ODRZ05

Mmm, I guess that around Norway’s Tibprod revolves really nice stuff. This one is no exception. Odrz is from Italy and delivers here a conceptual record. This was recorded while watching television and I guess (if I follow the logic of the booklet) they altered the whole recording few days after. So they used six televisions between 8 PM and 9 PM on February 28 2002 as source. The whole result is way more interesting that I anticipated. This long track is not just an addition of TV sounds with some fucked up effects; this is a pure noise construction. What’s interesting is that the noise alteration is not really boring and the TV waves noise make it really looks like a late night fucked up intrusion into the life of an alienated guy who’s always in form of his TV set. Interesting but not that groundbreaking, but I like those who try to exit the path of normality… 

http://www.angelfire.com/punk2/itfor/Reviews/reviewmay2004.html

The live performance consists in undergoing alterations the sound broadcasted in real time by the television networks, showing images at the same time". Uh? Mediocre harsh noise - not even that harsh - generated by tv audio though distortion and phaser, or whatever. Jeez, I could even recognize a footbal match. Why should I listen to 60' of this? Is the concept that interesting? Isn't tv bad enough, should I also listen to its harsh noise version? 

http://www.chaindlk.com/reviews/index.php?search=odrz&type=music&category=0&format=0

ODRZ on February 28th, 2002 recorded 6 Italian nationwide television networks for an hour and a few days after he processed those sounds (the audio part of it) thus rendering the original sounds beyond recognition. An hour long distorted sounds, that could have also come from radio, various processed bird sounds or fifty different fridges - but it's TV and the idea is probably the distortion of reality or to show how dum we get from watching TV and that communication gets thinner and thinner, the more we watch the tube. It's a bit unclear why this has to be an hour. It could have been 20 minutes and it would have made exactely the same point. Now the noise acts as a background in very much the similar way as TV does for a lot of people. When it comes to mixed media music pieces, I think I still prefer Cage's Variations 4. (FdW)

http://www.staalplaat.com/vital_archive/389.txt

Wloska grupa ODRZ za swoje glówne zródlo inspiracji powziela sobie telewizje. Odnajdujac w nich braci w fascynacji teoria mass mediów przystapilem do penetracji dzwiekowych zasobów w gatunku który mnie wcale nie zdziwil – noise i lekko industrial. Poziom moze i oklepanej konwencji, ale zawierajacy w sobie wszystko to co powinna miec tego typu produkcja. Fascynacja, fascynacja, ale ODRZ stawiaja sobie za cel sciagniecie ludzi z nalogowego siedzenia przed skrzynkami. I mozna powiedziec, ze udalo im sie osiagnac swój cel. Ich efekt zostal wykreowany na bazie równoczesnej pracy efektów z jednoczesnych nagran dzwieku plynacych z 6 róznych odbiorników telewizyjnych. Nagranie odbywalo sie przez 1 godzine, dnia 28 lutego 2002 roku pomiedzy 8 a 9 wieczorem, a powtórzone 9 marca 2002. ODRZ przemiksowali strumienie dzwieku nadajac mu twarde i mocne kontury, w taki sposób ze ciezko rozpoznac pojedyncze ciagi telewizyjne. Ten mozaikowy wzór to jak mówilem glównie noise i tylko halas pozostaje praktycznie na calosci materialu. Ekstensywne zabarwianie efektami powoduje, ze koniecznie trzeba wylaczyc odbiorniki w calym domu i najlepiej jeszcze zaopatrzyc sie w srubokret, aby rozkrecic glosniki i sprawdzic czy aby nie wybuchaja. Zakres manipulacji, nakladania warstw i distortion, poszerza sie wrecz nieskonczenie tworzac, w linearnym nastepstwie, szalenczy i chaotyczny noise, z którego trudno ulepic jakikolwiek sensowny przekaz telewizyjny. Konceptualna sztuka oparta na zdobyczach cywilizacyjnych przeradza sie w halasujace, medialne monstrum, które dopiero tworzy papke z glowy – wieksza niz wypowiedzi Romana Giertycha. Rozpuszczanie dzwieku, obrzucanie efektami, transformowanie, modulowanie – nie ma znaczenia jakimi sposobami osiagneli swój cel ludzie z ODRZ. Wazne jest, ze prawie godzina dobrej antymuzyki rozpruwa po raz 4 moje uszy i skutecznie odciaga od sleczenia przed bozyszczem cywilizacji, tylko naklania do ponownego, masochistycznego katowania sie strumieniem noise w wykonaniu ODRZ.

http://www.ikultura.net/ 

The television set is the main subject of this project of the Italian art group ODRZ. Their goal is to chase people away from their television sets. And I can only say they succeed in their goal quite well. Their industrial noise (as they themselves quite correctly call it) is build up by mixing and using a lot of effects on six different soundrecordings of one hour of tv, recorded on the 28th of February 2002 between 8 and 9 p.m. and alterated on the 9th of March 2002. ODRZ mixes these streams in such a way that you hardly ever hear they work with tv-streams. It's basicly a lot of noise and not much more most of the time. The kind that would indeed make you turn off your tv if this sound hailed for it. In fact it would most probably make you reach for your screwdriver to open your speakers and see if you haven't blown them. No matter how much they thus succeed in their mission, they succed in one other thing as well to let me run to my cd-player and hit the off button just as hard as I would do on my tv. Statement made, now lets get some good music in the cd-player and not listen to the full hour this one track cd lasts.

