- Part of the fun of buying Charles Cohen's music on vinyl is figuring out what speed it should be played at. Morphine doesn't specify, and with the music's tempos and timbres not tied to the conventions of a genre, there's not such an obvious answer. (I consult clips at online shops when I'm feeling finicky and just choose which one I like best when I'm not.) The label's latest Cohen-related release, the third in its Redose series, begins with the Buchla maestro's remix—"Replayed By Charles Cohen" is how it's listed—of "Di Kala Sudah" by Senyawa, an Indonesian act characterized by cathartic drumming, insanely expressive vocals (in that they seem to express insanity) and sweet, acoustic melodies that offset the chaos. There's no question that "Di Kala Sudah" plays at 33—Rully Shabara Herman's bluesy growl and the soupy groove are unworkably manic when sped up. The composition has a wonderfully creepy vibe, with loose guitar strums and throaty vocals rising through Cohen's artful electronic chaos.
Veteran experimentalist Robert Turman's take on "Conundrums" feels like Cohen as remembered in a dream. His characteristically three-dimensional Buchla sounds start out in the foreground, but noisy detritus soon builds in the mix and smothers their warmth. As the track progresses, we get swept away, and the effect is unsettling—if you've ever been caught in a fast-moving tide on an otherwise pristine day at the beach, you know the feeling. "Di Kala Sudah" has the record's most evil growl, but "Cunundrums" is the real nightmare of the two.
TracklistA1 Senyawa - Di Kala Sudah (Charles Cohen Replay)
B1 Charles Cohen - Conundrums (Robert Turman Version)