Clock DVA Music Reviews
Industrial Nation #6 - Clock DVA - Bitstream - Contempo
The CD single of Bitstream contains six versions of Bitstream with all but two
of them being mixed at the Anterior Digital Research station in Sheffield,
England. This CD starts off with a Kraftwerk kind of bleepy beginning but soon
bring an Ambient Techno atmosphere with a Sleep Chamberish voice in the
background asking you to "Feel The Energy". This release also contains a catchy
new track, Virtual Flesh, which is an Electro move song. There are many
different versions of Bitstream but there are only so many times you can listen
to one song in a row. I'm getting that same feeling I got when I had to go
through the CD single for James Brown is Dead by LA Style, with nine different
remixes (Mercy)
Industrial Nation #7 - Clock DVA - Digital Soundtracks - Contempo
In an ever increasing void of pattern sample Electro-Techno bands, Clock DVA
once again transcends banality with its latest album Digital Soundtracks.
Always hypnotic, their latest contribution weaves a rich and delicate web of
sound. This offering presents an airy set of soundscapes which relies much less
on samples as previous releases. While so often music of this type comes off
with a frazzled factory feel, this album delivers its product as precise and
crisp as Swiss clockwork. This metronomic music may not be for everyone; yet it
is a testament to the oncoming cyber age. This is music to program your laptop
by! Though strongly repetitive, Digital Soundtracks does present a compelling
array of pieces which can be plugged into the mind's eye. More interesting that
Orb and certainly more upbeat than Doubting Thomas. If you were ever a fan of
early electronic music like Kraftwerk and wanted to hear its maturity, beyond
the mutation of Techno House, then this is your album. While I didn't find it
as stimulating as Man-Amplified, Digital Soundtracks is an amazing Ambient
experience and should not be overlooked (Bast Heird)
Industrial Nation #7 - Clock DVA - Man-Amplified - Contempo
For anyone who is really into technology, this CD is for you. The music drones
on endlessly and never changes. All of the songs pertain to mathematics,
programs, and computer lifeforms. The six page booklet, which comes with the
CD, goes into detail about every song's background. It is also very hard to
understand if you are not a nerd. There are a few interesting concepts;
Transitional Voices is about using tape recorders to record and decode voices
from extra dimensional realms, Memories of Sound is a very scary and excellent
Ambient song which focuses on the ability of the brain to accumulate sounds
even before birth. This is a case where a band was actually better on their
former label. WaxTrax should resign them. (Marcy G)
Industrial Nation #10 - Clock DVA - Collective - Cleopatra
Perhaps no other contemporary bads, save for Lassigue Bendhaus, have embraced
the Kraftwerkian fascination with technology as Clock DVA. This Cleopatra
compilation collect rarities and remixes of recent work to server as an
excellent introduction for the uninitiated, as well as a gem for the collector
seeking rare singles and compilation material. Clock DVA's more recent material
is a lot tighter and more dancy than the type of dark electrodirges on their
Buried Dreams album, but it still has a sound uniquely its own, and in a weird
way, it works really well. Whereas many electronic bands use endlessly
repeating four bar sequences out of laziness and lack of talent, Clock DVA
knows how to balance safely on the thin line between minimalism and the realm
of the numbing repetitive. Tons of tight sequencer patterns interact and evolve
on endless repeat as the kick drum thumps away and Adi Newton mutters lyrics
about all things digital. I was really enjoying this disc until I opened the
case and read the liner notes, penned by Mr. Newton himself, which reveal him
to be an egomaniac of the most nauseating kind, shamelessly self promoting and
ego masturbating in a manner that would make even Bono blush. My recommendation
is to buy this disc and throw away the liner notes lest you should become
similarly dischanted. Sometimes we just shouldn't meet our heroes. (Tom Shear)
ARC #2 - Clock DVA - Sign - Contempo
Clock DVA prove that arresting, involving and outright original music can be
both engaging on the dance floor and in your mind. They don't sound like anyone
or anything else and on top of their distinct sound, you can add the
intelligence of their subject matter. Sign touches upon unexplained
transmissions resembling a complex, yet undeciphered language, detected on
several NASA missions and more over, the overall implications of these signals
and NASA's true mission. Carrying on the tradition of previous releases like
The Hacker and Man-Amplified, Clock DVA continue their research of the
relations between man, technology, and beyond.
