providence armory in Mullen's neighborhood, Armory Radio is variously white-hot, scalding, volatile, violent, and volcanic but it's also much more. The concoction Mullen generates is so thick and densely detailed, it becomes a veritable Rorschach; one seemingly hears in the opening fifteen-minute piece, for example, a dying animal's agonized moan, tormented souls wailing, and a thunderous train that brings the side to a barreling close. The opening piece also includes a cyclone of blurry noise that swells rapidly into an immense cauldron of molten material. Side two opens with an extended orgy of hydraulic creaks and groans that's slightly more subdued than the first piece. The intensity level escalates in the second half, however, as waves of blurry noise swell in size and force, though not so much that they prevent a jazz bassist's walking line from rising to the surface, and for other musicians to be faintly glimpsed too. Side three begins with a slow-burning, monolithic drone that hums for ten minutes like a German tank but the mood shifts thereafter into a broodingly atmospheric episode that's—believe it or not—even downright placid during its remaining eleven minutes. The fourth side likewise opens in a subdued textural mode where simmering ripples of buzzing noise drone quietly and radio voice transmissions emerge. Almost imperceptibly, the piece builds in density and volume, becoming ever more thick and hazy with each passing minute, until controlled blasts start trying to wrest free of the sonic mass and blistering noises begin to broil aggressively. But just when it seems on the verge of exploding into a cauldron of relentless activity, the sound flattens again into a thick droning haze at the center of which guitar lines are heard. Though nominally Armory Radio aligns itself to the noise genre, Mullen's material is far more musical than that term implies; if anything, the set shows naysayers that brutal noise can also be immensely pleasurable. Throughout Mullen's set, the listener is drawn into its vortex and rapturously vanishes into its center. November 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////Boomkat : The UK's answer to Aquarius and Other Music...top gear mate! : Geoff Mullen has been an artist I've been enamoured with ever since I first managed to place both hands on his debut album 'Thrtysxtrllnmnfstns' on Keith Fullerton Whitman's killer Entschuldigen label, and since then he's gone from strength to strength. Experimenting in the noise field but exhibiting a tendency to take his productions deep into the realms of melody and harmony, Mullen has reached a high water mark with this latest double LP issued on the Barge imprint, a label who might not release a hell of a lot but when they do you can be sure it's something rather special indeed. And special this is, bringing together all the themes we've previously heard in his music to come up with something coherent and hugely enjoyable. The album is split into four distinct parts (sides of course, being a vinyl album) and each side seems to explore a different angle, the first being more symphonic, the second noisy and feedback-laden, the third deep and droning and the fourth deeply experimental. There's hardly a shortage of noisy experimental albums around at the moment but as I noted before there's something about Mullen's production that sets him apart from the 'scene'. 'Armory Radio' doesn't fit into the Providence scene, it's not as angry as the Hospital Records output and it's not as abrasive as Merzbow's back catalogue, yet Mullen takes influence from all of this and more, always keeping sight of structure and a sense of originality and creativity. The album never seems rushed or reactionary like so many noise records, rather there is the sense that Mullen has taken time sculpting these epic pieces and the time translates itself into the most unusual of beauties. This is an album that grows slowly over time, that needs to be heard while you aren't concerning yourself with any other pursuits, just you and the music, allowing yourself to glean all its many subtleties. It's a flawless record and should appeal to anyone looking for a little more flavour with their noise... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////Aquarius Records : Peerless retailer of all that is good in recorded music : Geoff Mullen, a string picker and dronelord,
released two amazing records over the last few years, both huge
favorites around here. Both thrtysxtrllnmnfstns and The Air In
Pieces were gorgeous, slow unfolding collections of buzzing strings
and slow burning ambience. Mullen's instrument of choice was the
banjo, and on thrtysxtrllnmnfstns he twisted and stretched that
instrument into new and amazing shapes, whereas The Air In Pieces
found Mullen exploring even more abstract territory, smearing and
blurring the source material until it was unrecognizable. But on Armory Radio, his brand new vinyl only double lp, he's exploring
a whole new world of sound. Expansive and epic and abstract, but
dense and heavy, and thick with sound, intense noisy, busy soundscapes,
fuzzed out and droning, buzzy and washed out. A similar vibe as
folks like Tim Hecker, William Basinski, Aidan Baker, Dialing In
and Axolotl... But where those folks take their piece of music and leave it out
in the rain, recording it through a dusty window onto a wax cylinder,
played back on a tin can and twine, evoking faded memories, old
photographs, rainy twilights, foggy mornings, everything bleary
eyed and soft focus, Mullen's Armory Radio is a much more intense
and sonically aggressive proposition. Beneath the fuzz and whir,
the layers of grit and glitch, there aren't just simple pop songs
hidden underneath or muted melodies blurred and buzzed, there's
a whole world of sound, chunks of field recordings, bits of melody,
huge sweeping drones, epic, slow sprawls of shimmer, of dark and
light, strange arrangements fall to pieces and somehow reassemble
often in completely different order then before they crumbled,
or pieces from some crumbled melody will be swept up by a wash