http://www.funprox.com/index.php/reviews/2004_11/odrz-odrz05

ODRZ is een Italiaans kunstenaarscollectief dat onder andere industrial noise maakt. Hun releases nummeren ze en in 2003 kwam nummer 05 uit. Ze beweren met hun muziek fysieke beperkingen te overbruggen en de stemmen van alle objecten en personen van de wereld te laten horen.

Het doel van dit vijfde project is om mensen van hun tv weg te drijven. Hiertoe zijn simultaan zes geluidsstromen opgenomen van tv-zenders tussen 20:00 uur en 21:00 uur op 1 maart 2003. Deze geluidsstromen worden flink door elkaar en door de mangel gehaald.

Het doel dat ODRZ voor ogen staat, oftewel het mensen van de tv wegdrijven zou zeker lukken als ze hiermee op de tv zouden komen. Helaas betekent dit in mijn geval ook dat ik hard naar de uitknop van mijn cd speler toeren om zo snel mogelijk van deze teringherrie verlost te zijn. Het totaalproces is namelijk zowel onbegrijpelijk als ondoorgrondbaar.

Het constante geswoesj heen en weer tussen de speakers is alles behalve vrolijk makend. De melodieen die zo af en toe kortstondig doorbreken maken het nog net uit te houden. Toch is deze release echt alleen aan te raden voor die groep mensen die houdt van heel veel experiment en heel veel noise zonder structuur

http://ikecht.web-log.nl/ikecht/2004/11/index.html

It was nice of ODRZ to go to all the effort to record a CD for my birthday (March 9th is listed as the creation date in the liner notes) though I am not entirely sure whether their efforts were warranted. "ODRZ05" regurgitates an hour of TV signal into a steaming pile with enough recognizable bits that you can tell what they had for dinner the previous night but chewed up enough to turn things that lovely pinkish hue that seems to belong to the stomach contents of drunks everywhere. While I can appreciate the spectacle, I'm not so sure I want to act like a shameless dog and lick up this unappetizing pile of random spew. 

The recording is presented as a monolithic splat which is not a plus considering it's 60 minutes long. Processed it may be but the technique seems very much yoinked from a single text book - AM warbling, reverb and distortion with the odd bit of pitch shift (feedback cranked) to spice up the mealy porridge. The other ingredient that makes an appearance is a single mid range tone which slips in for the odd hello a number of times throughout the release. 

And that's it. The problem with this kind of thing is that unless you include a baggie containing the same drugs that the folks who tweaking the effects unit were on with each copy out the door, the listener is stuck a position not unlike that of an unwary bus rider trapped between a ranting crazy and several drunken rowdies on their way home from the sports bar. Unless you too are in the same inebriated state, the jokes don't strike as funny, the banter is increasingly annoying and the more they repeat themselves the lower your tolerance dips. Really, what's here at best should have been a short EP since there just ain't enough content, movement or resonance to justify the disc at once CDR burn. Unfortunately it seems that an hour of television is more than enough to put ODRZ to sleep.

http://industrial.org/releases.php?t=7735

ODRZ06  Part I

This is an industrial conceptual work by italian project ODRZ. In its complete form, it consists of 9 parts, each of them describing a portion of the working day in an industrial factory. The whole opus thus celebrates the entire working day and has spanned 5 releases over two years. Here we are dealing with part I (8 to 9 am) and, as one could easily expect, the industrial flavour of the 1-hour long track is remarkable. Real sound samples from a live factory are used, and treated to give life to an atmosphere that is surprisingly softer than one would expect. In context. Machine rhythmic noises are blended in atmospheric backdrops, giving the composition a sort of nostalgic, even ritual taste. If anything, this is a factory as it is seen by the angels. A blend of industrial infected ambient that will not fail to raise quite a few eyebrows. I'm not aware of the extent to which the ODRZ projects are known in the international scene, but they seem to deserve high profile recognition, if only on the basis of what I ear in this disk. A fitting touch is the hand-made packaging, cardboard wrapped in a thick metal mesh, showing the singular approach of the duo, willing to escape the pre-packaged format in favor of something more spontaneous and, ultimately, intriguing.

