/////////////////RECENT PRESS.........::Accolades for BRG004 MGR vs. Xela / Barge Split Series Vol. I:: ////TOKAFI It is easy to forget that albums are still a relatively recent phenomenon. Before the arrival of the LP (for thousands of years to be more precise), musicians or composers would think in “works”, unbound by demands of record companies to produce enough material for a full-length CD. With regards to the ongoing artistic hardships of working with this format, it sometimes seems as though a return to the days when “value for money” referred to the quality of the material instead of the amount of minutes per disc, would not exactly be the worst option. As this Split record proves, however, there are still plenty of artists and labels with the necessary chuzpe out there to defy these superimposed business laws. In any case, there can be no doubt that the two compositions collected on this slab of Vinyl are such astoundingly proprietary worlds, so idiosyncratic in their vocabulary and absolute in their creative dimensions, driven by the will to squeeze out the last drop of creative blood that even asking for a second more music by one of the artists would have compared to trying to tap a dried-out vein. The sheer emotional weight implicitely forbids contextualising the music: After the final note has died down, there really is nothing more to say. One therefore rightly suspects two well-synchronised musical personalities behind these projects. Michael Gallagher has built up his MGR brand with all the time and care in the world in between creative breaks of his main band Isis. Only months ago, his full-length “Wavering on the Cresting Heft” caught the eye of misanthropics worldwide, a matchless exercise in enjoying the sweet fruits of isolation and melancholia. In the by now well-filled basin of guitar drone builders, his sound sticks out for its clarity and poignancy, its precision and concentration on what’s essential. John Twells, meanwhile, has used the Xela moniker for releases in a wide range of formats and a cornucopia of styles. And yet, a certain plaintive psychological disposition between the painful and the consoling, characterises most of his output. Hope and despair are always closely connected in his music, it seems, and maybe it is true that one needs to hit bottom to truly experience either of the two – and to let go of everything to feel them at the same time. MGR’s “Shipping Gold” opens Side A with a hypnotic folk motive consisting of three broken chords and various subtle variations. Similar to acoustic intros to 80s Metal songs, the music seemingly stands still for minutes, with only regal drones hovering in the background, before crunching powerchords come in like the premonitious sounding of an old clock at midnight. Gallagher tightens the grip of distortion on his track, its plot thickening and its textures bulging out in all directions, heading towards a personal apocalypse and a moment when no excuse in the world can save one from the truth. A sharp contrast opens Xela’s “Calling for Vanished Faces”: Bubbling and burping, gurgling and gorging, stuttering and squealing noises tear the listener from his dreams and – if the volume of his stereo so demands – from his seat. Then, from nowhere, loose drum strokes indicate a second beginning and the void behind the sounds is filled by the influx of a serene chorale, its mournful voices piercing the fabric of the track like an arrow penetrates a lover’s heart. Just like Gallagher, Twells remains in this space for the entire 23 minutes of his contribution, merely increasing or decreasing its density, firing up the drum rolls or letting them fade away again. In the timebubble of this unfathomable miracle, everything changes, yet always stays the same. The choice of Vinyl is almost mandatory for this kind of music, which relies so much on depth, gutfeeling and spatiousness. Remarkably, however, everyone involved was not just happy, but outright determined to use the material for a Split album, well-knowing about its status as the most unpopular format of them all. This adherence to what one instinctively knows as an artist to be right choice has resulted in an LP which a lot of people will probably be whispering about in silent reverence very soon.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////MUSIQUE MACHINE This split release, available only on LP and download, presents a couple of unique performers who are quite dissimilar to one another in approach. Barge Recordings are touting this as the first in a series of unlikely pairings, and they're off to a good start. MGR stands for the Mustard Gas and Roses, a name drawn from Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. Mike Gallagher, chiefly known for his involvement in the art metal unit Isis, is the sole proprietor of said acronym. For my money, it's the better album side by a shade; The single piece is a sixteen minute-plus piece known as Shipping Gold. It starts off with some seemingly benign minor key electric ambient guitar, which in steps is accented with finger-picked acoustic and slide notes. It takes about half of its length before you realise that the bending, echo laden guitar tones are slowly transforming into an abstract and nightmarish dreamworld. It's a patiently tempered work whose simplicity and single-mindedness is laudable. Yet at the same time, the technical complexity and tasteful layering of the various guitar sounds grants it worthy of repeated experiences. The Xela side is an entirely different cup of tea; The title Calling for Vanished Faces (a name shared by a Current 93 compilation) is based on a prose poem by Thomas de Quincy, an