BJNilsen/Hazard - Live at Konzerthaus, Vienna 6_12_03

Dusted (USA):

30-minutes of BJ Nilsen (a.k.a. Hazard), working static hiss, wheezing electronics and the buzz of mosquitoes into an indescribably sublime mix. Headphone album of the year.

and

Live at Konzerthaus…, the fifth installment in Touch’s ongoing public address series, is a constantly morphing 40-minute track by B.J. Nilsen, or more commonly known as Hazard. Nilsen’s abstract drones sound like a laboratory nestled deep in the British countryside. A curious wind starts things off, followed by the deep rumble of thunder and the light pattering of rain. These field recordings reappear throughout the set, thanks to renowned sound recordist and Touch stalwart Chris Watson (do listen to his Weather Report from 2003), but for now, they quickly vanish under a dense mist of drone. The inner workings of a wondrous monolithic machine take over; pulsing low-end tones emit myriad vibrating details.

A cycle is set in motion as the live set alternates between deep industrial murmurings and nature – rustling leaves, chirping birds, humming insects followed by oscillating air currents. But technology ultimately win, and electronics overwhelm.

Hazard’s approach is evocative of Terre Thaemlitz’s work, especially Soil and Tranquilizer, similarly manipulating and processing found sound to form something distinctly unnatural. Not to mention the two also share an affinity in working with low end frequencies, their results felt as well as heard.

It is in the final quarter of the Live at Konzerthaus… where the set takes an unsettling turn, reverting back to one of Nilsen’s earlier works entitled “Breathe” from the compilation Spire. A church organ intones a disquieting piece that morphs into imminent doom, sharply contrasting with Nilsen’s earlier, pastoral parts. A disconcerting and ill-advised twist, it nonetheless stays true to Hazard’s always challenging course. [I Khider]

Aquarius (USA):

The man we know better by his much more mysterious monicker, Hazard, steps out under his given name at this live performance, from a series curated by Fennesz in Germany in 2003. The sound though is unmistakenly Hazard. Using field recordings and found sounds, Nilsen gently blurs the edges of those recordings until they become indistinct and blurry, a drone of nature, crackly and warm, subtle and barely there. Not so much a drone record as a drone-y record. Lots of clatter and ambient detritus, footsteps, and passing vehicles, crickets and wind, but over the course of the performance, they shift and flow together until it's a warm and whirring wash of delicate low end rumbles and faraway shimmer. So beautiful.

xlr8r (USA):

Swedish musique concrete composer BJNilsen (aka Hazard)'s live document will make you drop everything and stare into space. His sound is distant, alien and yet seductive enough to draw you outside your house to drift through the streets, following its trail for hours on end. This 39-minute set at Vienna's Generator festival is a brilliant, watercolored symphony of murmuring drones, winds, thunderstorms, boat rickets and the odd bumblebee that reminds you that you're still on earth. Nearly everything is kept in the same key and saunters in a soft tone without ever pissing in your ear with bursts of feedback. 'Live...' proves that we should keep an eye on Nilsen. [Cameron Macdonald]

Pitchfork Media (USA):