Gianfri

http://www.darklifezine.de/dlzineX2frame_cdreviewsoct06.html

ODRZ06  Part I

ODRZ likes to put on a good concept. Previous releases included a release of six different Italian TV stations mixed together in a true Cagean way. 'ODRZ06-01' is the first part of a nine CDR set, which will all be released on May the 1st, perhaps to celebrate the day of labor, or perhaps to poke fun at this socialist tradition? We don't know. Like all his previous releases, this lasts exactly sixty minutes, and I think it's the celebration of the worker behind his conveyer belt, as this sounds highly industrial and the best industrial music captures the nature of a machinery hall in full operation. Along the lines of good ol' Vivenza, ODRZ made recordings of real machines and puts them through a wide array of sound effects. Unmistakably noise related this thing, but at times it's also getting a groove. Maybe not so much to dance too, but surely to tap those feet when behind that conveyer belt. Nice but long release. (FdW)

http://www.staalplaat.com/vital_archive/488.txt

ODRZ06  Part I

This disc is apparently the first of the series of concept albums that Italian wackos ODRZ have released documenting the italian workday, which is odd, since I received parts three and six last year. So obviously they aren't doing this in a chronological order. I've explained the concept behind these albums in my previous reviews, so I won't waste anytime here explaining it.

More or less, all of these albums are interchangeable, from the completely identical metal packaging the approach of the audio on display. Each album contains really fucking good sounds, but unfortunately said sounds get repeated over and over, to the point of extreme annoyance. And it sucks, because as I mentioned, the sounds themselves are excellent; pounding factory clank and skree, squealing synths and other things all sequenced into a blend of really good rhythmic industrial noise. But the same 5 sounds are quite literally looped for 60 minutes on each album, rendering them pretty unpleasant after awhile.
It really pisses me off that these guys keep taking the lazy approach with this material, because they really have talent for making kickass industrial noise music in a very pure sense. Here's hoping that this whole series of discs is eventually cut down to nine 5 minute tracks.

http://industrial.org/releases.php?t=23923

ODRZ06  Part III

This is the third installment in a series of conceptual recordings put out by Italian experimentalists ODRZ. The concept is this: they took samples from working at a factory and use the samples as the main source for each album. Each album in the series is supposed to chronicle a hour of the italian workday. The end result is a 60 minutes of rhythmic industrial noise goodness, but I'd be mister liar pants on fire if I said I don't have some gripes here.

Like the other installment in this series I own, things get very redundant after the first 5 minutes or so. The samples are really cool rhythmic found sound blended with feedback and other rather nice grit and grime, but everything just keeps going on basically in the same exact direction for the entire 60 minute period, like someone just hit repeat on a 5 minute track, or just taped down a key on their sequencer or something, occasionally changing the pattern every 15 minutes or so.

Like I said before, I do enjoy the stuff here, and that's what's got my panties all in a bunch. The sounds here and on the other disc are fucking amazing, the noises are dark and brooding, the samples percussive and abrasive, kind of like a more organic Seilwolf, but they just keep going on and on and it drives me insane. Instead of just looping a couple tracks for 60 minutes on all the albums, ODRZ should have cut the material down to a bunch of 5 minute pieces and then compiled it to an album. That would be 60 minutes of near perfection. Alas, that's not the case. 

http://industrial.org/releases.php?t=17561

ODRZ06  Part III – Part VI

ODRZ è un interessante progetto artistico orientato prevalentemente alla musica (industrial-noise), volto alla ricerca e alla esplorazione di nuove forme espressive.. e questo progetto è tutto italiano! ..ODRZ06 è il sesto progetto del gruppo formato da AM e MM (ogni progetto viene identificato dal nome del gruppo seguito da un numero progressivo) e per questo progetto il concept seguito dai 2 artisti del rumore è quello di una normale giornata di lavoro in una fabbrica (8 ore di lavoro + 1 ora di pausa pranzo).. il progetto in questione è suddiviso in 9 parti (un cd per ogni ora) e le prime 2 parti che sono state pubblicate sono la VI (1 p.m. - 2 p.m. ) e la III (10 a.m. - 11 a.m.) ..non so il perchè di pubblicarle così, random, probabilmente c'è dietro qualche strano ragionamento.. comunque molto interessante la questione.. ah, dimenticavo le future parti saranno pubblicate il 1° maggio del prossimo anno. (Stacanovisti!!!!) ..ultimo elemento di folklore prima di partire con la "musica" riguarda la confezione del cd.. una maglia metallica che avvolge il cartoncino nero dove è racchiuso il disco.. e la cosa si fa sempre più "industriale".. 

..ma passiamo al contenuto del disco.. per ogni disco vi è un'unica traccia di 60 minuti che rappresenta quella determinata ora di lavoro (e presumo anche quel determinato reparto della fabbrica).. il disco 1 rappresenta la sesta parte che va dalle ore 13 alle 14.. probabilmente è quella dopo la pausa pranzo.. e infatti si nota come il rumorismo industriale sia sempre in crescendo e che sempre più strumentazioni si aziona col passare dei minuti.. il secondo disco è invece la terza parte del progetto ODRZ06.. qui il lavoro si fa più duro e meccanico.. meno rumoroso ma più vigoroso.. un ritmo ripetitivo, ossessivo (ma piacevole!).. che ci posso fare a me piacciono queste cose.. ripetitive, rumorose, ossessive, disturbanti, meccaniche.. comunque cercare di descrivere questo è piuttosto complicato.. è una vera rappresentazione di una giornata di lavoro in una grande industria.. tra presse, saldatrici, e tante altre macchine infernali.. gran bel disco.. aspetto le altre parti per poi poterle ascoltare tutte di fila in un futuro 1° maggio.. consigliato agli stacanovisti del rumore industriale!

