Sunday 14 June, 2009

Fat - Automat Hi-Life (1991)


Fat are a Canadian experimental trio working since the 80s on the fringes of jazz, rock, improvisation and the wonders of circular sonics in general. They have been compared to Massacre and the like, although there is in this collection of 31 themes more freedom and playfulness than in Frith/Laswell/Maher's trio, whose highly technical approach to avant-rock sounds surprisingly cold and uptight in comparison with this underrated unit. Mechanical and circular, yet unpredictable and in constant mutation, the trio explores some of the possible confluences of no-wave, improv and rhythmical noiseology. The tracks are presented as brief fragments of a patchwork which can be rearranged by the listener, and the band appropriately encourages a shuffle mode approach to the collection. A highly rewarding experience. [PSL]

1. The Way On
2. Automat Hi-Life
3. Mamihlapinatapel
4. Ted'Kon
5. Dum Fellow
6. The Little Girl And The Workers
7. You Speakin' Chinese?
8. Cold, Cold, Ground
9. You Me Saturday Night Car Fun
10. Ear Chrome
11. Dazzle
12. Mr. Csodor
13. La Cucana
14. Was, Is
15. Pipe Dream
16. Deux S.V.P
17. The Golden Handshake
18. Breathing
19. Al -A-Din's Lamp. Lamp?
20. And The Waited
21. Workers Leaving The Factory
22. Trigger
23. Wolf Trap
24. First Ride On The Staten Island Ferry
25. More Workers
26. Ziggurat
27. Vegetable Kingdom
28. Debt-Equity Swap
29. The Chromolodotron Turns A Fancy Step At The Factory Social
30. Praha 4
31. Misty Dawn

Jeff Noble - bass, delay
Eric Rosenzveig - guitar
Phil Giborski - digital and acoustic drums

Recorded in Czecholosvakia in Sept 1990.
Released on vinyl by Rachot Records in 1990.
CD release by ReR in 1991.


link@320

4 comments:

icastico said...

New to me.
Thanks.

I think those who like this may like Waltz Bop Shop.

http://penmallet.blogspot.com/search/label/waltz%20bop%20shop

bravo juju said...

Thanks for the suggestion, Icastico. I will give it a try.

MS posted this Fat LP sometime ago:
http://mutant-sounds.blogspot.com/2007/06/fat-plays-for-you-lp-1988-canada.html

M— said...

Cool record. They were big in Czechoslovakia for some reason - they seemed to like angular skronk over there. You got their record "Hit" too?

Stefan M— / friendsound.wordpress.com

bravo juju said...

The CD booklet has several references to Czechoslovakia. In my own country (---) there are several bands who are more popular here than anywhere else, for reasons I fail to understand.
Also I had no idea that "angular skronk" was a genre or a sublabel. - Live & Learn, So They Say -

I don't have Hit but maybe someone out there could share it ?....