Rating: 8.2 Filmmaker David Lynch loves to build things. In Lynch on Lynch, he told Chris Rodley, "Whenever you can build sheds, you've got it made. As soon as you capture some space and design how the shape of it is, mood starts occurring, light starts playing on the wall, and just to see it happening is unbelievable!" I remember another interview with Lynch where he talked about his love of forgotten spaces, places like utility closets, the area beneath a flight of stairs in an industrial building, and so on. What's interesting about the unexamined corners Lynch describes is that they have an ambience that comes from the most basic elements. Walls, floor and light combine to create a feeling, instantly. Something similar happens with sound. The way ductwork in an old building groans, the buzz of florescent lights, the rattle of a loose shutter, plumbing gurgling somewhere a few floors away. When I'm in a certain state of mind, I can fixate on these sounds, what filmmakers call "room tone," and let my mind wander. Swedish sound artist B.J. Nilsen, who also records as Hazard, apparently lives inside the sonic details of our everyday lives. Previous releases include Land, Wind, and Wood, all of which include, in part, processed recordings of the things described. Nilsen performed at the Vienna Opera House at a Touch event curated by Christian Fennesz (on a bill that [drool] included Fennesz and Philip Jeck), and Live at Konzerthaus, Vienna 06_12_03 is a recording of his set. The single 38-minute piece begins outdoors, with field recordings of thunder folded in on themselves, so the crashes and sub-bass rumbles happen with man-made frequency. Gradually, an industrial palette rises and overtakes the natural sounds. Nilsen is a whiz with atmosphere, creating held tones that blend perfectly with whatever ambient sound happens to meet them. I listened to this set at a medium level in my apartment, and it was difficult to tell where the recording left off and the world around me began. It was like my living space (which was admittedly a bit noisier than usual-- with the warm weather came more sound from the street) was engaged in a duet with Nilsen. The bus offered an even more interesting effect, and the grind of the coach engine slipped perfectly inside the music's whisper and hum. Rest assured, though, that Live at Konzerthaus, Vienna 06_12_03 is fantastic on its own at high volume, when nothing else but its rapturous drones can be heard. Field recordings come and go-- sounds of wind, buzzing bees, that sort of thing-- but the soul of the record is the subtle purr of vibrating metal. Gradually, the sound field becomes more dense and the textures more insistent. High-end static starts to creep in around the 20-minute mark, and the music develops a disorienting, psychedelic swirl. Over the last seven minutes, Nilsen erects a wall of pipe organ drone, pulled from material used to create "Breathe", his contribution to the Touch compilation Spire: Organ Works Past, Present & Future. It's an appropriate ending to an intense ride. [Mark Richardson, March 2nd, 2004]

VITAL (The Netherlands):

After a string of studio releases by Hazard, aka BJ Nilsen, follows a live recording made in Vienna last year. Hazard plays around with the notion of field recordings and the effect they have on human beings. Recentely he started to work with Chris Watson, who himself is the genius in the world of (untreated) field recordings. On his live concert in Vienna, Hazard adds another recent element of his field recordings to it: church organ sounds. Over the course of thirty seven minutes, Hazard plays some fine stretched out sounds, in which maybe the field recordings are no longer be recognized as such (save for some insect sounds), but in a rather subdued ambient setting. Cleverly building up tension, working towards a large crescendo at the end of the concert. A crisp clear recording with lots of care for the finer details that lurk in this kind of music. Just before this recording was made, I had the pleasure to see Hazard play similar material live and I was overwhelmed by some of the volume he put on, but in a controlled domestic atmosphere, one can adjust the volume to one's own needs and that makes this into a most welcome addition to his already fine body of works. (FdW)

Neptune Records (USA):

Christian Fennesz has started curating a series of events at the Konzerthaus in Vienna as part of the 'generator' series of live performances held there each month. In early December he performed with Philip Jeck and BJ Nilsen (a.k.a. Hazard) as part of the Touch night, during which Jon Wozencroft also showed his films. All the concerts were recorded, and BJ Nilsen's becomes the 5th in the Touch CD live series (following Philip Jeck, S.E.T.I., Fennesz and Rafael Toral). What starts as barely audible sound (possibly field recordings) slowly evolves into a resonating hum that ebbs and flows, becoming more intense throughout the duration of the piece, until near cataclysmic vibrations (that sound like everything all at once, but nothing specific), eventually give way only to dissipate back into the thin atmosphere from whence it came.

