Open Reminder

opis:
Editor's info:
Starting with improvisation, ARM serves as a musical meeting point where anything can happen. Part lab and part playground. All plans are put aside and results become clear over time. So, when other musicians are invited to join, this becomes music of constant change. What remains constant is the desire for experimentation and an inclusive approach to sound and noise. With this in mind, ARM can be described as musical relatives to acts such as Farmers Manual, Supersilent, Boredoms and Black Dice.


THE WIRE:
Issue 243 May 2004. So much current laptop work is either reductive to the point of frigidity, or feels like being horsewhipped with live power cables. And so, one falls on great records like Open Reminder with deep, exhausted gratitude. Arm are a Norwegian trio whose work is so full of good ideas it´s like trying to focus on a passing express train. Their glitchology is profoundly musical, deeply experimental and utterly addictive. This is never more evident than on their collaborations with live instrumentalists, particulary the exemplary Hakon Kornstad, whose extended sax techniques enter into delicious tangles with the electronics. Their signature sound is that of iridescent Terry Riley-like organ loops chopped into glittering ribbons, but they cover an extraordinary amount of sonic ground throughout. Beautiful, funny, thrilling - here at last is laptop music to fall in love with. - [Keith Moliné]

All Music Guide:
Is it the topnotch production, the endless creativity, or the blatant playfulness that makes Open Reminder such a striking release? All of the above, along with the presence of weighty guest musicians and eyecandy artwork. Arne Borgan, Are Mokkelbost, and Alexander Rishaug, the three digital artists behind Arm, have put together the kind of album that will not hit you particularly strongly at first, but will keep you coming back until the truth becomes obvious: that Open Reminder is one of 2004's best experimental electronica records. There is a sheer sense of fun in the group's cutups, while something darker and more troubled lurks in the depths of their instrument manipulations. In addition to electronics, mutated beatboxes, samples, and noise, the trio taps into the creative minds of Jazzkammer's John Hegre (guitar on two tracks) and No Spaghetti Edition's Hakon Kornstad (sax and flute on two tracks) and Tonny Kluften (bass on one track). The extensive use of analogsounding electronics, real instruments, and beatboxes gives the music a slightly retro feel, but the fastpaced collages, the way noise is used to assemble the layers of sounds, and the general demeanor of the album put it resolutely of and ahead of its time. One thinks of Jazzkammer and morceaux_de_machines' relentless plundering, of Otto Von Schirach's tongueincheek aural guerrilla, and of a bunch of electronic music pioneers having drunk too much tequila. Things can get very dense and chaotic, as in "Dam Buster," but the mix always remains crystal clear. Open Reminder is a difficult listen, offering very few beats or contemplative textures. But if the seriousness of some experimental music is putting you off, you'll find this album much more willing to entertain while it stimulates. Recommended.
by François Couture]