John Duncan Da Sich Die Machtgier… Die Stadt CD Available through the Helen Scarsdale Agency: $16.00 "Compiling the results of what was originally intended to be a compositional collaboration between John Duncan and renowned sound artist Asmus Tietchens, Da Sich Die Machtgier… transcends its tumultuous creation to stand as a distinctive addition to the catalogue of both artists. Using the subtly processed voice of Tietchens reading texts by Romanian philosopher E.M.Cioran as source material, Duncan created sound sculptures which he had intended for Tietchens to further manipulate, only to learn that his partner felt they were finished, and should be credited to Duncan alone. Although Duncan preferred equal acknowledgement, the intricate precision and strength of his compositions on Da Sich Die Machtgier… provides an understanding of Tietchens’ decision. Duncan has worked with voices in the past, and these recordings display a well-rounded depth and maturity that has grown in volume with his recent works Infrasound-Tidal and The Keening Towers. "Das Ich Macht…" is comprised of the original text recordings offered by Tietchens for further processing. Only slightly treated with speed variations and looping techniques, these are quite similar to other recordings Tietchens has produced of Cioran text readings on several obscure German 7" singles. Listening to these spoken word pieces, it is near impossible to follow their lineage to Duncan’s compositions. The jammed frequencies that abruptly begin "Freih Zein Hoern Macht…" eventually morph into waves of pulse patterns that feed off a rhythm boxes incessant chatter, the accumulating sonic debris finally bursting into echoes of static calm that trickles away in solitude. "Tauf Sind Mit Andere Namen" provides the closest link to its sound source, as if the human voice has been slowed down to a near standstill motion, collecting an inherent power that is simultaneously intoxicating, disorienting and soothing. Duncan furthers his pantheon of exceptional drone works with "Aber…," attempting a grand mixture of what sounds like a grounded swarm of insects and a rabidly feeding flock of birds until the pacing and intensity break through in a piercing haze of white noise. In constructing these compelling compositions from the most unassuming of source materials, Duncan channels the spirit of Tietchens' eternal search through the outer reaches of audible sound for a truly "new music." With nearly 60 years of work between them, Da Sich Die Machtgier… celebrates both composers’ identities whilst merely hinting at their collective strength. " -- Everett Jang Perdue / Dusted Magazine or how about this? "Prolific sound artist John Duncan's newest disc finds him in a kind of half-collaboration with Asmus Tietchens, whose readings from two E.M. Cioran texts become sources for the voice manipulation that has characterized Duncan's work as of late. Cioran's name should sound familiar to Tietchens listeners, as quotes from the modern philosophe/aphorist frequently appear on the musician's sleeve notes. Duncan's notes here, however, express a clear distaste for the fatalism that dominates Cioran's philosophy, a kind of a-philosophy often abbreviated in cheeky, opaque aphorisms like the one displayed on Tietchens' new FT+: "It is simple to be "deep," just follow your own false bents." Part of Tietchens' reading for Da sich die Machtgier? comes from Cioran's examination of tyranny in the modern world, explaining the hamster-wheel trend in which humanity submits to the will of a great and "pitiless" dictator, degenerates into "primal disorder", and then begins again by embracing another tyrant. Strange that Duncan, who disagrees with such fatalism and actually did not even receive a translation of the text until after finishing recording, has produced a record that feels much closer to the man's doomed words than anything Tietchens ever prefaced with a Cioran quote. For three of the disc's four tracks, Duncan completely obliterates not only words themselves, but any evidence of the vocal origin of the sounds. He's taken Tietchens' original recording, presented "more or less intact" on the remaining track, and transformed it into three utterly inhuman compositions. Inhuman not because they are desolate in composition, or even because they lack expression or an emotional core, but because of the obtrusive and unforgiving way each one crowds the listening space. The noisy opener "Freih zein hoem macht" pushes miniscule fragments of vocal sound into endless repeat, a bombardment of clicking surges that somehow resists the retreat into a more atmospheric or patterned industrial space. Each sound arrives in charged, unhesitant succession, as if eager fill the gap left by its predecessor. Silence in this music, rather than offering relief or resolution, seems only to emphasize the void, offering nothing but a blank stare into the next numbing assault. Duncan's other tracks are less abrasive, though no easier to ignore. The closing "Aber..." is essentially a short, buzzing drone cycle, molded and amplified over the song's 30-min. length, but the sprawl never reaches an apex of textural complexity, nor does it develop in any kind of organic fashion. The fuzzy hum of the tones have more in common with Tietchens' voice than the other two tracks, but they are far from sounding human or even comfortable. The track becomes an endless churn, like faraway factory noise, or the sound of Cioran's wheel of history, scraping on and on. While Da sich does not lend itself to similar repetition, it does make for a thoroughly alien experience, especially in conjunction with the textual foundation. " -- Andrew Culler / Brainwashed.com