English author who was a direct influence to Baudelaire and Poe, among many others. Xela is John Twells, this time assisted by drummer Jed Binderman of Heavy Winged. The Xela side is twenty three and a half minutes of music loaded with sounds and ideas. Mr. Twells seems intent on telling a story with these sounds. There are choral "early music" vocals, along with electronic washes, buzzes, guitar feedback, backward loops and, of course, drum rolls and accents. The piece is very active for the first half or so, then it becomes mellow and relaxed, albeit with a tinge of sadness, accented by the slight creepiness of the choral vocals which return in subdued form. It's a complex and interesting piece, completing a fine album which is well worth seeking out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////AQUARIUS RECORDS This long in the works split finally sees the light of day. Two
aQ faves together on one super limited lp. MGR, the solo project
of Mike Gallagher from the mighty Isis, and Xela, the project of
John Twells, who also runs the kick ass Type label. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Here's one you might've overlooked. Released on the young (founded in 2005) but unquestionably respectable Barge Recordings, this limited LP (also available as a quality digital download) devotes a side each to Isis guitarist Mike Gallagher's MGR (Mustard Gas and Roses, a Slaughterhouse Five reference) and Xela, the project of an individual named John Twells. For those familiar only with Gallagher through his pummeling work with Isis, "Shipping Gold" may provide a bit of a head-turn. Though easy-listening by no standard, the composition is more of an exercise in subtle tension than the aural aggression one may anticipate. And anticipation settles as the overriding sentiment here as electric and acoustic guitars find themselves layered and appropriated into deliberative drones, the tune's movement glacial and fluid. From "Shipping Gold"'s core emanates a thorough melancholy, though you're granted space to breath not always present in such low-spirited post-metal dirges. It's heavy, but with a side of transcendence. Even more elevating, at times, is the reverse side, Xela's "Calling for Vanished Faces." Though beginning with a sound akin to a fax machine gone haywire, Twells's therapeutic noise morphs over the course of the composition and begins to sound like a choir of vocoded angels, his lush sound constructions a heavenly foil to MGR's earthiness. These lush electronic ruminations find a worthy ally in the drumming of collaborator Jed Binderman, member of the avant-metal act Heavy Winged. "Calling for Vanished Faces" accounts for more than 20 minutes, and it's worth every second attentively sacrificed. What're you waiting for? Experience this release! -Jacob Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////TEXTURA MGR / Xela: Shipping Gold / Calling for Vanished Faces Barge Recordings is proving itself to be rather guitar-centric as its catalogue grows, with its follow-up to Geoff Mullen's Armory Radio a split release from MGR (an acronym of Mustard Gas and Roses adopted by Isis axe-smith Mike Gallagher) and Xela (Type Records' head John Twells) that's available in vinyl and digital download formats. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, especially when the results are as fully-developed and epic as the two pieces on display here. MGR's sixteen-minute “Shipping Gold” weaves acoustic picking and haunted electric streams into a multi-layered, dread-filled nightscape. Gallagher sets a slow and measured course throughout, with acoustic patterns laying a firm foundation that offsets the anguished shudders and molten slabs detonating around them. Massed guitars stab the gloom and leave billowing trails of black smoke in their wake until the front-line guitars morph into a vortex of charred chords. Anyone looking for the placid Xela of Tangled Wool won't find him anywhere near “Calling For Vanished Faces,” an incinerating, twenty-three-minute meltdown of guitar feedback and distortion. Twells is joined by drummer Jed Bindeman (Heavy Winged), who improvises with abandon in tandem with the guitar playing. The maelstrom of sound conjured by the two is augmented by choir-like vocal harmonies that rain down upon the two throughout the epic. It's an awesome piece and the intensity level never flags—Twells' playing often assumes the form of a thunderous atmospheric presence hovering over the blurry vocal wail and Bindeman's frenetic attack—though the storm does turn slightly less violent in the closing moments. The take-no-prisoners spirit exemplified by this first volume in the split series makes one looks forward with anticipation to future installments. May 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////STEREOGUM Mike Gallagher, who plays guitar in Isis, is also productive in his solo form, MGR. He has three full lengths to the MGR name, but my favorite of his works is a split with Xela, simply titled after each band's contributions. Gallagher's is "Shipping Gold." This is an excerpt from the 16-minute piece. MGR - "Shipping Gold (Edit)" (MP3) (*non active...see original article) MGR comes from Slaughter House Five ... "mustard gas and roses." Xela, the excellent project of John Twells, who's the co-owner of Type in the UK (Svarte Greiner, Grouper, the North Sea, Sylvain Chauveau, Goldmund, etc), is MGR's neighbor on the release. Continuing with the textual thing, the song's title ("Calling For Vanished Faces") comes from a Thomas de Quincy prose poem (Google the phrase...). Musically, the drums here are played by Jed Brindeman of Heavy Winged. The piece