http://www.stillborn-webzine.tk/

ODRZ06  Part III & VI

Another conceptual release by the Italian experimental noise combo. This time ORDZ visit the world of the factory sounds. Well let’s say it’s industrial noise… This album consist of another one 60 minutes track but this time it’s a 2 CD release… I guess that this release is the part III and VI of a nine part release??? Excuse me but isn’t that a little silly to release a nine hours release? But it represents a nine hours working day. But the most interesting part of that is that there’s music on it. Musically speaking it’s very awesome stuff. The part six is my favourite of the two. It’s a kind of very ambient industrial noise with a very very very repetitive but is never really becoming in the boring path of it. Sincerely great stuff… The third part is a kind of deep pulsing machine beats (when you put it in your computer the Window’s Media player says it’s a Steve Howe CD!) that come and goes, fade in and out. I didn’t really like this one, but the loudness of the pulse is really interesting. The sixth part is consisting of the hour between 1 PM and 2 PM and the third part between 10 AM and 11 AM (apparently the fifth part is the lunch break! I wonder how it sounds.) The biggest complain I got about it is that the cover of the records is on a slipcase made of metal screen and there’s some parts of the metal thing that separate from the package and then every time you have to remove the CD from the case you should carry to not scratch the CD. It’s a damn cool package but very dangerous for the CD… I still don’t know if a less conceptual release can be better from this project…

http://www.angelfire.com/punk2/itfor/Reviews/reviewmay2004.html

ODRZ06  Part III & VI

All'inizio puo` spaventare un po' la nota di copertina: industrial noise of a day in a factory. Un' unica traccia su ognuno dei due cd. Un'ora per traccia. Ci troviamo davanti non a una semplice operazione di registrazione di suoni, bensì a una composizione di musica concreta che usa i suoni della fabbrica per esplorare spazi sonori normalmente associati al lavoro.
Si potrebbe definire quasi come un'ambient noise industrial. Il suono non e` troppo industrial. E`più filtrato di quanto le confezioni dei cd sembrino annunciare (la confezione è una bustina grigia ricoperta di filo di ferro). Il lavoro si lascia ascoltare senza problemi. In qualche punto ci sono dei ricordi forse di Aphex Twin e qualcosa di krauto (magari i primi lavori rumoristici dei Kraftwerk). Ovviamente viene fuori anche Luigi Nono (La Fabbrica Illuminata) quando si ipotizza la pubblicazione ufficiale di quest'opera il 1 maggio. Industrial politico? Non so quanto senso abbia al giorno d'oggi (i sindacati esistono?). Forse proprio in questo sta la protesta: non essendoci più sindacato allora la rivolta o la presa di coscienza può partire anche dalle opere d'arte.
Se siete dalle parti dei T G e vi entusiasmate con suoni ripetitivi e sporchi, questi due dischi fanno per voi, se no si consiglia lo stesso di provarne l'ascolto.

http://www.kathodik.it/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=1346

ODRZ06  Part III – Part VI

'06-06' has one piece of vaguely rhythmic electronics, that is buit in various layers. Sometimes the synthesizer part is stronger and sometimes the rhythm machines take over. The sound is a bit outdated, I must say. I am strongely reminded of the old Clock Dva and Hafler Trio sound, era 'Masturbatorium' and 'Fuck'. Ongoing, semi-industrial rhythms, with thick interwoven layers of synthesizers in the back. But outdated as it may seems, it's still quite a nice release. Of exactely the same length (60 minutes) is the release '06-03'. Here too rhythms are explored, but of a more harsher industrial kind: stuff falling on the floor are sampled and looped and then added with synthesized sounds presented in a likewise dark collage. Here the same problem pops up as with '06-06', but I must say I enjoyed the first one better. It seemed a bit more focussed and worked out. But maybe the whole industrial machine music is even more dated, and that's why I am not interested in it anymore: who knows? (FdW)

http://www.staalplaat.com/vital_archive/422.txt

ODRZ06  Part III – Part VI

There's something quaintly compelling about these mad-as-fish industrial noise pieces. They're all about factory engines, gloomy atmospheres and robotic rhythms, played by someone called Nightmare Industries. Honest and powerful!

http://www.giag.lv/english/rev-ODRZ-ODRZ06_Part_VI-CD-R.htm

ODRZ06  Part IV – Part V

MUZ

ODRZ06  Part IV

Het Italiaanse kunstenaarscollectief ODRZ heb ik al wel eerder besproken. Concepten die ze bedenken, deels al uitgekauwd, deels nieuw, worden op meestal muzikale manier uitgewerkt. Het zesde project is al in 2003 gestart. Dit behelst het beschrijven van een werkdag in muziek. Vorige keer besprak ik al het vijfde uur van de dag, de lunchpauze. Tegelijkertijd met dit vijfde deel is ook het eigenlijk voorgaande vierde uur uitgekomen.

