Reviews of releases of SIST EN 343, GEN 26 or any related bands or projects of Matjaz Galicic
Mattin, Gen 26, Batur Sonmez - Untitled, [&] 3" CDR
“3" noise CDR from this new Slovenian label. These little CDRs are, for me, the perfect format for noise music as it's a genre that, while liking it very much, is one that struggles to hold my attention for long periods of time. A band gets very little time within which to impress or depress on a 3" disc. Appearing on a split or compilation 3" CDR means one gets even less time. not much more than an old 7" single. Of these 3 participants it is only Batur Sonmez that is truly up to the challenge throwing a great variety of sounds into the (cement) mix(er) and creating a fast moving and restless construction. The other two provide compositions that are just a little too static for my tastes.”
Ian, Wonderful Wooden reasons, May 2008
Various Artists - A Nice Noise Evening Vol. 1, [&]
“Artist: Various Artists
Title: A Nice Noise Evening Vol.1
Label: [&] Slovenia
Genre: Noise
Contributing artists: A.U.B., GEN26, Man Manly and Justice Yealdham And The Dynamic Ribbon Device
From Slovenia arrive to us an example of how interesting, constructive and well spent can be a night inside a lost club somewhere in the middle of the intense and highly cosmopolitan Ljubljana. After a good alcohol anaesthesia and even who knows, with the company of a female archetype representing the typical beauty infinity that flowers gracefully and for ages in this European capital, we are finally spiritual prepared to face the biggest of atrocities rising in our front. I mean, this is only a (stupid) idea I am giving to you in case one day you decide spent some days in Slovenia and therefore watch a showcase of the most extreme noise done in present time.
For now I will only try give to you the best possible description of what your mind and hears will experience in such possible event, through this small 4 themes cd-r sample recorded in one of those live sessions ( in this case at the Club Sot on 27/11/2005) and from which we luckily get a copy to taste. 4 distinct noise projects, with one track each, showing and injecting the most piercing sound inside our souls.
Opening all the hostility rises A.U.B. beginning with a simple electric guitar that is quickly transformed on a torture instrument that release merciless, savage and distorted frequencies from irregular and intense feedback waves, thus creating a platform for a evolution of disturbed textures of thick electronic experimentalism ( xylophones and rude electronic sound games are new found weapons here), till aim a mental breakdown with a final dirty sample of what seems to be a karaoke version of Wham!´s hit "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go". A must.
GEN26 comes next upon a style equally mad however more focused and less vacant. We can recognise a more objective nature on the liberty of a wild brutality that flows progressively through corrosive drones that achieve a great sensorial impact creating a massive typhoon of irascible violence. Variety it is not something very present in this track but it is without doubt an efficient demonstration of electronic savage through gear and mind.
After the apocalyptic monstrosity we experienced with GEN26, Man Manly cast us out to a sound scenario a little bit more dry, not so intense but equally devastating. One and non stopping crescendo solo note, under a motorized sound like effect. In fact the first sensation we have is to be seat over a motorcycle that is gaining speed at each second till reach an dangerous and not wise velocity that will lead us a painful end. That end can be perfectly the sudden insane scream burst, fused on completely irresponsible frequencies that are out of any control, recreating a mental accident that move us not for the nearest hospital but to the absolute silence. Velocity kills.
At last but not the least Justice Yealdham And The Dynamic Ribbon Device emerge to close this short compendium with a vision not so different from the previous ones but with definitely with a personal touch. They unleash the 4th beast amidst cruel atmospheres of heavy and cold frequencies through a process of ultra manipulation. Order is submitted to intercalary waves of radioactive and corrosive sound patterns that seems to dilacerate slowly a mountain of twisted iron. A devastating group of explosions resulting from electronic bestiality, revealing the inner side and the implacable nature of its creator. Armageddon is in his hands boys and girls.
Well, here it is…a vision of what could be a beautiful night in Slovenia, lovely isn't it? Well I think it is …the sound is great, Slovenia is beautiful at this time of year, alcohol is probably cheaper than in your local store and Nordic beauties…well….I think Nordic beauties will prefer someone who listen Ricky Martin or something…so….hell with them ….NOISE IS POWER.”