of whirling low end, and tangled up into some new, more alien melody. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////Foxy Digitalis : Essential online magazine and label : Even if you’re fortunate enough to have the original small-run CDR of “Armory Radio,” this double vinyl set should still be of interest as it differs substantially from the first version, with additional material and new thoughts on what went before. If, like me, you’ve enjoyed interstation sounds from shortwave radios, you’ll probably find yourself atuned to this music very quickly. To my ears and imagination, these conjunctions of voices, snatches of music and random tones and whooses conjured up exotic lands and Geoff Mullen’s music has that quality, only with much more structure and harmonious guitar amidst the wireless static. The sensation of tuning a radio is set by the brief opening burst that heralds the first long piece, cutting away rapidly as the though dial were being spun to another frequency. Although the rest of the music has more flow than sudden shift, no idea is played upon for too long, so the set of pieces stands up well as a double lp, with layers of guitar surging throughout. At one point I had the notion of a helicopter flying over the international dateline. I suspect this has nothing to do with Mr. Mullen’s intentions, but it was an appealing image! I have to admit that the copy I have for review is on CD, so I cannot comment on the aesthetic of the lp package, but I can tell you it is released on 140gm vinyl, so I trust the whole thing will have a high quality feel to it. 8/10 -- John Cavanagh (3 October, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////Nothing At All : online music 'zine The third release from NYC's Barge Recordings, and their first to be pressed to vinyl, is certainly an interesting one. Played and performed by Geoff Mullen using found objects (such as broken radios, speakers and other random bits) and his more regular processed guitar skills, Armoury Radio is pretty much an exploration of sonic textures, noise and drone. Somehow, as bad (?) as that sounds, at no point do any of the four tracks here become unlistenable in any way, which is quite a challenge to pull off well... Starting off with a wash of static noise not that far from a tuneful Merzbow, the first tracks promptly cuts off and is replaced by some electrical sounds that launch slowly into a stunning drone piece. Sounds fly from everywhere, spinning around and slowly morphing into something somehow resembling the songs of Loveless era My Bloody Valentine until slowly again taking a more sinister tone that oscillates away wildly whilst surrounded by industrial grade feedback. It really is wonderfully pieced together and well thought out. The unknown sounds could be made from anything, yet nothing feels out of place or childlike which so many pieces of music that utilise unusual items can do. The second piece is definatly a more experimental animal. More sounds are used and it is a lot clearer. Less layers of static and drone are here at first until it changes into what sounds like a radio being scanned. Different cannels are picked up all over the place, an aeroplane flies overhead, the news is heard and the radio feels broken. There is something quite special about scanning for a radio station, it has been used to great effect in many ways, here I’m not quite so sure, but maybe that is the point? The radio eventually gives way to a screaming feedback tone that oscillates wildly from time to time. Something in the frequency begins to increase and decrease in pitch just below the surface, and what sounds like whispered voices are barely recognisable in the mix. The disintegration here is stunning and as a dark noise begins to take over the entire piece the layers below disintegrate totally making way for the sonic assault that finishes off the first half of the album. A more traditional drone starts the second half of the album, it’s almost something more akin to the sound of Sunn 0))), heavy and dark (yet minus the riffage). It's actually quite nice to hear some more traditional sounding drone here after the chaotic previous piece, the drone builds up and slowly more sounds are added, a higher pitched warble come in and starts to take over and what feels like static replacing the drone. It’s a great start to the second half, repetitive enough to work yet it’s enough to keep you interested and not feeling uneasy. Wasn't it Dylan Carlson who said that drone should make you feel something different? Maybe I'm (quite probably) wrong there, but drone to me should be something that makes you feel something. The best drone pieces are those that you can ignore totally, yet maybe 15 minutes in you actually stop and realise just how good the piece is. Guitar slowly creeps in and adds a much needed melodic feel to the album. Certainly this piece is the best piece of the four, but weather it would work as well on its own is to be seen. The fourth and final part is much more experimental than the last. Starting off with minimal static and crackle, it sounds like a machine breaking down and jarring. Slowly (like everything else on this album) a radio transmission comes in, the woman’s voice being heard underneath the static haze which by this point is starting to get much more intense. This piece somehow feels much much more intense and angry than the previous. The warmth has gone and something feels darkly awkward and urgent. The noise slowly comes through, ripping away at the original sound of the piece. Static radio transmissions are found and lost and everything seems to break down into a spiral of noise and textures and sounds. Finally a lone stringed instrument is played, whilst the remnants of the storm before it disappears. The dark drone comes back in soon to be replaced by the static that haunts this album, and things feel grey and lifeless... almost like the death of the found items that created much of the sounds found here. This is a stunning piece of work that a lot of time and effort has gone into, in places it is maybe a little too long, but then would it be the same if it was only half the length? Probably not, drone needs time to develop, and noise sometimes has the most impact when it is as drawn out as possible. There is darkness and light in this collection of sounds, and it is certainly not for everyone's tastes. It is not something I could listen to constantly, but, like so many artists that cause a shock to the system with their output, the times this is listened to may well be the most stunning musical experiences you may ever have... Geoff Mullen is certainly someone to watch out for in the future, the new Tim Hecker? Maybe? And saying that, Barge Recordings have once again proved that they know good music when they hear it. Reviewer: Rich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////Loop : online music 'zine from Chile : English Version: This it is a new release of the emergent
Brooklyn based Barge Recordings label. Published as a double LP,
with three tracks in each side, ‘Armory Radio’ makes reference to an old
Providence’s old armory where Geoff Mullen is based, with
this LP, he releases his first solo work on Barge Recordings. Also
in the same label he participates in the first compilation ‘Innature’. Guillermo Escudero Spanish Version: Este es un Nuevo disco del emergente sello de Brooklyn Barge Recordings.
Editado en doble LP, con tres temas en cada cara, “Armory
Radio” hace referencia a una vieja maestranza localizada
en un barrio de Providence en done reside Geoff Mullen quien, con
este LP, edita su primer trabajo en solitario en Barge Recordings.
También en este mismo sello participó en su primer
compilado “Innature”. Guillermo Escudero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////////OTHER PRESS//// BRG001 : INNATURE : VARIOUS ARTISTS BRG002 : THE FUN YEARS : LIFE-SIZED PSYCHOSES BRG003 : GEOFF MULLEN : ARMORY RADIO BRG004 : MGR / XELA : BARGE SPLIT SERIES VOL. I
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