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to concert schedule Friday, April 17, 2009 @ the Big Rock Candy Mounain: Ratatosk, Shattered Hymen, Breakway, Bee Mask, and Dick Neff Big Rock Candy Mountain, 1822 North Hancock, Philadelphia, PA, $5-10, 8pm. (map) Ratatosk (Chicago) electronics and drums Shattered Hymen (Chicago) noise Breakway (Chicago) jazz/electronics Bee Mask (Philadelphia) electronics Dick Neff (Philadelphia) drums/electronics A stellar line-up of noise in its various incarnations, with some jazz and plenty of live drums sneaking in. Should be a killer time! Ratatosk is our old pal Jason Soliday, Chicago stalwart and veteran of such great projects as Coeurl, Zeropoint, Gunshop, Medium, and a million more. His latest jam has him spitting out harsh layers of detailed noise while young-un' Ben Billington pounds the drums behind him. Soliday always reminds us how great noise can be when played by a veteran who knows what he's doing, so expect to be wowed. Shattered Hymen is the harsh noise project of Vadim Spirkut. Name aside, he informs us that "The motivation is not power, control or violence but rather using volume, density and dynamics as a means to alter consciousness. " Having seen Spirkut before, and having listened to his myspace page, we believe him! Far from some lazy harsh-noise by the numbers, Spirkut crafts cathartic, busy, full, constantly-moving pieces of harsh noise excitement. A lot of people attempt what he does, but few do it this well. Breakway combines contemporary electronics and laptoppery with the Chicago jazz tradition, harking back to Miles Davis or Herbie Hancock. But the group updates their sound with a contemporary/digital spin and an open-ness to noisier textures that recalls Supersilent or the likes of Radian and Trapist. Philadelphia is represented by Bee Mask and Dick Neff, two highly personal solo projects. Bee Mask uses home-made synthesizers and light-sensitive controls to concoct a slow-moving, hovering mass of sound, while Dick Neff contrasts acoustic drum beats with swirling electronics. Ratatosk  Breakway  Shattered Hymen  Bee Mask  Dick Neff  |