Dit deel beschrijft dus met exact één nummer van exact één uur, het laatste uur voor de lunchpauze. Dit gebeurt met voornamelijk samples van machines in fabrieken en de geluiden die daar in de omgeving te horen zijn. Hierbij worden dezelfde samples gebruikt om alle acht de werkuren uiteindelijk te beschrijven. Dit uur levert dat een soundscape op die ergens tussen ritual ambient en power electronics blijft hangen.

Toegankelijk is het wederom bepaald niet te noemen. Sterker nog, ontoegankelijkheid schijnt wel zo ongeveer het definierende punt te zijn van de kunst van ODRZ. Maakt dat het slecht, nee, maakt dat het makkelijk voor recensent of luisteraar, nee. Voor de luie recensent is dit wel allemaal ongestructureerde teringherrie, net als voor de gemiddelde luisteraar overigens. Maar bij wat doorluisteren zit er best iets achter, is er duidelijk over nagedacht hoe de boodschap over te brengen. En is er vervolgens een schijfje neergezet dat niemand zal bereiken. Dat laatste dan weer wel.

Oftewel voor de kunstzinnige noise-fan is dit wellicht nog eens het proberen waard. Voor hen die echt willen bewijzen dat er geluid op cd wordt neergezet dat niets meer met muziek te maken heeft (zo zal het gros dit helaas bekijken) ook. Maar aan vele anderen zal ik dit duidelijk niet aanraden.

http://ikecht.web-log.nl/ikecht/2006/08/odrz_06_04.html

ODRZ06  Part V

ODRZ is een Italiaans kunstenaarscollectief dat zich voornamelijk bezig houdt met muziek. Industrail noise noemen ze zelf wat ze maken. De projecten die ze op zich nemen worden gewoon progressief genummerd, wat dit dus hun zesde project maakt. En daarin al de vijfde release.

Wat houdt dit zesde project in? Nou, allereerst het is eigenlijk al een oud project, uit 2003, bestaand uit 9 delen, waarvan deel vier en vijf net zijn uitgekomen. Doel is om een Italiaanse werkdag te omschrijven in muziek. Dat wil zeggen, 8 werkuren en een lunchuur. Ieder uur wordt in een deel beschreven. Zo'n deel wordt dan niet meer verder opgedeeld en bevat dus gewoon één track van een uur. Om het allemaal nog wat meer in thema te brengen worden de delen altijd op de dag van de arbeid gepubliceerd. Deel vier en vijf zijn dus van 1 mei 2006, al is de muziek al veel eerder opgenomen.

Wat maakt nou deel vijf speciaal. Wel het is de lunchpauze. Dus toch wel wat anders dan al die werkuren. Dit wordt gekenmerkt door een sirene-achtige toeter aan het begin van dit nummer. Verder door een minder eentoninge plaat. Meer nieuwe geluiden worden door ODRZ verkend, inclusief het toevoegen van vrouwelijke "zang", die dan wel achter in de mix terecht komt vaak en waarbij men meer moet denken aan een nieuw geluid dan aan duidelijke vocalen of zo. Toch voegt dit eker iets toe aan de mzuiek, maakt het iets toegankelijker, voorzover er bij ODRZ ooit van toegankelijkheid gesproken zal mogen worden.

Als totaal is dit schijfje zeker niet slecht voor de doorgewinterede luisteraar van experimentele industrial / noise. Het is zeker het beste dat ik tot nu toe van ODRZ heb gehoord (een project dat ik altijd heb gewaardeerd voor de ideeen die ze uitwerken, maar waarvan ik de muziek regelmatig heb vervloekt) en bevat daadwerkelijke mooie momenten. Zoals zo net na een half uur speeltijd als de vrouwelijke zang wat meer naar voren komt en vervolgens toch wordt overstemd door de machinerie die weer opstart.

http://ikecht.web-log.nl/ikecht/2006/06/odrz06_v.html

ODRZ06  Part VI

This disc is the 6th in a series of 9 conceptual ODRZ releases, the concept in question being the italian workday, specifically the workday in a factory. All discs in the series consist of samples of said factory, which are of course processed and manipulated. All of the releases are restricted to one track that weighs in a tab bit chubby at 60 minutes. Also, each of the discs comes in an identical but nifty case of carefully strewn together metal wire set around a black paper insert with only the band name in red print. Very cool.

The audio feed here is an overall rhythmic slab of gritty industrial noise. Not harsh per se, but very gritty, like brushing your teeth with a brand new brillo pad. Accompanying the looped grit machines are various things; swirling ambient sweeps, bubbling bursts of heavily effected hiss, down tuned synth drones, and other things that will most likely cut you, or at least get you dirty.

