Alan Dunn: "noyesness1.mp3" (17KB) aka. "Scottish Uncertainty"
Review: This is a first in a bit series by Alan Dunn that deals with duality - you know, the basic "yes" and "no". In this first instance, Dunn sticks to the same source. Scavenging doublespeak from the controversial UK writer, Irvine "Trainspotting" Welsh. What is amusing from the sample end of things is that he takes the sampled material here from a single Welsh Split 12" record. I am guessing that he sampled the "yes" on one side of the record and the "no" from the other side (not putting a bias here on which side is A or B). In a sense then, the bitness of "noyesness 1" is preserved because this bit is more than simply a linear joruney from Point A to Point B - it is in fact, a record-setting testimony to both Side A and Side B. One is curious to hear the uncensored version for this bit ;-) (Jeremy)

Alan Dunn: "noyesness2.mp3" (17 KB) aka. "Listen to McLaren"
Review: This one might be my personal favourite from Dunn's "noyessness" series. Probably this is more than partially due to the fact that I am uncritically seduced by one of my fave Brit-Pop bands from the 1980s, Adam And The Ants. This is bit is composed of two "yeahs" from the Ants and two "nos" from the Bow Wow Wows. As in Ant colonies, the vast numbers of these worker drones singlehandedly allows their empire to make mountains out of anthills, it is no surprise then that the Ants tip the sliding scale - sample wise - in their favour. For the more paranoid listener, the "Listen to McLaren" subtitle might be referring to much more than a producer cameo. Perhaps Dunn embedded a secret McLaren message in into this bit? I would not be surprised if he did. Formally speaking, this bit becomes a bit of a narrative than a single piece of "music" but maybe I am reading too much into it. I just do not want to risk feeling a bit "swindled". (Jeremy)

Alan Dunn: "noyesness3.mp3" (17KB) aka. "Media Studies"
Review: God Save the Bit! We mean it Maaaaaaan! This bit is anything but "pretty vacant", it is rather loaded of tonal delight and drunk with giddy decor. It is hard to beat a "No" with attitude from the Sex Pistols and an over-eager "yes, yes!" from the Residents. By the process of virtual ounumbering, The Residents ensure that demented optimism triumphs over pre-recorded pessimism. What I find strange is that the Sex Pistols' "No" seems to dominate the character of this bit despite the sheer numbers of contained affirmations declared by the pre-fab Four (or five). I guess the "tone" of this bit, does indeed retain its glamourous punk hue. I like the subtitle for this bit too as there is nothing more pre-recorded nor more simultaneously demented than pursuing a career in media studies - but I digress... This is one of the more catchy bits I have heard in quite awhile. It is literally the most singular manifestation of a "pop hook" I have heard so far. It also resolves nicely and although the attitude behind this piece is rude and lewd, I think the Academics would find the tonal resolution to be more reactionary than revolutionary. All the more reason to take this bit to bed after a long day's slog. (Jeremy)

Alan Dunn: "noyesness4.mp3" (18KB) aka. Swindle
Review: This longish bit which is also known as the fantastical love-child of Rod Stewart and Destiny's Child - discretely clocks in at a fair number of nanoseconds over the expected one-second threshold detected by our automated Winamp Customs official. In fact, this suspicious bit weighs in at a whole 1KB more than the other "noyesness" bits...hmmm...I wonder if that is why I can only faintly detect the ghost of Rod - Alan barely managed to smuggle him in. Had this bit been any shorter, it would have been called "Spare The Rod"...heh heh. But then, again without the necessary sex between the Rod and the Child, Destiny would not have run its course. On a more serious note (or bit), it is great to see a whole series of bits that play on the notion of pop-dualities. Kudo-bits go to Alan Dunn for putting the Yin and Yang back into both the Pop-World and the Avant Garde. I actually thought the subtitle "Swindle" would be more appropriate for the "noyesness 3" MP3 as it would directly reference Malcom's Rock and Roll Swindle. Then again, some might think that the whole microsound scene itself is a swindle so it does not really matter to diehard skeptics which bit gets the right entitlement. (Jeremy)

Alan Dunn: "lochness1.mp3" (17KB)
Review: Conceptually, I like the fact that Dunn has taken a radio broadcast and have exhibited excerpts as individual bits. Bits are discrete wavelengths after all and taking bits from Radio-Waves, Micro-Waves or X-rays or no exception (not to mention Gamma Rays). In terms of the content though, I guess I am still a sucker for the illusion of aesthetics because it takes me a very long time to warm up to Spoken Word, no matter the duration or context. I also have a mild tolerance for self-referential or self-evident pieces. In this case, the title directly correlates with the piece. Having said this, I am still into the idea of taking the myth of the Lochness Monster and making the spoken words "Lochness Monster" to represent the real audio object. Joseph Kosuth and Ludwig Wittgenstein come to mind. Is a chair a chair? Is a bit a bit? Are the words "Lochness Monster" reall combine to create a Lochness Monster in the ear of the Beholder? The source material sounds more 1950's than 1980's but maybe that is just my subjective mind reading too much of Godzilla into it. A side note: my local Lochness Monster is Ogopogo - how about that for a word-creature? (Jeremy)

Alan Dunn: "lochness2.mp3" (17KB)
Review: I am happy to hear that Dunn has taken excerpts from a number of audio sources relating thematically to the Loch Ness and its local celebrity. This bit is composed from the same material as in lochness1. This bit sounds more like the 1930s than the 1980s or even the 1950's as the first bit in the series seemed. This probably due to the fact that I can hear the narrator say "1930s". The crop-job was a bit close for comfort but aesthetically, that allows the bit to be more brash and edgy. Mondrian used to do the same sort of cropping with black lines. I think there may be a correlation. This bit also reminds me of Steve Reich's narrative piece "Different Trains". In fact, the sampled words also say "1930" among other years of Reich's youth(?) Perhaps Dunn sees himself as the Third Reich? Oops, sorry, I had to let that pun in. (Jeremy)

Alan Dunn: "lochness3.mp3" (17KB)
Review: This bit and lochness#4 are both sampled from a field recording of the Loch Ness area circa 2001. Generally speaking, I prefer the latter two lochness pieces as they are much more bit-like and yet at the same time, leave much more to the imagination. Therefore, like his "noyesness" bit-series, Dunn deals with a direct duality. He merges the subjective with the objective. There is also a dialectic happening between the realm of landscape and the presence of figure (or the suggestion of the figure by its possible absense). This bit really sounds like an excerpt of a lake disturbance. I really like the placebo of narrative that emerges from this sonic swamplet. (Jeremy)

Alan Dunn: "lochness4.mp3" (17KB)
Review: Playing on the narrative tension and suspense suggested by the previous bit, this concluding bit (I guess I have no choice but to re-place these back into a narrative framework) adds a notch in the ominous department. I think the landscape aspect eclipses the figural element through the evidence of foliage sounds being ruffled near or on the lake. Even the treble of the recording fidelity does not seem to meddle too much with the feeling of miniature foliage playing a bit-part in this piece. This bit is probably my favourite from Dunn's Lochness series. (Jeremy)

Jeremy Turner & Janne Vanhanen 2004