Editing Nova Scotia

[[image:Nova_Scotia_Tangiwai_(Metonymic,_2002).jpg‎|right|thumb|"Tangiwai" cover art]]

[[image:Nova_Scotia_Tangiwai_(Metonymic,_2002).jpg‎|right|thumb|"Tangiwai" cover art]]

[[image:Nova_Scotia_Ramses_II.jpg|right|thumb|"Ramses II" cover art]]

[[image:Nova_Scotia_Ramses_II.jpg|right|thumb|"Ramses II" cover art]]

*''Tangiwai'' review by Dan the Automator, in [http://members.optusnet.com.au/cowsandbuses/archives.M-P.htm Cowsound] (excerpt); "Anybody who sat through the Darren Aronofsky film Requiem for a Dream and says they had a good time is a candidate for the analyst's couch. That miserable tale of four lives on a drug-induced nosedive toward ruination could be admired only as one might admire an exploding hydrogen bomb – fascination and awe tempered by outrage at the ability of humankind to make conceivable such a cold and destructive spectacle. Tangiwai is a little bit like that. Not outrageous by any means, but certainly a work of art to be endured before it can be enjoyed. There are random pleasures to be extracted from the discordance, pinpricks of diamond light projecting out of the chaos – the tired piano that interrupts the band's attempt to drill to the centre of the earth at the beginning of the record; the majestic guitars struggling to be heard beneath the unruly throng that gathers toward the end. But these rare moments are very much ancillary to the alarming beasts that appear to rule Nova Scotia's decidedly abnormal world; beasts that howl and rage and drag the music deep into their dens before gleefully stripping it to the bones."

*''Tangiwai'' review by Dan the Automator, in [http://members.optusnet.com.au/cowsandbuses/archives.M-P.htm Cowsound] (excerpt); "Anybody who sat through the Darren Aronofsky film Requiem for a Dream and says they had a good time is a candidate for the analyst's couch. That miserable tale of four lives on a drug-induced nosedive toward ruination could be admired only as one might admire an exploding hydrogen bomb – fascination and awe tempered by outrage at the ability of humankind to make conceivable such a cold and destructive spectacle. Tangiwai is a little bit like that. Not outrageous by any means, but certainly a work of art to be endured before it can be enjoyed. There are random pleasures to be extracted from the discordance, pinpricks of diamond light projecting out of the chaos – the tired piano that interrupts the band's attempt to drill to the centre of the earth at the beginning of the record; the majestic guitars struggling to be heard beneath the unruly throng that gathers toward the end. But these rare moments are very much ancillary to the alarming beasts that appear to rule Nova Scotia's decidedly abnormal world; beasts that howl and rage and drag the music deep into their dens before gleefully stripping it to the bones."

*''Ramses II'' review by Antony Milton on [http://www.pseudoarcana.com/ Pseudo Arcana]; "Nova Scotia are the young upstarts of the NZ improvised drone and noise scene. Anyone familiar with their CD on Metonymic will be excited to see this new release. Recorded live in a small Wellington gallery 'Ramses II' catches the band (for the most part...) at their most restrained and subtle. Crystal glasses sing, distant pipes whistle, and beautiful acoustic guitar figures hang in the air. The recurring theme that glues the different movements together is an ancient 78 recording of a freight train played at rumbling volume on an equally ancient gramophone. Odd squalling saxaphone skronks serve as a tibetobuddhist style 'be here now' for those who have been lulled into an ethereal snooze..."

*''Ramses II'' review by Antony Milton on [http://www.pseudoarcana.com/ Pseudo Arcana]; "Nova Scotia are the young upstarts of the NZ improvised drone and noise scene. Anyone familiar with their CD on Metonymic will be excited to see this new release. Recorded live in a small Wellington gallery 'Ramses II' catches the band (for the most part...) at their most restrained and subtle. Crystal glasses sing, distant pipes whistle, and beautiful acoustic guitar figures hang in the air. The recurring theme that glues the different movements together is an ancient 78 recording of a freight train played at rumbling volume on an equally ancient gramophone. Odd squalling saxaphone skronks serve as a tibetobuddhist style 'be here now' for those who have been lulled into an ethereal snooze..."

*''Memphis'' review on [http://www.heathenharvest.com/article.php?story=20081030155452621 Heathen Harvest] (excerpt); "Throughout “Memphis” is a consistently flowing top-shelf example of how electronic and acoustic sources work together in improvised music today. It's nearly impossible to not mention the classic example of AMM's pioneering work in this field or the more contemporary efforts of Evan Parker's group settings, even if Jensen's reed work owes more to someone like Jon Butcher. The interplay between Jensen's multiphonics and ornamental work and the brass-playing on the opening track is almost Scelsi-like amidst the drones and looped sounds from Whyte's guitar and the other subtle sonics. Some truly sublime and captivating music. “Rosetta Stone Paperweight” features more feedback and the sort of scraped sound aesthetic found on “AMMusic” circa 1969, but perhaps with a more sensitive set of ears. This is not improvised music of reckless abandon, but carefully crafted abstract soundscapes of the most deliberate nature. The dynamic interplay gets a bit sloppy in moments but really exposes how in touch these cats are with one another in the moment."

*''Memphis'' review on [http://www.heathenharvest.com/article.php?story=20081030155452621 Heathen Harvest] (excerpt); "Throughout “Memphis” is a consistently flowing top-shelf example of how electronic and acoustic sources work together in improvised music today. It's nearly impossible to not mention the classic example of AMM's pioneering work in this field or the more contemporary efforts of Evan Parker's group settings, even if Jensen's reed work owes more to someone like Jon Butcher. The interplay between Jensen's multiphonics and ornamental work and the brass-playing on the opening track is almost Scelsi-like amidst the drones and looped sounds from Whyte's guitar and the other subtle sonics. Some truly sublime and captivating music. “Rosetta Stone Paperweight” features more feedback and the sort of scraped sound aesthetic found on “AMMusic” circa 1969, but perhaps with a more sensitive set of ears. This is not improvised music of reckless abandon, but carefully crafted abstract soundscapes of the most deliberate nature. The dynamic interplay gets a bit sloppy in moments but really exposes how in touch these cats are with one another in the moment."