"This CD is an apology" reviewed

Holzkopf
"This CD is an apology" reviewed:

The Wire
May, '04

Available in a limited edition of 500 and positively brimming with skewed refusenik attitude, this is the kind of release that makes life worth living. Whether you call it self-expresion or just self-indulgent, there's no denying the disquieting, invigorating impact of this kind of outsider art. It's the work of Jake Hardy, who, closeted in his Saskatoon home studio, churns out rampant, anarchic, hard-panned, distorted, skittering electronic mayhem, cramming his compositions with the raging abandoned fragments of a million hard disc edits, and imbuing them with the kind of restless mutant life that you'd normally encounter at the wrong end of a nuclear apocalypse. A track like the superbley named "No Guns No Pride" verges on the indescribable. It's a slurred, woozy, jangling mess, all uncoordinated strums and nervy tweaker breakbeats, which collapses into radioactive chaos before emerging like some primordial slug crawl doggedly to its choking conclusion. And this is just one of 13 misshapen gems herein, ranging from the squirming, screaming power electronics of "Toronto Riot" to the beaten, luminous rainbow of "101 Cans." For connoisseurs of the outer limits at least, the churning, squealing, yet somehow serene "Sonor Causes Whales To Kill Themselves" is worth the price of entry alone.

Chirs Sharp.

Fever Pitch
May, '05

Aural electronics from a nice little label in Canada, also home to Piedmont Sorpid. I don't know why Jake Hardy, the man behind Holzkopf is apologizing. Maybe because there's a good chance major labels won't put out his next album, or the fact he will never debut in the Billboard Hot 100. Who cares anyway? This CD is a really good mix of Alec Empire-styled digital hardcore, some odd Squarepusher sounding beats and an overall interesting vibe from start to finish. Standouts include: "The Speaker Hurts," "Hi Fi Mad Chunson" and "No Noise." You should order this CD and give the little guy a chance for once in your life.

Jason Verhagen.

Brainwashed
Nov. '04

If Jake Hardy made a quarter every time he induced someone to grimace, or cover their ears in disbelief from the noise he makes as Holzkopf, despite enjoying every moment of it, he would certainly be a rich man. To simply describe Hardy's second offering, the cleverly titled, This CD is an Apology as noisy would be an inaccurate understatement indeed. The sounds created are searing and brutal, at times even frightening in demeanor. Although having listened to harsh noise for many years now, when the nine minute pulverizer "Sonar Causes Whales to Kill Themselves" finally subsided, I could safely say it was the loudest motherfucker I had heard since Kevin Drumm's Sheer Hellish Miasma. Just imagine the intensity and volume that you think I'm talking about, and multiply it tenfold and you have a pretty good picture of how loud this really is. But Holzkopf is not all about gore and guts all the time. An achingly pretty guitar twang, and lovely breakbeat characterizes "Pity Song", appearing much like the calm after the storm. There are still traces of distortion, but it is used in a way so that it becomes secondary to the melody channeling throughout. Hardy obviously possesses a great sense of balance and control, often times varying the dynamics and consequences in his tracks with ease. Reservation is not an attribute usually associated with noisemakers, but on "Hi-Fi Mad Chunson", the results are fascinating. A carefully concealed tension wavers about, its presence becoming increasingly ominous with each passing instant. Holzkopf is in the driver's seat at all times, twisting and turning through dark forests and periodic hurricanes. As I listened, I could almost feel Hardy's masterful finger tapping and caressing a button, that could potentially release the buildup and pressure, blowing everything into a shattered, bloody shamble. At times, he does, pressing that button at just the right moment, when I least expect it, making for a mind-altering listen, and of course, scaring me shitless. With the slightest change in the air, Holzkopf goes from the calmest of climates, to a terrifying titanic hailstorm. Definitely not for the meek, but then again, we were warned: This CD is an Apology.

Kevin Chong.

Independent Film Quarterly
March, '04

Holzkopf: Canadian noise for the soul
Musicologist Jacques Attali says that the world is not legible but audible - that the music of the last century predicted the political thought of the present and that the same concept applies to our music now. If this is true I'm glad I won't be alive 100 years from now, this CD is an apology: "Holzkopf."
Saskatoon's "Holzkopf" is dedicated to making music that sounds like it's running as fast as it can away from the end of the world. They previously released an album in 2001 entitled "Only a bad harvest can save us," which was influenced heavily by early Mouse on Mars and Aphex Twin. "This CD is an apology" is a little more mature and confident in its execution. This CD's 13 tracks and over 60 minutes of music are best listened to with headphones to get the full effect of the aural grating and industrial savage beauty. It incorporates a tangent of rhythms of hip-hop, break-beat, free jazz and acid house music.
The first track "Children on Fire," is a spacey, languid track that doesn't go anywhere really, but it does create a sparse segue to the assault of sound featured on the next track "Unity Club Mix." This is one of my favorites on the disc. It has a traditional club house beat as a foundation, which builds and breaks off into some interesting deviations. The song has raw energy that propels it forward and creates a collage of noise that is very danceable or just gets you moving around the house.
"The Speaker Hurts" is quite glitchy with a hip-hop beat at its core and becomes one of the more sparse songs on an album full of incredible noise. "The End of The World Evan Parker Explosion" has a similar vibe with "Unity Club Mix" in a more downbeat but still very fluid track. "Hi-Fi Mad Chunson" is the most melodic and dreamlike of the songs. The drums and heavier emphasis on guitar give it an organic sound that the rest of the album deviates extensively away from.
"Sonar Causes Whales to Kill Themselves" makes you feel like a radio wave struggling for reception. It has a storybook feel to it, which might just sound like noise to some, but I believe it is a journey of sound.
This album is very far from mainstream, it is a sound and noise experiment that will delight those brave souls with a taste for the bizarre. For many people "Holzkopf" is probably too strange, with the exception of a couple tracks including "Unity Club Mix," "The End of the World Evan Parker Explosion" and "Toronto Riot." If you like the noise, I think this is a very progressive and enjoyable album to throw on and run around.

Brendan MacDevette.

Further Noise
April, '04

With a press release that describes it as 60 minutes+ of aural battering and defeat you start listening to this album with certain Pre-conceptions of what you are about to hear.

'I want to make music that sounds like it's running as fast as it can away from the end of the world. Like it's trying to grab onto anything old, tried and true, in order to slow down as much as possible before hitting the wall at the end of the road'. Jake Hardy

The opening track title "children on fire" certainly sets an ominous tone but once you've pressed play there's no going back and your drawn into a grainy soundscape of industrial depitched drones and something being dragged through the earth backwards. Lulled into this transcendental state you are suddenly jolted by a fat beat, overdriven to the extent of digital meltdown, cut up and fed back on it's self, relentless but with a groove that you just can't help but give the nod to. In a sense the main dynamics of the album are distilled in these first few tracks highlighted most in "The end of the world Evan Parker explosion". There are tremendous extremes in this recording and not all that make comfortable listening but a reprieve is never that far away and don't you look forward to them! Holzkopf AKA Jake Hardy is really challenging you to stay the course on this one and there are some seminal moments as there are some overindulgent ones.

60+ minutes of aural battering? Yes, defeat? No, I will listen to this CD again? maybe.

Roger Mills.

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