Paris Transatlantic, Jan 2005
Malaysian-born Goh Lee Kwang’s Innere Freuden (“Internal Pleasures”) comes with an A5 handout containing the following text: “By using an analog DJ mixer with the line connection of ‘output back to input’, the electronic signal becomes audioable [sic] NO synth, NO pre-programming, NO on going effects and NO post-overdub.” (That’s almost as many “no”s as a Lou Reed interview..) Dunno whether Lee’s contemplating teaming up with Toshimaru “No Input Mixing Desk” Nakamura, Sachiko “No Samples In The Sampler” M and Otomo “No Records On The Turntable” Yoshihide, but the seven tracks on offer here are every bit as austere and compelling as that trio’s recent excellent Good Morning Good Night double on Erstwhile. I admit I still have a soft spot for the more eclectic train wreck electronica of GLK’s Nerve Center, but no matter ? the vocabulary here is drastically pared down but he still uses to poetic effect. Innere Freuden is by no means an easy listen, but it’s a very rewarding one.
- Dan Warburton -