runs to a dizzying 23 minutes in its non-excerpted entirety. Xela - "Calling For Vanished Faces (Edit)" (MP3) (*non active...see original article) If you liked that piece, I highly recommend the last Xela album The Dead Sea. Or, at least listen to this waterlogged track from it. The MGR/Xela split's available as a vinyl LP or digital download via Barge. - From Outsiders: Vol 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////BOOMKAT If the sleeve is anything to go by, our John is currently restyling himself as the 'strawberry blonde' George Michael of noise (circa 'Jesus To A Child'), and accordingly, the music takes on a wholly more digestible aesthetic to the decayed, black metal influenced sounds that populated the recent cassette release on Digitalis. Heck, John's even restored a bit of low frequency presence since we last heard from him, resulting in a far more contoured, more evenly proportioned assault on the ears. The primitive analogue synth oscillations set the tone early on, underscoring the deluge of scuzz with a biting, penetrative edge, and some suggestion of an underlying contrapuntal sheen to offset all that muck. Quite unexpectedly, John cleans up his act altogether and introduces a network of harmonised, falsetto vocal layers, sailing through a euphoric freetime drum solo and disruptive synth tones only to arrive at something that sounds perversely ecclesiastical. This might well be the most unreservedly pretty din John's ever made - the escalating grandeur of the piece is definitely something new in the Xela repertoire, and that contrast between the cool, evenness of the vocal and the tumultuous backdrop works a treat. Isis guitarist Mike Gallagher assumes his MGR moniker on the flipside, laying down spooked post-metal textures on the darkly atmospheric 'Shipping Gold', setting crunched up guitar drones against brooding fingerpicking and shards of feedback. It takes a while before the piece reaches that point however, and the build-up is half the fun, pensively climbing towards a fearsome, monolithic crescendo. MGR's acoustic guitar lines might be likened to one of the clean, arpeggiated passages you'd hear on a Metallica album now and then (there's definitely a 'Nothing Else Matters' feel to a lot of this) but when Gallagher steps on the gas (or more pertinently, his distortion pedal) there's a far more contemporary, far gloomier kind of heaviness to his sound. Two great sides, one hilarious sleeve. You know what to do... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////THE METAL MINUTE I'll be honest; when I first got into the music critiquing game, one of the vibes I was having troubling clicking with was coldwave. So much of what I was initially subjected to in the deep-buried noise underground that fell under the banner of coldwave ranged from 20 minutes of regurgitated echo to sadomasochistic whipping and screaming sounds (think of Stallagh) to a full hour of radio static (yes, radio static) submitted by a Ukrainian artist that challenged his listeners to find their own concrete conclusions amidst the blatantly abstract. Rubbish to a lot of it, I thought back then, but over the years I've fallen in love with the sounds of Isis, Pelican, Long Distance Calling and Rosetta and certainly between the heavy-handed sculpturing process of these groups there's allotments for boundary-stretching coldwave. When done correctly, I get it now, so long as the artist sees a tasteful point in which to let go of the hollow din and bridge it to something more tactile. Of course, the point of a large portion of coldwave is to submit yourself to the unnerving din to the latitude it creates its own dark aesthetic, and its inspiration can be traced back to the more psychedelic overtones of Pink Floyd as well as Wendy Carlos' harrowing--and sometimes cathartic--synth gloom of "Timesteps" from A Clockwork Orange, not to mention her terrifying opening theme. Put yourself into this mindframe as Isis' Mike Gallagher pairs off with England's John Twells in this split release of metallic coldwave under their creative alter egos, MGR and Xela respectively. While the intial spin of Shipping Gold / Calling For Vanished Faces to ears unfamiliar with this style of canal-punishing ersatz (particularly Xela's shrill machina-gone-berserk sound of Calling For Vanished Faces) is going to be a serious challenge, a second listening just might reveal something you didn't catch on the first go-round. For Mike Gallagher, his 16-minute Shipping Gold is a dexterously-conceived dirge mantra that, like his home band Isis, layers itself as it explores the central ohm of madness that grows in intensity, so much the objective of the composition is the intensity itself. Go back to A Clockwork Orange--particularly if you own the soundtrack--and listen to Wendy Carlos's figurative layers that notch and build all the way to explosive aural cadence, and here seems to be the mindframe of Gallagher with Shipping Gold. Initially sounding like an Isis remix, he abandons cohesion and drifts into a powerful death blare that possesses grandeur amidst its inherent trepidation. John Twells, on the other hand, is more interested in creating chaos atop his central shriek tone, so much that after he scrapes your ears with a high-pitched bleepfest, he sends Calling For Vanished Faces into an erratic sequence of deliberately off-kilter drum rolls, amplified feedback, sequencer tweaks and even stray saxophone blats that mystifyingly slide into something of aquatic soothingness. The track becomes a literal trance until Twells rudely snaps you out of it with repeat barrages of noise flotsam, all in the apparent interest of divulging