Flim - Holiday Diary
Plinkity Plonk plink 12
CD only - 500 copies

HOLIDAY DIARY

With summer knocking on our door, Plinkity Plonk presents you "Holiday Diary" by FLIM; the perfect soundtrack for your upcoming holidays. The album is entirely based on field recordings and melody sketches made during Flim's various holidays in 2002. The whole album was put together in a single session on september 15, 2002. The results are beautiful, laid back sketches with a very private and intimate atmosphere.

Flim aka Enrico Wuttke was born in 1971 in Muhlhausen, Germany and has played the piano since the age of 7. He studied fine arts and made his recording debut in 1993 with the release of some private cassettes. In 2002 he recorded highly acclaimed albums ("Given You Nothing" and "Helio") for the Tomlab label.

'Holiday Diary' is released in a limited edition of 500 copies and comes in a gorgeous hand-printed sleeve by Knust, Nijmegen, designed by Meeuw.

This CD is available for 16 euros including worldwide shipping. You can pay with paypal. Send an e-mail to order

listen to excerpt

more info on flim: http://www.turbofisch.de

reviews

FLIM: Holiday Diary
Plinkity Plonk | plink 012 | CD

The summer arrived quickly this year. One evening I was sitting in my apartment, wearing a sweater and boiling a pot of water for some tea, an unmistakable chill in the air causing some doubt as to when the warm weather might finally arrive. I fell asleep curled up under a heavy duvet; closing my eyes I knew the unmistakable comfort of sleeping in an immensely comfortable, familiar bed. The following morning I awoke with a jolt, feeling overwhelmingly warm; the air was stale, hot, humid. I flung the duvet from my bed and stumbled, still a little sleepy, over to the window. The sun was shining in the streets, the trees seemed suddenly green, and my neighbours, whom I saw one by one passing by my window, were all wearing linen. How long had I been sleeping there, under that duvet? Did I wake up in another time, another place, in someone else's body? Discarding these feelings of panic, I quickly dug up my summer clothes from my wardrobe, got dressed and stepped out, feeling the first breath of the summer breeze on my face, and took a long, deep breath.

Even if things this year didn't really unfold in this way (who was this "I" in the paragraph above, anyway?), the transition into summer always comes as something of a shock. The holidays can never arrive soon enough, if you're lucky enough to have them, and yet they seem to pounce on our lives like a most welcome surprise. We pack our bags in a flurry of euphoria and run out of our homes like we're abandoning our past lives completely, and head for a foreign land, or the nearest coast, or simply someplace else, so long as the same four walls don't surround us day and night, as long as we can forget our everyday troubles, regain a certain sense of levity in our lives. And these holidays bring us that levity, though they also bring with them other things, filled with both sorrows and joys, thoughts both carefree and profound, like life itself.

But all this is by way of introduction to a discussion of a new record by Enrico Wuttke, otherwise known as Flim, out now on Beequeen's Plinkity Plonk label. Holiday Diary features seven pieces of music, a charming soundtrack for your days on the beach, for your evenings swaying on a hammock. Flim composes his music for a combination of instruments, from electronics and field recordings to acoustic guitar, piano, melodium and drums. The field recordings used here were provided by the artists from the Infrequency collective (Jamie Drouin, Lance Olsen, Jeffrey Allport and Tim Olive). A beautiful motif for acoustic guitar, a melancholic drone that bursts into blistering feedback, a piece for solo piano that speaks of something so simple yet utterly arresting, a sudden burst of jazzy drums, another drone, more piano.... Holiday Diary, I must admit, is a record that is difficult to write about except indirectly. I've listened to it in the dark, in the morning, at night, in headphones or on my hi-fi, in the car, in the pouring rain, and it fills me with something unspeakable, all the while speaking to a certain part of me that knows both sorrow and joy, the joyful melancholy of past holidays, to memories that come to the surface when I feel the summer breeze, or encounter a certain climate, a certain ray of sunlight, a patch of greenery in the garden. All that is left for me now is to give my most sincere and enthusiastic praise for this music, and I give it gladly, a true prize in my collection. [Richard di Santo]

from: www.incursion.org

FLIM Holiday Diary (Plinkity Plonk, plink 012): Hinter Flim steckt der 1971 in Mühlhausen geborene Enrico Wuttke, der 2002 für zwei Tomlab-Veröffentlichungen Lob einheimste. Dass seine Urlaubserinnerungen auf dem Beequeen-Label auftauchen, ist wohl der dialektischen Subtilität F. de Waards geschuldet, der den durch Kormplastics-Muziek blutig gekratzten Ohren hier Balsam auf die Wunden cremt. Flim lässt im ferienparadiesischen Dolce far niente ganz entspannt seine Gitarre plinken, während ihm sanfte elektronische Brisen durch die Haare streichen. Eine weich dröhnende Sonnenorgel sorgt für 30° im Schatten. Mit schlaffer Geste pflückt er versonnene Pianotrauben aus den Tasten. Der Aufschwung in federnden Minimalrock kommt dann fast unerwartet. Das Piano beginnt mit kreisenden Repetitionen, kippt dann aber um in leicht melancholisches Einfingergeplonke. Ein Akkordeon greift diese süße Wehmut auf, die zu einem dichten, von Grillen durchzirpten Drone verklumpt.. Der Wind frischt auf, zerrt und rumpelt am Fahnenmast und unser Urlauber sieht zu, dass er rechtzeitig das Hotel erreicht, bevor es zu Stürmen beginnt. Flim versteht es nicht schlecht, sehr weit weg von pauschaltouristischen Sommerhits Eindrücke und Stimmungen vor 'Augen' zu führen, wobei wohl jeder das 'sieht', was er sehen will.
(Bad Alchemy 42)

