Reviews

A somewhat odd pairing for a split release, but anything goes these days right? This limited edition of 150 double disk sets is handsomely packaged within a color-printed oversize folder on glossy stock in a plastic sleeve with the disks mounted on one of the inner panels. Choice graphics are jacked from NASA, and although the space imagery doesn't necessarily correlate with the music contained herein, it's still attractive enough. Even if some of the music is not, but that's neither here nor there I suppose.
Japanese sound artist Keiko Morita records as timisoara and has two tracks to offer as bookends to this set : one at the beginning of the first full-sized disk and another to conclude the three-inch. 'Cold Blood' is a twenty-six minute workout for what sounds like processed electric guitar and various electronics. It opens with a strain of melody that gradually melts into the bulk of the piece. From here it is in constant rhythmic motion, but with enough static elements from the source to keep it grounded and a gratuitous amount of mixing that exploits the stereophonic potential to the extreme. It creates a beautifully shifting field over a solid ground with a figure that keeps everything from becoming transparent. This sort of perpetually choppy activity becomes something of an ambient blur in the best sense until it becomes absorbed in a drone loop for the last few minutes as a recapitulation of the opening. There's an intense bass-frequency underpinning throughout that makes me feel all fuzzy and warm inside as well. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. Really nice work; almost psychedelic in a sense.
Nearly an hour and one disk later comes 'Dreams Of Insomnia.' Although there's a certain spacey ambience to this one as well, it's a little more noisy, aggressive and dense. Distinctive synthesizer sounds churn and oscillate distortedly, not unlike something that Mental Anguish might have recorded back in the 80s. Through the mire a sense of discernible pitches are never completely obscured during these thirteen minutes, thus maintaining a musical quality that transcends mere noise or random noodling. The piece chugs along without much variation in its consistently swirling manner until a rather abrupt conclusion. I really like this one too, and find it interesting how it sounds distinctive from 'Cold Blood' but not unlike the same musician. Choice sounds all around.
The Canadian noisist known as TADM is another ball of wax altogether. The acronym refers to Two Assistant Deputy Ministers and are, as far as I can tell, actually one person. Ever had the sensation of riding a bike with the knowledge that one of the wheels is about to give way and chart its own course at any moment? This is the sonic experience of that rogue wheel breaking free of its foundation and wobbling off, thus leaving the rider to some dubious fate. Once that sense of balance has been dislodged the rider continues on without an option, but with sparks flying and momentum subsiding slowly. Such is the intro to the first TADM piece on disk one. What follows is equally abrasive as shows its digital ass in a less than flattering light. In other words, it's sloppy as hell and undermines the potential for some seriously potent laptop noise. Strangely enough I can't stop listening even as the tinnitus-inducing bits cut through the room like a freshly-sharpened machete. Is that the tempation or just that your noise can beat up my noise? After a half-hour it doesn't matter what it is other than a hearty slice of brutal brilliance.
The unfortunately titled next number cloaks digital nuances in thick distorted noise to further the cause of over-the-top audio violence. I don't comprehend the malicious reference of the title, but it's not my business to meddle in the personal affairs of my review subjects. Just for the record, I love my mother but can not deny the sheer power and torrential force of this relatively brief piece. The last track on the big disk is a nine minute attempt to refashion the lost wheel to no avail. I mean, why bother if the host has no desire to put it back into place? Even the feedback loop stasis halfway through can't keep it fastened, despite the humbling denouement. A promising upward microtonal scale figure can't break free from the inevitable entropy either. It's perfect, or no love lost at any rate. TADM's final cut is 'crackFUCKINGsteel' which kicks off the three-inch disk with promise and rapidly descends into noise hell, which I suppose is the point. This is much more powerful on its own as a single work than the other tracks are as a collection, save for 'That Tempatation...' which is an absolute slayer in any context.
What else can I say? If you can dig the dichotomy between meditative soundscapes and harsh noise then you shouldn't have any problem here. I'm not a huge fan of split releases like this, but am pleasantly surprised at how well this pairing works after all. If you're too late to score a copy of this one, at least keep an ear out for these folks in the future.
Taken from Heathen Harvest