Komah11, Heathen Harvest, December 2007
Various Artists - DRMK Kronika Vol. 1, DRMK
"Artist: Various Artists
Title: DRMK Kronika Vol.1
Label: DRMK Slovenia
Genre: Avant Garde / Noise
01 Gen 26 - “Intro”
02 Propalitet - “Propalitet”
03 A.U.B. -”Radio Shitenia,Prvi Program” (REH)
04 Sist En 343 - “Merzfuk” (Live in Swenak,26.10.2001)
05 Propalitet - “Daj Mi Majko” (Droje Ljutice)
06 Gen 26 - “Incubator of death (Dickless Tracy Cover)
07 A.U.B. - “Tako Se Je Kalila Sperma” (Live 27.11.2005)
08 Propalitet - “Turist=Terrorist”
09 A.U.B. - “Umri v tezkih Mukah!” (Live 06.04.2006)
10 Gen 26 - “Brez Naslova”
11 Propalitet – “Ovo Je Moj Film”
12 A.U.B. “Obsedno Stanje” (Live 14.04.2006)
13 Gen 26 - “Se En Komad Brez Naslova (Based on Dickless Tracy's “Outside”)
14 Minimal Bastard - “Brez Naslova”
"Copying and public performance highly encouraged!", "Copyright rights denied!" screams off the release sheet of this Slovenian weirdo noise rock compilation. DRMK is a Slovenian “Collective for Development of Youth Culture” who have organised over 60 events in Ljubljana over the last 5 years. These “Youth Actions” combine live performance, video art, comics and even an art exhibition at an old castle. The organisation is non-profit, and aims to involve young people in creative development and performance. The DRMK ress release had this to say: “We will not stop our actions, because we believe that there are not enough alternative music and cultural events involving creative young people in the area of Ljubljana, Slovenia and the world. With voluntary work, enthusiasm and cooperation we do not close our eyes, but keep launching concrete actions and projects.“
The Drustvo Za Razvoj Mladinske Kulture have not only drawn together young Slovenian musicians and artists, but also hosted noise festivals featuring acts from Europe, the good old US of A, Japan and Australia. The second release in this series includes sonic punishment from Japanese noise-stalwart Merzbow, America's Crank Sturgeon, and Sweden's Moljebka Pvlse. The CD releases began not only to get the message of Slovenian noise-culture to the world at large, but to raise money for a DRMK sound system.
The bands differ in approach, but all are, abrasive, noisy and thoroughly rude. Avalanches of static, aircraft take-offs (and crashing), are interspersed with bizarre am radio rock, feedback loops, nonsensical yelling, and the dying blurps of analogue torture machinery. Masami Akita should be proud.
A great compilation for a great cause, not the least of which is to keep young people well and truly away from the modern demon of popular music and culture. Pick one of these up. Or why not 10?"
Gottskalk, Heathen Harvest, November 2007
VARIOUS ARTISTS - A nice noise evening Vol.1, [&]
"A rare case of wallpaper package that does not contain wallpaper music, this Spartan production by Matjaz Galicic’s label features four low-budget noise projects. Two hail from Slovenia (A.U.B. and Gen 26), one from Australia (Justice Yeldham And The Dynamic Ribbon Device) while Man Manly comes from “Artistic nomad state”. Go figure. All the “music” was recorded live in Ljubljana, Slovenia in the November of 2005. You won’t find a place to put your mind at rest throughout this record but, if taken in the right moment and with a very elastic disposition, there is some good enough stuff to be appreciated here, often dressed by a certain degree of irony (check the absurd electro-version of Wham’s “Wake me up before you go-go” - or is it? - at the end of A.U.B.’s segment). Abundant distortion all over the place, total saturation of the brain, an increasing nervous distress while listening to the Man Manly piece, which sounds like an earth loop that’s about to disintegrate your head
paralleled by some dysfunctional filtered screaming. Without pretentious stances or stupid tazebaos backing the hullabaloo, and in consideration of its not excessive length, this CDR passes my patience’s test. Better still, it’s almost amusing to a certain extent, as long as you don’t expect your girlfriend to show you any respect after you play it.”