Flim, "Holiday Diary", Plinkity Plonk, 2003
This is a limited edition of 500 copies that the seal Plinkity Plonk publishes - directed by Dutch the Freek Kinkelaar and Frans de Waard - which is a sublabel of Korm Plastics, label founded by of Waard [aka Goem, Beequeen, among others projects], in addition responsible for the mythical label and distributor Staalplaat. Then, Enrico Wuttke [interviewed in loop] with his third disc, in my opinion, has a structure less pop than "Helio" [Tomlab, 2003], although by the way occupies also acoustic instruments like piano, organ, guitar and drums in addition to electronics and field recordings. Nevertheless, his approach with this album is more classic - own of its formation like pianist when he studied Fine Arts -, which becomes in "Current description" evident with that austere and minimalista piano, to grief that "Lime" also it has that cautious character of the organ, is interrupted by an uproarious sound. "Above seagulls" with its magnificent cadence of jazzy drumming, environmental organ and melodic keyboards, invite to us again with "Home" to delight to us of a beautiful piece of piano that denotes the exquisite taste by melodies of Wuttke. Evocative of a last time "No guitars please", it is a very provoking romantic song by that charming timbre that has that organ. And finally, in "Ecstatic Brown" there is perfect combination of classic and experimental; with field recfordings that seem to be a wind that strikes some metal grate and the slow piano with its and harmonic one to undulate. In sum, it is a splendid album, made with taste, a taken care of and rigorous production. More info in kormplastics (from: http://www.loop.cl

FLIM - HOLIDAY DIARY (CD by Plinkity Plonk)
This is a lazy afternoon recording made by Enrico Wüttke under the guise of Flim. If I weren't looking I could easily mistake this for something on the Canadian Constellation label, though the quiet moments are seemingly more austere. On "Murmer Room", the repetitive strings are at first mesmerizing but slowly wear themselves out, even with a quite appealing, separate track of twitches and squeaks used as an additive. "Lime", is a sleepwalk through musty caverns, tranquil yet murky, especially when a bassline is introduced. The drama is all in the fuzzy moments where digital and analogue collide. While there are certainly beautiful passages where the piano is ethereal such as on "Current Description", programming the blandly mainstream "Above Seagulls" right after it marginalizes its splendor. "Holiday Diary, seems like a hit and miss record from beginning to end. A theme for ballerinas entitled "Home" seems as if it might be sourced from a completely other artist, and knowing that this along with some of the previous tracks were recorded on a single day either proves genius or insanity. Whimsy divides the almost oompa-loompa-like traditional harmonies of "No Guitars Please", by far this diary,s stand out track. Wüttke has learned from the soundtracks of Philip Glass, and it is clearly evident here. By sampling unique field recordings by Jamie Drouin, Lance Olsen and others Flim has used sources that are unfamiliar ground to many listeners. With vague resemblances to The Grassy Knoll, this is anything aside from out jazz. This is in many ways a hammer and nail type job, back to basics, a learning work-in-progress, refreshing but sparse material that may be a good base for future greatness. (TJN)
Address: http://www.kormplastics.nl
(Vital Weekly 385)

FLIM -HOLIDAY DIARY [PLINKITY PLONK /KORM PLASTICS ]
Ein neues Flim-Album,Hurrah!Und,hey,kann bei so einem Labelnamen was schief gehen?Plinkity Plonk also ein neues Sublabel von Kormplastics,das leider nur 500 Stück dieser wundervollen Flim-CD gepresst hat,also schnell sein.Wunderbar luftig und leicht loopt die Gitarre gleich zu Beginn,aber das bleibt nicht so. "Lime " zum Beispiel dreht den Verzerrer nach einer sanften Einstimmung an der Orgel voll auf und lässt nur ganz vage die piepsenden Zupfer durch. Dann steht das Klavier ganz für sich allein,trumpft stolz auf,spielt traurig den Horizont ab und wir sind gefangen."Above Seagulls " ist die Flim BigBand und eigentlich sollten wir hier gar nicht so reden und schreiben,denn hat Flim einmal angefangen,kann man sich sowieso nicht mehr vorstellen,auch nur eine Sekunde ohne diese kleinen, schüchternen Ohrwürmer verbringen zu können.Alles völlig undenkbar. Tracks wie "Home " oder "No Guitars Please " treiben einem die Tränen direkt in die Augen.Alles ist so wunderbar.Einfach alles.Mit oder ohne Verzerrer.
www.kormplastics.nl
THADDI ooooo