My only problem here is this: The sounds themselves are definitely far above standard, but the excessive nature of them takes the record down a couple notches. I really like what I hear here, for the first 30 minutes or so, then I feel like I'm being overfed. The same sounds just keep going on in cycles, changing from one familiar part to the next and it gets oddly nauseating to listen to, especially through headphones.

Conclusion:
This is definitely a good disc, and worthy of multiple listens, but it could have been a great disc; if only it were half the length.

http://industrial.org/releases.php?t=8021

ODRZ06  Part VII

This is the seventh release in the self-titled series by Italian industrial artist odrz. Presented as one lengthy track clocking in at an hour long, fans of true industrial will not be disappointed with this release. So often these days, industrial bands stray from the path and their music brings in aspects of other genres; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Various other electronics elements (such as EBM) have worked themselves into this genre over time, and while it is interesting to see a scene grow and expand its musical diversity, it is also always pleasant when you get an artist that returns to the core of a genre – discovers its roots – and uses that to build their music upon. 

What makes odrz VII so good? The sound samples are incredibly good, really topnotch. Everything used on this album truly sounds like it was recorded in a working factory. Having such excellent material to work with really allows the artist to do what they want with it resulting in a very real sounding album that does an excellent job of capturing the mood and feel that industrial is supposed to represent. Even with good sources, the artist still needs to understand how to make music, and odrz does that very well. It’s really the flawless way in which the album transitions from piece to piece that makes it for me. While it is true there are technically no breaks (remember it is only one track), the song does have ebbs and flows and there are noticeable movements within the music. odrz has definitely mastered the art of when to slowly work out a sound or noise and when to bring in a new one giving the album a very seamless feel. While I would like to see the album broken up into tracks (with out any silence or transition obviously) so that it would be easier to get to a section you like, I also understand why odrz VII has been completed as one track.

The lone single track starts off with loud, rhythmic, pounding industrial noises accompanied by an underlying, heavy distortion. Higher pitched frequencies come in as the music continues to build before slowly tapering off again. The sound of pulsating electrical currents slowly takes over and steam intermittently pours from vents while factory sounds clang and echo in the distance. As all this occurs, subtle uses of synthesized keys add that extra atmosphere to the mix. The music again tapers off becoming very quiet before the sound of harsh and loud metal scraping fills your speakers. While I can’t possibly describe every facet of this release, it is safe to say the music continues along the same lines as this.

Too often a release is labeled as something it really shouldn’t be leaving listeners disappointed. It is safe to say this is industrial, pure industrial in all its uncomfortable bliss. If you are looking for a release that could be used to define this genre, you should probably buy odrz VII. There are no unwanted surprises here; this album is exactly what is should be and is a superb release in today’s industrial scene.

http://www.heathenharvest.com/article.php?story=20070913204837736

ODRZ is from Italy who likes to take part in the release list of TIB Productions. ODRZ have originated from conclusion of a path of research that, starting from the exploration of sounds and rhythms of the industrial noisy wave, and passing through a re-examination of the concept of concert, reaches the final maturity realizing some sounding projects within which interact not only musical events.

Perhaps there's nothing more interesting than to read numbered track names. Okey, there's no need for names, sounds talk for themselves. However "ODRZ07" starts resolutely, walks firmly towards extreme industrial monotony. Mechanical power and electrical contribution makes the whole not so simple. Good. That was "No.1". Further goes a trip into the depth of unheared/ hidden friction sounds among bolts. It's even so ambientish. Evolving by the principle of waving, the construction doesn't have any stability, and that is for the listeners sake. But isn't it too early to play such a relaxing track? Now who would answer me? "No.3" – is like a preparation before kick. You know rough feedback, waiting for attack with sharp/ screaming vocals infront, but luckily ODRZ conqure my stereotypical (in some way) prejudice. Bravo! "No.4" – mechanics repeated in a more subtle way – with more agression (I hear vocals?), violence, it seems that with every minute it's getting noiser, wilder, and then rhythmical monotony intrudes ("No.5") as though even a synthetical (?) train slowly passes in front of my eyes... has anyone criticized ODRZ track structure?... and I was already in a mood that I'll hear different motif (with some dash) in separate track, "No.5" dispels that mist. The beginning of "No.6" is the most mystical part in all the album. It is vibrating, swaying, flying feedback like a crazy witch on a boom. Suddenly someone unseen/ unheared disturbes it and it pours all its agression. It repeats a few times. Good idea. With "No.7" ODRZ starts to lose my affection but later primitive strokes reminds me of its power of noise. Finally "No.8" (is it some kind of mistake) is like a clone of "No.3".