beauty and ugliness in the context of tonal sound art. By no means is this split album easy to consume. Chances are more than not you're going to scream bloody murder like Malcolm McDowell with his pupils yanked open, forced to watch rape and brutality with the more roughneck portions of "Timesteps" assisting his enforced mania. When you conjure up that image, then perhaps you can identify an inherent inspiration to this pair of mutated noise collisions. Of course, in John Twells' case, the cult horror film Suspiria has a lot to do with his creative process, which explains quite a bit of where he's coming from. Dig in if you dare... Rating: ***1/2 Posted by Ray Van Horn, Jr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Title: MGR/Xela - Split I'm really starting to love Barge Recordings, somehow every release so far (this is their fourth, count em) has been a stunner, from their first compilation to this, their first split release. This one is MGR (aka Isis guitarist Mike Gallagher) vs Xela (John Twells of Type Records fame) and it's a great slab of ominous melodic drone and experimental sound that again is a thrilling listen. MGR kicks off proceedings with a 16 minute dark guitar piece which is something relatively heavy for the label. It doesn't take long for things to build to a dark and formidable assault of chainsaw style guitar noise and overdriven guitar swells. All the while a steady acoustic guitar base trundles along adding another layer to this rich and fascinatingly dense piece. Xela's side is much more awkward and in some ways quite a contrast to the other. Starting off with a rash of scrambled static and tape noise, slowly this disintegrates into wonderful vocal harmonies and unexpected clattering percussion. Sounds fly from everywhere, but not in a suffocating sludgy way, there is something beautiful to it all and each time there is something new to this, the small and precise little things. This doesn't get boring though, over its 23 minutes new sounds come in and drop out, the distorted guitar squeals and electronic buzzing feel perfect not ever taking over the harmonies too much but not ever hiding in the background quietly. Though through all this, there is nothing aggressive here, possibly it is harrowing but then the more you listen the more rewarding it becomes. Both sides beautifully compliment each other on this release. Neither is better or worse than the other which is often the case with split releases. And apparently the vinyl is going to be a limited pressing in a lovely screen printed jacket. Once again, I'm impressed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////EARLABS Not so long ago I got a promo cd in the mailbox from a, to me,
new label called Barge Recordings. On the release is music by the
musicians MGR & Xela that I have been following for quite a
while now. The first thing that came to mind was “Hmm, a
cd as medium. That’s so wrong for this music; this can’t
be right at all”. And as if they had been listening to me
at Barge Recordings on further reading I noticed the word vinyl
on the whole package. Phew, luckily for all of us this music will
officially be released on a nice slice of vinyl. This release is the first in a series of split albums on Barge Recordings and for this they asked the musicians MGR and Xela. Side A is for Mike Gallagher, guitarist in the metal band ISIS
and solo active as MGR. So far he has released 3 full-length albums
under the name MGR. For this split he has created the track Shipping
Gold. Side B is for the young British musician John Twells who runs
the label Type Records and performs music as Xela. In 2002 the
publishing career of Xela started with an mp3 release on Monotonik,
but fast he grew out of the mp3 scene and got his first release
For Frosty Mornings And Summer Nights out on Neo Ouija which is
an album full with lush beats and ambient soundscapes, seen as
a classic within the IDM scene. For those unfamiliar with the development Xela has gone through
the past 6 years the combination of MGR and Xela might seem crazy
but I must admit that it does work very well. After playing this
release on cdr a few times I could do only one thing and that was
ordering the real deal. I can’t wait to play this album in
its proper medium. Leaves me to compliment Barge Recordings on
this excellent choice in combining these two people on one release. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////THE LOOP.CL This is the first in a series of split LP’s released by
Brooklyn’s based Barge Recordings label. Guillermo Escudero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A split LP of guitar music is available from Barge Recordings in Brooklyn NY. MGR VS XELA (BRG 004) has been sent as a CDR but you can buy the LP or get a digital download from the label website. MGR is Mike Gallagher, a guitarist from the redoubtable Isis, and on Shipping Gold he presents 16 minutes of extremely troubling post-post-avant metal guitar stylings played in a relentlessly slow mode. Anguish-inducing frown-music at its finest…XELA is John Twells from the UK, and his allotted 23 minutes are used to present Calling For Vanished Faces, a fascinating construct of detailed sound-collage. Choirs of eerie voices float around this quagmire of noise, competing for air with a mad jazz drummer and waves of guitar feedback. In its way no less suffocating than the MGR side, yet the angelic voices seem to offer some cause for hope. Boy, I’d certainly like to get a vinyl of this one… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ////////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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