Scratoa!: Live en San Anton

Scratoa!: Live en San Anton
Scratoa! is the co-op of Marc Nguyen Tan (the dj known as Colder) and Guillaume Ollendorff. “Live en San Anton” was recorded back in April of 2008 in Alicente, Spain. The album took three days to record and was the result of improvisation.
Now when I hear improvisation, I tend to think of jam bands and jazz ensembles. You know, the type of acts that will play a song differently just about every single night. The song remains recognizable, but its not chained to how it was written.
“Live en San Anton” isn’t exactly music. Scratoa! is to the music industry what Jackson Pollock was to art. I’m not saying there isn’t any merit to the work at wall. No, its far from undesigned even though at times it sounds like it. They clearly had a purpose with what they were going for. But just like a Pollock painting, you find certain sounds or noises that you like, but you can’t admit to know what the artists were getting at. What emotions they were trying to invoke.
At times, computer altered grunts make me feel like I’m listening to some type of digital jungle where the gorillas are just beyond the vegetation, so watch your step. At other times the album reminds me of the story of the Buddhist Monk who was invited to listen to a symphonic performance. When asked what his favorite part was, he said the very beginning. The warm up where everyone was simply tuning their instruments. The notes came out warm and unforced, and the same can be said here.
I enjoy a warm up as much as the next Monk, but a 30 minute album filled with that type of child-like banging on pots and pans seems too much for me. I’m not exactly sure what to make of it. I can’t see this album turning into a hit on the charts. I’m not even sure what Killer Pimp was thinking when they decided to release the album.
Tan is unrecognizable here when compared to his work as Colder. Perhaps that’s what he was going for. And Ollendorff must know his way around a laptop and electronics, so why they settled for this type of improvisation, I can’t say. All I know is, I didn’t enjoy it at all. It was too experimental for my taste. I struggle to consider it music, even though it is when you can call two sticks being hit together music. But in the end, I was looking for more substance. Something you can really peel layer by layer as opposed to staring at colorful swiggles as they hang above your fire place. Everyone will tell you its really fascinating and they like looking at it, but they’re probably being nice.
Rating:: 0.8/10
MP3: Scratoa! “II”
Buy: iTunes