This is a split between Japanese noise/sound artist Timisoara and USA noise artist TADM or Two Assistant Deputy Ministers (as he's also know by) who put out an enjoyable full length on Harsh Noise a few years back. This set offers up a mix between woozy almost grim ambient tones and all out head-ripping noise.
First off the oversize package is worth a mention -it features a full size cd with 70 minutes playing time and a 3inch cd with just over 20 minutes playing time with each disk having a satellite picture of a storm system on them. Opening up the first full size disk we have Timisoara’s cold Blood with its collection of woozy, slip in and out of focus piling up tones that really has a great messing with your head effect. It almost sounds like the original sound source could be funky guitar playing, or at other moments synth descends and climbs, but then they're made into broken, shifting and dense tones. It certainly gives a very disorientating feeling and remains compelling throughout its nearly half an hour running time, it's also my favourite track here.
The next three tracks that take up the rest of the first disk are all TADM's and are all for the main part very brutal noise. That temptation, what is that temptation is the first long track running just short of half an hour it starts with an atmospheric held tone before burrowing into your inner ear with layers overload modem or Morse code type tones, as it goes on the tone become more roaring and deep. It also stops for bellowing tones here and there before sending high pitches out and crash in once more to all out chaos. The other two tracks use simlar shorting tones but are more hectic and brain screwing - with the final track even going towards rhythmic and almost musical-like elements too.
The three inch disk starts with another short piece from TADM again with effective, accelerated and exhilarating tones this time with more of a roaring and deeper static feel about them. Lastly we have another Timisoara track which once more uses screwed up and woozy tones, but this is a bit more stormy and deep feel with quite an eerier/harmonic element shifting in and out of the more noisy tones. Not as disorientating as the other track but the never the less very effective.
So in summing it was great to hear the Timisoara tracks as he has a very interesting, original and effective way of dealing with sound and noise. The TADM tracks are competent and enjoyable but pretty much what I expected after hearing his album from a few years back.
Taken from Musique Machine

TADM (a Canadian guy? Who has collaborated with the likes of Incapacitants) harsh noise and Timisoara - (Keiko Morita ) guitar and electronics - a strange mix - the packaging for one - of a full size CDr and a 3inch - both repeatedly fall off their little plastic nipples in the card sleeve. But Timisoara's drone/industrial that's nothing like the extreme harshness of TADM, so the question why? Lets ignore for a moment - TADM's contribution on the 3inch is a singularity - though by the CDR's fourth track is beginning to experiment with structure - soon we may see the nazi leader and the schematics for a worm hole machine - it's dangerous when the meaninglessness of any noise takes on form, as the Origami's neo-experimentalism certainly follows its cyclic logos, 'I am not dying in a night mare' still needs refinement into that which is art and experimentalism or to *actually* consume itself and so open a horizon in communication which is the essential dissemination of non-ironic noise - aka the pornography of the cum-shot.
Taken from Vital Weekly

Overall Rating: B-
Composition: B-
Sounds: B-
Production Quality: B-
Concept: B+
Packaging: B+
Here's an interesting release. A full CDR combined with a 3"CDR nicely packaged in a DVD sized folder. I am familiar with the name of TADM but have never heard of Timisoara so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.
I believe the full cdr is to be played first and Timisoara opens here with a mammoth 26 minute track of Aube-like muffled minimalism. The sound is kind of like some electrical ambience of a CD skipping or something. It maybe could be guitar based and features a few little details over its duration but overall it's a total yawn fest, this is not at all my thing, I'm not even much of an Aube fan which is the closest thing I could compare this to, so I hope that puts things in perspective. The muffled quality of the track just furthers to worsen what little bit of impact this may have had and with the total contrast presented in the music of TADM the "Cold Blood" just falls flat on its face.
TADM immediately breaks in with a huge blast of balls-to-the-wall harsh digital noise in "That Temptation. What Is That Temptation." I generally like it, extremely varied, with many changes in pace. Sometimes more cut-up and sometimes sitting on certain sounds in order to let me get the feel of it. The sound is huge and burly, so the "digital" quality of it doesn't hold it back at all. There's also a HUGE amount of material here in order to really let me sink my teeth in with the aforementioned track clocking in around 29 minutes, and two additional tracks of 5 and 9 minutes.
One issue I have here is that there seems to be a little bit lacking in the macro structure. The sounds work for me on a moment-to-moment basis but it's about half-way through the first TADM track when I start losing interest and forgetting where I have been and where I am going. This may very well be the point to his compositions but this isn't my style and doesn't really work too well for me. However, I still find myself enjoying certain passages like the crazy oscillations featured in the beginning of "It was as if the shame of it must outlive him" something that I would have liked to see built on more instead of instantly cutting back to the harshest cut-up this side of the Atlantic. This track also gets quite interesting towards the end with the LFO bending frequencies rising into oblivion.
The 3"CDR continues TADM's full-out assault with "crackFUCKINGsteel" another harsh barrage of electronics with a comedic pause and field sample of people yelling the title. It's a nice touch that provides a moment of relief and adds some detail and fun to the mix that I really enjoy.
Luckily I find Timisoara's "Dreams of Insomnia" to be a much more enjoyable track than his previous "Cold Blood" featured on the other disc. This one features some more detailed distorted drones and creepiness layered on top. Once again it just has a constant thing going on overall, but details in each moment. It still gets a bit tiring but leagues more interesting then "Cold Blood."
Timisoara definitely does not interest me with his brand of minimalist noise. This stuff bores me, but TADM proved to be a lot of fun and taking up the bulk of the disc his tracks provide some great sonorities and energetic well-produced digital noise that sounds quite unique. I also am impressed by the flawless integration of the vision and packaging, very nicely done by Cipher Productions. I'll leave you guys to make up your own mind on this one, since I'm split, it's hard to really say whether or not someone should go for this.
Taken from Blood Ties