In conclusion: ODRZ plays noise (couldn't you understand it from words written above?) in a good way, not crazy Japanesse (who said it's not good?) but what I like in such noise is the possibility to go along with sound progression. It's not so fast, nor too slow. It was a good experience. Their live action should be something incredible.

http://www.giag.lv/english/rev-ODRZ-ODRZ07-CD-R.htm

A punishing compendium of noise and power electronics constructions, ODRZ07 picks up the legacy of the previous release and boosts it with corrosive noises and delirious exercises in high-frequency overload and charged drones, damning the listener with a long-forgotten attitude of whipping them out of their passive reception of anything that's thrown at them. Indeed, you must have a trained ear and a combat attitude to properly receive the 8 tracks included in this release. Laid back souls playing safe no need apply. And, for once, do judge the book from its cover! This particular item comes in what I would describe as the mother of industrial packaging: two discs of mammoth-grained sandpaper 'gently' encase the silver disc, the whole lot being held together by 2" metal discs that are 3 mm tick, and a 4 cm screw that's 1/2" tick, complete with bolt. The whole package even includes inlay discs and is a fitting warning to what it holds inside. This is one for the self-inflicting harsh-noise consumers. And to that end, it is as destructive as any respectable self-inflicting chap out there could hope for.

Gianfri

http://www.darklifezine.de/dlzineX2frame_cdreviewsoct06.html

This latest ODRZ disc must have given customs a major case of the willies since the huge steel nut, bolt and washer assembly holding it together must have fired off their metal detectors big time. Sandwiched in between the metal is two heavy duty disc sander cutouts, some circular printed matter and of course a CDR (otherwise not much point of a review). The CDR is a little rough looking after its ordeal but still playable and although arty packaging annoys me when I can't find a suitable shelf to hold it, I must admit to getting a greasy grin from the weight of this thing (just glad it wasn't me coughing up for postage).

"ODRZ07" contains 8 tracks with a run time of about 49 minutes meaning most tracks are in the 4 to 5 minutes range with a few 9 minute epics to flesh out the remainder. Like other ODRZ, this is a noise based effort with plenty of old school experimental / industrial flavour mixed in with a DIY lo-fi aesthetic. It's generally not that overt but guitar is used as one of the main sound sources here according to the notes however the amount of effects based deconstrucion going on means that it might as well have been a Ceasar salad plugged into the amp for the amount of recognizability that is left. What is more obvious is the use of mic feedback which is all but constant on some tracks, wiggling about like half a worm in your apple (or in this case, your ear hole).

My main complaint with previous ODRZ material that has hit my virtual desk has been the periodic head in anus self-absorbtion where a little bit of minor noodling gets stretched out to be way too long and so becomes tiresome for everyone other than the instigator. Except when the feedback starts to do the tinfoil thing to my fillings on the third track I don't sense the same sort of creative lethargy here which is a definite improvement. There is no shortage of monotony mind you but it's almost always hypnotic and relentless instead of leaving the listener feeling like they are having their lifeforce sapped, standing in line watching the clock tick backwards.

Immediate comparisons would be to Rotten Piece if they were used as paint to draw center lines on the road to the effects unit. Due to the ashen pallette it also has a little bit of Mandragora freak about it but it's much colder overall and I definitely feel more like I am looking at the prismatic oily colours in an effluent outpour as opposed to reacting badly to the funny mushrooms from the front yard I should not have eaten. My fave moments come when things get all nasty, the borderline death industrial skree of the fourth track especially but there is enough variety here to keep me interested all the way through. This is far tighter than what I have come to expect from this Italian act and most definitely my favourite ODRZ release by far. Just hope your copy doesn't get blown up by customs before it gets to you

http://industrial.org/releases.php?t=22149

Dovendo spiegare ad un amico il significato di musica industriale, probabilmente non sbaglierei facendogli ascoltare gli ODRZ: otto tracce dal minutaggio medio elevato, costituite da rumori stridenti e metallici, ossessivi e ripetitivi come il moto di un macchinario da industria pesante, in cui non c'è posto nè per la melodia nè per il ritmo, essendo questo retrocesso ad uno stadio primordiale di battito monocromatico; un tour de force acustico che sfianca l'ascoltatore e nega l'uomo a vantaggio della macchina, di cui "ODRZ07" è il verbo.
Curioso notare come questo paesaggio meccanico-futurista venga realizzato esclusivamente tramite chitarre e microfoni, strumenti convenzionali la cui trasformazione, come dicono gli stessi autori, "li rende non identificabili, ma riconducibili a suoni e ritmi tipici di altri strumenti".
Un'opera che colpisce sin dalla confezione, con il CD intrappolato tra due dischi di carta vetrata fissati con rondelle e bullone, già di per sè un suggerimento sul contenuto pesante forse non proprio indicato per un risveglio tranquillo o per una serata di passione in bella compagnia, ma che nel suo campo costituisce comunque un interessante lavoro d'avanguardia

http://www.kathodik.it/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=1971

First of all there's the packaging. It's a CDR mounted on a bolt sandwiched between two colour-printed fold-outs, two rotary sander discs, two heavy duty washers and weighty nut to secure it in place. All round and very nice. While it's no Zoviet France LP, it's still quite an attractive way to present difficult music. Intonarumori ? The art of noise indeed, but probably pretty expensive to ship. Hell, you could use this thing as a weapon.

