COH Mort Aux Vaches
This latest installment in Staalplaat’s Mort Aux Vaches series of live recordings spotlights the prodigious […]
This latest installment in Staalplaat’s Mort Aux Vaches series of live recordings spotlights the prodigious talents of Ivan Pavlov a.k.a. COH. Pavlov is one of the lesser-known members of Berlin’s Raster-Noton collective and undoubtedly the most intriguingly idiosyncratic. The set here captures much of the wonder of COH (pronounced “son,” meaning “sleep” in Russian): the primal buzzing electronics, bursts of static and hiss and crackling percussion. Listeners who are already familiar with classic COH records (particularly Mask of Birth) will recognize familiar elements that have been transplanted into an alien territory of buzzes, pops and ringtones. What’s missing in this otherwise engrossing live set-sadly-is COH’s transcendent, gut-rumbling bass. This regrettable skimping on the low-end, however, should not dissuade those enamored of visceral, abstract electronics, as COH is still a force to be reckoned with.