Jar Moff review

Berlin-based record label PAN have a tough act to follow this year given the strength of the line up curated by label owner Bill Kouligas in 2012. Releases such as those from Lee Gamble, Heatsick, and Helm, amongst others, received widespread critical acclaim for their cutting edge visions of contemporary experimental electronic music, making frequent appearances on the “Best of 2012” lists of critics and artists alike. Given the hitherto unfaltering creative vision of the label it should not come as too much of a surprise that PAN’s first release of 2013 charts yet another high-water mark on their continued upward trajectory.

Commercial Mouth, is the debut LP of Greek sound-collagist Jar Moff, whose unique strain of plunderphonics and tape manipulation is a natural fit for PAN alongside labelmates Joseph Hammer, Jason Lescalleet, and Ghédalia Tazartès. While Moff’s process may be similar to that of some of his colleagues, the results are uniquely refreshing. Rarely letting his source material give away its identity, he instead tears samples into tiny fragments and pieces them back into something wholly unrecognisable, never relying on the cliché of using samples as ironic cultural references. The source material that astute listeners have managed to identify include excerpts from composer Michel Chion’s Requiem and experimental duo Musique Concret’s ‘Bringing Up Baby’, works of musique concrète that themselves have already been pieced together from a myriad of acousmatic sounds. Moff mercilessly disassembles them again, looping, distorting, and heavily layering his samples with artful precision. The result is two exceptionally strong twelve minute sides, unrelenting, seething maelstroms of samples. New noises constantly spring to the foreground and themes assemble themselves organically, just barely flourishing before being submerged under fresh waves of sound.

On the A-side, ‘Tziaitzomanasou’, a rhythmic basis is provided in places by a series of clattering mechanical loops over which all manner of samples tumble endlessly, including what can only be described as sci-fi film sound effects. Moff’s sparing use of rhythmic loops give the listener some orientation in what would otherwise be fairly unnavigable territory and unlike some of his earlier demo work he never resorts to a bland drum machine palette to provide this, rather favouring the organic nature of concrète sounds. The title track on the B-side is a slightly darker affair. Beginning with what sounds like a spectacularly malfunctioning machine, layered snippets of Ayler-esque saxophone improvisation briefly burst forth before being engulfed by exhilarating, nightmarish splinters of acousmatic found-sound, which no extended metaphor can do adequate justice, but that will assuredly leave your head spinning even when the record has stopped.

To coincide with the release of Commercial Mouth, Moff’s 2011 single ‘Vidv’ was re-issued on CD (albeit as a highly limited edition of thirty five, so readerswill be best off pursuing it as a free download on leavingrecords.com where it is listed under the title Vid-R). ‘Vidv’ runs in much the same vein as the Commercial Mouth material with a near danceable psychedelic opening sequence giving way to the trademark disorienting sound collage technique that he went on to perfect on the new material. Although it doesn’t quite reach the same levels of intensity as the Commercial Mouth cuts, it is still a worthy morsel that should go some way towards satiating the inevitable postprandial appetite for Moff’s work that you’ll work up whilst digesting the brilliant Commercial Mouth. All eyes are on PAN’s next move in anticipation of what underground gem Kouligas will unearth next.