MASSIMO RICCI, Touching Extremes, September 2007
GEN 26 - A Door To... (Mask Of The Slave)
"Two tracks on a 3-inch, yet another example of Matjaz Galicic's explosive noise potential through ridiculously cheap means like rubber balloons, kitchen forks, spoons and electronics. The first: screaming fire, subversive violence, piercing distortion, unclassifiable stridency, compressed steam, ears in jeopardy. No aesthetic of sorts, no declaration of intents; the sounds comes out as it is, and it blows your socks off. The second: disturbed hum, pops, zaps, scratches, interference upon hissing, crackle, pernicious tranquillity, prelude to devastation. Non-biodegradable birds chirping a single ultrasound after being splattered on a grill machine, or - if you prefer - a referee who ingested his whistle and dies suffocated while trying to throw it up. All of this was made with domestic materials, but it sounds like a crazed computer circuit. Move over Merzbow, there's a new kid in town.”
MASSIMO RICCI, Touching Extremes, September 2007
A NICE NOISE EVENING VOL. 1 compilation CD-R and DRMK KRONIKA VOL. 1 compilation CD-R
"Got a couple of cool CD-Rs in the mail the other, er, month from Matjaz Galicic, Slovenian everyman who has a noise outlet called Gen 26 and a label called [&]. He used to run a couple of classic labels dating back to 1994, Abnormal Tapes and Fuck-U-Tapes (not to be confused, of course, with Fuck It Tapes). [&], as you can see, are responsible for "A Nice Noise Evening Vol. 1" which is recordings taken from an evening in Ljubiljana, Slovenia in 2005 featuring the aforementioned Gen 26, A.U.B. (also from Slovenia), Man Manly ("artistic nomad state") and Justice Yeldham & The Dynamic Ribbon (Australia). I don't know if Matjaz did the "D.R.M.K. Kronika Vol. 1" CD-R too, but he appears on it, along with A.U.B., Propalitet, Sist En 343, and Minimal Bastard. The D.R.M.K. is the Ljubljana-based "Collective for Development of Youth Culture" (the acronym is Slovenian you see), who put on all sorts of "youth actions" (concerts), exhibitions, art workshops, etc, featuring Slovenian and
non-Slovenian acts in a "non-profit, non-commercial way and involve young people who otherwise might not have a chance to perform and take part in events such as these". Sounds like fun!
For a soirée that brought together four acts from potentially disparate locations, I would've expected "A Nice Noise Evening Vol. 1" to be a bit longer than the pithy 25 minutes it clocks in at, but hey, works for me. Each act contributes about 7 minutes of noise. Most immediately enjoyable are A.U.B. and Man Manly. The former does up a strange brew of sizzling feedback and xylophone/toy gamelan virtuosity topped off with the addition of a melting karaoke version of Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go". Sounds gimmicky, shouldn't work, but it does! Kinda like Japan's Thirdorgan, with more of a sense of humor. The latter, Man Manly, uses homemade instruments to bleed out a seriously head-emptying droning throb that only increases in both pureness and intensity as the track wears on. I thought my sinuses were going to erupt towards the end, so I liked it. Now the other two "sets" were nothing slouchy either - Gen 26 dredge up a nice haze of basement-birthed feedback swirl, guitar (?)
crunch and spiked blasts of supercharged oscillation while Justice Yeldham & The Dynamic Ribbon Device belie their goofy name with menacing static gamma rays and spectral crystallizations steeped in abused pedals and synths. Sprechen sie sassy? It's worth mentioning this "Nice Noise Evening" comes housed in a sexy foldover sleeve made from what appears to be a thicker wallpaper-type textile, in hand-numbered editions.
