Toxic Archives # 9: Alternative Funk Vol.1

Various - Alternative Funk Vol. I
Label: Vox Man Records
Catalog#: Audiologie # 2
Format: Cassette, Compilation, C60
Country: France
Released: 1985 ?
Genre: Electronic
Style: Industrial, Minimal, Experimental

Tracklisting:
A1 Happiness Boys, The Blonde With Mouth Open
A2 Costes, Ma Mère Et Le Marin
A3 Diseño Corbusier, Me Kong
A4 Hypnobeat, I'd Like To Kill
A5 Pacific 231, Scrap Lie
A6 Smersh, Blue Shorts
A7 Asmus Tietchens, Triumph Des Wilden
A8 Melsjest, Der Sound Kosten
B1 Randal Kennedy, Enorma Jones
B2 BPA, Timy
B3 Vox Populi!, Megamix
B4 Suns Of Arqa, Brujo Magic
B5 Bene Gesserit, Kidnapping
B6 Arms Of Someone New, The Cool As Christ
B7 Philippe Laurent, Rapide 5
B8 Living Daylights, The Our Finest Hour

Note: Compilation includes "Me Kong", a track by Diseño Corbusier from 1982 with founder member Rafael Flores:

Ani Zinc: Vocals.
Rafael Flores: Vocals, Percussion, Trumpet, Tapes.
Javier G. Marín: Keyboards.

Posiblemente la única edición "oficial" de la formación original de Diseño Corbusier como trio, un tema extraído de la primera maqueta del grupo todavía inédita salvo este track.

Toxic Archives # 8: Rafael Flores & Francisco López

Video work by Rafael Flores with soundtrack by Francisco López from 1985.

"Olive Days" review by Sascha Renner at Ear Labs

From 1991 to 2001, Rafael Flores reduced musical activity, and was involved with video art, releasing just a very limited soundworks as "friends only" private editions. After a long pause, he returns to editorial activity in 2002.
His new album "olive days", released on the american label zeromoon is a minimalist one of its kind.
Most of the thirteen pieces manage to enthral with one, sometimes two single layers, which have been chosen carefully. This fine selection demonstrates Rafael's experience, adopted during the long time he is making sonic experiments now.
His sounds derive from field-recordings, sinus-tones, distorted crackles and drones, white noise and the like.
There is a strong red thread spinning continuously through his well structured pieces, which captures my attention.
In contrast to the first nine pieces, that were recorded and mixed in the studio, the last four tracks were recorded live at "atv" this year. In o-live1 it appears to me Rafael works with time stretched voice, the second live piece sounds like field-recordings of a room with machines running. o-live4 deals with heavy distorted crackles followed by a dry drone maybe derived from recorded wind.
All in all, Rafael created a very strong and coherent collection of skillfully structured work.

Old but nice review at Heathen Harvest

Rafael Flores - Nubes, Cometas, Rumores Y Orugas
Saturday, September 01 2007 @ 01:00 AM PDT
Contributed by: empty j

Artist: Rafael Flores
Title: Nubes, Cometas, Rumores Y Orugas
Label: Monochrome Vision
Experimental/Electro-acoustic

01 Minoo 1
02 Oidoor 1
03 Sanzoot
04 Sanzooot
05 Boucher 2
06 Para
07 7 Minutillos
08 Antinoe 1994
09 Mil Años Antes de Vandervilt
10 Luders

Maybe a bit late but never too little. Rafael Flores has been doing his thing since 1981 and this compendium of works from 1994-2004 was intended as a silver anniversary of sorts. He certainly deserves to have his work issued for a wider audience as he's worked tirelessly over the years under his own name, as Commando Bruno, and a damn impressive video artist. I remember him from the 80s during the heyday of cassette networking, mail art and his releases on labels such as Tonspur, Esplendor Geometrico's imprint and the inevitable Zan Hoffman mix and mash. The pre-digital good old days.

This collection focuses on his predilection for field recordings and their subsequent treatment and juxtapositioning with other sounds. While Rafael is a serious artist, he's not so austere as to exclude a sense of humor and playfulness in his compositions, not to mention a nod toward the surrealists. 'Clouds, Comets, Rumors and Worms' ain't just noise y'all. Senor Flores knows what he's doing and has as keen an ear as anyone.

The disc kicks off with a thick wash of sound as if your head were trapped inside a gentle wash cycle, while your body experiences catatonia. Then things get sparse and metallic; sparks fly into and out of space and rub against an amplified cable that connects the earth-bound with some other life-form. It's a congenial affair : any ensuing confrontation is of the friendly sort. At least until 'Sanzoot' hits the speakers. A wall of sound is constructed, not of noise but of sonic minutiae including actual identifiable pitches (gasp). From here we get catapulted back into the laundry room to deal with some clever loop work until someone decides to use washing machine's body as a drum. This is a particularly wonderful passage with a bit of an industrial aesthetic; a stellar marriage of timbre and rhythm. 'Para' and '7 Minutillos' bring things down a notch as they grow from some environmental rustling into a digitally-damaged drone that sounds like a sanded cymbal stuck somewhere between Jupiter and Saturn. From here it's like flipping an LP over, but the grooves are filled with short-wave transmissions that sound downright hostile. This piece from 1994 is an uncompromising bit of white noise versus the world, but has a very musical dynamic curve. It segues nicely into some processed analogue synth work from 1997 which is a great track, but frankly sounds a little out of place in this collection. 'Luders' makes for a killer concluding five minutes. It sounds like an old dial-up modem has been doused with gasoline and set abalze. A lovely musical buzzing that I wish I could insert at will during unwanted phone calls.

Rafael's work definitely merits notice. Hopefully this CD release will help him reach a wider audience. I can't stress enough, however, that it's his current work that really demands attention. Get in touch with him for some the finest experimental electronic music around. He's a friendly fellow...tell him I sent you.