Gonzo Circus (Belgium):

BJ Nilsen/Hazard
(Touch/Konkurrent)

Organum/z’ev
(Touch/Konkurrent)

Various Artists
Sound Chambers
(Staubgold/Lowlands)

Bij voorkeur thuis te gebruiken / schudden voor gebruik. 2004. Feiten en fictie. Er is nog steeds geen betere muziekvorm te vinden waar DIY zo een pertinente rol speelt als in de elektronicawereld. Platen en parels worden geboren op de slaapkamer en experiment is nog steeds gemeengoed. Muzikale creativiteit die vaak niet vertaald wordt in het livegebeuren, want hoe goed er ook gezocht wordt naar een volwaardig liveconcept, de achillespees van de elektronica blijft het liveconcert. Twee opvallende actuele releases zijn Bj Nilsen en Sound Chambers. Beide cd’s zijn opnames van live-concerten. BJ Nilsen concerteerde, onder de vleugels van Fennesz die curator van de Touchavond was, op het Weense Generator Festival. Nilsen start vanuit natuurelementen, de plaat opent en eindigt met een onweer en het zoemen van een bij kondigt het tweede deel van de plaat aan, maar buigt het geheel soepel en efficiënt om tot een soundscapelandschap. Nilsen stuurt de hele plaat en speelt subtiel met het geluidsvolume en met de opbouw van het stuk. De opname verrast vooral door zijn evenwichtige en strak gehouden opbouw. Het slotstuk van de plaat, een openzetten van alle registers, refereert duidelijk naar de Touchrelease ‘Organ Works Past Present & Future’, waarop diverse geluidsarchitecten het typische geluid van de orgelklank interpreteren. ‘Soundchambers’ brengt drie meesters van de elektronische improvisatie, Ekkehard Ehlers (laptop), Joseph Suchy (gitaar) en Franz Hautzinger (trompet), samen. Sound Chambers is een architectonische, grafische en muzikale installatie die opgesteld staat in het Museu Serralves in Porto. Bin [Peter Deschamps]

Urbanmag (Belgium):

De Zweed BJ Nilsen of Hazard is de jongste telg van het experimentele Touch-label. Nilsen wil op zijn albums zowat alles tegelijkertijd zijn: hij profileert zich aan de zijde van Fennesz of aan de zijde van veteraan Chris Watson. Hij verzamelt detaillistische opnames van extreme weersomstandigheden (zie zijn cd 'Wind') maar maakt ook opnames van urbane fenomenen (zie zijn cd 'Land'). Op 13 juni 2003 was Benny met Fennesz en de Touch-crew te gast op het Generator Festival in Wenen. Zijn liveoptreden werd voor het nageslacht vastgelegd op de cdr 'Hazard 06_12_03'. In iets meer een half uur krijg je een overzicht van waar Nilsen allemaal mee doende is. De eerste 15 minuten krijg je onherkenbare natuuropnames. Vervolgens een Fennesz-achtig laptop-middenstuk. Nilsen vond trouwens onlangs een nieuwe nevenbezigheid als curator van het Touch-nevenproject 'Spire - Organ Works Past and Future'. Hier hoor je hem tijdens de laatste 10 minuten van zijn optreden ook nog eens bezig met tot het einde toe uitgerekte orgelgeluiden. Al bij al geen wereldschokkend document maar een onderhoudende cdr met een mooie dwarsdoorsnede van alle activiteiten van de heer BJ Nilsen. Oudgediende Z'ev is ook zo'n muzikant, die je onmogelijk kan enten op één enkel genre. De kale percussionist is al bedrijvig in de underground sinds het begin van de jaren '80 maar kwam pas onlangs opnieuw in de belangstelling door zijn activiteiten voor het New Yorkse Tzadik (voor 'The Sapphire Project') en voor het Londense Touch-label. Hij leverde onlangs een bijdrage aan het 'Spire' project en ging onder meer in zee met pianist David Jackman aka Organum. 'Tinnitus Vu' is een korte mini-cd van nauwelijks 16 minuten, die onderverdeeld werd in 4 stukken. De cd kwam tot stand toen Z'ev toevallig in Londen was en zomaar de studio van Jackman binnenstapte. De vier piano-akkoorden, die door Jackman opgenomen als basis voor een nieuwe reeks Organum albums, vormen de spil van het album. Daarrond weeft Z'ev digitale bewerkingen van veldopnames en wat subtiele percussieve elementen. Al bij al een beetje een mager resultaat voor de boomlange kerel met de onverwoestbare reputatie. [Peter Wullen]

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