The "D.R.M.K. Kronika Vol. 1" compilation, issued by D.R.M.K. themselves, brings together five acts all with ties to the collective: Gen 26, Propalitet, Sist En 343, Minimal Bastard and A.U.B., all contributing between 4 and 15 minutes of exclusive music. All five are pretty diverse (though all with noise roots...well almost all) so this compilation makes for an entertaining listen, especially since all the tracks are mixed around and no artist's tracks play consecutively. Like the Slovenian noise mixtape you always wanted! Gen 26 plays the most straight-forward, brutist noise on the whole compilation, approaching Masonna/Prurient terrortories with single-minded feedback assaults "Še En Komad Brez Naslova" and "Incubator of Death", while A.U.B. returns with his/her/it's brand of junkyard mechanical percussion, drones and feedback joined up with keyboard quirks, same as the ones I played around with on my brother's Casio circa 1990 or thereabouts. Awesome blast from the past! Of the
remaining artists, Sist En 343 contributes just under 4 minutes of sound in the excellent "Merzfuk (Live In Swenak 26.10.2001)", sounding equal parts hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons, and other world-ending visions of apocalypse, and Minimal Bastard also goes the single-track route, only with an 11-minute barrage of mutated drum machine beats and what could be a guitar begging to be put out of its misery. It has a lot more in common with some of the more severely bent black metal than it does noise, like a weird meld of the Battlecruiser label's bedroom simplicity, the production values and the distortion of early Anaal Nathrakh, and the militant head-down stomp of Bone Awl, all without a single word uttered or (possibly) a real note played. Weirdest, however, are the four tracks from Propalitet, none of which contain a bit of noise at all. It sounds like one guy belting out fairly rockist tunes on an electric guitar, devoid of any other instruments, imbued with a strange punk rock
feel despite Mr. Propalitet's mid-paced, slightly-nasal, somewhat-bored sounding speak/sing voice. Somewhere in the midst of Frank Zappa, Ludo Mich, Bruce Russell, Keiji Haino and J. Mascis sits this guy. Quite a curious and cool disc, and it comes with a boss 80's DIY-style fold-out collage containing pics, info, tracklists, etc. "D.R.M.K Kronika Vol. 2" is on the way and is slated to feature a couple of the guys mentioned here in addition to people you might already know, which is to say Merzbow, Crank Sturgeon, George Cremaschi, and Moljebka Pvlse.
If you're bored of the steady stream of Californian or Japanese noise discs you keep buying, it might be worth it to take a flyer on these, as you're sure to hit on something that tickles your fancy amongst the seven different acts featured. The D.R.M.K. disc is available throught their website while you can get "A Nice Noise Evening Vol. 1" from Matjaz Galicic right here."
Matt, Outer Space Gamelan, August 2007
A NICE NOISE EVENING VOL. 1 compilation CD-R
"A nice noise evening appears to be a document of a show that took place in Slovenia on September in 2005. I've not heard the work of any of these artists so keep that in mind when reading, all I know of them is what's on this disc.
First up is A.U.B. an act of which I am unfamiliar with who delivers some noisy wanky experimental music. I'm generally not really into this kind of stuff but it's done pretty well here kind of reminding me of Jazzkammer but not quite as noisy. The only annoying thing about it is the drum beat that is featured in the first half of the track. But either way it embraces that sort of thing and goes into some nice noisy textures with tongue-in-cheek 80's musical references later in the track. It's all in good fun and not in bad taste so it turns out to be an enjoyable little number.
Gen 26 seems to come with a bit more of a serious edge but because of this and the inability to rise above average, the set comes off as a bit generic. He offers up some crunchy noise that slides in and out of mid-ranged feedback tones and gains in movement speed and intensity towards the end. Definitely not bad in any sense but at 5 minutes with some one dimensional noise it's nothing really to write home about. Solid material but playing it safe here.
Man Manly can most accurately be summed up with, not even a word, but one idle action: yawn. This is a very sparse track featuring basically one synth tone (could be a feedback tone too, it's pretty basic) that glissando's over the course of 5 minutes of the 7 minute track. What is it doing the for the other 2 minutes? Not much, just sitting there, static, doing only one thing, wasting my time.