ODRZ are a very active Italian experimental art project that I wasn't familiar with until now. For 'Odrz07' all the music is produced using only guitars and microphones. This fact is rarely obvious throughout the eight untitled tracks as they have successfully transformed these two simple devices into a rich palette of sounds. Loops are their strong suit, whether noisy feedback sourced ones or those of the percussive variety. It's a pretty fascinating, yet noisy as hell endeavour limited to 100 copies. 

The disc kicks off with what could be considered an emergency response to a particularly heinous auto accident. It sounds as if pickups and cardioid devices are being pummelled into another existence like the unmistakable sound of metal upon metal upon flesh. The rhythms recall vintage industrial music with an aura of feedback surrounding the beats as the focus shifts between pulse and noise, until they unite synchronously for a bout of amplitude modulation. And then all hell breaks loose in a storm of squealing and throbbing as if both guitar and microphone were shoved securely in the ass of some dubiously obscure foreign dignitary; a pretty harsh little number. Then a little bass, a little sandpaper and a fuck-load of distortion carry the beloved listener through the fourth track that concludes with some hot white light, like canned heat mainlined while lounging in your favourite alley. So maybe you prefer to drink your Sterno? The fifth number rocks like an instrumental Wolf Eyes track and submerges you, dear listener, into a veritable hot lava of noise while circling some tintinnabulation and otherwise metallic sounds. These ain't church bells my friend. On the sixth track we're finally treated to some discernible guitar timbre in the form of gentle string rubbings, be they by a bottleneck or the erstwhile cigarette lighter. Such aggressive caresses don't last long, however, as the proceedings get enveloped in a haze of waveform-clipping and some high-frequency dissonant loopage. It's a little inconsistent, but works in an annoying sort of way. Track seven would make a nice opener to another release or perhaps stand alone on the side of a seven-inch. Nothing new is explored but it epitomizes the general aesthetic of 'Odrz07'. It's brutal and relentless but has an impeccable attention to detail in all of it's five minutes. That is until the concluding piece shatters the glass in a brilliant and even somewhat melodic fashion. The high-end gets its overdue respect and shreds fabrics of the real and the synthetic until some phony-ass system of order caves in. Isn't this what we wanted all along? Ever been suffocated by the surf of the sea during a hurricane? Neither have I, but I imagine it might feel something like this. Forty-nine minutes of this shit and I realize I should be doing something else, so I put it on again. 

This is not your everyday noise album. Each of ODRZ's projects are concept-based and seem worthy of your attention. The recording medium may not be their best outlet, but it works just fine for this disc. Do they really want to hurt you? I doubt it, but they can smoke your ass like a leftover blunt nonetheless. In a synaesthetic way, the sounds compliment the packaging quite nicely at any rate. If you're entering the noise scene as a novice, this is as good a place to start as any (you can do your homework later). If you're already comfortable with your tinnitus or are some form of noise collector scum, then pick this puppy up and make your geeky friends jealous. They'll drool. And if that's not enough you can use it to knock them unconscious.

http://www.heathenharvest.com/article.php?story=20070913200021338

Reading from their website, ODRZ is group of artists from Italy, focusing mainly on music and sound installations. ODRZ's approach to a live event is not common. Exploring the venue in which the show is about to take place, and adapting their instuments and sounds to macth that particular surrounding as much as possible. This way, instead of forcing the stage on the musicians, the stage get its own unique musical approach. Is that any good? I guess you have to judge it by yourself if you get into one of their shows. All I got is a nice 3" packed in a rough cloth bag .

The description for this particular album, twelfth in their series, and dated 2005, is relevant not only for the album itself but for any ordered shows regarding this particular 12th project. This description states that this project is minimal in its equipment usage and that it is suitable for small venues. I am not sure if that statement affected my opinion or not, but indeed the sounds on this album do give the feeling of a compressed, if not claustrophobic space at times. The album, one untitled track, is clearly divided to several parts. Some on the verge of the dark ambient, Many are much harsher. Several industrial loops mange to raise the tension by coming and going throughout the track, with the company of shrieks so high it can make you dizzy. Distorted vocals are shouting something I am unable to even begin to understand and this phase of the music is gone. Up next is what sounds like a recording of a meeting between a saw and some metallic object. While it might as well be digital (not from the pictures offered on their website, showing these people hitting and cutting metal on stage) , many of the sounds here at least sound like they were not taken from a computer file. The next phase continues with the industrial mayhem, bringing some unclear, distorted vocals. The situation gets more complicated towards the end of the album, with drilling sounds that can turn anyone who went to a dentist in the last year pale with fear. A low, almost hollow drum machine brings a slow rythm to the climax of this track, and escorting the mayhem to the silence at the end.

Many reviews about noise music usually end up sounding almost like an apology, saying that "If you are into harsh noise, go for it, if not, stay away". I think that in this particular case, while the album has its ups and downs, and is a very interesting work after all, the biggest impression it leaves is "You just HAVE to come and see us live!" , as each of their albums might be used as an example for a specific type of a live show, I am more intrigued by how they bring this 12th release into life on stage.

http://www.heathenharvest.com/article.php?story=20080828042810369 

Il Tirreno - April 19, 2009

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