Adi Newton's and Robert E Baker's use of almost all analog type sounds draws
you into a machine based world, and in fact this is my attraction to their
music. Syncopated, multi-layered sequences phase shift through many of the cuts
that rely on underplayed percussion to drive them along. But you feel the
richness of their work when all of those elements mix with piano and strings,
accenting the relation of man and the digital, computer dominated world in
which we live.
The opening cut, Signal, has a beautiful, floating quality accented by clips of
actual NASA soundbytes. The effect of the spoken dialogue is as chilling as it
is revealing about the astronauts perception of space. While not moving at the
Technobeat currently burning on the floors, Voice Recognition Test is an
excellent dance floor cut, as not everything danceable needs to move at
132BPM+. Other tracks move at yet a much slower pace, but still capture your
attention with their sound quality and voicing.
The fact that serious scientific research is being carried on by some of the
most stimulating electronics is an interesting way to educate an audience may
passes over the minds of many, but I don't think Clock DVA fans would listen to
anything less. (Ken Holewczynski)
Music From The Empty Quarter #10 - Clock DVA - Collective 1+2 -
Hyperium
You have got to see this to believe it. Clock DVA have collected together their
singles from 1988's The Hacker to Eternity from 1993. Wherever possible new and
unreleased mixes have been used. In total there are versions of The Hacker, The
Act, Soundmirror, Final Program, Bitstream, Voice Recognition Test, and
Eternity. Additionally there is a new mix of Cypher and three rare versions of
H.I.T., Solaris, and Cybertone. All are what you would expect. That's only disc
one. Collective 2 has thirteen mixes and B-Sides from Clock DVA's singles,
including their latest Eternity, which was released on Contempo just before it
collapsed. This limited edition box set also comes with Collective 3, a three
track, three inch CD with two tracks from a November 1993 concert in
Amsterdam. Soundmirror features Pankow type dub beats of Maurizo Fasolo and
works well. Pool of Shades from the Sign album is the other live track, a slow
atmospheric piece. The third track is Endless Phase, from the Eternity single,
one which has not been heard in the UK yet, this is a deep rumbling, echoing of
a sinister experiment. There is also a 24 page booklet with graphics from the
singles and intriguing texts by Adi Newton. The whole package is a
multi-colored wonder of design and sound that must be obtained. Collective is a
first class summation of the UK's premire electronic experimentalists. It will
also be available in a more traditional CD format through the Italian
Sub/Mission label. (Matthew F Riley)
Music From The Empty Quarter #10 - Clock DVA - Kinetic Engineering - Studio
K7
The much vaunted Clock DVA video release surfaces at last! This runs at 52
minutes and features two tracks from Buried Dreams; The Hacker and Soundmirror,
seven tracks from Man-Amplified, and Voice Recognition Test from Sign. Clock
Dva's audible paintings reflect their subject matter accurately and
convincingly which makes a nice change from so many other band's attempts to
use this medium. Despite their introduction, To try to describe in any detail
these visualizations would be a restriction of their form. I will say that
Clock DVA's vissual efforts are essential. A combination of computer animations
and graphics, morphing faces and forms, fractals, binary digits, technological
cityscapes, waveforms, and diagrams. Kinetic Engineering is a wonderful,
sensational stimulant for both eye and ear. (Matthew F Riley)
Sonic-Boom - Clock DVA - Collective
If you already own all of Clock DVA's previous singles, you won't find anything
new on this CD. This CD while a collection of Englands technological band,
features various versions of items all previously released. All of the singles
since "Buried Dreams", and all previously multi-artists compilation tracks
appear on this CD up to the most recent Eternity single. There are enough
versions of the 'Hacker' to make even the most diehard DVA fanatic keel over
dead after the first listen. A big disappointment was Cleopatra's decision to
leave off any work prior to "Buried Dreams", such as "Thirst", or "Black Souls
in White Suits", which is some of Adi Newton best work to date. The liner notes
didn't help much showboating Newton's ego either. Unless your looking for a
sampler of what Clock DVA has put out in the last five years, I'd save your
money on this one.
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