Justice Yeldham and The Dynamic Ribbon Device finishes this puppy up and I can kind of tell he's the heavyweight here. His track is the keeper here with a lot of great textures and dynamics (he isn't kidding). There's a lot of moving pitch shifting and sounds of breaking glass at the core I imagine. It shows though, and it's quite well done. There are moments when you can tell the control is very particular which makes the listening engaging and shows his ability to get his ideas across and keep his vision. Very well done.
Justice Yeldham's track is what really makes this compilation worth while. I'm not sure how it compares to his other work but for an introduction you may want to check it out. The other artists seem like acts you could catch at any crappy costume noise show at your local VFW so the compilation ends up leaving something to be desired.”
Overall Rating: C+
Composition: C+
Sounds: C
Production Quality: B-
Concept: C
Packaging: C
Xdementia, Blood Ties WebZine, June 2007
APOPHALLATION / EDIBLE COLOSTOMY BAG / SIST EN 343 / TJERE 4-way split CD-R (R.O.N.F. Records)
"This is an excellent 4-way split. I's often difficult to collect 4 different artists for one release. On a compilation you have too many artists to think about everything have to fit together, but when it's 4 artists/bands it have to be a good match, and on this record it' just a perfect match. I have to say it's the first time I got to listen to music from all these artists, but I want to hear more in the future. Every artists here does their own thing, completely different from the other artists, but still very similar. Every track is a true pleasure, and for people who wants to get some good variable noise, this is a good record to pick up."
Wjiik, Discogs Personal page, March 2007
FUCK YOUR HEAD WITH AN IRON FIST compilation CD-R (Musicaly Incorrect Records)
"From all points of view this is a really good Compilation.
It is featuring 14 amazing Industrial and noise acts. About 5 - 6 minutes each track. Bizarre Uproar, Halthan, A Machine Called Orgasm, Barrikad & MK9, Rulla, Cloama, Funeral Mongoloids, Moke Grotton, Watchdog, Sist En 343, Tuho, Gelsomina, World Downfall & Squamata.
Harsh, Noise, Industrial styles are meeting Noisecore on this disc. The artwork is great too, a good work well thinked and totally true to the DIY way.
Summarizing, If you want noise this is your Comp."
Manuel, R.O.N.F. reviews, February 2007
GEN 26- F*/Jesen/Live - CDr (Smell The Stench)
"Gen 26 is the conceptual noise-project of Matjaz Galicic. In Rigodon#4 I wrote about his release BLN’: “I like the idea of a conceptual approach but unfortunately the result is in this case a bit disappointing. I think more variation would have been possible and would have enlarged the listening pleasure.”. Well, on this release Matjaz shows the same conceptual approach but with a lot more variation and a far more interesting result. He uses balloons, furniture, hands, his mouth and a wooden floor to produce all kind of distorted sounds and experimental noise. The first 4 tracks (“F*”) consist of scratching, creaking, rattling noises that reminded me of Invader From Mars. It never get’s very loud. The next 4 songs (“Jesen”) are much louder and tend to harsh noise. But not the kind of noise that’s made with a chain of pedals. Gen 26’s noise never get’s dense, there’s always room for silence or volume-changes. The CD ends with a short but very powerful live-performance with many
different kind of sounds. Since I was not so impressed by the first Gen 26 release that I heard I didn’t expect much from this but actually this turned out to be quite a good release."
Marcel Herms, Rigodon #5 (not out yet)
GEN 26- F*/Jesen/Live (Smell The Stench)
"Matjaz Galicic's relationship with inanimated objects is unbelievably creative: he manages to get usable sounds from a floor, various pieces of furniture, rubber. In the vein of early Daniel Menche, Gen 26 puts contact microphones in every conceivable spot to generate a world of distorted babbling, jet-propelled chorales and electrostatic discharges that seem to spring out of a high-priced laptop, while instead are just the result of this Slovenian sound artist's curiosity and love for self-expression. Unconventional to the bone, Galicic never loses his focus on the core of significance, showing aspects of his music which we could not be completely accustomed to; yet, his imagination makes sure that the sounds he conjures up keep their artistic value while establishing a new interesting lingo."