Flim - Holiday Diary (CD Plinkity Plonk)
Chitarra acustica che ricama un giro bucolico con accompagnamento di suoni trovati e pianola per Murmer Room, una distesa ambientale trapssata da un estatico bordone che si sfalda chiesastico in Lime, note di piano romanticamente appoggiate sul nulla con Current Description e Home, giusto interrotte dall'inusitata robustezza ritmica di above Seagulls, un organetto e poi ancora un bordone come un'immensa apertura alare mentre ci si avvia al finale. Forse non minore ma indubbiamente più intimista degli album che l'hanno preceduto, questo 'diario delle vacanze' pubblicato da Enrico Wuttke aka Flim in sole 500 copie è destinato a restare affare privato degli aficionados; agli altri tutti, raccomando ancora una volta di rivolgere l'attenzione al precedente "Helio", tra le uscite migliore dell'anno che volge al termine. (rated 7 out of 10)
Stefano I Bianchi in Blow Up 65, october 2003)

Flim - Holiday Diary [Plinkity Plonk; 2003]
Rating: 7.3
The phrase "thrown together" denotes carelessness, but it's not always so. It's possible to be both spontaneous and reverent. After beginning his recording career with the intensely focused Given You Nothing, which consisted mostly of solo piano, Flim's Enrico Wuttke has loosened up and started to experiment. Most of the limited edition Holiday Diary (500 copies were pressed) was recorded in a single day, pieced together from field recordings and melodic fragments played by Wuttke on guitar, organ, piano and accordion. By definition, Holiday Diary was thrown together, perhaps, but there's something interesting at work. Wuttke has a knack for making seemingly incongruent sounds work together.
The opening "Murmer Room" is built around a loop of a plucked acoustic guitar, and Wuttke layers keyboard and percussive sounds, the random banging of a drunk navigating a darkened room. The following "Lime", one of two tracks recorded in 2001, opens with shifting chords on what sounds like a pipe organ, eerily evocative of Popul Vuh, and then a massive, distorted power chord shatters the meditative mood until the organ eventually resurfaces. "Current Description" is a dark and sad piano solo with just a faint wisp of processing, and here Wuttke's 25 years of training are apparent, as he squeezes every drop of feeling from the gulf-like spaces between the notes.
Holiday Diary is a back-and-forth kind of record that jumps between sounds and styles, but it works. Shifting gears yet again, "Above Seagulls" displays Wuttke's oft-stated love for Talk Talk's Laughing Stock, with loose, booming drums and a circular chord structure ribbed with tension. Then it's back to piano for "Home", a minimalist piece that could have come from Philip Glass' solo piano record. "No Guitars Please" is a short piece for accordion, and then "Ecstatic Brown" is a return to field recordings, piling identifiable scrapes and bumps with throbbing organ chords in the manner of C-Schulz & Hajsch before releasing the tension by folding in a delicate piano melody.
Kid606 and his ilk brag of being able to make an album in one night, but Holiday Diary is different. It feels like a backlog of ideas assembled quickly for posterity, yes, but somehow the slapdash nature of the project seems perfect. It feels organic, simultaneously random and unified. I'm not going to call Wuttke a genius, but after hearing three albums I will say that his music is unusually fresh and unique. Who else is combining the most trad acoustic sound possible (untreated piano) with heavy electronics? His music is generally serious with a faint whiff of academia, but Wuttke keeps his eye on the ball and moves to maximize the effectiveness of each individual track. And most importantly, he sounds like no one else, which, these days, counts for a lot.
-Mark Richardson, December 2nd, 2003
in: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/f/flim/holiday-diary.shtml

(review from Remix Magazine, Japan)

FLIM Holiday Diary CD (Plinkity Plonk, NL, 2004)
...corpulent lobsterized flesh cascading over baggy tablecloth shorts...slit-faced Gap girls with meaningless henna tatts...the occasional waft of sizzling meat grease...bathed in the hazy rays of an all too shy sun - Anytown, Britain, 2004.
For now it might be more advantageous to refer you instead to Flim; otherwise known as German electronicist Enrico Wuttke (who previously recorded for Tomlab). His new collection consists entirely of field recordings and impressionistic melodic flourishes, captured from various holidays taken a few years back. And if this set mirrors those balmier times, it suggests less of a sedentary (and therefore poss. carcinogenic) and more of an investigative one amongst galleries and old ruins; which suits me fine. Like 'Lime', for instance, which potters around churchy organ-tones and dust-moted atmospherics, which are buffeted by progressively stronger weatherfronts. 'Ecstatic Bison' (??) - you'll hafta excuse the question marks as the track listing is written like a doctor's prescription - has its pensive tones disrupted by some incongruous blobs of bilious 'tronix. 'Ancient Description' (??) is contemplative and tentative in its approach, with drawing room piano tinkling away in a dimly lit room, while 'No Guitars Please' has the ambling gait of a serialist sea shanty. So yeah...a pretty varied & ear-pleasing work for sure. Made all the better when expectations of perky sequences & bright spangly colours (see label name) are confounded. (SP)
(Adverse Effect Volume 3, number 2)
 

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