the norman conquest » music

The Wire magazine review of “The Black Room” by Dokuro

the norman conquest — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:19:05 +0000

(2008- David Stubbs)

Based in Oakland, California, Dokuro are visual artist/composer Agnes Szelag and the magnificently nomenclatured The Norman Conquest. They include the word “pop” in their self-definition, which is a little like Sunn 0))) locating a Country & Western element somewhere in their music. This is extremist fare that blasts away the earwax without leaving you feeling pointlessly bludgeoned. On “The Ghost Goes West”, clouds of generated electricity belch blackly, then are discreetly sculpted. “Shadow of the Cat” is sheer catastrophe, all earthquake and Grindcore, its rotorblade still whirring long after the helicopter has crashed and burned. Finally, with “October Moon” a calm descends and dawn breaks over a charred landscape quiet but for the sporadic noises of afterburn.

textura online review of “The Black Room” by Dokuro

the norman conquest — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:37:07 +0000

(2008- textura)
Dokuro, which unites electro-acoustic improvisers Agnes Szelag and The Norman Conquest, kicks up some serious feral dust in The Black Room. Though four of the EP’s five pieces are short, brief running times don’t prevent the pair from plunging into viral, feedback-infested pools where electronics and cello meld into feedback-drenched vortices. Much of the material is heavily-distorted: “The Ghost Goes West” sputters like some writhing machine set to implode; “Shadow of the Cat” drowns in an annihilating storm of feedback and rippling noise; and “Kuroneko” layers violent howls over an anchoring drum pattern. The cello makes its first recognizable appearance in the fourth song “Shikoku” which says something about how far the duo pushes its sound manipulations. The moment doesn’t last long, however, as the instrument quickly vanishes within a tribal storm of anguished yelps and throbbing rhythms. At nine minutes, the apocalyptic dirge “October Moon” allows Dokuro ample room to maneuver and stretch out. In this fully-realized set-piece, Szelag’s voice and distorted cello moan over a curdling tempo while shards of razor-sharp tones crawl across a wasteland of incinerated ruins. Like Lilienweiss’s, Dokuro’s sound may not be conventionally “pretty” but it’s undoubtedly powerful.

The Wire magazine review of “Leaves and Snows” by Berthiaume/Sirjacq/Teale

the norman conquest — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:36:46 +0000

(2006- Brian Marley)
Of the three players on Leaves and Snows, only guitarist Antoine Berthiaume is known to me, from Soshin, a series of duets on Ambiances Magnetiques with fellow stringbenders Fred Frith and Derek Bailey.

Berthiaume is nearer to Frith than Bailey in his guitar stylings, and on Leaves and Snows he’s occasionally drawn to the tuneful end of the improvisation spectrum. “Freedom Fried” and “Kawaidski” for example, contain elegant, simple melodies and sound thoroughly composed, though they may not be, while “Staring at a Western Time” is suggestive of Hans Reichel mimicking one of Ry Cooder’s ‘lone guitar in the wilderness’ film soundtracks.

But enough of comparisons, they distract attention from a keypoint- the individualism of Berthiaume’s approach, something he has in common with Quentin Sirjacq (piano, sometimes prepared) and especially Norman Teale (electronics). These players already have a distinctive music that, for all its spontaneity, is conceptually rigorous and displays a true group sensibility. They aren’t garrulous or barnstorming players- the music they make is spare and exacting, cool but not chilly, and Teale’s delicate electronic soundscaping and sensitive interactions are remarkable for such a young and relatively inexperienced player.

Each of them brings something worthwhile to the mix, and Teale’s engineering and editing of the session is exemplary- this is one of the best-sounding CDs I’ve heard for quite some time. In her brief sleevenote to Leaves and Snows, Joelle Leandre describes the music as “profound” and “lovely”, which sums it up rather well. Consistently attractive without ever lapsing into prettiness, Leaves and Snows is a great success.

xlr8r magazine review of “The Black Room” by Dokuro

the norman conquest — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:54:15 +0000

(2008- Martin De Leon)

Dokuro is a duo from Oakland that uses ambient noise like a six-string guitar on their gorgeous EP The Black Room [Aphonia]. Composer buddies Agnes Szelag and The Norman Conquest go from soft, prickly synths (“The Ghost Goes West”) to brainy, noir-ish beats (“Kuroneko”) that are the soundtrack to Merzbow’s dreams.