MASSIMO RICCI, Touching Extremes, April 2006
GEN 26 'BLN' - 3" CDr (self-released)
"For this record GEN 26 only used balloons and his hands as a sound source. On the inlay we read: "A sheer raw microcosm of handmovement captured from a set of balloons for very subtle sound receptivity. Captured sound waves being recycled with adding slight hand moves and being built on feedback". The outcome is a low rumbling noise that goes on and on until halfway some squeeky sounds are added. These sounds become more frequent towards the end. I like the idea of a conceptual approach but unfortunately the result is in this case a bit disappointing. I think more variation would have been possible and would have enlarged the listening pleasure. Now it's nice as an experiment but not something that I'm going to listen to very often. But maybe I miss the point. If you want to find out yourself don't forget that this is a limited edition of only 48 copies so don't wait too long."
Marcel Herms, Rigodon #4, February 2006
Gen 26 - F* / Jesen / Live CD-R
"Let's just post another lo-fi noise cd-r that I got in recently. It's always cool to get stuff like that in for a review. Although I never heard from Gen 26 before but seems he even played Belgium in a squat once with Fokking Odal (dutch hondenkoekjes collectief), anyways. Seems like this Gen 26 is the solo noise/experimental project from Matjaz Galicic who profiles himself as a multiple sub-cultural creative spriritual activist. This F* / Jesen / Live cd-r got released after all on the Australian Smell The Stench Records known for its numberous noise/experimental cd-r releases.
It seems like this cd-r is splitted up in three chapters. With the "F*" chapter opening up the cd-r with four recordings of basic rumbling harsh noise. It definitely feels basic because I don't feel like he's using any pedals or sort of like stuff. Seems like the recordings are based on the use and demolition of old computer hardware pieces in combination with hands, contact microphones and his own instincts. Very raw, rumbling and basic harsh noise coming from a primitive sound source.
The second chapter formerly known as the "jesen" part, is more of a personal experince for him I guess. Seems like these recordings were made by using balloons and sound surfaces in his room, the use of his hands and mouth in combination with contact microphones. Perosnally I liked this chapter a little bit more because it sounds less basic and it sounds different. But still keeping it very harsh and brutal with the use of a minimal of sound sources and basically no equipment. And that's kind of interesting.
The "live" chapter features a live session recorded in Slovenia at a show in 2002. And personally this is my favorite part of the cdr, pretty violent , harsh sometimes sharp swirling noise, with violent walls of rumblings. This is good harsh lo-fi noise with enough intensity to make you crumble down the floor.
In the end I feel like this cd-r is more of an exploration for the creative mind behind Gen26, exploring and recording his experiments and willingly enough to share it with us. I like the concept of using a minimal elements to produce maximum effectivity. Comes on a cd-r with a full coloured inkjet printed sleeve, lo-fi and basic as fuck.”
Score: 5/10
Ray Kluze, Semtex magazine, February 2006
GEN 26 - BLN (Self release)
"A very peculiar item comes from Slovenia's Matjaz Galicic, who recorded this 3-inch CD using a microphone and a set of deflated coloured balloons which he rubs and drags around the mike's capsule obtaining a "sheer raw microcosm" of hand-generated noise. Surprisingly enough, the outcome is some sort of low-budget micro-concrete music which sounds like if it was generated by a laptop. The matter crumbles and breaks in absolutely uncontrollable ways, at the same time maintaining an overall cohesiveness comparable to more "evolutional" projects; it could well be a recording of a volcano's rumble and you couldn't tell the difference. I'm looking forward to hear more from Galicic - maybe a structured noise piece?"
MASSIMO RICCI, Touching Extremes, December 2005
SIST EN 343 & Noisebitch - Say Yes To Life, Say No To Music CD-R
"Two experiment experts. Split begins with reverb monotony - a drill before 22 min. whore fucking named "noise" and it goes quite well (some white flow from ears). 3rd track - hatred posed on music - harsh!, finally iron insect party in a year 2937. Cool!"
Infected By Dementia #2
